A Look at the Sandpipers Tour Homes

It's time for that seasonal rite of local real estate, the Sandpipers' Holiday Homes Tour, Friday-Sunday, 10am-5pm.

This year, there are only 3 homes on the tour (-1/-25% from last year) but the ones they've got are all interesting.

It's mostly too late for pre-sale tickets, unless you know a Sandpiper (we trust many of you do). You can go to any of the 3 homes listed below and pay $30 (cash or check) for the whole tour.

Also, the Holiday Boutique runs Fri.-Sun., 10am-5pm, at the American Martyrs gym on 15th St. – no admission tickets necessary, of course.

First up on the tour, east of Hwy. 1 on one of the truly great, private blocks in town, 208 Terraza is an older home that was radically remade a few years ago.

It's got classic East Coast styling with some nice bonuses, like a wine cellar and a high-concept back yard. Also, one of only 2 wishing wells we've seen in MB.

As is the Sandpiper tradition, professional interior design is supplemented with holiday decor to create a showplace for the weekend.

Next up is one of the newer homes in the Hill Section, 116 N. Dianthus (at the corner with 2nd St.).

This home was purchased during construction last year, and closed for $7.2m in April. As such, the Sandpipers tour will be the first public viewing opportunity for this vast (6600 sq. ft.), new ocean-view home.

As a comp, Dianthus has been vexing – almost no one else is getting $1,100/PSF. Given the home's lineage (high-caliber architect and builder), expect the highest quality.

The final stop, 512 John, has a bit of a history on MBC.

Someone paid $4.075m for the home in Feb. 2007 and then tried to turn it around for considerably more – prices running as high as $4.75m last year. That didn't work. Ultimately, the current owners took it for a discount: $3.8m last November.

We have always found this house stunning. One MBC review called it:

a striking masterpiece of a home, built in 2000 in a great location, the kind that some folks are just dreaming about when they write "panoramic ocean views." The home is set high above the street and takes good advantage of the added privacy.

The challenge is how to make this home's style work for you, or vice versa. As we said:

The home's style might not be yours. It's very modern, Japanese-inspired, using simple materials – concrete, glass, bamboo, steel. The walls are white. You get a feeling of order, cleanliness, simplicity. It's striking. It just might not suit your furniture, your plates, your clothes or your kids.

Professional design – out with the old, in with the new – was the only way to go. We're eager to see how the designers tackled these challenges for the new owners. Holiday decor will run with a New Year's theme, going along with that design mandate.

Who are the Sandpipers and what do they do? Click here for more.

Ticket sales are down a bit this year, so if you're on the fence: Go.

And if you go at MBC's suggestion, or because of our reminder, make sure to tell some Sandpipers. Our promotional efforts last year were recognized with a pleasant thank-you.