Sunday Opens (6/3)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 19:22:00 +0000

New inventory seemed to be held back for a long weekend last week, but now there's a little rush of new options, including several big-ticket homes.

We rushed around Friday to see as many as we could, but could only write up 4 of them for now. Of these, the must-sees are in the Hills and East MB, including 1836 6th and 222 Anderson for sure.

Janie Sue Nagy got to writing short capsules on a few more new offerings, so check out her post, too.

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

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.

Hill Section

222 Anderson (5br/5ba, 4625 sq. ft.) is a big, custom, ocean-view house boasting all sorts of exquisite touches and special craftsmanship. A lot of the great details were added by the current owners in a pricey upgrade of the spec house that was built here in 2001.

Drop in if you can to see the spacious house, nice views and gorgeous extras.

The layout is mostly upside-down, with most bedrooms downstairs and living spaces up, capturing the best views. Master is upstairs as well – this was the way to give it more than its share of space while keeping the secondary bedrooms enough room as well.

The back yard is mostly set up for entertaining rather than play, with stone covering the patio, a big outdoor living room with fireplace and a separate, covered dining area. A putting green and hot tub will do for outdoor recreation. Don't miss the enormous wine cellar built into the curved staircase that connects the outdoor living spaces with the palatial, bright kitchen and great room upstairs.

As a speckie, this home was offered for $3m and ultimately sold for $2.4m more than a year later, in Sept. 2002.

Now, a decade later, with the upgrades, in a market that's moved up, up, up, then down and back a bit, 222 Anderson is offered at $4.495m.

By way of comparison, 2 homes of comparable size, style and location on a busier street have recently sold in the mid-3's – 504 Poinsettia (5br/4ba, 4600 sq. ft., $3.5m) and 510 Poinsettia (5br/5ba, 4300 sq. ft., pending, listed at $3.569m). At the same time, slightly larger 504 John (5br/5ba, 4800 sq. ft.), also bearing some resemblance to 222 Anderson in terms of opulence and craftsmanship, is in escrow with a list price of $4.595m.

As a street, Anderson is clearly the least busy of these 3; the home at 222 is offered up toward the range found in the John sale.

222 Anderson is open Sun. 2-4pm.

921 9th (6br/5ba, 4600 sq. ft.) is big and brand new, in the eastern portion of the Hill Section that we like to say is an under-appreciated, family-friendly part of town.

The huge house and 7500 sq. ft. lot are more emblematic of East MB, but here you are walkable to town and you're at Robinson Elementary. (Go, Riptides!) Big pluses.

In fact, this is new construction with a devotion to the feeling of "big." Ceilings are uniquely high almost everywhere, lending a sense of grandiosity to this whole, huge, bright ~~Cape Cod~~ "Martha's Vineyard captain's house" (per the listing).

The developers tout "several green features," including progressive materials and paints, water-wise landscaping (well, maybe not counting the huge, grassy yard), and an operable skylight to pull through nice ventilation.

The layout features a large formal living room up front – in a twist, it opens to the front patio with firepit – formal dining and then a gigantic, bright, white great room in back. Along the way to the back, you'll pass the entry to a downstairs bed/bath suite. Because the home is built into a downslope, the home also has a couple changes of elevation going down toward the back, a few sets of steps breaking up the hallway and setting off the living and dining rooms. Attractive, dark wood flooring is used throughout the house.

They're not kidding when they tell you all the bedrooms upstairs are large.

921 9th starts at $3.379m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

East MB

1836 6th (5br/5ba, 4050 sq. ft.) is a surpassingly gorgeous ~~Tuscan~~ Spanish-style home that boldly poses the questions:

• Would you really like a Spanish? How Spanish would you like your Spanish?

• Can you go really, really far east in MB to get your ideal Spanish?

The poor snapshots currently presented with the listing do not do the home justice. You can maybe get the sense from the exterior shot that it's appealing, but not a lot more comes through. In person, we found the extra attention to detail – in the Spanish style, which you have to love – to be warm and attractive.

The first-floor layout includes a dedicated office up front with its own mini-courtyard, a separate bed/bath suite, a formal living room that opens to a sunny courtyard right at the middle of the home – that brightens up the middle portion of the home a lot – plus formal dining and the kitchen/great room in back. The backyard is not much of a "play" yard, mostly set up for outdoor living – a nice stone patio with a small inset hot tub – but there's a little patch of grass and attractive landscaping overall. Also, the garage is huge, labeled as a 4-car space.

Upstairs, all the bedrooms are of good size and have attached baths. The master is ginormous, with dark wood flooring. Though that room is objectively nice, for some reason it struck us a little negatively – it could have been the astroturf on the balcony that cheapened the look. Nice treetop views and a great bath are assets.

The real challenge for this one, listed at $1.999m, is to be so darn close to Aviation – just the 4th house in. The closest comp for location, size and style is 1833 5th, which did net $1.970m in late April. The style of that one is much more down-the-middle "Mediterranean" and that block of 5th doesn't go through to Aviation, it's a cul-de-sac, while 6th St. does go through.

Square footage note: The builder's data, and the 2005 listing, suggests an extra 500 sq. ft. to the interior of the house, but tax records say 4050.)

About the Tuscan/Spanish conflict: Walking through the house, the terra cotta flooring, wrought iron and heavy, dark woods all conveyed a "Spanish" style clearly. The listing now calls the home "Tuscan," a label that does not fit the style and, not incidentally, is a label we'd like to see go the way of the dodo bird.

We looked up the 2005 listing, and there it was: "This exquisite Spanish Home features..." So, yes, Spanish.

1836 6th sold back in 2005, pre-completion, for $2.175m. It's offered now at $1.999m. It is open Sunday 1-4pm.

1525 Curtis (5br/5ba, 4400 sq. ft.) tried to sell for much of 2011, but it didn't work out. Now, in a different market, they're hoping they've got another chance.

This mid-90s spec home is quite close to both Pennekamp Elementary and Mira Costa High School, maybe enough to go from "convenient" to "neighborhood impacts."

The Caliterranean home itself is styled, outside, in strokes that are almost too bold. Inside, the custom paint and décor dial it up – the feeling is supposed to be splashy and glamorous, but it's hard to see it as just a home.

That said, the spaces are ample – a big, high-ceilinged formal living room up front, a great room in back, an objectively gorgeous pool/spa setup in the backyard.

In the nearly 7 months this property was on the market last year, list prices ranged from $2.149m down to $1.995m.

It's back now just a little above the last list price, up at $2.049m on its restart.

1525 Curtis is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Busy South End

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:13:00 +0000

If you have to go east of Highland – and most of us do – there are few pockets of Manhattan Beach as sweet as the South End.

The flat family walkstreets are their own kind of paradise – a "playborhood," to borrow a newly coined term – but the non-walkstreet areas are plenty nice as well. You can be close to school, the beach and just a few minutes' walk from town. No one from out of the area is going to be coming through much.

The action down south this year has been pretty quick when listings have come up. For example:

421 3rd (4br/3ba, 2500 sq. ft.) blew minds with a very quick deal at full price: $1.809m.

We said in our late-March review that it's got: "a great South End location, a newer remodel and quite a bit of space – just enough to be comfy."

But it's also got a layout that's nearly impossible for your average family. The fourth "bedroom" is created by closing pocket doors in the living room. A third bedroom is a standalone suite over the garage – nice in its way, but out of the flow. And the principal 2br, the master and an adjoining room, are joined a bit too well, with glass doors separating them and with both sharing the small "master bath."

Noting that layout issue, we asked in our review: "How to make it all work?"

Well, someone marched right in quickly with their answer in mind, and $1.8m, and is making it work.

So much for the rump opinion we were hearing those first few days, that this was priced too high for what it is. Now it's a comp that is going to drive up the numbers for everything else down south.

521 2nd (3br/2ba, 1425 sq. ft.) is a dated, 1960 post-and-beam house on a standard size, street-to-alley South End lot (2700 sq. ft.).

Eight bidders came to the table in mid-April as the property was listed for $1.329m in what Janie Sue Nagy called "the deal of the week."

People came in with different visions – was it a lot sale, a remodel project, the base for a massive rebuild? Out of 8 bidders, each vision was represented a few times over.

Dave's clients won out without bidding up the property to an extreme, closing for $1.370m a couple weeks ago. The scope and scale of the remodel/rebuild is still TBD.

437 1st (4br/3ba, 2625 sq. ft.) has just sold off-market for $1.730m.

That's a notable bump up from its last trade in June 2008 at $1.610m, a number we didn't quite agree with way-back-when.

Back in '08 we said "it's spacious although peculiar in some ways, and the remodel isn't so high-end. One of those bedrooms is teeny, while one closet (off the master) is nearly the size of a whole room – a quirk of a prior remodel."

Another quirky sorta-4br in the 2500 range over $1.7m... worth noting.

552 3rd (3br/3ba, 1850 sq. ft.) has recently made a deal after a slow boil of multiple offers came together. (Disclosure: Dave has clients who bid on 3rd but did not get the property.)

We've called this one "a cute 1940s original with additions in back that bear something of a 1980s flavor. It's definitely got a throwback/beachy look and feel... [T]he kitchen is certainly small, and the 3br won't suffice for a lot of families." It's also just one door off of Valley.

Square footage note: The actual interior square footage is almost 2100 sq. ft., as shown by a new taping-out of the property. However, the tax assessor still lists 1850 sq. ft.

The listing started sky-high at $1.849m but quickly corrected to $1.699m. At this point you'd have to expect it to close in that territory.

Big Fish(es) Reeled In

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Thu, 31 May 2012 00:29:00 +0000

Some big-ticket properties have newly reached deals – reeled in their big fish, if you will.

The priciest non-Strand home in MB is one. It needed just 6 weeks to find a buyer.

128 5th

128 5th (5br/6ba, 4225 sq. ft.) was new last year but blank. Its buyer paid $5.250m in May 2011 and went to work inside, spending gobs on a full, high-end customization, including custom furniture, art and electronics.

The finished, furnished home has never been lived in.

The buyer changed course and bought a waterfront property 3,000 miles away. Turns out he needed yacht parking, and MB does not (currently) offer that. It was time to unload 128 5th here in MB, after all that work.

The list price: $6.799m.

Time on market: 43 DOM.

(For our review from late April, click here.)

This could become a new record sale for the type. We've seen some sales in the 100 blocks south of the pier go for values in the high 5's and low 6's. They're just rare without a Strand address.

Go back to January 2011, almost a different world.

128 6th

Then, 128 6th (5br/5ba, 4025 sq. ft.) pre-sold off-market during development for $5.595m. That's an "Island modern" home that was built on a lot that looks like one of the steals of the last 5 years.

The ground underneath was purchased for $2.625m in Dec. 2008, as the world slid toward Depression and even the Manhattan Beach real estate market was shakier than most had seen it in years. Buying the dirt then was a bullish move that seems to have worked out just fine.

Just about the only regret for the developer could be not holding out for more on the sale, but who's got time for regret over what might have been?


121 9th

Just a month before that $5.6m sale, in December 2010, MBC reported that 121 9th (4br/5ba, 4475 sq. ft.) had sold off-market during construction for $6.2m. (See "New High-Water Mark Near Downtown.")

At the time, we said, "That's the highest price paid for a non-Strand property west of Highland since 2008."

The $6.2m we reported was based on completion of the home, but we also had information that the buyer intended to upgrade it further. Is the buyer in for more than $6.5m-$6.8m? Perhaps.

However they wrap up 128 5th, at whatever price, it'll be in the top tier for a while. Of course it's less common for all the interior upgrades, furniture, etc., to be included in a sale, so that jacks up the number – but it's a big number to go into the books regardless.

There's one other new deal that just posted in this rough price range, over on the teen streets west of Highland.

209 16th (rendering)

Over at 209 16th, they've been marketing a pre-completion 4br/5ba, 5000 sq. ft. home for a little over 2 months.

They've been seeking $5.6m, which is a chunk of change in its own right. It's newly pending.

If they get full price on 209 16th, it'll match the previous high-water mark for public sales of new construction west of Highland – the $5.6m paid for the cute new Cape Cod at 200 19th back in March 2008, just before the local real estate market took a dive. (See MBC's "High/Low Prices for 2008.")

And if they fall short by $5k, that's the same as 128 6th early last year.

Land trade note: The dirt at 209 16th was sold in Summer 2009 for $2.550m. That's quite comparable to the $2.625m paid for the land at 128 6th in Dec. 2008, just as the $5.6m list price here at 16th was near the $5.595m that 6th sold for last year.

Now we're left to wonder, when is 128 18th going to reel one in? That's at $5.850m now.

Pre-Summer Inventory Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:20:00 +0000

There's a rough dividing line between the "Spring" real estate market (kicking off with the Super Bowl) and "Summer" market, which more or less begins now.

If you meant to sell (or buy) in the Spring, too late. Now comes what is more typically a slower time of year for both listings and sales. Inventory tends to climb gently throughout the Summer.

We dare not predict, though – 2012 has packed some serious surprises, with low inventory, a flip to more of a sellers' market and more and more sales stacking up that could make you say "huh?!?"

We did think this would be a good time for another check-in on inventory. Our newest chart (click to enlarge) looks at active and pending listings as of mid-February (the start of "Spring") this year and from another post in early April.

All these columns measure active and pending listings for all property types (SFRs, THs/condos) and for all of MB. The "now" data was compiled on the evening of May 28, Memorial Day.

In our mid-February post, "Quite a Ratio," we thought it notable that there were 1.3 active listings for every 1 listing in escrow. This seemed pretty tight, until April when the ratio was basically 1:1. We said then:

The usual course of the Spring "selling season" is that inventory begins to flow at the Super Bowl, and by April and May buyers have plenty of choices. This year, we are not yet seeing that pattern bear out. There are now fewer homes on offer in Manhattan Beach than in mid-February.

We also called April's data an "extreme... ebb" in inventory, wishing aloud for more options for all buyers, including our clients. (Some of whom, happily, have been successful in finding properties since that post.)

Today at least we can say there are slightly more choices than in April, with 87 active SFRs, condos and THs citywide. There are 79 properties in escrow, exactly like in April. We're still below mid-February in terms of active inventory, and the ratio of active to pending is still very tight, 1.1 to 1.

This means we've continued for a couple more months the year's trend of having too many buyers chasing too little inventory, contributing to the sellers' market vibe out there.

As you know, MBC has been covering MB west of Sepulveda for several years. So let's look back at inventory levels from times past.

Are you ready for some drastic contrasts?

First, we have to be sure to compare apples to apples. Previously we tracked only SFRs west of the highway.

So as of this Monday evening, there were 50 SFRs listed west of Sepulveda, including a double entry for 2016/2020 The Strand (the properties are being offered jointly as a double lot for $22.5m).

But 50 is nothing when we look back at recent years.

The last "hot" year was 2007 – and that year had lots of strange twists as the buyers' market was kicking in – and even then we saw 72 SFR options west of Sepulveda, nearly 50% more than you see today.

2008 had more than double the choices of today at 104 SFR listings, and – whoa – what's the big orange thing? That column shows inventory at an extreme as Summer dawned in 2009, 134 SFRs west of Sepulveda.

Close market watchers will recall that our local RE market begin to stabilize and turn around at the start of Q4 2009, so the beginning of Summer 2009 was nearing the tail end of the worst/slowest RE market we've seen here since (presumably) the last down cycle.

For one more contrast, look at that extreme year, 2009, again. Not only were there nearly 3 times more SFR listings then, look at the Hill Section specifically. At that moment in time 3 years ago, there were 33 active SFR options in the Hills. Now: 6. Not 26 or 16, just six (6).

So yes, things are unusually tight today, again, wherever you're looking. But there's ever that hope that beyond the horizon, more and better options will emerge, and greater balance as well.

Weekend Opens (5/26-5/27)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:20:00 +0000

Funny how temps these days in the low now 60s feel a little warm. Same temp in March – you might be reaching for a sweater.

This must be how Summer begins, when your body's ready for it.

And this is the weekend when, ceremonially, Summer begins.

It's also a weekend that new listings generally avoid. Why debut when "everyone" is away?

But fear not, there's one great MB destination home for the weekend looking for your attention Sunday, over at 625 31st, near where all the Snoopers were crawling just last week. It's worth your time if you're here in town Sunday.

To plan your weekend 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 more traditional Beach Reporter list of opens. (Just 11 on that list this week.)

As usual, we appreciate it when readers share views on this week's featured properties. Let us know what you like, don't like or must have.

And if you're thinking about getting into the market as a buyer or seller, please consider asking MBC for help identifying the right agent for you.

Blog author Dave Fratello works directly with buyer clients on a case-by-case basis, but our priority here is to make sure that anyone who wants help gets the best service possible. For more, see our referrals page.

Tree Section


625 31st

625 31st (4br/4ba, 3375 sq. ft.) is a 9-year-old custom build on one of the Great Streets in the Trees, with surprising views to the south as a bonus.

They don't name the style here – it's not "Cape Cod," it might be "Coastal Carolinas" (like the neighbor from the Snoop), or you could just call it traditional American with a major Southern note, given the very big front porch.

But you don't need to name it to enjoy a fairly big, custom house with lots of indoor/outdoor living spaces spread throughout the first level.


Outdoor living room at 625 31st

There's that big porch, plus a big formal living room and 2 dining areas, a big, open kitchen, and almost 2 separate backyard outdoor living spaces. Out back, there's al fresco dining plus a little outdoor family room with a flatscreen built into a hutch outside. Can you see the outdoor firepit in our pic? This one's a first for us – watching the sporting event or film of our choice out of doors with a warming fire between the viewers and the video entertainment... wow. Just be careful where you set down the popcorn.

Someone's got to sleep some time here, and they'll all be doing that upstairs. (One of the home's shortcomings is the absence of an office or guest suite on the first level.) The master is a delight, up front to get the morning's first light, and also enjoying notable views to the south over neighboring homes, bringing in a very nice panorama which, they say, sometimes includes "unheard of views all the way to PV." Others can enjoy the same view from a hallway door that opens to a little balcony at the front of the home.

The remaining 3br include one with its own bath and 2 sharing a bath. None of these kids' rooms is especially large, but they're fine.

Overall this is a fairly big, bright house built for entertaining.

The start price of $2.750m is going to raise eyebrows. The newest comparable sale on prestigious 31st St. was 763 31st, a storybook beauty with classic old-European styling, but modern and fresh. That home was also bigger by over 600 sq. ft. and had a bigger lot by 300 sq. ft. But it sold for $2.450m in something of a surprise. (See "Close the Books on 763 31st.")

At 625 31st you have a more conventional home with seemingly lots more common space, including better use of the outside space, plus those views. So the price needs to weigh those plus factors.

Check it out, let us know how you see it.

625 31st starts at $2.750m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Sand Section

In the furthest north regions of MB near Rosecrans, you find a series of odd homes like 3608 Crest (3br/4ba, 2130 sq. ft.) taking advantage of ocean views over rooftops.

For a fairly modest price ($1.299m) you get those views, plus walkability to the beach and our second downtown, on a small lot on an alley with power lines imposing.

The home screams "70s" with its Tudor-inspired details and dated baths, and could really use a head-to-toe refresher. Layout is perhaps typical of half-lot homes in the Sand, with one of each of the legal bedrooms on its own level – one off the mid (entry) level, another downstairs and a third up top. On that top level, obviously enjoying the best views, a "den" was created by removing walls from a former bedroom – good move to share the views like that.

3608 Crest starts at $1.299m and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

Hill Section

1027 Boundary Place (4br/4ba, 3250 sq. ft.) is different, surprising, a head-scratcher at points. But charming somehow... its Old World inspiration may grow on you.

Boundary has hung around a while (72 days as we write), having some difficulty getting traction at a $1.6ish price. So it's not really debuting this week, but they've now staged the house and proclaimed that it looks much different now – easier to imagine how the unusual split-level living spaces will actually work. We haven't seen it yet staged, but hope to.

There are interesting faraway ocean view panoramas from some of the living spaces and the master. This home's positioned high up the hill just before Sepulveda, so you see the whole Hill Section unfold below. For more, see our initial review from March.

1027 Boundary Place began at $1.649m and is now at $1.599m, a tiny PPSF for the Hills – and is open Sat. & Sun. 12-4pm.

East MB

1717 9th (4br/3ba, 3225 sq. ft.) is a slightly confused home showing much of its 1980s vintage, but with some notable updates (like the kitchen) and a big surprise asset.

Would you like a big outdoor room, complete with fireplace, TV and bar? Fully enclosable but fully outdoors? Check that box. That's a cool feature here, newly added.

There's also a good amount of extra yard space, grass on 2 sides of a sort of L-shaped yard. A sandbox with large play structure is off to one corner. Kid heaven.

There's a lot of first-floor living space, counting both indoors and out – almost too much, frankly. The "formal" living room with 2-story ceilings is used by the current folks as a real living room, rendering the huge family room almost excessive, more so if you really use the outdoor room (as you had better do). All this extra space on the first floor might make you miss the extra bedroom or study that could have been put into the footprint, but wasn't.

Upstairs you find all 4 br, of which 2 are at the end of the hall and one is right next to the master. The kids' rooms share a hallway bath, while the master bath... shows all of its age, and wants an update.

A moderately big 4br house in (pretty far) East MB, full 7500 sq. ft. lot, needing some work but fine as is – what's that worth? In Sept. 2007, the market said: $1.689m. That was before the outdoor room. Now, the sellers are saying: $1.599m.

1717 9th starts at $1.599m, and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

MB Centennial Parade at a Glance

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:24:00 +0000

It took 100 years for MB to put on an event like last Saturday's Manhattan Beach Centennial Parade, so here's hoping you'll forgive us for taking a few days to get some photos up online.

Below is a little selection of our photos from MBC's prime position at the start of the parade route.

We saw 100 entries, a few dozen dignitaries and notables, heard a few marching bands and old-time crooners, saw hundreds of girl scouts and a goodly number of boy scouts (girls win!), watched a few dozen horses hoof it, enjoyed endless numbers of elementary school marchers (plus MBMS kids too), and even caught both a stagecoach and Santa on virtual film.

A friend said lovingly of the parade: "So small town." But he quickly clarified: "That's why we love our little town!"

In addition to this little highlight pacakge, we also found some nice online selections of pics on Teri Roughen's blog, the Easy Reader's website, Daily Breeze online and MB Patch. (If you have an online gallery from the parade, email Dave [address: MBWatcher [ at ] gmail.com] and we'll post a link here.)

NEW LINKS: Ken Pagliaro photography has 300+ parade pics. Wow.

Big Views Discounted

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Wed, 23 May 2012 04:30:00 +0000

Current house at 636 8th

After 100 days, they're marking down the best views now on offer in the Hill Section, over at 636 8th.

Sure, $4.575m is still some kind of stratospheric price for dirt, but it's now about 6% off from the start price, and just 6% above the most recent, nearby, reasonably comparable lot sale in the Hills from 2010.

If you want to appreciate what they're offering at 636 8th (a 9950 sq. ft. lot), you might need to devote 2 minutes to our short video capturing those views:

The potential here is impossible to miss.

The problem is that it's a $7m++ project for whoever undertakes it, and that requires a rare combination of acquisition capital and patience to achieve the right result.

We recounted a list of Hill Section comps in our first post on 636 8th, "Big Views, Nearly $5m for Dirt." These included:

809 Highview at $4.3m in Aug. 2010 – a 14,000+ sq. ft. lot on the (preferable) downsloping western side of the street.

600 John, also at $4.3m in Jan. 2011 – a 9975 sq. ft. corner lot with big sweeping views where the new owners have decided to remodel the old 1-story house instead of scraping it.

704 Pacific recently closed at $4.295m – an 8960 sq. ft. lot with a charming, custom Colonial/Cape Cod home on it (5br/7ba, 4975 sq. ft., 8960 sq. ft. lot), but one that will get some (needed) serious remodeling now. It's got lesser views than the other properties mentioned in this post but they could be enhanced... TBD.

None is the perfect comparison to 636 8th, though. It's still looking for that ambitious, project-oriented buyer. With $7m-$8m to spend. That's big-game hunting.

Weekend Opens (5/19-5/20)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:41:00 +0000

On a landmark weekend for MB, new listings are not the big draw. Sorry to say.

The true real estate must-sees are all on the Sophisticated Snoop tour, including some nice MB properties.

The tour includes this little "Monterey Colonial" beauty at 2523 Valley, which we've raved about here in the past. (Including the nice deal the current owners got in 2010.)

The other MB homes:

1148 Fisher, a standout architectural modern with ocean and PV views near downtown; and

652 31st, a "Coastal Carolinas" (don't say Cape Cod) inspired home on one of the prestige blocks of MB's Tree Section.

And there are 3 pretty nifty Hermosa homes on the tour as well. Hours are 10am-4pm Sat/Sun, $30 at the door if you did not pre-buy your tour tix. Here's the flyer.

Of course, this weekend will stand out for many current residents for the MB Centennial Parade and Picnic, and all the rest. (Picnic @ Polliwog park facts: Food trucks 12-3pm, giant birthday cake, 1:45pm.)

We heard someone say this parade and picnic happen only once every 100 years. We're pretty sure they didn't think to do it in 1912, so this is a true MB first – get out there and enjoy!

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

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.

Tree Section

650 18th (4br/4ba, 4350 sq. ft.) is a difficult home in a terrific location. It's hard to overstate either descriptor.

The home sports a 1952 build date but, according to the listing: "was totally re-built in 1976 and re-modeled again over the last 15 years." There are more opportunities to remodel now.

The layout puts most living spaces and a bedroom downstairs – a sunken living room being the style of the time, it's got one of those. Everything opens out to the back yard with half hardscape, half deck (with hot tub). It is hard to appreciate the space as-is with lots of furniture and clutter.

Upstairs there's an extra, large family room with wet bar. (This is the room with the pondstone fireplace in the photos; it's at the front of the house.) The master suite is complex, with a sunken living area, big walk-in closet and large bath – the highly stylized marble being a standout feature, but also a challenge.

Truthfully the home needs help, and it may be hard to work with the existing layout. Its start at $2.6m reflects the interior size and great location (lot size is 6240 sq. ft. – also a big factor).

In a sense, this one is comparable to neighbor 635 18th, a smaller home (4br/4ba, 2900 sq. ft.) that also has some layout challenges and could use some work. That one's priced higher at $2.695m in part due to the ocean peeks it gets.

We're very curious to see how both of these 18th St. listings pan out over time. And they could take time.

650 18th St. starts at $2.6m and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

3521 Elm (3br/2ba, 1225 sq. ft.) is an interesting way to get into MB west of Sepulveda under $1m.

You have to accept the location, just about as far north and east as you can get and still be in MB west of Sepulveda, and the home won't give you much in the way of space to spread out. And it could use some updates.

But you do get a cozy home with a real yard – both a charming trellis-covered side yard and a half hardscape/half grass, private back yard framed by nice trees.

Common space is limited and does not show well with the way the current residents have laid out their furniture. (The family room would seem larger without a dining table taking up a big portion.) But this is what you expect in a 1000-ish square foot house. The master is not huge but does have its own small shower. Baths and kitchen are fine as-is, but everything could benefit from a 21st-century update.

The home was offered off and on in 2007-08 as a "remodeling opportunity," priced at $1.225m, but did not sell. (They were even offering plans for a 3300 sq. ft. "Tuscan" on the site.) Before those listings, it was acquired in mid-2007 for $1.150m.

3521 Elm is back now at $999k and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

726 Rosecrans (2br/1ba, 875 sq. ft.) tried to sell for parts of 2010 and 2011, and is returning now for another go.

Way-back-when when this typical little bungalow began at $820k, MBC said, "it's supposed to be priced to account for all of its issues. They'll likely need to work down from there." The listing came into the high 700s last year along with pleas for offers and notes that the sellers were "extremely motivated." But no sale.

So the new price at $699k is meant to do the trick.

The main 2br home has some of the charm of a standard 50s cottage, with a small, makeshift great room, albeit with a post and partial walls breaking up the kitchen/living room space, and the fridge outside the main kitchen area. (A small third bedroom up front was removed to claim the space for the common area, creating the unusual space.)

The one bath in the main house is clean but small, and hardly up to date. Washer/dryer combo is actually outdoors, in a covered back patio area.

The garage was converted a long time ago to a one-room living space, of sorts, with another bath. (The listing describes the space as "unpermitted.")

726 Rosecrans is priced at $699k ("priced to sell") and is open Sat. 11am-3pm.

1705 Oak (3br/2ba, 1250 sq. ft.) poses that question that comes up with new films that don't allow critics' previews: Are they trying to hide something by going straight to the public? That question arises with no brokers' opens Friday and no private showings before the Saturday/Sunday open houses (2-5pm). Guess the reviews have to come later.

But we're just ribbing them here, no reason to doubt that the home's a little charmer. If prior marketability is any measure, we'll note that this one lasted just 3 weeks in 2010.

The 1950s original shows some recent updates, it's on the right (west) side of Oak, pretty close to school and town as Oak locations go, and even boasts a decent yard.

Beyond that, we don't know much – yet.

1705 Oak starts at $1.029m and is open Sat. & Sun. 2-5pm.

Get Your Cape Cods

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:29:00 +0000

For a time there, no one could find a decent Cape Cod in the Trees.

For a time last Fall, there was 1417 Elm (5br/5ba, 3000 sq. ft.) on the market, a truly gorgeous bit of craftsmanship but a home with no real yard. The sellers held out for $2m+, didn't get it and rented the property out instead.

Recently we saw 1700 Elm (5br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) give it a go near $2.2m for a month, but that listing quit suddenly.

2808 Elm

But seeing the market warming up, 2808 Elm (5br/4ba, 3225 sq. ft.) tried again, after unsuccessful runs in 2010 and 2011. This time, the sellers scored. (See "What a Difference a Year Makes.")

The sale at 2808 Elm has just closed, and it points to an upward market, doesn't it?

Last year, they couldn't get a nibble with the price as low as $1.979m. This year, they came out $220k higher and closed at $2.150m.

Worth noting: 2808 Elm was purchased new at the local market's peak for $2.415m in Nov. 2006. So the post-bubble, kinda-recovery-era price was -$265k/-11% from the peak. We've seen several resales of bubble-era properties come back at 15-20% off, so that's a notable improvement, despite the losses for these sellers.

Then there's an off-market sale of a very similar house.

2101 Walnut

2101 Walnut (5br/4ba, 3500 sq. ft.) has much the same unique layout as 2808 Elm and was built at the same time by the same builder. It's got a bonus, small basement room that adds to the square footage. It was customized and expanded a bit after being prepurchased during construction.

Walnut's in a markedly better location than 2808 Elm and boasts a sunny, west-facing yard that is practically parklike when compared to anything else on a 4480 sq. ft. lot in the Trees. The sunken garage enables a large main living level and prevented the home from pushing back too far on the lot, preserving a truly great yard.

A location plus is the home's position at the crest of a little hill, with the street dropping down to the north. Rooms on the home's north side get sweeping treetop and sky views. Sweet.

2101 Walnut sold off-market for $2.225m earlier this month after a few months of being marketed quietly, but generating strong interest from those who knew about it.

Like 2808 Elm, this one was purchased in a peak year and suffered some loss in value. The 2006 acquisition was for $2.460m, putting this resale at -$235k/-10%. Like at 2808 Elm, the magnitude of that loss in value is notably less than we've seen on plenty of other resales from the 2006-2007 era in recent years.

On the market today, you'll find just one Cape Cod style home in the Trees, though it's not of the newer era like the 2 properties mentioned above. 2409 Elm (4br/3ba, 3150 sq. ft.) is a late-90s build that has been refashioned some with a beachy, Cape Cod-type of style. It's at $1.799m.

Clearly there's an appetite out there for more of these beachy Cape Cods, and the market has notably improved for them.

So where's the supply?

Clunky, Beautiful, Ocean Views

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Among the most recent deals in MB, you'll find quite a mix.

No, there's not a single home that's both "clunky" and "beautiful" with ocean views. At least not among the current crop. Here's the roundup:

2300 Elm (5br/3ba 2780 sq. ft.) definitely qualifies as clunky. It's a dated, worn-out late-1980s home with an unusual layout.

Entry is off the side of the home (unusual), there's no real master bedroom (unusual) and one upstairs bedroom opens to a vast bonus room with wet bar (unusual).

We said no master – there's one one br with an attached bath, but it's a small bath, and whose master is off the living room?

The yard here is surprisingly ample for a 4480 sq. ft. lot, and could really be something with a little work.

Truly that's the story of 2300 Elm – a decent location, dated house that could really be something with a little work. Probably best if you moved some walls and fixed the layout mistakes of the original build.

2300 Elm came up recently at $1.199m. Someone saw past the current version of the home and grabbed it in less than 2 weeks. (Note: The home shows 2+ mos. on market because the listing emerged briefly in March before going on hold for a while.)

2000 Palm (5br/5ba, 3550 sq. ft.) is one that we told you simply would not last. It had sold off-market, and now has just sold on-market after the off-market deal fell apart.

Seems like only yesterday that we called this one a "quality Mediterranean on a plus-plus block of the Trees" with a nice floorplan and bonus basement. That plus a nice yard.

Too beautiful, too nicely located to linger, 2000 Palm had a deal within a week, listed at $2.2m.

428 32nd (4br/4ba, 4300 sq. ft.) is a remodel up on the plateau with ocean views down 32nd St. and over the low-slung neighbor.

Though the home was originally built in the late 1980s, it was substantially remodeled just a few years ago. (The listing gives it a 2006 build date.) It's got a classy, modern style inside and out.

(Disclosures: We're friendly with the sellers and had clients tour the property before it hit the public market. We're limiting our comments on the home as a result.)

The home somewhat evokes a neighboring listing at 436 32nd, an absolutely smashing architectural remodel of a similar 1980s original. The neighbor at 436 has been up at $2.799m for several weeks, having had one deal come and go in that time.

428 32nd did not last long at $2.649m.

Weekend Opens (5/12-5/13)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:37:00 +0000

We're tumbling toward Summer here, and there would seem to be some pressure if you're selling to get your listing out there and find a buyer. But Mother's Day weekend is one of those with comparably few debuts.

Yes, it'd be very nice to buy mom a new house for Mother's Day, but everything has to fall together just right.

A note to readers: We appreciate your indulgence as MBC's been a little bit light on content recently. Some of you have been keeping Dave very busy working on offers, negotiations and all of the details of pending deals, and that has sometimes cut into blog writing time. We're trying to keep up with everything, though.

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

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.

Tree Section

2000 Palm (5br/5ba, 3550 sq. ft.) is a quality Mediterranean on a plus-plus block of the Trees, quiet, flat Palm – near to school and town.

The traditional great-room floorplan offers formal living with 2-story ceiling just off the entry and a big kitchen/great room in back, opening to the substantial yard – really impressive for the Trees on a 4480 sq. ft. lot like this. There's also formal dining and an office/bedroom suite just off the living room, with a nice, unique feature – glass doors out to a small, sunny courtyard.

Big bonus: A finished basement room that's no little wine cellar or small-kids' playroom, it's big enough for a good-sized home theater. Ceilings are of regular height, and there's a closet and bath downstairs as well. This is how they get the larger square footage for the home plus a more than decent yard.

Layout upstairs is as you might expect, 2 bedrooms up front sharing a hallway bath, another bedroom with its own bath, and a big and plush master suite.

It's impossible to miss how formally and custom decorated the home is, including elaborate murals. Not everyone is going to appreciate that, but if you had to tone it all down, those are easy steps to take.

One of the first questions we had after previewing Palm was: Why didn't this just sell off-market? And the answer is that it did, but the buyer needed to walk so the sellers brought it to market. With this plus location and a beautiful, spacious home, we doubt we'll be writing about too many more open houses here.

2000 Palm starts at $2.2m and is open Sat. 1-4pm.

2904 Pacific (3br/2ba, 1100 sq. ft.) is quite cute, boasting nice, newer wood flooring and a newer kitchen that's sizable for a 1000-odd-square-foot house. There's a nice little yard in back in addition to 2 patios. And the huge 3-car garage in back is a nice bonus – you could easily see using some of that space as an extra game room ("man cave" per the listing).

Of some concern, however, none of the 3br is in any way spacious, including the one you would have to call the master in back. Just big enough for a bed and maybe a couple small pieces of furniture, plus a quite small bath with a tile stall shower that would be a bit claustrophobic.

The driveway accessing the garage in back is shared with the neighbor – an unusual arrangement in MB. On the plus side, the neighbor has outfitted the rear area of the driveway with a full-blow sports court, and you ought to be able to share.

This one last traded in July 2004 for $900k, and they're asking pretty much the same now: $899,900.

2904 Pacific is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

Sand Section

609 Valley (2br/3ba, 1670 sq. ft.) is city living at the beach.

It's a custom re-do of a much older house (1958), with an artistic and modern flair, some quirky angles and custom, Asian-inspired details, including the "Zen garden" at the entry.

You might recognize it from its past runs on the market, in 2008, 2009 and 2010, when it has been offered for as much as $1.449m and down to $1.127m.

Some past listings have called this a 2br home, others 3. We're going with 2 despite the current listing saying 3br. There's an open "loft" style master on the top level (visible from the kitchen/dining areas), a smallish bedroom on the midlevel and another room off the entry downstairs on the first level that could be pressed into service as a 3rd br, with its closet just outside in the entry hallway and direct access to the garage, where a 3/4 bath is located. (Really.) Having toured this home with a client who needed the 3rd br, we weren't really seeing it.

It's a unique space, cool in its way. Location, it should be noted, has not just the traffic liability of Valley but also the intersection at 6th Place/6th St., which cuts through to the Hill Section side of Valley/Ardmore and therefore offers a way east for everyone west of Valley. (Or back home from travels out of the area.)

609 Valley starts this time at $1.199m and is open Sat. 2-4pm.

Another Lucky Repeater

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:39:00 +0000

Yet another near-fixture of the local market these past few years has a deal.

201 Larsson (3br/3ba, 3900 sq. ft.) is a bachelorish sorta-modern with a Miami Vice flavor, giving non-family buyers a lot of what they might want: Ocean views from the top of the hill, a big main floor for entertaining, including a pool and spa, a huge and utterly modern kitchen, grownup playroom with pool table and, separately, a substantial home gym.

201 Larsson has been offered off-and-on in 2009, 2010 and 2011, with prices as high as $3.3m and as low as $2.245m. The property racked up nearly a year's worth of DOM spread out over several listings.

Just last year, we were told there was a new motivation to sell, but the Fall 2011 listing flopped.

This year, Larsson came out $150k higher than its last (failed) price, dropped to $55k higher, $2.300m, and found a buyer. All in less than 2 weeks. (Have you heard this story before in 2012?)

Intriguingly, this would be the third sale of 2012 on low-activity Larsson. The others, for a refresher:


303 Larsson

303 Larsson (3br/2ba, 1800 sq. ft.) was overbid to $1.1m, closing in early February.

Neighbor 307 Larsson (3br/1ba, 1200 sq. ft.), a much smaller, more original house also got overbid, up to $885k, the sale closing in mid-March.

Neither was like the ocean-view bachelor pad down the street, but none suffered this year for the location.

What Lingers, and Doesn't, Near $3m

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:32:00 +0000

In a sellers' market, one of the risks is overreach.

We've been writing almost daily about the Manhattan Beach real estate market for 5 years here. In 2007-2009, there were plenty of stories about overly ambitious sellers, and the market's reaction.

Things got really interesting in 2010-2011. The market firmed up, but sellers – chastened – tried to price properties appropriately. A psychology took hold: Best not to mess around.

With low inventory and multiple-bid situations making news this year, you see that (slightly) old psychology breaking. (It's so Fall 2011!)

Now, some sellers come out expecting the most. And they wait to see how the market will react. Because you can always go down, never up. So why not ask more?

Here are a few Sand Section options near $3m and how they've fared recently.

Perhaps the most difficult property in the Sand now is 217 9th (3br/3ba, 1725 sq. ft.), a very sharp, but not very large, bit of modern/green architecture near downtown. They continue to ask $2.950m for this one in the 3rd month of the listing.

This one has always surprised us – the choice of location, limited bedrooms, tight space and high price. There are bath "areas" within a couple bedrooms, rather than actual bathrooms.

They did actually sell the spec project in 2007 for $3.0m. That was a surprise. But that was 2007.

It's vacant now and ready for the next owner. Whoever's ready to spend near $3m – for now.

221 30th (5br/5ba, 4550 sq. ft.) just closed well into the 3s. It sold for $3.350m, a token $45k off the start price.

But look at the square footage and location.

It's a big, late-90s custom build with some pretty great views. No bars nearby, no alley, no trash trucks. Just the big blue Pacific. (Here's a link to our review from February.)

Of course, it's unfair to compare this one to 217 9th, a modern TH-type home with about a third of the living space. All they really have in common is a price near $3m.

But 30th didn't hang around. It lasted 4 days. And, no doubt, left some jilted would-be buyers behind, still whispering, "must have."

121 25th (4br/4ba, 3000 sq. ft.) always felt like a toe-dipper.

The listing came out $3.5m and ran just 3 weeks in April of this "sellers' market."

Yes, this one had cracked the $3m mark at the local market's peak ($3.250m in April 2007), but that was a megaton price for what we've called "a smallish, 2-story, largely original 1960s beach cottage with scattered updates."

A commenter here at MBC opined that 25th was overpriced by $1m. We may not get the chance to evaluate that soon, but let's take the long view. If they ever do sell 25th, we'll see who had that one right.

225 16th (4br/4ba, 3975 sq. ft.) is a good case study in how waiting and holding out worked for some sellers.

This early-90s walkstreet home launched last year at $3.650m and crept down to about $3.2m over 7 months. Any buyer would have to price in some renovations, because the home has dated features like old marble tile, those metal tube railings, a kitchen featuring laminated cabinetry – really the kitchen, baths and exterior all need a pricey overhaul, and you could get much more ambitious.

It sure seemed that the sellers were going to insist on $3m or more, though whether it was worth that in late 2011 was arguable. The listing eventually quit.

The home came back this year at $2.999m with a new look and new agents. (The new look was mainly just a coat of paint.)

And look at this: 225 16th just sold for $3.0m.

So the sellers were right to hold out and wait for Spring to come. They got their number once things changed in town, and they finally decided not to mess around anymore.

Sunday Opens (5/6)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:22:00 +0000


Little landlocked 533 5th

Before we dive into this week's new listings, just a quick update on something that drew interest from several readers after a public open last week.

That's tiny 533 5th (2br/1ba, 630 sq. ft.), which came with this unusual warning: "This home is protected by The City of Manhattan Beach and cannot be added on to or built up. Only cosmetic changes and maintenance can be done to the existing structure."

Now, "protected" may be an overstatement – the problem for this half-lot, walkstreet residence is that it has no garage. The back half of the lot, adjoining the alley, is separate and owned by someone else. This is informally known as a "landlocked" property. If you can't build adequate on-site parking, you can't build new. Hence the restrictions. Some day, this lot should be joined with the neighbor to the rear, but for now the neighbor's not buying or selling. Still, little 533 5th has found a buyer pretty quickly at $759k. Does that imply that a full flat-walkstreet lot near Valley is worth $1.5m+?

The new offerings this week all have full lots, parking and just the usual sorts of protections/restrictions courtesy of the city.

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

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.

Hill Section

814 1st (4br/5ba, 3800 sq. ft.) is an unusual 2003 Mediterranean on an unusually narrow-feeling Hill Section lot. It's on a great street, with some views to the south off the rear. (The "unobstructable panoramic" views are not featured in any of the listing pics.)

Unusual layout fact: You'll enter on the top level, with kitchen, living room, dining and rear patio, but all the bedrooms and extra living spaces are downstairs – even down 2 levels in a basement (or quasi-basement) where you find a legal bedroom and the big media room. The downslope of the hill from front to back seems to have led to this layout.

Those top floor living spaces are ample, but, surprisingly, set with travertine flooring instead of wood. (You get wood on other floors.) The formal living room has more of a "library" feel, including an attractive wood coffered ceiling. (Though again the tile floor clashes a bit.) The great room opens to the back and includes a little breakfast nook enjoying some of those views. A small balcony gives spiral-stair access down to the yard with a little hot tub.

Unusual paint fact: You know how the palette of Mediterraneans in town tends to get a little bland? It usually runs the full range from white to taupe. Not so, folks, at 814 1st. Bold gold, bright orange, brick red, terra cotta. Way to spice it up.

814 1st was last purchased in Nov. 2004 for $2.650m, and is offered now at $2.898m. It is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Tree Section

1130 Laurel (3br/3ba, 2875 sq. ft.) is a major surprise, a very spacious, sensible and modern home (TH) spread out mostly flat in an SFR-type layout. It's newer (2009), private, quiet and close to everything.

Did we mention the nearly 2900 sq. ft.? At $1.490m, that's a lot of house, a short walk to downtown and all.

They did not cut corners on this build, a 2-TH development which had to be very custom to suit the unique, trapezoidal lot. (The plot looks exactly like Nevada – click the link and look at the map on Redfin.)

All 3br are on the middle (entry) level, with living spaces up top. The big, open, modern kitchen with skylights opens into a large living room. Another family room shares space with formal dining. With the garage 2 levels down, it's nice to find an elevator that lets out right at the kitchen – groceries go from car to kitchen that quickly.

There's not much outside space – a grassy area at the entry is staged with an outdoor dining table and umbrella, but it's kind of out of the flow. A small back patio/deck does include a hot tub off the master. Nice.

You could not be closer to Pacific school, and this is a very short walk to downtown and the beach.

1130 Laurel was purchased new in 2009 for $1.225m. It starts now at $1.490m, and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

3528 Palm (2br/1ba, 850 sq. ft.) has a little more to offer than they say officially on the MLS – in fact, another 300 or so square feet. There's extra living space in 2 separate buildings in back that would make for an office, playroom, maybe even a guest bedroom. Plus some outdoor living area.

The main house ain't huge, of course. In the 1950s this was all people needed. A couple bedrooms, shared bath, a living room and small kitchen, and people were happy. Here the kitchen's been nicely upgraded. Laundry is just off the kitchen in a large pantry that's doing double duty.

Location near Rosecrans is a bit of a concern. And you'd want to check with the city on expansion potential. But if all you need is what they needed in the 50s, you can do a little better here, and get in well under $1m.

3528 Palm starts at $925k and is open Sun. 2-4pm.

East MB

1540 10th (6br/5ba, 4770 sq. ft.) is huge and newer (2002) Spanish on a full-size lot. The ample back yard is on the sunny southern side, with enough room for lots of grass plus a sports court.

The downslope of the lot from side to side, as you see in the pic here, allows for a nice feature: the garage is set under the living spaces, making much more space available on the main living level.

It's a very spacious feel throughout that first level, brighter than you might expect, with a simply huge kitchen and big great room. A little courtyard on the western side brings a bunch of extra sun into the main living spaces. Upstairs, the master includes an extra sitting area overlooking that courtyard, and of course a huge walk-in closet.

The start price of $2.450m got our attention – are East MB homes in that territory now? As one marker, consider that this home was was acquired in 2006 for a bit over $2.6m. As another, look several blocks due south and you see that 1544 Voorhees (6br/6ba, 5200 sq. ft. on a 7500 sq. ft. lot) is in escrow, having made a deal within 2 weeks of listing for $2.699m. It's OK, you can say, "really?"

1540 10th starts at $2.450m and is open Sun. 12-2pm. UPDATED: 2-4pm.

What Could Not Sell Does, Again

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:25:00 +0000

With our low-inventory, high-demand market these days, you keep seeing examples like this.

A property offered in the fairly recent past, unable to find a buyer, now does.

88 Manhattan Ave. (3br/4ba, 2150 sq. ft.) is an updated, 1996 TH with generous ocean views right down a wide street to the west. (See our review from Oct. 2011.)

This one was purchased in 2007 for $2.2m and became a classy rental.

Then, a few times, it was offered back to the market:

For about 2 months in 2009, as low at $1.899m;

Twice in 2010, for as low as $1.799m; and

For 2 months in late 2011, for as low as $1.849m.

None of those listings panned out.

But look again. This one just sold off-market and posted at $1.925m.

That's $76k above the last public offering price. (Pssst! Hey buyer, you coulda had it for less!)

We mentioned another flashback sale a month ago – that being 2808 Elm, a darling Cape Cod in the Trees with a history of failing to resell. In "What a Difference a Year Makes," we noted that Elm had been offered in 2010 and 2011 for prices as low as $1.979m. This year, hitting the market 11% higher at $2.199m, it found a quick deal (8 DOM) – though it's still listed looking for "backup offers" 4 weeks later.

You have the sense with both properties – had these buyers been alert and ready last year, they could have saved some money. But that's Spring 2012 for you.

Median Price Wobbles and Blips

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Oh, the perils of median price analysis.

With a relatively small number of sales involved, medians go up, they go down, they wobble.

Why, look what happened in the 7 days since we last crunched MB's median prices.

First, MB citywide flattened out.

Now, as we compare closed sales from Jan. 1-May 2 this year and last, the median price citywide is $1,505,750, down about $44k from last week, and just barely up over last year ($1.500m). (We did use Jan. 1-May 2 for both years.)

So much for that boost of +$50k / +3% we reported last week. (See "Are We Up Yet?")

Citywide, ha. Surely MB west of Sepulveda is still smokin'.

Well, less so now.

Last week, we told you that MB west of the highway was up 15% year over year.

We pointed out that this was a silly result drawn from a too-small sample.

You'd be crazy to cite that number, we said. "Small numbers obviously fluctuate too much," we said. There's a "cliff" in the median data, we noted – hinting that this big bump could suddenly evaporate.

And now it's sliding down already.

With just 7 days' worth of additional sales, the west-of-Sepulveda median dropped from being 15% up year-over- year to "just" 10% year- over-year.

The current number is $1,674,500, a very quick $100k off last week's number. (The Jan. 1-May 2 number for '11 is $1.522m.) (Click chart to enlarge.)

And here's a warning: with just a single additional sale under $1.775m west of Sepulveda, the median price for the region would drop another big chunk to $1.599m. We'd be up just 5% year-over-year.

From 15% to 10% to 5%, and then?

Let's say this in bold type: Medians drawn from small samples like these are unstable and unreliable. We really need longer time frames.

We could pull out 6-month and 12-month trends, but they won't tell us much about the impact of this Spring selling season. And checking on any trends of the warm-to-hot Spring market was the original goal. We'll have to look at medians again in a couple of months, after we've seen more of the pending sales locked down. Perhaps it was foolish to look at short-term medians in the first place.

We'll keep that promise from last week to look at other indicators from this Spring that might tell us something useful.

Worth noting: We've seen a few professional appraisals recently that have referred to our market as "stable," not "increasing" or "declining." Maybe the guys with the pocket protectors will be the last to call an "increasing" market, but bloggers ought to be careful, too.

Right now, it's definitely more of a seller's market, but increasing...? How do we measure that?

Highlights Among Recent Deals

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:25:00 +0000

Let's take a look at some of the most interesting listings to make deals recently:

2305 Bayview (4br/4ba, 2600 sq. ft.) is a plus-plus-plus modern remodel of a TH built in 2005. In our review we said we were "unprepared for the shocking fabulousness" of the TH with its "nearly over-the-top level of detail."

As terrific as it is, and as quick as this deal on the public market was, we're told this one has been offered for sale as a "pocket listing" for a couple of years. Certainly, going public helped. But this one also looks something like an example of homes that have been unable to sell in the past making deals this year.

This one last traded for $2.250m in Oct. 2006 with some of its great upgrades in place; the current owner added lots of extras and upgrades. It was listed at the 2006 price, however: $2.249m.

230 Anderson (4br/5ba, 6125 sq. ft.) is a luxurious (maybe too luxurious) custom home with big views. In fact, we've called it "an ultra-custom build dripping with an elaborate 'French Riviera' style." That, plus the layout, seemed to limit its market.

230 Anderson ran a full year last year on market, gradually chopping from $5.5m to $4.5m. Going way, way back to the bubble years, the owners tried to get $7.2m in 2007. It was recently at $3.995m when a deal posted.

That makes 230 Anderson another example of a home with a troubled history on the market making its deal now – but only after finally finding its level.

947 10th (5br/3ba, 3620 sq. ft.) has no recent market history and just simply made a pretty quick deal. Here, good pricing out of the gates helped a lot. Assets unseen west of the highway helped even more.

This is a fairly big 80s home, remodeled in a somewhat formal style, boasting an unusually large lot greater than 8200 sq. ft. (There's a pic of the yard in our review from mid-April.) Offer someone the Hill Section plus a vast yard for $2.2m, you've got a deal quickly.

The more distant history does tell a tale of a remodel partly donated to the buyer – the home sold for $2.350m in headier times (2004).

1160 Duncan Drive is far more interesting for its unique East MB hilltop location than for the 1960s home currently on the property.

There are views from this plot that are absolutely sweeping, greater than 180 degrees, from the Santa Monica mountains to downtown L.A. to the foothills of O.C. to the Port of Long Beach – we kid you not. The land has a history, too – MB's first homeowner, Col. Blanton Duncan, once had his ranch on the site. Here's our video tour and mini-history lesson:

And if you need a refresher on the history, check out our full original post, "A Third Duncan?" Highlight:

Col. Duncan was the son of a Kentucky congressman and both a Civil War soldier and profiteer... Being new to town, Col. Duncan didn't realize there would be no life east of Sepulveda, so he built a house and ranch... on the east side of the highway.

1160 Duncan Drive was offered for $2.649m.

3116 Alma (4br/2ba, 2500 sq. ft.) is another property that's failed to sell in past years but now has found a buyer. It's also another one that ties back to one of our favorite MBC posts, albeit one that went up in November 2007 ("Old's Cool"), when some of our readers were still in diapers. (OK, that's a stretch.)

The home is an older, added-onto Spanish with its big, grand ocean views from the master.
You can see someone running with it more or less as is, preserving the Spanish vibe and the quirky layout – or the same basic structure could probably serve better with a major update. It was listed at $1.995m.

557 2nd (5br/5ba, 5250 sq. ft.) is a huge, glorious, custom Craftsman that's something of a landmark in the South End of the Sand Section.

It's a landmark and familiar by sight largely due to its main liability – it's on Valley. Cars whiz by at all hours, and it's visible from the major east-west thoroughfare of southern MB, 2nd St. as it becomes 1st St. in the transition from the Hill Section to the Sand at the greenbelt.

Get over that (not insignificant) issue, and you've got one heck of a special home. As we said in our review:

You'll see that the promise made by the elaborate exterior is delivered on fully inside. There's a love of woods, deep quality of materials, and an aspiration to excellence you find around every corner. With 5250 square feet inside, there's more than enough space everywhere...

This 500-block, Valley-adjacent house was offered at a 200-block price to account for the extra space and exquisite build. It came out 6 weeks ago at $3.5m and was last at $3.295m.

Sunday Opens (4/29)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:37:00 +0000

We've got another goodly crop of new offerings this week. Nothing quite so world-smashing as the Sand Section duo last week, but nice homes just the same.

Before you know it, Spring will be Summer and this little rush of inventory will wind down. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

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

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.

Sand Section

552 3rd (3br/3ba, 1850 sq. ft.) is a cute 1940s original with additions in back that bear something of a 1980s flavor.

It's definitely got a throwback/beachy look and feel. Where else would you find the ceiling from the living room here – weathered, half-painted boards that look like reclaimed floorboards... cool. The listing description plays all of this up: "Straight from the pages of Coastal Living..." But that's figurative, not literal.

The kitchen is certainly small, and the 3br won't suffice for a lot of families, but those bedrooms are on the larger side – more flexible – and they're all together in a cohesive 2nd floor, which is more than we could say about the recent sale on 3rd St. that provides the comp: 421 3rd (4br/3ba, 2500 sq. ft., $1.809m).

552 3rd is just off of Valley and notably smaller than 421 3rd, but has a similar South End bonus with proximity to school, beach and greenbelt. There's also a similar South End premium built in. It starts at $1.850m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

2803 Alma (3br/4ba, 2000 sq. ft.) is an easy-on-the-eyes TH with some ocean views that may well have been our favorite tour on Friday. (Granted, this weekend didn't have the 2 super options we had last week.)

It's a great use of typical TH space, with the adequately sized, but plush, master, pulling in a little ocean peek on the mid-level. As they have it configured now, one kid bedroom suite on the downstairs level adjoins the garage that's now almost 100% kids' space – desks, games and rumpus-room flooring. Weehah!

Upstairs, the living spaces boast high ceilings and endless windows on 3 sides, with real ocean views down the alley. The "Spanish Revival" style (per the listing) gives the right combination of elegance and casual flavor. Nice kitchen, nice style all around.

2803 Alma starts at $1.849m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

517 23rd St. (4br/4ba, 2600 sq. ft.) is a completely custom, newer (2004) home with a modern European flavor inside.

The first floor is all bright living space, with a spacious patio off the kitchen for outdoor living or al fresco dining.

Upstairs, the bedrooms include one now set up as an office with great treetop views over the Tree Section. The master sports his and hers walk-in closets.

There are dozens of special details spread around the home, from the custom wrought-iron railings on the stairs to the red glass adornments to the fireplace. The home's attractive in its own right and worth a look as an "idea house" as well.

This one ran for a bit last year at $2.0m.

517 23rd starts now at $2.079m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

East MB

1247 11th St. (3br/2ba, 1700 sq. ft.) is a cute and compelling little house that simply won't last.

Go find another home of this size with these kinds of reasonably nice updates for under $1m.

Perfect? Why, no. The kitchen boasts the greatest upgrades – big space, newer cabinets, nice appliances. But that's over 10 years old, and there's saltillo tile on the floor, a dated feature. It's nice how the dining area opens to a side patio, inviting you to eat outside any time the weather permits. (Only about 10 months out of the year.)

The bedrooms are of good size, but nothing's big. It's a 1960 cottage-inspired home with a side entry – you'll see the quirks and vintage everywhere. Wood flooring could use a refresher but will be fine.

They did update the baths, with a flair. The main bath (for 2br and living areas) is large and has multi-colored tiles and upgraded cabinets. Interestingly, it opens to the back yard. The master bath is described as "spa like," which is one way of saying bright, fresh and interesting. Quirk: a sliding rustic "barn" door closes off the bath.

There's a yard way back in back, accessed off the aforementioned main bath and also off sliding doors from the master. It's good open space, but it really wants a reboot. We do like the privacy afforded by the bamboo all along the back wall; a very useful shield to neighboring properties on the north side.

It's not hard to see why this old rancher is drawing a lot of attention. They may have offers to look at later today.

1247 11th starts at $990k and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

1629 10th (5br/5ba, 4250 sq. ft.) is a plus update of a 10-year-old spec house with a huge yard.

That exterior looks familiar if you know bubble-era construction, but the owners have taken steps to make the home far more interesting than the blank original, partly more rustic and partly more modern. And within this vast home there is a lot of room to spread these themes out.

Rustic: Custom wood doors at the entry, off the first-floor office/bedroom, the garage and even the back doors to the yard; also, redone distressed walnut flooring.

Modern: Goodbye granite, hello caesar stone in the upgraded kitchen. And a nice wine ~~cellar~~ room built under the curving staircase.

Faux painting adds a nice touch of elegance to the (very) formal dining area.

Did we mention the guest house? OK, it's more of a fully-built-out kids' house in back – mere tree houses, sheds and play houses cannot hold a candle to this serious piece of under-10 real estate, complete with loft inside.

The back yard is described as "park like" and on this 7500 sq. ft. lot, it's true. There's more than enough hardscaped/patio space for outdoor living, plus a large built-in bbq and bar.

1629 10th was purchased new back in 2002 for $1.450m, offered in 2007 for $2.550m for just a couple of weeks.

It's now up at $2.099m, and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Are We Up Yet?

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:07:00 +0000

With the buzz in the air about multiple-offer situations and all, we've heard all kinds of blanket statements about the market's direction.

The only one that matters is MB Confidential having switched to saying this feels like a "seller's market." (We kid!)

We've heard others say flatly:

"Our market is already up 5%."
"The high end has never been stronger."
"We're up 10% already and there are more bidding wars."
"It's on."

At least it should be possible to try to evaluate those 5-10% claims.

We've done that, with mixed results.

Looking purely at year-to-date numbers for SFRs, are we up by a bunch?

It depends.

Median price YTD for all of MB is up $50k, or +3%, over the same period last year. (That's Jan. 1-April 25 in our data.)

The median citywide for this short period is $1.550m.

Our sample size for 2011 was 84 closed sales, 89 in 2012. Fairly comparable.

As you'll see in our chart (click to enlarge), looking citywide, it's a pretty steady progression from year to year, 2009-2012. No surprise, 2009 was the pits and after that, things got sunnier.

Median price west of Sepulveda only – watch out.

A smaller sample gives us a wildly higher number: up $227k or nearly +15% year over year.

The median for west of the highway only: $1.775m.

Go ahead, tell someone that MB west of Sepulveda is up 15% this year. They might say, "You're crazier than that realtor who said we're up 10%!"

Hey, that's what the data say, based on a sample of 66 closed sales this year and 60 last year. Small numbers obviously fluctuate too much.

One thing we noted in the data for west of Sepulveda: There's a sudden and steep climb among the recent sales, a "cliff" of sorts in the data. The jump from sales in the 1.5s to the 1.8s seemed sudden.

Clearly, you get better data for median prices with longer time scales – or whatever gives you larger numbers. So we learned something today, but we're really not going to stand by the notion that MB west of Sepulveda is up 15%.

There are other ways to get at this question of whether the market is up, and by how much. Longer time frames, better matches of properties sold in different years, the sale this year of homes that didn't sell previously. We'll look at some of those angles next week.

MB at the End of the Rainbow

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:07:00 +0000

Everyone seems to want to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

For a few fleeting moments this morning, Manhattan Beach was at the end of a rainbow.

We decided to share our snapshot. (Click to enlarge.)

Same-House Sale Up 6% YOY, But...

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:35:00 +0000

To evaluate and compare real estate market trends, it's a dream to use same-house sales.

If you can see how the same house sold year after year, or use a set of same-house sales, you can get a good picture of the market's progress.

That's the Case-Shiller Index in a nutshell.

You won't often find short-term examples in MB, but there is a same-house trade that just posted and may prove tempting. It requires all kinds of caveats, and doesn't prove to be much of a barometer, but let's take a peek regardless.

We're up on the Plateau in the Sand Section at 469 28th, a somewhat sizable (4br/4ba, 3140 sq. ft.) and fairly new (2004) home that has now traded twice in less than a year.

This one sold for $2.0m in June 2011.

The new owners had plans. They saw the 2004 version of the home as dated. They changed the flooring and the feel and flavor of the kitchen. A range of custom upgrades came in. (We've called the work "smashing remodeling" before; it wasn't major, but it was stylish.)

Just a few months later, the new owners faced a job change and put the home back on the market, refinished. Call them accidental flippers. They asked for $2.325m. That's when we took notice here in "Hey, Didn't They Just Buy That? – Part 2" (Nov. 2011).

At the time, that markup of $325k (+16%) seemed awfully ambitious.

And now, that sense we had back then has proved out. Because 469 28th just re-sold, and they didn't get 16% more, they got 6%.

Sale price was $2.120m, a markup of $120k (6%) in less than a year... but with the cost of the "smashing" remodel factored in.

So this hardly a precisely comparable same-house sale, not much of a market barometer in itself. But if you were watching for the "hotter" market of this Spring to lead to big profits on this more-desirable home in 2012, that didn't really happen. Indeed, from the sellers' side, this looks like a narrow escape, perhaps a loss.

There were the costs of remodeling. Was that $50k? $150k? And there were some transaction costs. The seller was also the listing agent of record, meaning the net to the seller should have been greater than with a normal 5-6% commission paid out. Still, there was no way to add enough value to permit a profitable resale.

On a day when the nationwide Case-Shiller Index showed remarkably glum news – "new post-bubble lows" in both of the multi-city indices – this one MB sale seemed to serve as a reminder that reality still has a place in our heating-up market, too.

Can you modernize a desirable Manhattan Beach Sand Section home and quickly resell, in what looks like a sellers' market, at a nice profit?

Not this time.

------------------------------------------

Postscript: Whatever Case-Shiller says about the national market, we note that Wednesday's LA Times talks about the housing market beginning "a springtime thaw." They're talking about national numbers, California broadly and Southern California – all mixed up.

What might jump off the page is this quote by longtime bear Christopher Thornberg: "The recovery is here."

Close the Books on 763 31st

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:51:00 +0000

It's rare indeed to see a Tree Section home go over $3m.

But once upon a time, it happened at a storybook house on prestigious 31st Street.

That was Summer 2006, as our local RE market was only beginning to hit the occasional bump in the road. The storybook home was 763 31st (5br/5ba, 3575 sq. ft.). It sold for $3.025m back then, in what could be called our last bubble year.

Regular readers know this one has been on and off the market for the past couple of years. We've repeatedly done 2 things here at MBC:

expressed our love for the home ("a custom masterpiece"), and

questioned list prices that ran as high as $3.295m.

This one never went under $3m in its 2010 listing, which ran a little over 5 months.

New agents, new year, same result – a 2011 listing ran nearly 5 months at $2.890m. No deal.

Somewhere between those listings, your blog author here had a good conversation with another agent about the right price for 31st, jointly concluding that it should be around $2.7m. That prestigious location, custom and high-quality build, incredible curb appeal – that seemed about right.

When the listing hit again in 2012 at $2.799m, we were thinking, "they finally got the message, they are ready. Here comes 2.7."

And, indeed, the sellers did bend and make a deal.

But that deal was surprising. The sale just posted at $2.450m.

That's -$349k / -12% off the last list price. You might call that both good bargain-hunting, and a major capitulation after about a year's total market exposure without a sale.

And that's no $3m house anymore. It's not even a $2.5m house. The new sale is off $575k (-19%) from the 2006 trade.

Still, with the keys handed over at last, and someone enjoying their new home, it does seem like a happy ending.

Weekend Opens (4/21-4/22)

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:26:00 +0000

What if everything new was at the beach?

That's about the size of things this weekend. And there are some pretty fabulous properties worth your time.

128 5th

If you like a really, really tricked out, high "wow" factor home, the first couple on our list are "must-sees." In fact, 128 5th is probably having its one-and-only open on Saturday 1-4pm, and it's worth organizing your day around.

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

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.

Sand Section

128 5th (5br/6ba, 4225 sq. ft.) was new last year and sold for $5.250m. But back then, it didn't have much style inside, pretty spare and perfunctory for a $5m+ house.

My, oh, my, how things have changed.

The buyer from last year wanted a certain kind of dialed-up-to-the-nines dream residence. Designers came in with new materials like snazzy carpets, custom wall coverings, special tiles for the baths. The new kitchen was partly redone. The new master bath was partly redone. A small bedroom was converted to a huge walk-in closet – with its own bath. The main living room upstairs was recast in bright white.

The first level, opening out to the walkstreet, was converted from one of those spacious but empty hangout rooms into a full-blown, 5-star bar and adult playroom. Big comfy couches and a large plasma TV. No detail missed to make it a signature space.

And the whole house was decorator-outfitted with carpets, furniture and extras that perfectly suit the owner, and have plenty of broader appeal. Video and sound systems wired up the place for the high end of the 21st century.

But things change, don't they?

And for this owner, everything changed. Having never lived in this house, after a year's worth of customization, the owner bought something else 3,000 miles away and decided to move there instead. Now 128 5th, instead of being a very-well-located, but spare, spec home, is now a turnkey statement house. You can even view it as a "Strand alternative," with all its dripping style and move-right-in fashion. The Strand without the fishbowl factor.

The new start price is $6.799m, completely furnished and customized – a whole different take on "as-is." The next owner will be the first to live in it.

Even at the acquisition price more than $1.5m below, the seller may well be deeper into the property than the list price can account for.

Can you get $6.8m for a non-Strand property? If you're going to get this deep into the 6's, it had better be a full-size, newer home with absolutely everything done. Hey, that's this. Let's see how it fares.

128 5th starts at $6.799m and is open Sat. 1-4pm. This might be the only public open, so give it a look.

Oh, and be prepared. This open house will be much less involved than airport security, but a bit more rigorous than your typical open. They say they'll take ID just to track visitors to a $7m house. Can't be too careful.

Try starting at The Strand House and meandering over; make a day of it.

We were unprepared for the shocking fabulousness of 2305 Bayview (4br/4ba, 2600 sq. ft.). We've chosen the outside pic here because no one interior photo seems to fully convey what a sharp and compelling interior this ocean-view remodel possesses.

Inside, this very spacious TH has an art-gallery-plus feel, an incredible and nearly over-the-top level of detail.

They've set aside a would-be 4th bedroom as a home theater, for instance, but not just a room with a TV on the wall, but a drop-down screen with a projector. There's not just an HVAC system for the house, but actually separate systems for each level with color touchscreen controls – and remotes. The fridge isn't just high-end and stainless, it's actually got steel framing a glass door, and you'll find not one, but two wine fridges.

The flooring throughout is a classy, dark-stained wood, baths are ultra modern and tasteful, and little touches abound, like the highly tactile door handles. Or the big touch in the garage: a giant photo mural of a beach scene (San Onofre, 1960s).

2305 Bayview would be the hands-down winner of the most stylish, must-see designation for the weekend, if not for the once-only chance to see 128 5th. Close call.

This one was purchased new for $2.050m in early 2005 but utterly redone. Quite a bit of modern-style upgrading was done before it sold again for $2.250m in Oct. 2006. The current owner added lots of extras and upgrades on top of what was done in '06.

2305 Bayview starts at $2.249m and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-3pm.

201 43rd (3br/4ba, 1800 sq. ft.) is seeded against tough competition in this particular post, but it will hold its ground.

This is a newer SFR (2003) on a half-lot in El ~~Porto~~ Norte with ocean views.

It's got the traditional half-lot/TH layout, one small bedroom on the first level, 2 in the middle. Nice hardwood flooring, a kitchen that's current and cozy. An attractive package and TH alternative.

201 43rd starts at $1.479m and is open Sun. 1-3pm.

221 3rd (4br/4ba, 4050 sq. ft.) is a gorgeous, newer (2005) home being sold for lot value, $4.199m.

Well, not exactly – but there is the matter of the strange trade over at 125 2nd, just a couple doors closer to the water and one block over. As we noted in "New Owners Get to Work," the big late-90s home there sold for $4.2m in April 2011 and recently was razed to make way for a new place. That was a shock.

221 3rd is a newer (2005) Mediterranean with gleaming floors, big views, and a nice family room on the walkstreet level opening to a nice garden patio. The main house really offers 3br and there is a separate unit in back with another.

Living spaces on the top level are divided interestingly, with the kitchen and dining areas raised up over the living room with the greatest views. In back there's even an office and small sitting room that get Malibu views.

This home has a substantial history on the market in recent years. It first debuted 3 years ago at $4.790m, running almost 7 months without success. In 2010 it came at out $4.250m and ran several months more, dropping as low as $3.950m.

So the new start price of $4.199m is about where they were in April 2010, above where they were at the end.

221 3rd is open Sat. & Sun. 2-4pm.

Buy Low, Sell High on 33rd

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:26:00 +0000

660 33rd

The history of 660 33rd (5br/5ba, 4475 sq. ft.) is an interesting tour through our market's boom and bust years.

Updated to 2012... since it has just re-sold.

This is a newer home that first hit the market in June 2008 (uh-oh!) seeking $3m.

Oh, those spec builders were pushing and pushing. And some were late to the game.

In November 2008, with the price down a trickle off $3m, MBC described it as:

truly not our kind of newbie, but it is vast... and it has its style points. What we find garish about the stonework, others will find opulent.


Kitchen at 660 33rd

But this huge Spanish-y home never sold, it foreclosed. It went back to the bank. Popped bubble being what it was.

The foreclosure was in Oct. 2009, which many would mark literally as the bottom of our market. Afterward, by Q4 2009, things at least flattened out.

When the property came back on public offer in Feb. 2010, the price was at $2.2m.

$2.2m for new construction, call it 4500 sq. ft. with a basement media room, a 600-block location, street-to-alley lot. Right now that doesn't look so bad.

Yet as the vultures swirled, even post-foreclosure, the value of this big, newer home kept going down.

$1.990m is what someone paid in April 2010.

Again, if you don't mind MBC quoting MBC, here's what we said at the time:

[F]or sheer size, there probably won't be a deal quite like 660 33rd for a while, if ever.

Now let's jump ahead 2 years to... right now.

660 33rd just resold. (Off-market, of course.)

A full 2 years after the bank sold this one for about $2m, the home found a new buyer for $2.475m.

Call that the midpoint between bubble-era hoo-ha and all those irrational expectations at the end, and the deep-down depths of 2009.

The midpoint. Is that 2012?

At 660 33rd, it is.

Close the Books on 337 16th

noreply@blogger.com (MBWatcher) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 19:18:00 +0000


337 16th

They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. And then the calendar flipped to 2012.

This year, we saw a deal post at one of the homes with the greatest market exposure in Manhattan Beach over the past 5 years. That's 337 16th (4br/5ba, 4550 sq. ft.), which has exceeded 1,000 DOM since 2007. That's some kind of record for persistence.

We summarized the listing history in our last reference to the property:

5 months in 2007 (mostly at $4m);
6 months in 2008 (mostly at $3.8m);
2 months in 2010 (at $3m); and
all of 2011 and 2012 (at $3m, down to $2.699m).

The listing first went into "backup offer" status in mid-February, so call that 6 weeks of 2012.

Now the deal has closed at the most recent asking price: $2.699m. (Side note: The agent who has represented the sellers since October 2010 also seems to have lucked out and represented the buyers here, too. That may at least help cover 14 months' worth of promotional expenses.)

So, we've said it recently, and it's worth repeating: This is the year to sell a home that has previously failed to sell. Almost every offering seems to occupy its market segment alone. (Not exactly, of course.) As 337 16th shows, you can even end 5 years on the market on a happy note.

We've always called this "a plenty appealing home, very big, with a proper walkstreet layout downstairs," plus ocean views and 4-car parking. We also like the neighborhood – a little pocket right near downtown and the park, with almost untrafficked walkstreets east of Highland. Could the home use some modernizing? Sure, and once the price came down that became feasible for the next owner.

How did this one fare over time? There are 2 prior trades: $1.1m in 1997 (new) and $1.780m in 2001. The home was surely upgraded from pretty its blank condition from 2001. But this new sale 11 years later comes at a nice 52% markup over that time.