Sunday Opens (6/3)

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

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

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

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)

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.