Realtors, start your engines: Murkowski’s in the market

Posted by Alaska RealEstateRama

August 1, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Now that Sen. Lisa Murkowski is back in the market, what’s available on the Kenai River?

There isn’t much for $180,000, which is a little bit more than she paid for prime riverfront land.

For $179,400, Sen. Murkowski bought a 1.25 acre lot upon which she planned to build her family home. By all accounts, the Kenai riverfront property was a great deal.

Worried the deal looked shady, though, Murkowski sold the property back to the former owner, influential real estate developer and childhood friend Bob Penney.

“So we’ve decided to sell this property back to Bob Penney at the same price for which it was purchased,” Murkowski said.

But was it too good to be true or a fair price?

A look on Alaskarealestate.com for the same type of listing revealed another 1.25 acre property on the Kenai riverfront. The cheapest parcel costs about $265,000, or about $86,000 more than Murkowski paid for her lot. The most expensive spot is $400,000.

Staying within the senator’s price range, for about $180,000 you can buy a property that’s not on the Kenai River, but on Anchor River, where property is more economical. Out in Anchor Point, Murkowski could build on a “bluff with a view of Mt. Augustine overlooking Cook Inlet.”

Soldotna realtor Marty Radvansky said the market is good for sellers.

“It’s pretty much been a seller’s market. Put a price tag on it, whatever they want and sometimes they get it,” Radvansky said.

While Murkowski won’t be getting the lot next to her childhood friend — who also is a well-known political activist and campaign contributor – this is still Alaska. This state’s got a lot of uninhabited space.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve got so many beautiful places to live in Alaska,” Murkowski said.

Kenai Borough real estate agents say if the senator wants a property similar to the one she purchased and will now resell to Penney, the average price is anywhere from $250,000 to $400,000.

Murkowski said they used the Borough’s assessed value at the time of purchase to set the price for an undeveloped lot, which was $179,400 in December 2006.

Assessments are supposed to reflect market value by state law, Murkowski said in an interview.

by Rebecca Palsha, KTUU

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