Weekend Opens (5/31)

As we face some continuing (and boring) background issues on the blog technology, we're going to provide a very abbreviated "Weekend Opens" feature.

Frankly we're not sure if, or how, the comment system will function, especially if the transition occurs in the next day or two. So check out these properties, and try, if you can, to comment, but we may see issues. Apologies in advance – your blog author is not some techie.

Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools."


Hill Section

513 N. Dianthus (pictured) (3br/3ba, 2475 sq. ft.) got a mention here the other day as a "gorgeous" remodel that also has a price problem at $1.899m. Open Sun. 2-4pm.

There are plenty of high-dollar listings in the Hills looking for your attention.

Now that 717 Poinsettia has a deal (link works while in "backup offer" status), we're thinking the next real deal is 218 N. Dianthus, plenty big (4br/4ba, 6100 sq. ft.) with huge entertaining spaces. Sure, you've had chances to see it before, but have you? Now at $4.499m. Open Sun. 1-4pm.


Sand Section

A couple of newer listings we wanted to pitch this weekend did not post in the BR, and the agents didn't notify MBC, so let's break the mold a bit and look at a TH and a duplex of interest.

416 23rd St. is a TH (4br/4ba, 2850 sq. ft.) that's touted as the "ABSOLUTE BEST VALUE AT THE BEACH!"

Though we DISLIKE ALL-CAPS, we'll agree there is something nice here in this 2003-vintage offering at $1.675m. Open Sun. 2-5pm.

304 Highland is a little duplex on a 3,000-sq.-ft. lot in the South End, a classic MB investment property that could actually work for others. This one seems to have been around much longer than the Redfin listing suggests (50+ DOM), but we haven't tracked it formally. Offered at $1.490m. Open Sun. 2-5pm.


Tree Section

2400 N. Poinsettia also got a mention here the other day for "learning" from recent sales. It is big (4br/5ba, 3650 sq. ft.) and the start price of $1.599m (PPSF: $438/PSF) looked to MBC to be "realistic," with, perhaps, a little extra built in. Open Sun. 1-4pm.

848 14th (5br/5ba, 3495 sq. ft.) has received only grudging mention at MBC previously due to its fantastical start price of $2.899m last September.

Now it has moved to $2.395m and that location plus the fact that this is new construction, plus a little bigger lot, are starting to look attractive. Starting. Open Sun. 1-4pm.

Transitions

Just a quick note here to say MBC is undergoing a couple of changes in the background.

You may experience quirks logging on to view our content for a day or two.

One change is that all content will now be hosted at www.mbconfidential.com, rather than on the mbcon.blogspot.com address. Old story links are supposed to work seamlessly.

Comments are in transition. We're dropping the "Intense Debate" system and planning a new system, but there are hitches.

That means that comments left between Friday night and some time this weekend might get lost – we don't know. Or they might flop over to the old Google/Blogger system before the new system takes over.

We hope to post a feature on Weekend Opens shortly, but we wanted readers to be aware of possible limits on comments.

Naturally, we hope to resolve everything soon.

Learning, and Not

This week there's another big, early-90s build in the Tree Section that's priced in the lower 400s per square foot – evidence that sellers are learning from recent experience.

It's 2400 N. Poinsettia, several doors south of Marine. The home is big (4br/5ba, 3650 sq. ft.) and, though its early-90s vintage is apparent in some of the construction, the updates make it one of the crispest among similar offerings we've seen recently.

The start price of $1.599m looks realistic, with, perhaps, a little extra built in. The PPSF to begin is $438/PSF.

This one's open Sunday, 1-4pm, and we'll go ahead and project that a crowd will attend.

There was a time when the $1.5m range got you 2,000-2,500 sq. ft., but here we are looking at 3,650 sq. ft. in that price range. Not bad, and definitely an indicator of the state of our market.

At least 3 recent sales factor into this price:

• 2909 Elm (1991 build, 5br/4ba, 3450 sq. ft.), last referenced in "Recent Closings" and "2 Years and $1.3m Later...," got $420/PSF, at a closed price of $1.450m;

• 1608 Poinsettia (1990 build, 5br/4ba, 3625 sq. ft.) closed in late in April for $1.530m, or $422/PSF;

• 2600 Poinsettia (in escrow, a 2000 build, 4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.), which has a directly comparable location, just a few doors north of Marine. Inside, the home is lovely and the little patio out back is finely customized for outdoor living. Began at $1.899m in late Sept. 2008, last at $1.569m ($489/PSF), and it won't close that high.

We will note here that all 3 of the sold listings above tried starting considerably above the 400s in PPSF and wound up coming to earth. 2400 Poinsettia seems to be starting on earth, learning from the neighbors and comps. Time will tell.

Not so fully trying to learn the lesson: 513 N. Dianthus (3br/3ba, 2475 sq. ft.) in the Hills.

Oddly enough, this is the third contiguous home to go on market in the past year or so, the others being:

• 511 Dianthus (3br/2ba, 1900 sq. ft.), which began last Spring at $1.429m, a tad above market, and adjusted all the way down to $1.125m (that's $592/PSF) while freshening up the 60s-vintage, boxy home along the way. But the price was always a bit behind the market and the listing went rental instead.

• 509 Dianthus (3br/3ba, 2250 sq. ft.) sold in a little more than a month this year. There was also some real adjusting. The start price of $1.350m gave way to a final sale price of $1.150m, or $511/PSF. The home was superior to 511 Dianthus in light of wide-ranging remodeling work that gave the home some of the flavor of newer construction.

Now, of the 3 contiguous homes, 513 Dianthus is clearly the senior partner. It's gorgeous, as the pics clearly tell.

It's open this weekend (Sun. 2-4pm) and will certainly get a mention in our "Weekend Opens" feature.

But even with a very recent, smashing remodel – as is the case here – what you've got is still a smallish home on a skinny lot on Dianthus.

No matter how much better tricked-out than the neighbors, it's hard to make the argument that this home is worth literally 50% more per square foot than the neighbor at 509 Dianthus that just closed. (Current price is $769/PSF, versus $511/PSF at 509 Dianthus.)

No doubt, part of what is driving the price here is the acquisition price in Oct. 2007. (Uh-oh.) Someone paid $1.650m not quite 2 years ago, then went to work updating the property. (The listing says the home was "completely upgraded in 2008.")

We get the sense that the sellers are trying not to learn from the selling experience of their neighbors. Their property is just too different, too special. And that attitude is fine, provided they don't fully intend to sell.

Relisters' Row

Like a lot of MBC readers, your blog author often checks in on what's new in local RE by clicking on Redfin's MB page.

Wednesday, by some coincidence, 3 "new" listings in a row weren't.

For a time, they created a little "Relisters' Row," a virtual wall of shame.


As the pic here shows (click to enlarge), the newest to re-list were 209 16th, 133 1st and 512 12th. (Although 16th is not in the same category because the "new" listing reflects its addition to income properties; the older SFR listing remains.) We'd say go ahead and click all those highlighted addresses for more pics & details via Redfin – but that would just be encouraging them.

None of these listings made a major price move. The 1st St. listing is down $26k from its last incarnation. The 12th St. listing actually rose in price by $46k. All just wanted a little freshening up.

Of course, these aren't the only listings pulling old-fashioned bogus re-lists these days. The practice is less common, but hardly unheard of. In the past few weeks, there's also:

• 132 2nd, which MBC featured 10 weeks ago when it began at $4.5m. (See "A 2nd Try at 2nd.") After a bogus re-list, it's at $4.2m. That's also way, way down from $6.0m in March 2008 – but at least that price faded legitimately after a long break. Not this time: the "old" listing was quickly replaced with the new price.
  

• 3309 Poinsettia (one of the "Twins in the Trees") recently reset the clock after 400+ DOM in one set of capable hands to celebrate the arrival of a new agent. Funny, same speckie, now $1.995m, down rather substantially from that $2.795m start that no one wants to acknowledge now.

• 617 6th, which took some time, but not the requisite 60 days off, before coming back at $4.699m – down a bit from its last price ($4.995m), quite a lot from its start in March 2008 at $5.950m.

And that's just a sampling.

There was a time, as many readers know, when bogus re-lists were treated in a somewhat harsher light here at MBC.

We haven't really rattled the cage much recently, because the phenomenon has receded – in part thanks to the new MLS system – and because the environment has changed.

Those who keep trying to use bogus re-lists to "freshen up" their properties tend to look more pathetic than deceptive these days. The internet is helping more and more buyers to see through this silly posing.

We were a bit amazed to see that the last MBC post properly labeled as being about "re-listing" was from March of 2008. (See "All New, Except for All Those Months Before.")

It's still wrong to slap a new MLS number on a property and call it "new" when it's not. Maybe we're just less concerned now that consumers are being impacted.

We'll acknowledge that there is a constantly changing pool of buyers (and agents!) who will be fooled by these moves.

But, increasingly, the people closest to this market are laughing, no need to joust, as agents play "let's pretend" with multi-million-dollar properties, calling them "new on market" when what they need are new prices to meet the market.

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

UPDATE: A reader notes that the new listing for 209 16th reflected the addition of the property to the income property listings and not a re-list, as it first appeared. Text of the story has also been changed.

Tough Deals

Some of the toughest deals to bring to completion are also the kinds of deals we see more and more of around town – short sales and REOs.

A short sale is always going to be tough because two parties ("owner" and buyer) are making a deal that will cost a third party – perhaps a fourth, too – some money. The lender has to agree to a haircut, assuming you can find the actual decision-maker holding the paper.

If this sounds simple, you're not paying attention.

REOs may be simpler in theory, with the bank "owner" closer to the situation, but they really do not relish these sales, either, and don't work overtime to run them smoothly.

Throw into this mix buyers who jump into transactions fishing for a steal who may not be prepared fully for the next steps.

Buyers will be confronted with a long timeframe, numerous hassles and roadblocks, days and weeks of utter silence from the decision-makers, and the occasional evening in which Mr. and Mrs. Buyer look at each other and ask, "Is this ever going to happen? Is it worth it?"

Should we be surprised that lots of shorties go into endless limbo, and many short sales and REOs fail?

Stretch out the timeline and add lots of chances for buyers to walk, and you're going to have fewer successful transactions.

But you will have some.

Here's a look at the fate of a few short sales and REOs in recent weeks and months.


Recently Returned to Market

• 629 36th (4br/4ba, 3500 sq. ft.) hit the market at $1.399m early last November and had a buyer by Thanksgiving. You may have noted Memorial Day passing recently, nearly 6 months since someone signed the papers to buy this home.

Now it's back, $100k lighter and with the all-caps announcement: "APPROVED SHORT SALE!" Approved, but looking for a new buyer.

We don't know the details here but we've certainly heard of prior cases of buyers trying to run the marathon with the bank, only to collapse and quit after the finish line kept getting moved. It's something that happens with shorties.

• 2504 Poinsettia (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) is a new home in the Trees owned by the bank that fed the developers, and which drew specific mention the other day in our MB Market Update for 5/15/09 as one sale that had helped clear out inventory of speckies.

Turns out: not this time. The buyers appear to have walked rather quickly. The home is back at $1.659m.

Recently Successful

• 465 30th (5br/5ba, 3350 sq. ft.) up on the plateau finally closes the books at $1.720m.

This saga began when the listing first hit in March 2008 at $2.799m – apparently a "rescue price" that might have cured whatever was going badly with the loans on the property.

Now, 14 months later, it closes nearly $1.1m lower and at $513/PSF, about $50-$70/PSF lower than recent sales up there. You can see how corrosive these sorts of sales can be to comps.

The markup and markdown are worth further mention. The closed price here was just +$190k/+12% above the Oct. 2003 acquisition price of $1.522m.

Meanwhile, the new buyer (new owner!) drove a much harder bargain than a previous buyer, who had struck a deal at $2.150m but walked when the bank took 5 months to reply. (See "The Trouble with Shorties.")

The property was listed at $1.999m when this buyer signed paper, but the buyer paid $430k less than the bank's previously approved price. Brutal, and beautiful. Bravo.

• 1608 Poinsettia (5br/4ba, 3625 sq. ft.) drew recent mention here at MBC in "Recent Closings." It's a 1990s build that was an as-is short sale, originally asking $1.799m starting last August, making one deal near $1.6m that failed and closing late in April for $1.530m. Wow, $422/PSF in the Trees.

• 3413 Pacific (5br/6ba, 3400 sq. ft.) sold short for $1.687m earlier this month, the second Tree Section newbie to go for less than $500/PSF this year (for more, see "Can't Fight the Future No More").

Working It Out... ?

We have less information on the status of a few other shorties and REOs that have been off the market a while. Since 543 24th and 958 Rosecrans just made deals (see "Two New REOs"), there are no delays yet of concern.

• 1733 Elm (3br/2ba, 1325 sq. ft.) is a partially destroyed, er, "pre-remodeled," cottage in a nice location. (It got a nod, not a pic, in "Glam Dirt" back in January.) The basic story is that folks paid $1.050m in Oct. 2004 with plans to remodel, but that didn't work out. There was an attempt to sell at $1.349m in 2007. Last list: $850k, but there hasn't been much to say for months now since a new deal was struck.

• 4104 Highland (3br/3ba, 2550 sq. ft.) is a bank-owned property that also made a recent deal, last posted at $1.175m after a listing for the same property started up at $1.719m in 2007. Any sale price compares against a March 2005 purchase of $1.450m. There's a whole backstory here that's beyond our scope.

• 1410 Ardmore (3br/2ba, 1600 sq. ft.) is an average, but remodeled, little cottage on a busy part of Ardmore near downtown. It was listed short for $1.5m in July 2008 (see "A Shorty with a Story"), and seemed to make a deal within a week. But there's still no transaction posted.

There may well be legal wrangling behind the scenes we're not seeing. The home sold for $1.2m in March 2006, then $2.5m a year later, and suddenly wound up short just one more year later at $1.5m. That's not normal, even for a shortie, not around here.

Weekend Opens (5/23-5/24)

It's a holiday weekend, and guess what – that means your blog author might just take Monday off, too.

But to keep it interesting we'll run an extended "Weekend Opens" feature, with a couple best-of retreads, some high-priced listings that are worth some discussion, and a couple surprises.

Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools."

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. We ask MBC readers who visit these homes – or any open houses – to also report back in the comments here. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like.


East MB

Here's your first surprise – we're teasing an East MB listing. A rarity.

We have had a few inquiries about 1602 5th, a 4br/4ba, 2725 sq. ft. remodel on a good street. We'll suggest readers take a look and comment back here.

Mostly the home was rebuilt 15 years ago, but there are updates since, particularly the kitchen. Space is more than adequate, and if you like inspired landscaping, that's an extra bonus here as well.

West of Sepulveda, $1.199m wouldn't get you this much. Open Sun. 1-4pm.


Hill Section

814 10th is a huge new home (5br/7ba and 9,000 sq. ft.) on a double lot. Great Cape Cod styling, a delightful pool and cabana, and so much entertaining space upstairs, you could lose half your guests.

Lots of other pluses, including a master closet that might be bigger than the home you grew up in. A must-see in the Hills. Priced at $6.995m. Open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

801 1st (4br/3ba, 2800 sq. ft.) got a mention here last week, too, and is already down $100k from last week's opening price. The location along sometimes-busy Ardmore is, no doubt, causing some second thoughts among would-be buyers, and the layout is not completely conventional.

Still, the traditional style, views, nice breezes, updates – they make a nice package. Now $1.999m. Open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.


Sand Section

Speaking of quick adjustments, check out 221 3rd (4br/5ba, 4075 sq. ft.), a bold, newer Mediterranean that is beach-close with big ocean views.

This is what you want in a walkstreet in the South End.

The listing started at $4.790m earlier this month, now at $4.495m (-$295k/-6%), a zone where lots of west-of-Highland beauties are starting to cluster.

Open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

308 and 318 Gull are new THs, not SFRs, but they're intriguing, and since anything goes this weekend, why not give them a nod, too?

The location is what it is – El Norte, huddled up next to the refinery, but, hey, high up the hill means big ocean views.

The lot was purchased almost 4 years ago for $1.385m. Now each condo (4br/4ba, about 2400 sq. ft. each) is up at $1.595m.

There are some challenges to that price, but we'll see.

We're also wondering how the sale price on either or both of these THs might affect the new development nearby, starting at Highland and going up the hill (see "Coming Soon to El Norte"), whenever those come online.

308 and 318 Gull are open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.


Tree Section

There have been several sales in the Tree Section in May, including new construction clearing out. The open houses we're featuring here are mostly fresh, but at least the last 3 of 4 here appear to be priced high. That doesn't mean they're not worth a look – now or later. The good ones will move.

Buy now or else: 636 29th is threatening to leave.

The sellers have given it an honest 3 months or so, even offering the home below acquisition ($1.890m, Sept. '05). The 4br/4ba, 3250 sq. ft. home with a great location is at $1.699m now.

Give it a week or so more, though, and, according to the new Beach Reporter ad:

Home Will Be Off the Market at the End of the Month and Rented For Years

Now you can't say you weren't warned. Open Sat. only, 1-4pm.

New kid on the same block: 649 29th offers no pics as of yet, so an in-person drop-by is necessary. The listed size (4br/3ba, 2000 sq. ft.) is, frankly, small for the price: $1.699m.

Hey, that's the same price, but 1250 sq. ft. less than the home a few doors down the block! Well, you see, per the listing:

THIS IS A LIFESTYLE PURCHASE!!

We believe this one's going to be cute. But we can't help but read that all-caps hype as "we firmly believe that you should overpay." Let's see. Open Sun. 1-4pm.

3113 Maple (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) is a mid-90s build with some very cute touches, like the picket fence in the backyard with kids' playhouse and vine-covered back patio arbor.

The charms could trigger an emotional reaction and make it a "must-have." (Not unlike what 649 29th is going for.) We're compelled to note, though, that some new construction of comparable size is selling for less than the start price here of $1.849m. Open Sun. 2-4pm.

1812 Palm (5br/4ba, 3225 sq. ft.) is a late-90s build that has all the look of new construction, including familiar layout and updated kitchen. Location is a clear plus, a quiet little block that's nonetheless near the school, church and downtown.

If that start price of $1.899m seems to come from another time, consider this – back in 1999, after the mid-90s housing depression had been cured, but before the big runup of this decade, the owners paid $1.215m. In 1999, that was a lot of money for an average-sized house on a standard-size lot in the Trees.

The markup now (+$684k/+56%) is modest compared to the bubble-inflated median over the same period. Open Sat. & Sun., 2-4pm.

Courthouse Offerings

Don't let that Memorial Day vacation run too long if you're looking for bargains in MB.

Trustee's sales on 2 intriguing properties are slated for Wednesday next week (5/27), 10:30am, on the steps of the LA County courthouse in Norwalk.

The first is 939 Duncan, a 4br/5ba, 3950 sq. ft. home featured from time to time here at MBC over 9 months in 2007-08. It's a massive remodel/rebuild that we called "A 2-Year Flip on Duncan" in a story in Oct. 2007.

In December 2005, someone had paid $2.53m for this home, then really went to work.

Per the Oct. 2007 listing:

This home has been almost completely redone in 2007. Absolutely like new. No expense spared. The best of all worlds from a wonderful pool and spa to a very serviceable elevator.

Price started at $3.895m (+$1.545m and +54%). It dropped only a token $200k over the listing's 9 months on market.

Now the loans have gone very bad, and the opening bid would have to be $2.762m to take the property off the bank's hands right there in Norwalk.

Notice that's not too much of a markup over the pre-remodel price from late 2005. And remember "no expense [was] spared" in the remodel.

That's intriguing.

Of course, the reason banks wind up owning properties in situations like this is that few people are sitting on nearly $3m in cash, ready to pounce on the courthouse steps to grab a deal rather than take the time to investigate their options – which are numerous in MB's Hill Section these days.

We'd bet on seeing this one as an REO later this year, though anything could happen.

Same bank, different situation at 544 3rd, a South End wreck that has to be viewed as a lot sale.

Here the dollars aren't so tough: loans worth $1.1m have gone bad, so if you can make the bank whole, you've got some nice dirt.

The location, a few doors off of Valley, isn't perfect, but 3rd is a quiet street.

If 544 3rd goes for near $1.1m, it will be a giant slap in the face to 505 3rd, a messy, and perhaps scrapable, 4br/3ba, 2600 sq. ft. house up the block. (See "Another Flopped Flip.")

505 3rd remains at $1.599m, flat with the Sept. 2005 acquisition price.

A sale at 544 could discount the dirt substantially. But it depends who's paying attention.

MB Market Update for 5/15/09, Sales and Inventory

The new MB Market Update Spreadsheets are available for download now by clicking here or, at any time, by using the link in the upper-right corner of the front page. Information in this update closed May 15.

We've got to begin this update by saying huzzah and "well done" to the Tree Section, which saw 9 sales (new escrows) in the first half of the month. These included the removal of 5 speckies from the market, with varying lengths of stay on the MLS – from under 100 DOM to more than a year.

Of the 11 total sales in this period among SFRs west of Sepulveda, 3 of them – including one of the Tree Section speckies – were bank-owned properties. That's the first time we've written a sentence like that in 2-plus years of public market tracking.

For all that activity, though, new listings still outpaced those coming off the market. MBC recorded 18 new listings hitting the market in this 2-week period, plus another briefly vanished listing (617 6th) that returned.

Inventory overall wound up at 155 at mid-month, back to the highest level we've recorded, equal to the number at the end of March. (See "Inventory Recedes a Bit," from mid-April, for a graphic.)

Inventory broke down this way by sub-region as of May 15:

Hill: 39
Sand: 63
Trees: 53

Since the sales activity was so interesting, let's focus there today.

"Two New REOs" were the subject of one early-May story, while another bank-owned property snuck onto the market in late April. All sold quickly:

• 958 Rosecrans (2br/1ba, 975 sq. ft., 6000 sq. ft. lot) (pictured) had sold for as much as $977k in Summer 2006 before going back to the bank. Offered this month for $649,900.

• 543 24th (3br/2ba, 1225 sq. ft.) is a little cottage in the gaslight area, needful of repair, but priced nicely at $891k and drawing multiple, multiple offers.

• 2504 Poinsettia (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) was a different kind of Tree Section speckie, with a sort of Asian contemporary flair and dormlike basement bedrooms. It began last May at $2.499m, failed, went to the bank and returned at $1.659m, which worked.

Meanwhile, look at the other Tree Section new construction that cleared out:

• 2103 Elm (5br/4ba, 3100 sq. ft.) (pictured) wasn't crazily overpriced to begin in January, at $2.199m; after 100+ DOM and just $100k off the list, it found a buyer;

• 3404 Pine (5br/5ba, 3250 sq. ft.) was more of a counterexample, beginning a year ago (4/21/08) at $2.45m, chopping to $1.975m before making a deal; [UPDATE: 3404 Pine closed for $1.895m shortly after this story was posted]

• 3109 Oak (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.), a beauty with a location challenge, was optimistic last October at $2.329m, and had cut to $1.899m by the time there was a knock at the door; and

• The Fisher Queen, 1208 Fisher (4br/4ba, 4750 sq. ft.), perhaps the nicer of two bold new moderns with ocean views just up a hill from Metlox (see "The Fisher King (& Queen)"), had chopped $1m from its start at $4.995m but made a match.

The remaining sales (new escrows) were:

• 2600 Poinsettia (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) (pictured), a newer (2000) home with lush, custom details and a sweet back yard; the listing had cut from $1.899m to $1.569m;

• 1817 Pacific (5br/4ba, 3300 sq. ft.), a ravable, newer (2005) home that was priced below acquisition – $1.925m in April 2005, this year: $1.799;

• 2300 Laurel, a lot sale on a corner, last at $1.279m; and

• 333 3rd (4br/3ba, 2750 sq. ft.) in the South End, which actually made a deal last month but just made the spreadsheets; tried last year at $1.999m and came back this year at $1.7m.

Taking a look at closed sales in this period, a few are worth special mention:

• 620 9th (pictured), a big, if rehab-worthy, ocean-view home near downtown featured in "Low on the Hill" wound up closing close to its $2.199m start, at $2.123m; interestingly, after one failed escrow, the home's square footage dropped to 3681 from 4500, putting the final PPSF of $577/PSF well above a similar remodel-to-be nearby at 755 11th ($481/PSF);

• 3404 The Strand, a custom, but dated, Spanish-style home on a 3500 sq. ft. lot got $5.35m, down 31% from its first asking price (see "Strand Adjustments");

• 2616 Highland (4br/4ba, 2400 sq. ft.) closed a nick below its May 2005 acquisition price; then: $2.0m, now: $1.975m; and

• 3413 Pacific (5br/6ba, 3400 sq. ft.) sold short for $1.687m, the second Tree Section newbie to go for less than $500/PSF this year (the other being 2829 Valley); that was a cool -$408k/-19% from start (see "Can't Fight the Future No More").

Forecast Forum (5/20-)

What does the future hold?

70 degrees and sunny. You can almost bank on that.

The actual weather forecast for MB the next few days is 69-71, with the occasional fogginess of June Gloom arriving early.

Keep a sweatshirt handy.

4.7 and 4.0. Those were the sizes of recent earthquakes. (Our pic is a shake map via USGS.)

You know, they don't predict earthquakes. Still, for armchair forecasters, it's a little bit reassuring to see that all the activity on these recent quakes is on the "Newport-Inglewood fault," several miles inland, and not the Palos Verdes Fault or the Redondo Canyon fault just offshore. Every once in a while we get a 3-4 point bump off Redondo Canyon, but there are none forecast any time soon.

36%!?! California home prices are down, and ratings agency Fitch says there's a whole lot more down to come. In a new forecast, the group says California will lead the way nationally over the next 12-18 months with a further 36% drop in home prices.

Another third-plus off prices by year-end 2010?

That's the forecast.

Bigger picture: California, the state, the almost-nation, oh man, it's not looking good. A series of purported budget fixes flamed out Tuesday, and now here comes the axe.

The forecast is for grim, brutal budget cuts touching everything. Shorten the school year, release prisoners, let the roads go to pot(holes). And fire all the state employees. Could this affect quality of life? Forecast says yes.

No one is talking about the real solution: Secession and a new currency. Then we could print our way out of the problem. An idea for another day.

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Please provide your forecasts on any topic, or just use this week's "Open Forum" thread for news clips, off-topic questions & discussions of (virtually) any nature. Keep it clean.

Can't Wipe Away the Loss

More evidence that MB home prices have backtracked to 2005 or so comes from a closed sale at 468 33rd.

We'll note first that holding at 2005 prices wouldn't be so bad, if MB could levitate there for a while. Plenty of markets are living in 2002 or so, headed back further amid booming REO sales – comp killers. So we count our blessings.

Now, what makes 468 33rd a marker in our growing dataset is not going to be obvious to everyone.

The home just sold for a loss: $2.5m as of May 14, down from the May 25, 2006, acquisition price of $2.775m, a drop of $275k (-10%). But it takes some research to show that.

Here at MBC we're only certain of that acquisition price because we wrote about it 17 months ago in "Stuff Our Stockings (Please)." At that time, we wrote, the website of the LA County Assessor was showing the May 2006 sale at $2.775m.

But as this excerpt from the deed shows, the owners actually took steps to hide the acquisition price from public record when they made the purchase in 2006.

There's no way to know why the assessor showed the sale price anyway at the time of MBC's first story, but now, the county site shows no previous sale price. We stand by the original report, though, and we note that the 2008 roll values – which are online – are consistent with that $2.775m figure.

So that 10% loss from May 2006 prices suggests the value at 33rd has gone backwards a bit into some point in 2005, or, gasp!, 2004. Here the exercise becomes purely academic, because the home was built in 2005.

We might note that $2.5m is still a healthy chunk of money, as befits a luxe, large (5br/5ba, 4250 sq. ft.), newer home on a great street at the top of the plateau. It also sold pretty quickly this time, after failed attempts over the past year and a half. We counted just 6 DOM from start to escrow; the final DOM is listed as 25 in the MLS. The buyer took a quick 13% hack off the $2.890m start price.

As it happens, this home is right next door to littler 464 33rd (3br/3ba, 2540), which sold very quickly last month, aggressively priced at $1.599m (see "Beauty Calls").

There's a lesson here from 468 33rd, one we're starting to see more and more: Asking too much can cost you.

MBC called attention to this home twice in 2007 and 2008 (the "Stockings" piece and in one of our now-long-gone "Two-Year Itchers" series) to share our astonishment at the initial attempt by the owners to make a quick $720k profit (+26%) after holding the property for only a year and a half.

That plan did not pan out, obviously. The sale price was a swing of 36% in the other direction. So here's a pretty clear case where overpricing the property in the first place not only failed to generate the hoped-for windfall – the bad pricing decision wound up costing the sellers money.

Flippin', Floppin'

Maybe it just wasn't clear enough by mid-2007, or even mid-2008, that the "flipping" phenomenon was finished.

Here and there you still see examples of homes that were purchased in need of an update, spiffed up and returned to market. They're not faring well, as a group.

Approaching break-even, or worse, is 704 Highland (3br/3ba, 1625 sq. ft.), newly cut Monday to $1.329m.

That's a markup of only about 10% over the $1.199m acquisition price from last June. Yes, the June in 2008.

At the time Highland was bought, it was a wreck. It got a ground-up revivification, with everything redone, from wiring to kitchen and baths to a new coat of smooth stucco outside.

That overhaul was finished quickly, and Highland hit the market near Labor Day 2008 at $1.549m (+$350k). No takers on the purchase, though, so the home rented out. It came back to market again in late April.

A full-price purchase now would be $130k above acquisition. About $30k would go to buyer's agent commissions. (The listing agent is the owner.) So if remodel costs and holding costs were less than $100k, this one might work out. And yet, the math on our cocktail napkin here is not looking so good.

In the Hill Section, rather near Sepulveda, is 234 Larsson. (The home fronts 3rd St. near Hwy. 1 despite the Larsson address.)

This stand-alone townhome (3br/3ba, 2300 sq. ft.), marketed as an SFR, was tired, tired, tired in Summer 2006 when it was first offered. After 9 months, someone with big plans grabbed it for $1.075m in May 2007.

Here, another soup-to-nuts makeover – except exterior – was pushed through, and the results are, objectively, beautiful. The remodeler thought so, too, pricing the home at $1.500m last June.

At this writing, Larsson has now exceeded its previous 9 months on market by reaching 11 months on offer in its new, improved form. The price has been slow to adjust, now down only $201k to $1.299m. [ UPDATE: Price dropped to $1.199m the day after this story first appeared. ]

A recent sale at comparably sized 509 N. Dianthus (3br/3ba, 2250 sq. ft.) could be illuminating as to Larsson's market value. That one – not as fully updated as Larsson, but boasting a significantly better location – went into escrow at $1.199m.

We might guess that Larsson is worth $1.150m or so in light of the Dianthus sale (whatever price it closes at) and Larsson's poor location. But a $75k markup wouldn't be much reward for the Larsson remodel or a year's holding costs. Quite the opposite.

A third example seems to have rented out recently. 2211 Highland (3br/3ba, 1950 sq. ft.) was acquired in May 2008 for $1.325m. And you know what happened next.

That's right, a classy remodel. The results are featured with high-quality pics on this custom listing website.

Once the work was done, the listing popped up at a fairly remarkable $1.949m (+$624k/+47%) in late Sept. 2008.

Once the price came down to $1.699m, the listing (and the website) screamed:

Just reduced $250,000! This is a steal!!!!! This amazing home is priced to sell fast.

But the market determines what is a "steal," not the volume of exclamation points.

It wasn't too long before the "for rent" sign was competing for space with the "for sale" sign. With the property having dropped off the MLS, we take it this one is not building equity for anyone right now.

Weekend Opens (5/16-5/17)

For 50 weeks out of the year, local home tours are free. But often, you get what you pay for.

This weekend is the American Martyrs "Sophisticated Snoop" tour, as many of you who already have your little blue booties at home well know.

Walk-up tickets are $30, open 10am-4pm Sat. & Sun.

Click here for the tour home page, with one pic of each of the 6 tour homes plus the writeups.

If you didn't buy presale tix, drop by any home to pay and begin your tour:

• 202 Ocean, MB

• 916 Highview, MB

• 501 23rd, MB

• 927 27th, MB

• 120 33rd, MB

• 2461 Myrtle, HB

Meanwhile, if you're in the market, or want to keep your $30 for something else (like parking downtown), there are some new options this weekend.

Please note that 864 14th, which is a subject of our current poll, is open Saturday only, 1-4pm.

Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools."

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. We ask MBC readers who visit the "Sophisticated Snoop" homes, or any open house, to also report back in the comments here. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like.


Hill Section

801 1st (4br/3ba, 2800 sq. ft.) caught Mrs. MBC's eye when they posted signs earlier this week; it's always been a favorite of hers around town. That's probably because of the home's throwback Cape Cod styling – a traditional feel in a home that's just 10 years old.

Turns out the interior is pretty sweet, too, with updates in the important places. The outdoor space you see in the pics is a bit exaggerated by the fisheye lens, but it's something, with this caveat – the home runs along sometimes-busy Ardmore.

Traditional style, some views, nice breezes, updates – with space that's neither too much nor too little. A nice package, starting at $2.095m. (That price is almost exactly double the Dec. 2000 acquisition price of $1.050m.) Open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

929 John (3br/3ba, 1875 sq. ft.) offers a wide-open floorplan with a clean, modern flair. Updated with lots of light and a pool in the sunny corner of the back yard.

The home and lot are smaller than most Hill Section offerings, as is the price: $1.499m. Acquired in June 2003 for $1.189m. Open Sun. 1-4pm.


Sand Section

621 N. Valley (3br/2ba, 1050 sq. ft.) got a mention the other day in "Best Priced?" but isn't getting many votes yet in our poll.

This one was tired and crusty back when it was offered in early 2005, but has since gotten a paint job, a little sprucing up and new appliances.

Bonus: Connection to the 7th St. walkstreet. Hidden downside: Two bedrooms up, one down with a separate outdoor entrance. Now offered at $1.199m. Open Sun. 1-4pm.

420 1st (2br/2ba, 800 sq. ft.) earned a not-so-laudatory mention in MBC's recent story, "Askew Down South," which discussed 3 "tiny, spiffy remodels held less than 2 years."

Click on the original story for more on this home, including the comments.

In short, it's small, 2 buildings, next to Robinson School and a parking lot. Acquired for $1.075m not fully 2 years ago, now offered at $1.275m. They're seeking a bump when a loss seems, frankly, much more likely. Open Sun. 1-4pm.


Tree Section

864 14th is another home subject to our "Best Priced?" poll, and it is running away with the vote, as we write.

In other words, people are finding this little 3br/2ba, 1325 sq. ft., completely updated cottage to be the most attractive for the money: $1.125m.

You have to accept the smallish size, which is tough for families, and some modest liabilities of the location (soccer field, school traffic). But there are still many charms.

One reason people see this as a deal now is that it's down quite a bit from its July 2006 acquisition price of $1.417m. We talk a lot here at MBC about how we're in 2005 prices, but this one seems a step down even from there.

Open Sat. only, 1-4pm.

595 36th (4br/5ba, 3325 sq. ft.) is the wildcard in our mix.

We paid no attention – none – to the listing when it began at $1.625m about 2 months ago. But they have come down quickly to $1.499m, and now we're starting to see the potential.

There's a lot of space here and some decent updates. There's a triple-whammy of a location issue to overcome, being near Blanche, Rosecrans and the refinery. Nearer to $1.3m, though, this offering could have a line at the door. Maybe they will go there. Open Sun. 2-4pm.

717 12th ($1.386m) was mentioned and discussed last weekend, but only had a Saturday open. This week, they're devoting much of Sunday: 1:30-5pm.

Strand Adjustments

For most of MBC's 2+ years, we've seen very few offerings on The Strand, lot sales included.

When we started to see a minor flurry of Strand offerings over the past 6-7 months, it's safe to say everyone was confused about how to price them.

Consider one successful sale: the brand-new home at 1712 The Strand (3br/4ba, 4500 sq. ft.) (pictured). For a couple of months before it hit the open market, the unofficial price was $12.5m.

The official start price in late February was $10.5m, and a buyer came quick.

That buyer also shaved $1.5m more off the top for a sale at $9.0m. If you count from the unofficial start, that's a $3.5m drop (-28%).

Look to the South End. 204 The Strand, a 3300 sq. ft. lot, began in Nov. 2008 at $8.2m.

No takers, but when neighboring 208 The Strand became available (same size lot), it sold at $6.7m to the same folks who took 204. (The final price on 204 is not public, but you can guess.) So your primo lot values down south are barely sub-$7m.

Now head north again. 3404 The Strand (pictured) offered a custom, Spanish-style, 2-building home – dated, but cool – on a 3500 sq. ft. lot.

In November they started at $7.8m – because, hey, who knew what to ask?

The sale recently closed at $5.35m, a not-inconsiderable sum, of course, but also $2.45m (-31%) below that start.

Getting the memo recently: 3216 The Strand, a terribly flawed duplex that is going to have to go for lot value. This one tried at $7.3m briefly last year, and is newly down to $5.499m, nearly $2m off the start and probably nearing the right price.

Still in the stratosphere: 1800 The Strand, at $13.5m, and 3516 The Strand at $13.999m.

Best Priced?

A mix of new and re-priced listings this week definitely contains some deals.

The question is: Which of the 5 listings we highlight below is the best priced of the bunch?

Please read the story below and vote in the poll. You may vote for 1 listing only. Please use the comments to explain your vote.

Poll closes Sunday night at 8pm, giving you a chance to see any of these homes that are open this weekend. (None, sadly, are on the Sophisticated Snoop tour.)

• 621 Valley (3br/2ba, 1050 sq. ft.) was tired and crusty back when it was offered in early 2005. Reflecting that, it was priced to move, and someone paid $1.0m in May 2005 to get it. (That was not considered a lot of money back then.)

A paint job, a little sprucing up here and there, new appliances, and you've got a polished version of an older house on Valley.

Bonus: Connection to the 7th St. walkstreet. Hidden downside: Two bedrooms up, one down with a separate outdoor entrance. Now offered at $1.199m.

• 3113 Maple (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) is a mid-90s build with some very cute touches, like the picket fence in the backyard with kids' playhouse and vine-covered back patio arbor. The charms could trigger an emotional reaction and make it a "must-have."

On the other hand, the location north of 31st isn't really "fabulous," and there is this bigger problem: New construction of comparable size is selling for less than the start price here of $1.849m.

Maple was acquired for $1.550m in Jan. 2004, so the sellers are thinking that a markup of $300k (+19%) doesn't sound so unreasonable 5 years later.

• 121 42nd is a small (2br/2ba, 1075 sq. ft.), shabby bungalow in El Porto, but it's priced like that, starting at $859k. It's a shortie, so you'll have to work that price out with a bank.

Shocking, but true: Not so long ago, in early 2005, this property sold quickly, above asking. Start price: $1.260m. A week later, sold for: $1.345m (March 2005).

A full-price sale now would drop the value -$485k/-36% over 4 years.

• 864 14th (3br/2ba, 1325 sq. ft.) is one of the snazziest little cottages in the Trees, with recent remodels that leave a nice kitchen, baths and a walk-in closet for the master (in a cottage!).

Lot is larger at 5,000 sq. ft. and the location is nice, provided you don't mind overlooking the soccer field below Pacific School.

This one begins at $1.125m, making it competitive with smaller 2404 Elm ($1.169m) and larger 1600 Elm ($1.339m) and 2613 Oak ($1.269m).

864 14th is also priced well below its July 2006 acquisition price of $1.417m. A full-price sale would put it down $292k/-21% over less than 3 years.

• 444 33rd Place offers a small home (2br/2ba, 900 sq. ft.) on a full lot (2700 sq. ft.) oriented wide along the alley instead of deep with an alley frontage. The listing has been around for 10 months, the first 6 spent above $1m.

Three months ago the listing cut to $959k and it's now at $889k. They're calling it the "Best Buy in sand section." One thing we know: It's a better buy now than in Oct. 2005, when someone paid $1.260m.

Local Luxury Markets Down, Too

Just last week MBC used DataQuick data to show that MB was not the only one of the local beach cities to see RE sales slow down a lot.

You may recall that Redondo, with similar sales volume, dropped at about the same pace from 2002-2008, and MB, Redondo and Hermosa all hit new lows for sales in 2008. (See "Beach Sales: South Since '02-'03.")

Now we see that the same disease hit almost every local luxury market at about the same time.

Our newest chart looks at sales of SFRs in several local higher-priced markets, from Rancho Palos Verdes in the south to Pacific Palisades to the north. (Click to enlarge.)

The sales paces in these 6 separate markets moved in remarkably similar patterns throughout the past 20 years.

Nose-dives in the late 1980s, mid-90s and 2001 were nearly simultaneous and at about the same scale in each market.

After a giddy 2002, the sales pace declined steadily and sharply in 5 of these 6 markets, with only Santa Monica's 90402 market (the smallest subset, red at bottom) looking relatively orderly as its sales pace fell almost 50%.

Every one of these 6 markets scraped out a new bottom for sales in 2008; most had created new bottoms in 2007 first.

So MB is not alone – again.

It's some kind of encouragement to know that, even as the economy boomed throughout the mid-2000s and people felt (and got) richer than ever, fewer and fewer homes traded hands in all of these markets – some of the most desirable housing markets in the L.A. area. It wasn't just an MB problem.

We'll get ready to look at median prices for these markets soon. But it's no secret that medians rose considerably across the board during much of the period while sales were slowing. There may be some relationship between those factors. As prices begin to fall notably in the higher-priced markets, the seeds of recovery – in sales pace, anyway – may soon be planted.

50 Cents Means a Lot

Finally there's something to really cheer about here in MB.

One of LA's toniest seaside enclaves now boasts a new parking discount.

The price for leaving your car at a meter downtown has come down from $1.25/hr. to just 75 cents (-$0.50/-40%).

Or, as we more commonly calculate it: just 3 quarters now instead of 5.

The chop brings parking prices down to levels not seen since June 2008.

It's apparently something to crow about, because posters like this have sprung up all over downtown, less than a full week after the City Council voted to roll back 2 recent parking rate increases, including a 25-center in January.

Last week's Beach Reporter carried the rationale for the rollback:

[A downtown business owner] said that since the January on-street meter increase, customers have been walking in her store angry...

Angry about a quarter.

Angry shoppers will go somewhere else, see. Like El Segundo. (Achem.)

But why raise parking rates in the first place – during a recession, no less?

The city was down $700k in its parking operations. The revenue was needed.

Maybe you guessed the downside to the rollback, then: The city will now lose about $400k in planned revenue over the course of a year. The parking concession drops to about $200k if it runs only 6 months, which is all the council has approved.

Perhaps the few hundred thousand in lost revenues will be made up by higher sales tax collections. Oops, no, that doesn't pencil out.

So next time you wind up with a couple extra quarters in your pocket downtown, why not stop a neighbor and thank her for subsidizing your parking?

Downtown Cottages at $3m

A couple of beach-close, downtown-adjacent, nicely improved cottages are starting above $3m.

Is $3m+ the going rate for old-school MB and near the pier?

The listings are:

• 125 8th (pictured) (4br/3ba, 2150 sq. ft., including a separate guest house, at $3.295m); and

• 221 7th (3br/3ba, 2150 sq. ft., $3.375m)

Both are fairly long holds.

8th has been in the same hands for 10 years, while the 7th St. house has been the listing agent's home for almost 25 years.

That means price comparisons can be tough to make, but it is eye-opening that the 8th St. listing is now up at 3 times the 1999 acquisition price of $1.1m.

Score one for working at home: 125 8th has been, for a couple of years, adjacent to a sometime shooting site for a certain Showtime series in which the owner appears.

The big difference between the properties, other than the west-of-Manhattan/east-of-Manhattan divide, is that spare unit at 8th that "could be a Bachelor Rental" (per the listing). Nice if you want it, but that cuts into the main home's space a bit.

In this little charm-off between old-timers, 221 7th (pictured) has the edge. The big, open beamed ceilings, cozy spaces, sunrooms and period-inspired bath remodels give it an updated-but-true feel.

Either of these old-timers could capture the imagination, but what's their competition for the money?

• Not too much further south is 217 2nd, another quasi-duplex with significantly more space (5br/5ba, 3425 sq. ft. in total) listed at $3.495m.

The updated 70s build can't compete on charm, but it's 50% less than the others by PPSF. It was purchased in Dec. 2003 for $2.1m, so that markup may be a tad ambitious.

On the other side of downtown, on busy, busy (for listings) 16th St., 2 listings below $3m could be viewed as comparable by profile:

• 209 16th is a duplex now, with the main unit around 1450 sq. ft. and the other near 900, a total of 2325 sq. ft., just a bit bigger than 125 8th. This one has little curb appeal, but nice insides and a street which is more secluded and not much further from the downtown core. It's at $2.699m – about $700k below the cottages and, not incidentally, just +$160k over the March 2005 price ($2.535m).

• 228 16th, barely up the block but near Highland, is a remodel with part of the 4br/6ba, 2950 sq. ft. coming from the apartment/guest suite in back. Priced at $2.95m.

Maybe the charming cottages of our tale here would be valued more for their dirt. If so, we should also give a nod to some same-size South End lot sales from the past couple years:

• 120 2nd, $3.810m, 4/30/07

• 129 6th, $3.625m, 2/14/08

• 128 6th, $2.625m, 12/3/08

You could argue that the dirt is declining in value, but this is a small sample.

There are plenty of great ways to spend your $3m in MB. Is the old-time feel worth that much to the buyers with the scratch?

Inventory Down/Flat in April

There's more to say about the 2nd half of April, and the time since.

But we wanted to note here that the new MB Market Update Spreadsheets are available now by clicking here, or download any time by using the link in the upper-right corner of the front page. Data in this update closed April 30.

Inventory of SFRs west of Sepulveda wound up April flat against mid-month, at 148, down still from 155 at the end of March. There's no need for graphing this result now, which looks an awful lot like the graph from "Inventory Recedes a Bit" a short time back.

Inventory broke down this way by sub-region as of April 30:

Hill: 36
Sand: 56
Trees: 56

Overall stats for April: 20 new listings, 17 sales (new escrows) and 11 cancellations.

That was 2 more sales (new escrows) than March, and 3 more cancellations.

Comparing April 2008 with April 2009:

• New listings – '08: 31, '09: 17

• Sales (new escrows) – '08: 17 , '09: 17

• Cancellations – '08: 9 , '09: 11

So this year did see a quieter April in terms of people offering homes for sale (-45% if you don't mind small numbers), a couple more dropouts, and the exact same number of sales as last year.

Weekend Opens (5/9-5/10)

It's a tradition around major holidays – even Hallmark holidays – for RE ads to try to squeeze in some reference to the event.

In past years, the week's Beach Reporter ads were a little more exuberant in trying to suggest you should buy a home for mom this weekend.

This week, just 2 that we saw:

• "A Mother's Day Gift to Remember..." – ad for 1817 Pacific, $1.799m, Open Sun. 1-4pm (yes, on Mother's Day)

• "For a Special Mother... because she deserves it!" – ad for 217 21st St. (TH), $1.625m, Open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

Sweet, no?

Here's some news: Someone agreed on 1817 Pacific – it's in "backup offer" status now, a deal in the making.

Remember, most opens (the pro-mom ones anyway) are on Saturday only this weekend.

Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools."

As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. We ask MBC readers who visit these homes – or any open houses – to also report back in the comments here. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like.


Hill Section

If mom is looking for a good-size house but has no particular need of views – ocean, city or otherwise – there's 607 Anderson (5br/5ba, 3600 sq. ft.).

It's an attractive 10-year-old home with plenty of space, plenty of light, some updates. Not too different from your typical recent-vintage Tree Section home, except you get a bit more yard and, well, it's the Hills.

Sellers paid $1.939m in May 2004, and ask $2.340m (+$401k/+21%) to start now. If we're now living in 2005 prices in MB, that's a tad high. Open Sat. 2-4pm.


Sand Section

Tell mom that MBC is not obsessed with South End walkstreets, it's just that we keep getting new listings down there.

This week, it's 221 3rd (4br/5ba, 4075 sq. ft.), a bold, newer Mediterranean that is beach-close with big ocean views. The top level, with the main living spaces, draws that all in, while first-floor entertainment spaces connect to an outdoor patio on the walkstreet.

This is what the South End west of Highland is all about. Starts at $4.790m. Open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

If mom loves being near downtown, it seems like all of 16th St. has been for sale over the past year. This week, 203 16th joined the mix at $3.1m.

It's a duplex with a 2br/2ba, 1850 sq. ft. owner's unit up top, and another 2br with 1050 sq. ft. down below. Open Sat. 1-4pm.

Other active 16th St. listings (not open) include: 120 16th, 209 16th, 228 16th and 316 16th.


Tree Section

Mom could definitely love a freshly redone home near downtown at 717 12th.

This 3br/2ba, 1600 sq. ft. home won't be enough for every family, but the space flows nicely and includes 2 outdoor decks and a little yard.

All the important stuff is newly remodeled: kitchen, baths and master.

Sellers paid $1.512m in Aug. 2007, before much of the work, but now offer the end product for $1.386m. Open Sat. 1-4pm.

After visiting, strut down the hill a bit with mom to 2 new townhomes at 1126 & 1130 Laurel (priced at $1.289m & $1.349m, respectively). Open Sat. 1-3pm.