Weekend Opens (7/31-8/1)

Here come the dog days.

August is upon us, and so is the new, improved, less-fun 6-man. (They say.)

Regardless, downtown is busy, and watch out for the beach. Maybe you should still keep the kids away from the pier if you can. Instead, make it a family trip to check out a couple of new opens...

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 featured 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.


Sand Section

404 10th (5br/3ba, 2900 sq. ft.) is a custom modern in the distinctive style of a local builder whose work was also on display at 794 27th in the Tree Section a while back.

The version in the Trees was called "Asian-inspired contemporary," while here they're saying "Pan-Pacific." That gives some of the flavor of a build that's got acid-washed, polished concrete floors, strategic use of glass and metal to add a modern feel, and lots of reddish wood outside and in to add warmth.

The architect had some fun. The master bath's ceiling is gently rounded, and the bath sports small, square, open "porthole" windows to the hallway on the sunny side. A walkway from the master bedroom to the rear of the house feels like a bridge. A tiny balcony has just enough room for the tiny hot tub that's been placed there. The "popped up" ceiling in the master, with narrow windows around the edges, seems to be a signature.

404 10th has been mentioned several times before at MBC. It was purchased new in April 2006 for $2.5m and was back on the market for much of 2007 seeking a nice markup, as high as $3.3m (+$800k/+25% over acquisition). (See "More Faith in Rising Prices," from June 2007.)

Back this time, it's still marked up, but not so aggressively, starting at $2.799m – still nearly $300k above a 2006 price, while most of MB remains roughly in 2004 prices. We'll see how that pans out.

Worth noting: 404 10th becomes the fourth active listing on this fairly short, flat walkstreet block between Crest and Valley. The others are 316 10th ($3.8m), 332 10th ($3.349m) and 420 10th ($2.089m).

404 10th is open Sun. 1-4pm.

3608 Crest (3br/4ba, 2125 sq. ft.) is a "Tudor" near Rosecrans in El Norte.

As we said recently in "More Ugly Ducklings," the home "seems comfy, if dated.... You do get some ocean views, and the corner lot on Crest – which is kind of an alley – gives you some space from neighbors." Starts at $1.379m.

3608 Crest is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.


Tree Section

530 21st (6br/4ba, 3670 sq. ft.) is a classic, custom Cape Cod that might melt the hearts of skeptics eyeing that $2.599m start price.

You can tell you've got a well-done custom home when aspects of the layout, or some details, break from the norm, and you see extra layers of work heaped into finishes.

At 21st, we'll focus on a few details: the love of quality wood and woodwork that runs throughout the home (the owner says that "planks" were a theme that carry from the front door into each room), the choice of a sauna for the master bath (without striking the tub or shower, or shrinking the room) and the addition of 3 tall, narrow, personal wood medicine cabinets built into the wall in the kids' main bathroom upstairs.

Small or large, these details tell you that someone knew what they wanted when they built the house, and they got it all. (It's a 2000 build, by the way.)

Living spaces are all downstairs, including one extra (6th) bedroom now set up as an office. One living room and dining room up front – right off the entry – are each on the small (cozy?) side, but a full living room in the back is much more substantial, and that connects to a central patio.

Among the 5br upstairs, the master is substantial, with enough room for a sitting area, high ceilings with exposed wood and beams, and a fireplace. None of the kids' bedrooms is huge, but they're sufficient, save for the room now set up as a gym – that's truly small. One bedroom features a dreamy twin bed built together with drawers and cabinets (pictured here).

Locationwise, there's no arguing that 21st is one of the great gaslight streets, but the rear of the home is more or less on Valley, with Live Oak Park right nearby. In our tour, Valley didn't seem like much of a factor. We'd imagine that the park would be a plus for a family as well, but different people will weigh the location differently.

Now, $2.6m? One nearby recent sale was the off-market transaction of a newer (2002) home at 515 21st (5br/4ba, 2550 sq. ft.) at $2.0m in late June. It's a much smaller home on a smaller lot (2730 compared to almost 3600 at 530 21st), though it's on the non-Valley side of the street. The neighbor closed at $785/PSF, while 530 is now up lower at $709/PSF.

Another data point on the block is 549 21st (4br/4ba, 2600 sq. ft.), a remodel that recently sold for $1.612m ($620/PSF). We'll also head over to the Sand Dune area for a comp: 592 31st (5br/5ba, 3750 sq. ft.), also a custom Cape Cod and a bit newer (2006), very close in size, though with a bigger lot – that one closed at $2.551m in late June.  21st is much closer to downtown and a quicker walk to the beach.

Of course, what matters most is what a willing buyer will put up to get the keys.

530 21st is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.

It's a different world entirely over at 1504 Pine (3br/2ba, 1600 sq. ft.), custom in a different way.

Sure, there's a love of wood here, too – but the theme is "Big Bear at the Beach." It's the cabin lifestyle without the need to drive up the mountain.

What you're being asked to consider here is a dated, 1950s cottage that "could use some updating." (Per the listing.)

It's a midblock location on a nice street near Pacific School, pretty nice.

The listing started at $949k – and here's some news: it's in escrow. The open is still on, though.

1504 Pine is open Sun. 2-4pm. 

One more from the "ugly ducklings" story is worth a visit this weekend: 1908 Elm (4br/3ba, 3520 sq. ft.), which was new in the mid-80s. The listing calls it "gorgeous" but doesn't mention any remodeling. We didn't catch a preview this week and there's still just the one pic online, so there's a lot of mystery here.

That's a decent location in the southern Trees. Starts at $1.590m.

1908 Elm is open Sun. 1-4:30pm.

3309 Pacific Is Lucky in 6th Year

One of the most curious, difficult, long-term listings in Manhattan Beach has a deal. 

3309 Pacific (4br/5ba, 3500 sq. ft.) has been for sale at one time or another in every year since 2005. (See "Going for 6.")

Listings at Pacific have been short, they've been long, but here, it ran less than 6 weeks before finding a buyer.

That's not unlike the situation at 234 Larsson in MBC's most recent post – hundreds of days on market once upon a time, now finding a deal in a little over a month.

To recount, the first listing at 3309 Pacific began at $1.799m in Summer 2005 near the peak of the local bubble, found a buyer (for a while) in Summer 2006 when priced at $1.599m – the deal failed – and was most recently up at $1.249m.

The principal attraction at Pacific is space for the dollar – about $350/PSF, far below the common $600-$800 range you'll see on other listings and sales. (See the 7/15/10 update's Tree Section solds page here.) Only big 590 36th has sold for less than $400/PSF in the Trees this year.

We've called Pacific "a bit off-kilter." The 1950 original was updated in the 70s or 80s and added onto pre-ZORP. There's some decent outdoor space out back, terraced and paved, but space nonetheless. (There's more in MBC's February 2009 review of the home and its for-sale history, "A Long, Strange Listing.")

While the rest of the marketplace moves slowly, we see 2 less-than-stellar listings moving. Bravo to Pacific. Let's see if they can hold onto this fish this time.

Larsson TH Comes Off the Board

234 Larsson

REO, shortie, SFR, TH, whatever – 234 Larsson (3br/3ba, 2300 sq. ft.) finally has a deal after cutting to $1.0m.

We've watched the home run hundreds of days on market over the past 3 years. Twice.

This time, the listing was mercifully brief at 45 DOM.

From July-Dec. 2006, the dated, tired version of the home was offered, with a sale closing much later, in May 2007 at $1.075m.

Someone went to work on the old TH and radically spruced up the interior. Remember "flips?"

They brought it back on public offer a year later, in June 2008, seeking $1.5m for the fabulously upgraded home.

Buyers were having none of it.

Larsson's remodeled interior

The listing was a fixture for a year-plus. The offering price gradually came down to $1.199m, and the signs of trouble became evident.

NODs, a trip to the courthouse steps for an auction. Frankly we haven't nailed down where this ended up – the most recent listing agent had "REO" in the brokerage name, but the current agent is from a more recognizably named shop. The listing is now called a short sale, with this very new intro language:

* * * SHORT SALE APPROVED * * * NEED OFFERS ASAP * * *

That come-on seemed to appear along with the recent cut to $1.0m, and the buyer's knock on the door. Looks like a bank will eat a part of the mess.

One thing didn't change over most of the span of 3 separate listings discussed here: The home was always marketed as an SFR.

In fact, it's a "stand-alone" townhome, which has just a couple major implications: you can't change the outside, and you have to pay $100/mo. in HOA fees.

Alas, this listing also cured that problem, eventually. It was re-labeled a "condo" at some point midstream this time.

So they finally called Larsson what it was, finally priced it right and finally found a buyer. Maybe not an entirely happy ending, but those are good steps as this one finally comes off the board.

11% in 3 Years

If a seller's loss can contain a hopeful sign, that may be what comes from the recent sale at 2305 Pine.

The modestly sized (3br/2ba, 2000 sq. ft.), remodeled cottage recently closed for $1.4m, a pretty good sign of strength in Tree Section pricing.

As MBC noted in our most recent post on Pine, the home came on in late February at a time of "fairly low inventory below $1.5m." (See "2305 Pine Is Back, 3 Years Later.") List then was $1.449m, so it didn't drop much as the deal was made.

For our market tracking purposes, the intriguing thing about the MLS-reported closed price is that it's down just 11% nearly 3 full years after its August 2007 acquisition at $1.570m.

Looking around town, you'll find plenty of 2007 purchases that have rewound more than 11%. Especially on an overpay situation like Pine seemed to be at the time in 2007 – you'd expect a bigger chop. Here are some '07 purchases resold recently, and their declines in value:

• 

  3113 Laurel

  3113 Laurel (5br/5ba, 3400 sq. ft.), purch. March '07 for $2.350m, resold March 2010 for $2.025m (-$325k/-14%);

• 1018 2nd (3br/3ba, 1900 sq. ft.), purch. May '07 for $1.952m, resold May 2010 for $1.545m (-$355k/-19%); and

• 1516 Highland (3br/3ba, 2225 sq. ft.), purch. March '07 for $1.795m, resold June 2010 for $1.6m (-$195k/-12%) – some remodeling work was done after the '07 purchase, so the equity loss to the sellers was likely greater than 12%.

The 11% drop on Pine defines the low end of these recent 3-year resales.

Median prices citywide, meanwhile, dropped closer to 25% from peak to valley, though parts of 2010 have seen an uptrend from the trough. (More on median price trends soon.) What that means for Pine is that a sale midyear last year would have been expected another 5% or more below $1.4m.

The only very recent Tree Section resale from 2007 to perform "better" than Pine just did was 3011 Elm, a special Spanish in a nice location that dropped from $2.650m in Dec. 2007 to $2.475m this year (-$175k/-7%).

We always note that 2305 Pine was the subject of MBC's very first post, after the listing's price increased by $100k at a time that the broader market was strange and seemed mostly to be declining. That move prevented the home from selling during the Great Spring Rally of 2007, but the sellers still got most of their price increase in the Summer.

The buyers from that time, in getting out now, can at least be said to have picked a moment that wasn't the utter bottom to hand the keys over to someone else. Small satisfaction, perhaps, with a dollar loss that easily could exceed $200k, but it could have been worse.

11% in 2 Weeks

There are lots of ways to make price cuts.

You can do 'em slowly, over the long term, reluctantly.

Or you can make your move quickly, when it's clear that you started too high.

Maybe you know MBC's preference. We like to see sellers move toward the realistic end of the spectrum as soon as possible. Who enjoys having a listing run 6 months or more?

And this is the time, by the way, to make your moves, with the calendar squeezing the buyer pool. (See "Selling You Home? Then Act Like It.")

Today's example is 748 11th (5br/5ba, 5700 sq. ft.), an early-90s Hill Section manse with some updates on a quiet block west of Pacific.

The home began at $4.495m less than 2 weeks ago, and has now cut $500k (-11%) to $3.995m.

Seems like they weren't so attached to that inflated start price, after all.

We noted in our review for the first public opens:

It's practically 2 houses, with 4 [out of 5] bedrooms and a living room downstairs – one bedroom has a kitchenette and extra space, making it living quarters for a long-term guest or the help.

Upstairs is the master with 2 walk-ins, a great office with treetop views, a big and modern kitchen plus living/dining spaces. One separate living room has a little peek at the ocean...

[T]hroughout the home are details that many buyers will want to update.

A reader who also toured the home had this to say:

"Honey I forgot to remodel half the House". 1992 Dated downstairs, 2010'ish current upstairs.

The reader had it right – a striking feature of the house is that the upstairs feels now, and the downstairs... not so much. What will you do with all the extra space? First, remodel it.

So we've got a tough case here, and the smart thing is to start showing movement before the listing vanishes into obscurity.

If the attitude holds, the listing's a contender for a sale this year.

More Ugly Ducklings

With burgeoning inventory this month, there's one trend that's harder to put a finger on... hard to describe... hard to really say out loud... but you know it when you see it.

It seems that several new listings are, let's say, "aesthetically challenged."

We'll run through a gallery quickly, using small-size photos. If you like, you can click any highlighted address for listing details via Redfin, plus full-size pics.

1908 Elm (4br/3ba, 3520 sq. ft.) was new in the mid-80s, though we're reminded that that was 25 years ago, no matter how fresh the music still sounds today.

As far as the home goes, we're seeing some tentative Tudor, but beyond that, the style is hard to figure. The listing features just this one pic – no interior shots – so we'll have to wait till the opens this weekend to see or say more. Starts at $1.590m.

751 26th (5br/6ba, 3500 sq. ft.) boasts a great location, but it's something of a surprise that the build sports a 2001 completion date. There was some kind of attempt at a Spanish styling here, but it got squared off and flattened out.

The beauty must be inside.

26th starts at $1.899m, a short sale after a most recent purchase in April 2005 at $2.1m. New in 2001: $1.475m.

3608 Crest (3br/4ba, 2125 sq. ft.) is forthrightly labeled a "Tudor," and we're guessing this reflects some kind of restyling of the original 1957 build. (Tudor had a good run in the 70s.)

The home seems comfy, if dated. It's in the thick of El Norte close to Rosecrans. You do get some ocean views, and the corner lot on Crest – which is kind of an alley – gives you some space from neighbors. Starts at $1.379m.

Why doesn't the listing mention "steps to El Tarasco?"

Rounding out our selection is a little piece of old-time MB at 1504 Pine (3br/2ba, 1600 sq. ft.), the eldest of this group with a 1954 build date.

Perfectly capturing the vibe, the listing calls the home "Big Bear at the Beach."

Having recently visited that mountain town, your blog author can certify: they nailed it. Pine has got a cabin-like feel with lots of wood paneling and cabinets, plus the requisite sooty fireplace.

The listing is not hiding anything: the home "could use some updating." But if you do the work, look where you are. Starts at $949k.

Don't think an ugly duckling has no chance to sell. Price can fix anything.

MB Local News Roundup

A few local developments seem to deserve a quick check-in:

• First, many thanks and congrats to the local residents and other beachgoers who saved a life Sunday. An 11-year-old boy tried to dig a "tunnel" in the wet sand during an early-evening visit, but was trapped under the sand when a wave collapsed the tunnel while he was inside. This Daily Breeze story reports that a man nearby started the rescue:

That man, whose name was not available, immediately began digging for the boy. Other adults rushed to help. Before long, 20 people were scooping sand away.

Someone else called 911 and another person ran to a lifeguard tower to get help. Lifeguards joined the effort. 

The boy wasn't breathing when pulled out, but appears to be much better now at the hospital.

The Olden Days on The Dune

• On a different sand-related front, Sand Dune Park reservations are now open. As part of its split-the-baby solution to the controversies around Dune usage, the city now requires advance reservations. (For details see this Beach Reporter writeup.)

You need to go here online (right off the city's front page) to start the process by signing up for a user ID, then select a date for your visit and, finally, check off two consecutive 30-minute blocks of time for your 1-hour reservation. Yes, it's a bit clunky, but your blog author pulled it off.

To make a reservation, prospective park users must provide birth date, name, address, phone numbers (self and emergency) and any medical alert info. This is, er, somewhat more information than was required of park users previously.

After selecting a reservation time, you must also provide your valid ID # (driver's license, etc.) and vehicle license plate number.

At the appointed time of your visit, you bring the printout and a single cash dollar, along with your ID, and show that stuff to the attendant to be permitted to access The Dune. (Unless you're a kid 12 or under, and you can waltz in any time.)

Hurry! They're only allowing 20 people to reserve for each 1-hour block of time.

Oh, did we mention that the hours of park usage are also restricted? Weekdays, you can start at 8am, 9:30am, 11am, 3pm or 6pm. Saturdays, the last start time is 11am, and Sundays there are no reservations taken. (Kids only.) And this final note, courtesy of the Beach Reporter:

During their one hour on the dune, only walking will be allowed and people will not be allowed to do a “circuit” of walking down the dune, over to the stairs and back onto the dune.

“Once you’re inside that fence, you’re not allowed out of there,” [Parks and Recreation Director Richard] Gill said.

First they didn't want you in, now you can't get out. Maybe the government is as confused as its citizens.

• And finally, parking – the pain that makes local government go.

If you want to park downtown, there's a good news/bad news story. First, starting next week, forget that pre-9am freebie window if you're stopping for coffee, juice or bagels on the way out of town – meters downtown will start at 8am from Aug. 2 forward. 

And if you enjoyed the city's (costly) rate-drop to 75 cents an hour, that's gone, too – at least for Summer. We're back at $1.25/hr. in the center of town. 

Oh, and if you went to the cash key instead of keeping gobs of quarters in the car, well... more bad news. Downtown meters won't take those, either. (Happily you can use the cash keys almost everywhere else in town that isn't a downtown street meter.)

So where's the good news? You can use your debit or credit card at the downtown street meters now. 

The city calls these and other changes "exciting parking improvements." Which they may yet prove to be.

Close the Books on 440 6th

After a year of highs and lows, the saga of the new Cape Cod at 440 6th has come to a close.

Whether the saga ended on a high or a low note depends on which side you were on.

The sale closed late last week at $3.275m, -$1.220m/-27% off its start at $4.495m in July 2009. (The sale closed rather suddenly; the listing, curiously, was never posted as being in escrow.)

About $3m for a big (6br/6ba, 4200 sq. ft.) new home on a South End flat walkstreet – that is starting to look like a deal-of-the-year candidate. It's probably not welcome news, though, around the neighborhood.

With virtually no flat walkstreet new home sales as comps, that start price near $4.5m for 440 6th was loosely tied back to the $4.9m sale in May 2009 of a new Cape Cod at 224 7th (5br/5ba, 4200 sq. ft.). (Redfin doesn't show the listing details, but see MBC's "High/Low Prices of 2010, Sand," where 7th shared top honors.)

But 7th turned out not to be much of a comp. The location differences between a 200-block, ocean-view walkstreet home and a flat walkstreet home like 6th are readily apparent, and then you need to consider the build.

Still, a new home on a flat walkstreet – that sort of thing is rare. And 440 6th seemed to have some nice advantages in that corner location along Ingleside: lots of windows, no neighbors on one side, easy parking. Unless walkstreet buyers turned out to prefer midblock locations.

There was an early – though failed – deal that must have bucked up the notion that 6th was a $4m-plus property. (See "Newly Gone, South" from last August.)

But no.

MBC last mentioned 6th when it quit the market, however briefly. That turned out to be an interlude before a change of listing agents. (See "They Want the One They Can't Have.")

The point of our post then was that the mere act of taking the home off the market had prompted renewed interest in the property. Suddenly people were scrambling. And it worked out as we projected – the eventual buyers had considered the property under the first agent, and were biding their time. They were among those who called when it quit, assuring themselves a place in line – and getting the keys in the end.

So there's a note to sellers – why not try dropping out to see if you can get a deal done?

Those buyers also took a decent discount off the last list price (before that MBC post) of $3.598m, an extra $323k (-9%).


Whether this was a spec project or a custom home on which the owners switched gears – as MBC has reported – this project now looks to have wound up in the red.

The lot at 440 6th was purchased for $2.050m in Oct. 2007 in an overbid situation. (See "MB Market Update for 9/15/07.") By our back-of-the-envelope calculations, the project winds up flat only at a build cost of roughly $225/sq. ft. Anything much higher and the losses really pile up.

Meantime, the not-quite-new (2003), somewhat smaller Cape Cod at 325 9th (5br/5ba, 3700 sq. ft.) is lingering near 6 months, though it's got a new price ($3.349m) and was recently re-listed to restart the clock. (Achem.)

They're not going to like the comp at 6th, either – on a purely PPSF basis, that brings 9th closer to $2.9m. It was purchased at the peak in March 2007 for $3.659m, nearly 21% higher.

Weekend Reading & Reviews

We're forgoing the traditional "Weekend Opens" this weekend for a brief blogger break. We'll be back at full strength Monday.

Meantime, we encourage readers to click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, check out some opens and report back in the comments here. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like.


Also, this week's edition of South Bay Confidential is very MB-centered. It's about the MB Strand. See the column in the "Home Guide" in Saturday's Daily Breeze (print edition), or online here or also here, if you prefer seeing it in its print layout with graphics.

In the column, we discuss 4 separate homes for sale on the Manhattan Beach Strand. Here are links to those active listings:


1600 The Strand, now at $13.5 million. (The Breeze features a nice photo.)

3516 The Strand (pictured) newly down to $9.850m (from $14m last year).


2920 The Strand, marking about a year on market, now at $11.750m.


1804 The Strand, the newest entry of the bunch, 30 days on market, start price of $11.9m.

Big Changes North & East

Bringing unique new homes to market in 2009 was bold and challenging.

Halfway through 2010, some of those spec projects are still with us, angling for attention and buyers.

We'll look at a few of those, each carrying its own special burden – some mix of price, location and style – that has made deals especially hard to come by.

3516 The Strand first drew MBC's attention in April 2009 in "Another Week, Another Titan," when it launched at $13.999m. (The current version of the listing began in November, after a long break, at $12.999m.)

The ambitious 6br/5ba, 5550 sq. ft. home features lots of extra details meant to give it an authentic Italian feel. They brought in reclaimed materials (beams, bricks and tiles), old fountains and sinks from Cyprus and had other pieces custom-made in Italy as well.

Not to forget the preferences of big-dollar buyers, the home sports modern flourishes like a giant home theater. (You thought you would have to skip that at the beach?)

With nearly a full year of market exposure – deducting for the time off last year – the home needed a bold move to draw attention. On Wednesday, a single cut of more than $2m brought the price to $9.850m.

That's -$4.149m (-30%) off the start, maybe moving into the right territory now.

Further north and up along Highland is a package of 5 modern El Porto Norte condos that have sat and sat since their debut in November 2009. The project has begun to look like the White Elephant of El Porto – though now one unit's under contract, so that's a start.

 This week the sellers added a new agent and the remaining listings were all rebooted:

• 4321 Crest, #A (3br/3ba, 2050 sq. ft.) began at $1.599m, cut to $1.299m and is the one that is now in escrow.

• 4323 Crest, #B (3br/3ba, 2050 sq. ft.) began at $1.789m and is now at $1.499m. 

• 4320 Highland, #C (3br/3ba, 2250 sq. ft.) began at $1.859m and is now down to $1.299m.

• 312 44th, #D (4br/3ba, 2675 sq. ft.) began at $2.299m and is now down to $1.649m.

• 316 44th, #E (4br/3ba, 2650 sq. ft.) also began at $2.299m and is also now down to $1.649m.

That's a blizzard of price changes, so let's try to simplify.

The one unit that has a buyer cut 19% from its start before a deal was made – and we don't yet know the actual contract price. Prices on the others are down 16%-30% after more than 7 months on market.

Maybe you could have seen this coming. In MBC's writeup on the project as it broke ground in March 2008 (see "Coming Soon to El Norte"), we said:

It's an ambitious project starting up at a rough time for the local market. (Let alone the credit markets.) Give the developers credit for having cojones.

The units will have ocean views, and they'll be new, but the location is going to be a problem... buyers are steering clear of the area while they have options.

Of course, one case in point for buyers avoiding the area was the famous Gateway to Manhattan Beach, 4419 Highland, whose travails have been well-documented here. The trapezoidal tower is currently listed at $999k on a second attempt to sell, after a period as a rental.

Might these new condos be profitable? The land was obtained for $3m at the peak in Feb. 2007. If every single unit sold for its current list price, that'd be $7.4m. Though that's nearly $2.5m less than the total of all the start prices, the big question is what the build cost – if it was well south of $4m, they've got a chance to squeak it out once all the units sell.

For our last entry, we look east of the highway to 116 Terraza  (7br/9ba, 10,500 sq. ft.), a big new courtyard home on a flag lot on a quiet, prestigious East MB street.

This one launched in Sept. 2009 officially at $10m, though this was a cool $1m discount off the pre-completion price suggested at the builder's website (yes, that's still posted). Last price we saw was about $7.3m.

After 6 weeks off the market, Terraza's back at $6.999m, fully $3m (-30%) off the start price.

It wasn't a $10m home, but is it a $7m home?

Last Two Old World Homes Close

Back in March, MBC drew attention to 3 homes, each with a unique and throwback flavor, in "Kickin' It Old World." Now all the homes have sold.

456 27th (3br/3ba, 2625 sq. ft.) lingered more than 100 days before a buyer knocked.

The Tudor at 27th began at $1.690m this year, quite a big step below the offering price 2 years ago of $1.950m.

It has closed for $1.505m, a drop from ambitions this year and last, but a clear boost above the June 2003 acquisition price, $1.179m, which also predated a good deal of remodeling.

Also in the Sand, but further south, 435 10th (4br/3ba, 2025 sq. ft.) sold for $1.499m, as we've previously noted. It began in October last year at $1.799m.

That home had location going for it – a flat walkstreet near downtown – but the inside was a little too unique for most people. The new owners are under way on a big interior renovation as we write.

Finally, 2701 Maple, a pre-ZORP biggie (4br/4ba, 4000 sq. ft.) that won a design award when built in 1983, closed for $1.725m in late June.

The home's a bit of a landmark in the local area, very distinctive. Like 27th, its sale price this year reflects a nice boost over a 2003 and a pre-remodel acquisition price: $1.080m. It came down modestly from a start price of $1.825m this year.

MB Market Update for 7/15/10, Overview

The new MB Market Update spreadsheets are up online for your viewing and use by clicking here, or at any time by using the pull-down menu on the front page under "MB Market Updates."

The first part of July continued a trend seen in June, with new listings outpacing sales (new escrows), this time by a wider margin.

In our independent market tracking, MBC recorded 17 new listings and 6 sales (new escrows) among SFRs west of Sepulveda from July 1-15.

You see more sellers getting around to putting their homes on market, maybe having heard about all the action this Spring. Meanwhile, buyers are either taking a break or are literally on vacation.

Total inventory was up to 91 SFRs west of Sepulveda, up 8 from the end of June and up 12 from the end of May, and this was with 4 cancellations in early July.

The last time MB had SFR inventory west of Sepulveda in the low 90s was September 2009. (See "MB Market Update for 1/31/10, Inventory," with a graphic going back to August 2009.)

Inventory by sub-region west of Hwy. 1 (for more see the tracking page of the spreadsheets) broke out this way:

• Hill Section: 16   (click for Hill Actives)
• Sand Section: 44  (click for Sand actives <$2m, or actives >$2m)
• Tree Section: 31  (click for Tree actives <$1.5m, or actives >$1.5m)

Inventory in the Sand Section has been building steadily as Summer has kicked into gear – and that excludes THs in MBC's count. (Yes, we'd like to add THs some day soon!) Sales have not come close to keeping pace by the beach, though.

More soon on activity in each part of town.

Selling? Act Like It

As Summer kicks into gear here, the new South Bay Confidential column in the Daily Breeze notes that the home selling calendar is getting shorter.

Advice to sellers: If you mean to sell, act like it. Price it right unless you want to be stuck till the holidays... and beyond.

Read this week's column in the "Home Guide" in Saturday's Daily Breeze (print edition), also available online here or also here, if you prefer seeing it in its print layout with graphics.

Weekend Opens (7/17-7/18)

The sun's up, the beach is crowded, and so is the housing inventory, increasingly.

The past week or two has seen a slew of new listings at a somewhat surprising time of year. That means, once again, new options for your touring this weekend.

Please be polite and shower off the sand before heading out.

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 featured 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

748 11th (5br/5ba, 5700 sq. ft.) is an early-90s manse with some updates on a quiet block west of Pacific. (Across from The Georgian, 755 11th, a listing that was with us for a while in years past.)

It's practically 2 houses, with 4 bedrooms and a living room downstairs – one bedroom has a kitchenette and extra space, making it living quarters for a long-term guest or the help.

Upstairs is the master with 2 walk-ins, a great office with treetop views, a big and modern kitchen plus living/dining spaces. One separate living room has a little peek at the ocean.

Despite the big lot (7950 sq. ft.) there isn't much of a yard. The grand marble entryway retains much of the charm of its build date, but here and there throughout the home are details that many buyers will want to update.

Starts at $4.495m. 748 11th is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.


Sand Section

473 31st (4br/5ba, 4000 sq. ft.) is a sharp, custom modern that was new in late 2007, and was covered here at MBC as the price dwindled from a $3.25m ask down to a $2.8m sale. It's back now at $2.8m, almost exactly 2 years after the current owners moved in. (Also offered for $2.925m furnished.)

The upside-down layout features 1br and a living area with tile floors on the first level, 3br on the second level and big living spaces on the top. The master suite is striking and large, with a spa-like bath and an ample closet room.

A modern style isn't for everyone, but this execution mainly feels clean and orderly, not hard to adapt to. As noted, it starts this year at $2.8m, the July 2008 acquisition price, and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

329 19th (4br/4ba, 3625 sq. ft.) is another modern, down closer to the water and downtown – though still east of Highland. The advantage of the 300 blocks in this area is, of course, the big ocean views, and the home features them.

The architect on this home has a distinctive style which we tend to appreciate, even if this 2001 build is high-concept and angular in places.

Two ocean-view decks take great advantage of the location, and a 4-car garage helps reduce one of the big minuses – where else are you or guests going to park?

329 19th starts at $2.999m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.


Tree Section

2808 Elm (5br/4ba, 3225 sq. ft.) is a newer (2006) Cape Cod that's light, bright and cheery, and also very familiar if you know recent-vintage new construction in the Trees.

The home, which steps down gradually to fit the downslope of the hill it's on, features a separate living room up front, plus a different sort of open dining area right off the entry. A kitchen/great room in the rear opens to a fairly large patio and a little grassy patch as well.

The master suite's done well, a solid notch above average. One kid's room gets its own bath, while 2 others share a jack-and-jill.

Biggest letdown is the official 5th bedroom, a room in the middle of the main living floor with glass doors and no direct bathroom access. It's a natural office, or something, but closets make it a "bedroom." It's hard to fathom how this trend in odd main-floor "bedrooms" got hold in the decade past; every time we see one it's a head-scratcher.

The sellers bought new at the peak for $2.415m in Nov. 2006, but aren't trying to kid anyone about what the home's worth now. They start competitively at $2.049m.

2808 Elm is open Sun. 1-4pm.

2104 John gives you a bigger-than-average house (5br/5ba, 3980 sq. ft.), a bigger-than-average lot (5700 sq. ft.) and a much better-than-average location. (It's John!)

The newer (2002) build is, like 2808 Elm, going to prove very familiar if you know recent Tree Section homes, though each room is just a tad larger than expected, owing to the wider lot. One layout quirk: the large living room at the entry, with its soaring, 2-story ceilings, seems underutilized, even wasted, as it's currently set up. Can it be made grand?

The kitchen/great room opens out to a big deck and ample yard, another benefit of the larger lot. Upstairs, among the 4 bedrooms is one up front that feels like a true guests' suite. One bedroom on the north side was quite dark on our tour, and that wasn't just due to the current teen resident's tastes.

The fifth "bedroom" is, again, downstairs, as with 2808 Elm, though this one has an attached bath. Our previous comments still apply.

Overall, we'd like to be lifted out of our blogging chair by a home's "wow" factors to go along with a $2.599m price for a Tree Section home like this, but that didn't happen. (At least not till we grokked the block again.) The sellers paid $1.8m new in April 2003, and this is quite a step up from there. Check out the home yourself and let us know what you think.

2104 John is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Downtown RE Happy Hour

They knocked down Good Stuff a few years ago to get going with the new 1300 Highland complex of "shops & worklofts."

Friday from 4:30-7:30pm, the nearly complete project will be open to all comers for a looksie.

And given the hour, you'd expect a nosh and a cold one too, right?

Why not kick off your weekend with a drop-in? Then make a night of it downtown.

For more on the development, see the new Easy Reader writeup here, or the project's Facebook page here.

Revisiting the MB/HB Auction

For a recent column in the Daily Breeze, MBC's author covered an auction of 18 condos in Rolling Hills Estates. (One unit's interior is pictured here.)

Short story: They broke ground in late 2006 (oops!) on some experimental luxury condos, and the project flopped. (The column is online here and also here, in its print layout with photos.)

The auction occurred this past Sunday, and the auction company is still sorting through the bids to try to seal up all the deals. What we know for now is that they did get bids on all 18 condos.

Meantime, this auction reminded us of the once-ballyhooed MB/Hermosa new home auction, which had very different results.

You may recall this one, and if you do, bravo – your memory's better than you thought.

It was November 2008, and 5 separate "new" homes (they'd all been stuck on the market for quite a while) were put up for one big auction, with the emcee and crowds touring around from property to property as efforts were made to unload each one.

Alas, not a single one of the homes sold at auction.

In the immediate wake, there was an upbeat buzz about interested parties who might be working out side deals, but that apparent action petered out, and each home returned to the market. (See "Forget 'Qualified' – Auctions Failed.")

Gradually each failed speckie did find a buyer, though. We always meant to wrap this up, so better late than never. Let's review:

• 2509 Palm (5br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) logged more than 550 DOM from April 2007 forward, with a start at $2.449m. Its twin, one block over at 2509 Walnut, hit the market at the same price in July 2007. Walnut made a deal for $2.025m, but Palm went to auction at $1.499m.

Even that come-on price didn't work. Palm foreclosed instead. The buyer who grabbed it put it back on the market and, lo and behold, sold it in June 2009 for $1.675m, a surprising outcome.

• 1211 11th (5br/5ba, 3325 sq. ft.) (pictured) hit the market in Aug. 2007 for $2.149m, logged 400+ DOM and came to auction at $1.450m. No deal there, it re-listed at $1.799m (really? yes!) and sold in May 2009 for $1.425m.

• 1405 Faymont (5br/5ba, 3550 sq. ft.) hit the market at $2.095m in 2007 also, rolling over to the auction at $1.399m. No deal, but in January 2009 it closed for $1.350m, going to a buyer who first learned of it at the auction, but didn't bid then.
  

• Two next-door newbies in Hermosa Valley were part of the auction also, 540 21st (pictured) and 544 21st. Both hit the market in Summer 2007 at $2.499m. 540 went to auction at $1.649m and 544 at $1.669m.

Both Hermosa homes later closed above their auction prices in June 2009, 540 at $1.750m and 544 at $1.725m.

If you were keeping score there, it's pretty amazing to see that 3 of the 5 auction homes sold above their auction start prices – one after a thorough foreclosure cleaning. Granted, we don't know the private "reserve" prices slapped on each property, which were probably higher – "reserves" didn't matter much when bidders basically skipped the process.

Of course, there was another auction held in town late last year that was a success. That was a probate case on what MBC called a "grim, destroyed house" at 1801 Elm. (See "Probate Auction Ends at $805k" and "Probate Auction Home Closes.")

The closed price there was closely in line with the market opinions expressed by MBC readers in our pricing poll on the property, which actually launched at the come-hither price of $399k. (See "Poll Results: 1801 Elm.")

We're not aware of any auctions upcoming in MB, but you never know, do you?

Stuck on the Flat Walkstreets

The South End's flat walkstreets have a profound draw for some families, and the sales action can be swift.

Consider the little cottage at 517 5th (3br/2ba, 1475 sq. ft.), which sold within 4 days back in mid-May and just closed for $1.7m. Nearby, a newer home at 440 5th (4br/4ba, 3075 sq. ft., $2.899m) also found a buyer in its first week, in early June.

But there's inventory to be had on the flat walkstreets, and some of it appears stuck.

The hardest case has to be 440 6th (6br/6ba, 4200 sq. ft.), a home that was new last year and has been trying to find buyers ever since.

Actually, buyers have signed on a couple of times, but here we are today looking at a terrific Cape Cod on a corner lot that still seems to have nothing solid going on. (UPDATE: The listing is still posted as active – not pending or seeking "backup offers" – but word is that the home is actually in escrow.)

The listing for 6th began at $4.495m in July 2009, and posted a deal in late August last year without any price cuts (see "Newly Gone, South"). But that deal failed. Over time, the price dropped to $3.598m before a switch in agents in April and another failed deal. It's now at $3.499m.

325 9th is a newer (2003), full-featured Cape Cod with 5br/5ba, 3700 sq. ft.  After an informal off-market/pre-market effort to sell, the home's now been on public offer for 5 months.

After a start at $3.695m in February, it's down just $100k to $3.595m.

(UPDATE: Shortly after this story posted, 325 9th reduced to $3.349m. Also, this story did not mention the March 2007 purchase price of $3.659m; it's now down $310k/-8% from acquisition.)

Nearby, 332 10th (4br/5ba, 4115 sq. ft.) doesn't have the same longevity problem as the 2 Cape Cods, but the 10-year-old Spanish did recently lose a buyer who had grabbed the property right before it hit the market. Like the others, though, it's priced in the mid-3s ($3.449m).

As we noted in our "Sunday Opens" post the other day, 332 10th is a short sale and will need some rehab work to buff it up to its original condition.

On the same block, on a smaller scale, 420 10th (4br/3ba, 2400 sq. ft.) (pictured) hasn't found a deal yet, now at 55 DOM. It's still at the $2.195m start price.

In a "Weekend Opens" post last month, MBC called 420 10th "a classically styled home... that fully basks in the walkstreet lifestyle."

Summer's here. The sun's finally out.

Shouldn't some of MB's premier beach-area homes be getting some action?

Curious REO Strategy on Pine

For much of 2010, the 8-year-old home at 3613 Pine (5br/5ba, 3375 sq. ft.) has been offered to the public.

All along, it's been called an REO – a foreclosure owned by the lender.

All along, it's been priced too high to draw interest.

In January, the Rosecrans-close home came on at $1.695m.

When that listing quit 5 months later, it was down to $1.495m.

Only with the last price cut had the home gone below its March 2005 acquisition price of $1.520m. Not quite far enough, it would appear, since MB seems mostly to be living in 2004 prices still – and that would put Pine a bit further down.

For some reason, after 5 months without success – 5 of the most active months in the MB market since the bubble popped – the new listing now starts with a new strategy: raise the price. 

Friday, the listing returned after a 2-week hiatus at $1.549m, or $54k above the price at which the market had rejected it. They're calling it a "good deal" after that little boost.

That, for a home that will require some work, and is to be sold "as is." Per the listing:

Beautiful & elegant 5+4.5 Mediterranean Villa that needs some work to restore it to its recent, beautiful past.

On the plus side, the description now touts the relative simplicity of the foreclosure sale, since it's a private investor, not a bank, that's taken the property back. No red tape, committees or hassles, they say.

And they promise to reply to all offers – yes, even you lowballers who think 6 months of market exposure for a distressed property presents a great opportunity.

Let's see how it plays out.

Quick Cuts in the Teens

Some newly closed sales will raise some eyebrows. In each case, fairly quick purchases came with discounts near 15%.

It didn't take long, apparently, for the sellers of 605 8th to recognize that they wouldn't be getting what they paid for their Hill Section home new in 2006.

Though they listed in April this year at exactly their June 2006 acquisition price of $5.495m,
the closed sale has just posted at $4.7m.

That's a somewhat breathtaking $795k/-14% off the purchase price. The listing ran just 50 DOM before that haircut.

It's not because the home lacks for much that its value dropped over these 4 years or so – that's just due to the change in the market since the peak-year purchase. The big house (5br/7ba, 6625 sq. ft.) is a marvelous Cape Cod, quietly luxurious, that has almost too much going for it: an extra-large lot (9300+ sq. ft.) with a pool, real ocean/PV views from several decks and a location just steps from downtown. And now it's got new owners to enjoy it all.

Meanwhile, up at 641 18th, at the crest of the hill on one of the great streets in the Martyrs area, sellers proved that they weren't too attached to their much-too-ambitious start price of $3.295m.

In writing up the quick escrow at 18th, we said "[y]ou could have counted MBC as skeptical" of that start price. (See "Near and Over $3m in the Trees.")

The buyers, too.

They paid $2.865m instead, a chop of $430k/-13% from the list price.

And this was in a multiple-offer situation on a home with just 2 weeks' market exposure.

As it happens, the winning bidders didn't offer the most money, but they did go all-cash and closed quickly – the most attractive terms, if not top dollar.

Yes, cash does give you leverage. You can ignore the start price, win a bidding war and pay less.

Sunday Opens (July 11)

We found only one truly new listing this week, but we're most excited to report that 445 33rd on the plateau will be open after a false alarm 2 weeks ago.

That's not to say that some Hill and Sand listings aren't new – they've simply returned to market after some time off, so many readers will be familiar with them from prior attempts to sell.

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 featured 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

946 9th (6br/6ba, 4300 sq. ft.) is a newer (2002), tricked-out home in a familiar style for the Hills. There's a grand entry with curving stairs, a big kitchen/great room opening out the the back yard and, of course, a master worthy of a Master.

The big lot (7250 sq. ft.) affords a nice-sized yard, though the current owners haven't done much with it. (The listing touts potential for a pool.)

It'll be interesting to see where the markup turns out on this one if it sells. The owners paid $1.950m for the home new in Oct. 2002, and offer it to the public now starting at $2.699m (+$749k/+38% over 2002).

946 9th is open Sun. 1-4pm.

Back for another round is 114 N. Poinsettia (5br/6ba, 6400 sq. ft., including basement), the newer (2007) Spanish at the corner of 2nd and Poinsettia.

On and off since May 2008 – shortly after it was completed and the owners moved in – the home has been for sale. It began at $7.750m, moved quite a bit throughout 2008, came back in 2009 and quit in December last year at $4.995m.

It returns now with a local agent, not family, representing the listing for the first time, priced at $4.995m again.

The home's beautiful with big views of the ocean and PV. The kitchen and living spaces on the top floor are inspired, but a lot of the home's square footage is on the first floor or below grade. The location at the corner of two busy Hill Section streets hasn't helped.

One other change: The original listing 2+ years ago drew our notice because the Spanish style was actually called "Andalucian." Now: "Montecito." One word, many thousands of miles of difference.

114 N. Poinsettia is open Sun. 1-4pm.


Sand Section

445 33rd is back!

The home had a buyer right away when it was ready to debut a couple weeks ago, and the first open house was canceled. Recently the buyers walked for their own reasons, meaning there's now a public open.

The home (5br/5ba, 3600 sq. ft.), as we've said before, is a true modern beach delight, with interior spaces that are sharp, white, tight and glossy with a timeless, beachy appeal. Start price: $3.125m.

445 33rd is open Sun. 1-4pm.

332 10th (4br/5ba, 4115 sq. ft.) was last seen on the market in Summer 2008 at $3.999m, but it didn't sell then. Coming back here in 2010 at $3.399m, it was a short sale that sold immediately (really pre-market). Alas, the buyer is gone and we see it on market again at $3.449m.

The home's a newer (2000) custom-built Spanish, but to some extent you have to see the potential in it – it's unpolished for now after really being lived in these 10 years or so.

A little rehab later, you've got a midblock, flat walkstreet Spanish near downtown – could be great.

332 10th is open Sun. 1-4pm.


Tree Section

594 30th (4br/3ba, 2050 sq. ft.) has been with us about 5 weeks now, maybe a bit of a surprise for a home that's clean and comfy on a quiet half-block near Sand Dune Park, and which started out seeming to be well-priced.

The late-50s home has been updated with a sense of style, preserving lots of original elements that make it distinctly a beach house while delivering modern updates where you care most (a modern kitchen, for instance).

There are some very custom outdoor-living aspects – a small lap pool, paving stones set into the back yard grass, a little outdoor fireplace. A deck off the kitchen/dining area invites you outside to eat or lounge.

There's one issue that will nag: The upstairs master is separate from the 3 bedrooms downstairs and open to the house – no door at the top of the stairs.

594 30th is still priced at $1.4m and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

2908 Laurel (3br/3ba, 1985 sq. ft.) offers one of the more attractive combinations of location, size, condition and price to come along in a while among lower-end Tree Section homes.

The start price of $1.249m has not generated a bidding war 3 weeks in. Maybe because it's a bit of a puzzle, with an upside-down layout and some updates here and there, but really a need for another refresher to bring it to 21st century standards.

The location and sunny living spaces upstairs, with treetop views, remain solid attractions, and the yard is not insubstantial.

2908 Laurel is open Sun. 2-4pm.

3405 Pacific (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) is a newer (2006) Cape Cod that's got 2 related location issues – busy Pacific plus refinery proximity. At least the home's original views of the refinery have been obscured by new construction nearby.

Pacific is pretty great inside: bright, comfy and unique in parts. You just have to leave the outside where it belongs: outside.

The sellers bought at pretty much the peak for the area, March 2007, paying $1.775m then – one of the first new homes to sell below $2m. They now are offering only a modest discount now at $1.689m.

3405 Pacific is open Sun. 1-4pm.