OC real estate flop of the week

We're revisiting this feature, and hoping to continue it on (at least) a weekly basis. This failed flip in the making is located in the beautiful community of Irvine, Calif. It's a lesson in what bad timing can do to you in real estate.

Address: 301 Rathbourne
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2.5
Sq. feet: 1,481
Year built:1998
MLS No.: S470313 (Redfin link)
Days on the market:143
Current price: $599,900

As you can see in these photos, the inside looks nice - everything you would like to see in a nine-year-old home condo. Things turn pretty ugly pretty fast when you look at the price history for this listing, and the sales history for this unit.

Price Reduced: 01/16/07 -- $684,900 to $649,900
Price Reduced: 03/03/07 -- $649,900 to $629,000
Price Reduced: 05/07/07 -- $624,900 to $615,000
Price Increased: 05/11/07 -- $615,000 to $624,900
Price Reduced: 05/22/07 -- $624,900 to $599,000
Price Increased: 05/24/07 -- $599,000 to $599,900

Looks like they're playing the game of lower the price a bit, then raise it almost back to where it was. We've got four price reductions and two increases. All told, the asking price has dropped by $85,000.

Sales history:
06/30/1998: $190,500
05/17/2001 : $310,000 (18.4 percent appreciation per year, according to Redfin)
05/25/2005: $625,000 (19 percent appreciation per year)

If (and trust me, this is a big if) the place is sold at the current hoping price of $599,900, there will be a loss of $61,094 (including 6 percent selling costs).