As much as Katherine had loved

[Maybo]

She hesitated. She had only been in the cellar one time, four weeks ago when she was given a full tour by her realtor. It was dark, damp, and claustrophobic, with not even the smallest of windows to let in enough light to scatter the shadows. As much as Katherine had loved the rest of the house, the cellar had given her such an uneasy feeling that it almost singlehandedly made her change her mind about buying the house. She had decided then and there to never use the space, not even for storage.

Source: At Home With the Horrors: 14 Tales by Sammy Scott

I wonder why the bolded parts were used the past perfect tense. Is it because all of them took place before she bought the house?

 

[emsr2d2]

She's referring to the time four weeks ago when she looked round the whole house with the realtor. That's before the time of the rest of the piece (which is already in the past).

When she looked round the house with the realtor, she had loved most of the house but the cellar had given her the creeps and she had decided not to use it. Later ("now" at the time of writing), she was hesitating but clearly thinking about going down into the cellar again.