MB Confidential

Dirt Gets Pricey, Too

mbwatcher@gmail.com (Dave Fratello) — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:38:00 -0700

The recent sale of 1804 Agnes serves as a reminder that finding a lot for a custom build is getting costlier by the day.

You can definitely say this flat lot at Agnes on a sleepy street boasts a prime location.

However, the 4780 sq. ft. lot size is average, and the backyard exposure will be to the east – less sunny in the afternoon – so we're not looking at pluses on every front.

So the sale price, after multiple bids, at $1.700M, is a wake-up call.

Wasn't it just last year that 1805 John shocked onlookers (and the 19 losing bidders) with a sale at $1.352M?

But that lot was a tad bigger (5065 sq. ft.) and with western exposure on the back. About the only major liability of the lot was (is) the giant eucalyptus in the front yard, which apparently the city forced the new owners to keep. (What is this, Australia?)

Even if the lots were equivalent, you'd see a $350K difference in only a bit more than a year. That's 26%. And if you call John the better lot, then you have to say lot prices are up more than 26% in 14 months... based on a sample of two.

That's two in the Tree Section's prime Martyrs area.

Let's test that hypothesis in the South End of the Sand Section.

Dave's clients purchased 521 2nd in May last year.

That 2700 sq. ft. lot (standard for the Sand) had a cute little 60s house on it that seemed to lend itself to an ambitious remodel. Instead, the buyers opted to scrape it and build new.

So the lot-sale-that-wasn't-intended-as-such was for $1.370M.

By October 2012, we'd seen the market moving for a bit.

That's when 512 4th listed for the same price as 521 2nd, only to come to prove that the market had moved.

Asking $1.369M, 512 4th instead got $1.625M. That was a jump of 19% over 521 2nd, and for a lot on the (barely) less desirable south side of this non-walkstreet segment of 4th.

Last month, another house on the same block sold for more.

That was 521 4th St., another 2700 sq. ft. lot.

In fact, there was no mistaking this as anything but a dirt trade. It's a long-running vacant plot of land that people have been eyeing for years.

Sale price in early April 2013: $1.645M. (Does it matter that the list price was $1.5M?)

That was a jump of 20% over 521 2nd from 11 months prior.

And maybe the one that stands out most in the South End is 424 2nd, which didn't have to be a lot sale at all.

Yes, those 3 examples above were all 500-block homes, good comps against one another, and 424 is a bit closer to the water. But it's not a walkstreet and it's not far from the others.

424 2nd had a functional, 3br/3ba, 2500+ sq. ft. house on it. It worked. But it's now gone.

424 2nd turned out to be a lot sale at $1.700M. (Sale posted in October 2012.) We had heard it would be scraped, but didn't quite believe it till the 'dozers arrived recently.

Maybe Agnes and 2nd are anomalies, but we hear tell of new lot sales in the Tree Section at $1.5M+, we just saw 1728 Pine close at $1.350M and can't really see what is to be done with that house, and, whew, we haven't even started talking about the Hill Section yet, or East MB.

Looking for dirt? It's worth more than dirt. More than last year, even.

Shocker on 12th

mbwatcher@gmail.com (Dave Fratello) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:01:00 -0700

Ready for another shocking overbid? Or maybe we don't get "shocked" anymore?

725 12th (3br/2ba, 1325 sq. ft.) is a nearly perfect little beach cottage inside, in a location that affords a quick walk to downtown, church and elementary school.

We said in our review:

It's a great example of the most you can do to a little 1950s cottage. Wide open, high ceilings in the great room, a modern kitchen – with marble, not granite – and attractive baths.

Those "must have" qualities sparked a bidding war when the home came out in April at $1.399M. Multiple multiples again.

What would happen?

First, look back. The same property had traded in very nice condition in 2008 at $1.187M, after a start at $1.400 and 100+ DOM.

But that was 5 years and a different style ago. The cherry wood cabinets and dark granite counters came out, and in came white marble, white cabinets, and pitch-perfect beachy styling.

Oh, and this one also had significant market exposure in 2005, asking as much as $1.500M in that bubbly year. But no sale then. It would be 8 years before those heights were reached.

Here's how it shook out in this wild Spring 2013: An MLS-reported sale price of $1,620,450, or an overbid of $221K (+16%).

That's really, really something for a 1325 sq. ft. house, almost $1,225/PSF. (The lot size is small here, too, at 3000 sq. ft.)

With apologies to "Field of Dreams," we'd say the lesson is: Make a little beauty perfect, and they will come.

A bunch of losing bidders on 725 12th made their way down the hill and toward town when 524 13th came up several days later at $1.550M.

That one, with more square footage but fully needing the kind of transformative remodel that 12th already had, also generated several bids and is in escrow. If things hold together, that one should close shortly, too.

Sunday Opens (5/19)

mbwatcher@gmail.com (Dave Fratello) — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:52:00 -0700

We've got inventory at 55 now, heading toward Memorial Day weekend. We sense that the old rule about inventory dropping, and sales activity slowing, in June won't quite bear out this year. We're thinking Summer will be busier than expected. But still, this can be viewed as the last week of the Spring market.

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens.

Sand Section

468 34th (4br/5ba, 3525 sq. ft.) is Dave's new listing up on the plateau. Of course we think it's great, but we don't purport to offer "neutral" reviews of our own listings. So here's the official description, and here's hoping you'll come by during the open:

Your family will enjoy this lovely, newer Cape Cod on a quiet street of the Sand Section plateau.

Spacious common rooms on the first floor feature hardwood flooring, including an open kitchen/family room in back.

All four bedrooms are on one level, including master suite with fireplace and separate "his and hers" walk-in closets.

Upstairs, a family/game room opens to great deck with ocean peeks where you're sure to spend a lot of time. (Tax records count the top floor room as the fifth bedroom.)

This whole home has been refreshed with new paint and carpet and looks terrific. Wood shingles recently replaced with long-life Hardie shingles. Near new central vacuum unit.

Once you see this home, it's easy to feel the lifestyle pluses of a short walk to school, the beach and MB's "second downtown" in the North End. Start your summer off right with this great beach house!

The photos look great full-screen at the dedicated property website:

www.468-34th.com

468 34th starts at $2.725M and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Tree Section

Time has been kind to 644 33rd (5br/5ba, 4225 sq. ft.), which had a rough time on the market when new 5-6 years ago.

Back then, it was a big spec house too far north – locationwise, and pricewise – for the market. They came out asking $3.4M and people just weren't buying $3M+ houses within a few short blocks of the refinery. The listing ran from Nov. 2006 till March 2008, and $500K was ultimately shaved off the asking price, as it closed for $2.875M – still rich, of course.

Since then, the landscaping has grown in to complement the home, and the current folks have really filled out and decorated the place wonderfully, so you can actually see the home's potential actualized. And it's terrific, deep, luxurious. (Though admittedly we've spent way too much time analyzing the description's claim that this home has "the panache to stand without pretense." Does it? Or is that a contradiction?)

Don't miss the huge basement home theater with bonus bed & bath.

For an "estate" on a street-to-alley lot, this one does lack much of a yard. The garage in back takes up a lot of the would-be outdoor space, so you really wind up with a nice sunny patio and a little grassy area.

Here we are in 2013, and the home looks better than ever, and people are paying around $3M – or more – for newer homes north of Valley. As we said, time has been kind.

644 33rd starts at $2.950M and is open Sun. 2-4pm.

3305 Laurel (5br/5ba, 4300 sq. ft.) is another extra-big and serious home that had bad timing initially. They listed this one new at $3.750M in Summer 2007, and that was not going to happen. The property rented out instead for 5 years.

This one compares favorably against 644 33rd, which is just 2 blocks west. Both have similar specs, including big basements.

We said in our review 2 weeks ago: "There's no dismissing the ambition and quality of the construction here. It feels authentic and old-world."

3305 Laurel is priced at $2.799M and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

3211 N. Valley (3br/2ba, 1450 sq. ft.) packs a lot of glamour into a smallish package, and hosts some nice surprises, like a quiet backyard and nice treetop views over the greenbelt.

This is a 1970s original that has been remodeled a couple of times in recent years. (Once by Dave & Mrs. MBC!) With the interior and exterior now fully modernized, you would hardly know the vintage.

There's a large master downstairs with a big bath, and 2br upstairs with the living spaces. Ceilings are high and vaulted and the living areas are bright, opening to a multi-level deck in back.

Sure, the home suffers from being along a busy street and somewhat far east and north. And it's not very walkable to school or downtown, but you can go under Sepulveda along the greenbelt and wind up at the MB Village mall. (In our 2003 remodel, to mitigate sound, we redid the front of the house and insulated the rooms, and it works pretty well.)

The $958/PSF on the start price ($1.399M) has us scratching our heads a bit. The lot is much smaller than normal for the trees at 2500 sq. ft. If this is comparable to some recent Rosecrans sales, that's a pretty penny. We'll see what they get.

3211 N. Valley starts at $1.399M and is open Sun. 2-4pm.

East MB

1116 18th (4br/2ba, 1500 sq. ft.) would seem to have some promise, but we haven't seen it yet. They posted the listing late Friday.

It's a decent size and they claim it's fully remodeled. Locationwise, it's got an issue, being right next to commercial property and in sight of Sepulveda. Still, at $1.050M, there's bound to be lots of interest.

1116 18th starts at $1.050M and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

MB Market Update: 5/15/13

mbwatcher@gmail.com (Dave Fratello) — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:30:00 -0700

The biggest news in local real estate right now might be this weekend's Sophisticated Snoop tour. It's the 40th year, and your chance to see the triple-lot house on The Strand, as well as 4 other great homes.

True facts we just learned about the triple-lot house (212 The Strand):

They call it "Beachwood"
They cite influences including "the Caribbean, the American East Coast and the Far East"
Materials used include flooring "rumored to be from Napoleon's stables"
According to the Snoop flyer, there is an "underwater grotto"

This year's selection of homes offer a great reason to part with $35 this weekend. Tickets are available from several downtown stores if you missed the chance at presale. Check it out.

In other news, it's time for one of our twice-monthly Manhattan Beach market updates.

Here's the quick overview on active inventory:

51 active listings as of 5/15/13
34 SFRs
7 THs

Though that's hardly a lot of listings for MB, it's the most we've seen in any update this year. (And as of Friday morning, that total had hit 55 active listings.)

Active listings by region of Manhattan Beach:

Tree Section: 10 actives
Sand Section: 18 actives
Hill Section: 7 actives
East MB: 16 actives

You can see the complete report on active listings, with live links to every property, in this single post on our data blog: "MB Inventory as of 5/15/13."

We're also providing a report on pending and closed sales by region of MB.

Sales are organized by sub-region of Manhattan Beach.

Here's a link to the post on our data blog: "MB Pending/Sold as of 5/15/13."

For closed sales, we provide the past 6 months' worth of sales by region. This is the typical window of time used by appraisers.

Enjoy the new reports!

Walnut Shocker

mbwatcher@gmail.com (Dave Fratello) — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:35:00 -0700

It was almost 2 months ago that one of the more amazing Spring bidding wars broke out.

That was at 1312 Walnut (3br/3ba, 2100 sq. ft.) a remodeled (and added-onto) 1950s cottage in a nice location on a corner near the elementary school.

This one launched at $1.599M, which seemed clearly to be pushing the limit for the property.

But no.

After multiple-multiple bidders came in, it went 10% higher.

The newly closed sale price: $1.760M.

We had said shortly after the deal posted: "[T]he sale price here will simply shock you when it closes. Imagine what's the most you'd think it could go for. Then add. Then a little more. Wow."

We can still say that pretty comfortably about $1.760M, but word is they had an even higher bid in place at one time. (All over town we hear and see examples of bidding war winners walking away for whatever reasons, so that part is not a big surprise.)

The same home last traded in May 2010 at $1.250M, and has been remodeled since.

For the subsequent 2+ years, this home, in remodeled condition, was probably a $1.35-$1.4M home. That it moved into the $1.5s this year was not a huge shock.

But $1.7+? $1.75+? We're still shaking that off.

Among the very recent sales of larger homes at around the same price:

1705 Pine (4br/4ba, 3125 sq. ft.) at $1.750M in Dec. 2012
1209 Oak (5br/5ba, 3125 sq. ft.) at $1.700M in Nov. 2012
3412 Pine (5br/4ba, 3160 sq. ft.) at $1.700M in March 2013

All of those had 1000+ more square feet inside. 1705 Pine is the closest thing, location-wise.

Or, reach quite a bit further back and you see:

1408 Poinsettia (4br/4ba, 3100 sq. ft.) at $1.675M in May 2010
1809 Walnut (5br/5ba, 3120 sq. ft., 2004 build) at $1.775M in Jan. 2011
2309 Pine (5br/4ba, 3250 sq. ft., 2001 build) at $1.775M in Sept. 2011

Each of those is fairly nearby, all much newer and larger homes. But those were different times, weren't they?

Here's a little more on 1312 Walnut from our review in March:

[1312 Walnut] hides most of its assets from passersby. The 1950s cottage with an add-on over the garage looks plain as could be from outside, and its yard is enclosed by a high fence. You could pass it 100 times and never take note of this home, though it's on a corner and is fully exposed on 2 sides.

But walk in and you're treated. Enter into the great room and a mid-century modern type feel kicks in at first, with floor-to-ceiling windows along the sunny western side of the home, making an already open room feel that much larger. The garden seems to be part of the room.

The kitchen (and master) is done up in a more French country style, which is attractive, if not everyone's cup of tea café au lait.

You feel the original cottage layout, with a central hall and bedrooms on either side, but what would have been your 3rd bedroom downstairs is a hybrid room – maybe a small study or library, with laundry just off of it and the stairwell up to the master as well. And that's a good-size master with modern-feeling bath.