The Blog
MB Confidential's New Look & Tools
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Hey, look. We’ve built something new!
And the change is good, with the new look, feel and function here at MB Confidential.
Building on our tradition of regularly producing insightful analysis of local real estate, we’ve now added the best hyper-local search and data you can find.
You can now search quickly, with one click, by region or subsection of Manhattan Beach.
Say you’re only looking in the Sand Section...
One click on our Sand Section search gives you the active listings in that area only. (Use the "MB Search" dropdown menu.)
You’re wondering how much Tree Section homes have been selling for recently?
One click delivers the past 6 months’ worth of sales in the Trees, listing the newest first. (Use the "MB Sales Data" dropdown menu.)
That’s just a hint of how we’ve designed search functions here. Our goal is to quickly give you what you’re actually looking for – without a fuss.
Play around. You’ll see.
If you have a little bit of a real estate addiction, we think you’ll love the new MB Dashboard. This is a single page that shows the:
- 5 newest listings,
- 5 newest deals (properties that have just gone into escrow),
- 5 newest closed sales, and
- 5 latest price cuts.
The Dashboard is updated every 5-10 minutes throughout each day.
So you know that question many people carry around: “What’s going on in the Manhattan Beach real estate market?”
It's now answered several times an hour, all day, every day, on the Dashboard.
Tip: This is the kind of page to keep open in its own window and click “refresh” on all day long – if you’re into that sort of thing. (Confession: We are!)
We also spent some serious time redesigning the display of individual properties on the site. As passionate consumers of real estate information online, there's a lot we like, and don't like, about how various websites present listing information. We wanted the display here to be just right. (Plus, we'll keep improving it.)
One of MBC’s most popular features in years past was the MB Market Updates. That feature is back now, in a new form. We’re producing twice-monthly reports on inventory, sales and pending listings – all by subsection of MB, as before. All property addresses will link to listing information from the MLS.
See, for example, the mid-month updates for February – here’s the inventory post for 2/15/13, and here’s a report on pending sales and closed sales, all divided by sections of MB, as of 2/15/13.
One last highlight: We’re also publishing the best single-stop resource for Manhattan Beach rentals.
We know that navigating the rental market in MB remains confusing, especially for those coming here for the first time. We have worked to simplify the process for first-timers and for anyone needing to quickly pull together their options. (Even Manhattan Beach vacation rentals.) See our MB Rental Resources page for more.
In all, this major update to MB Confidential is drawn from the same idea that launched MBC almost 6 years ago: We should all have more, and better, information about local real estate.
If it looks good and it’s fun, well, that’s just gravy.
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Weekend Opens (2/23-2/24)
Saturday, February 23rd, 2013
We're starting to say, Hmmmmm, maybe we won't get that huge Spring burst of inventory, after all.
Just 4 new listings emerged this week in MB, one too late Friday to hit most people's radar.
But before we despair about a Spring devoid of inventory, you can't rule out the Ski Week factor, which seems to have agents, buyers and sellers all out on the road, while out-of-towners wonder what the heck we're talking about here in MB.
We'll be fine, more's coming next week. But our update this week is fairly brief.
We're reminding you again to take the Blue Zones pledge (link offsite) within the month of February get yourself automatically entered to win this awesome $200+ gift basket from Barsha.
Remember the principle that Blue Zones is promoting is "Wine @ 5," the notion that you should relax, unplug and have a glass with a friend at the end of the day. Who can't get behind that? (For more on the pledge and Barsha, see the intro to our Weekend Opens post from 2 weeks back.)
The gift basket is sitting right here at MBC headquarters, tempting us just a bit each day... but we'll hold on to it for our winner.
To plan your weekend open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column.
Or click here for the new-format Beach Reporter list of opens.
East MB
A terrific new trend in MB is the modernization of our little, original 1950s cottages with flash and flair and a beachy flavor.
1746 Nelson (3br/3ba, 1615 sq. ft.) is the newest part of that most welcome trend.
This one has been crafted by a crew that's different from the folks who recently redid homes like 1605 Harkness and 1159 Chestnut. (For MBC's appreciation of 1605 Harkness, see "Transforming an LV Cottage.")
Still, they bring a similarly bright, open, modern style to a cottage that just as easily could have been scraped and replaced.
There's a nice, open great room in front, with dark-stained wood floors nicely contrasting against white cabinetry, wainscoting and bright countertops. The kitchen is partly open to the living areas – not quite fully open, but better than a galley.
The living areas open to a side patio for al fresco dining, while the kitchen opens to a side yard that continues all the way to the rear of this 150' deep lot, where a concrete outdoor living area is set up, including built-in bbq. They pitch the home as one that emphasizes outdoor living, and they're basically right.
There's one bedroom, bath and laundry room in the front half of the house, then 2 more bedrooms in back, one a secondary standalone suite and the other the master suite. The master opens to the huge backyard.
There's lots of deck and grass in back (the new lawn shows that it's sod segments, recently rolled out). The big surprise, to us, was the hot tub tucked in the furthest rear part of the lot, covered by a pergola. Who wants to hike to the hot tub like this?
The obvious comp for this one is 1525 9th (3br/2ba, 1785 sq. ft.), which sold last September for $1.300M. It's got the same size lot and was a nicely remodeled 1952 original. (It also had a hot tub tucked in the far back corner of the lot – behind the garage, even. Go figure.)
The start price at 1746 Nelson is $1.299M. The full-size (7500 sq. ft.) lot is driving a big chunk of that price.
There are 3 major differences between 1525 9th and 1746 Nelson:
1) 9th has the notably superior location, while Nelson is just a few doors uphill from Aviation, and is just about as far east and south as you can get in MB;
2) Nelson has the superior floorplan, with 9th having 2 smallish secondary bedrooms and a slightly cramped front living area; and
3) The overall market has only heated up since 9th St. sold late last Summer.
This will be one to watch.
1746 Nelson is priced at $1.299M and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.
Sand Section
This weekend, the secret gets out about a little pocket of MB east of Highland that (relatively) few feet have trod upon.
Unless you live on the same block as 309 18th, the forbidding 2 levels of concrete stairs up from Highland may rule out walking along this little half block. It's not really the way to get to or from anything, so why would you?
We're sure that's exactly why the neighbors like it. Quiet, private... a little island within town, just steps from town and the beach.
The other big plus: Substantial ocean views made possible by the quick rise in the hill from Highland.
So the location sings. What about the structure?
This is a 1960s original built as a duplex, and added onto in front in the 1970s. The main, front house is a little over 2100 sq. ft., with 3br upstairs plus a study and laundry room, then a spare bedroom downstairs along with the main living areas. Flooring upstairs is mostly carpet, while downstairs there's newer, tasteful bamboo.
The long galley kitchen opens in back to a little family room/dining area with wet bar, which has a sliding door out to a small concrete patio. The 4th bedroom is right there and opens, via double wooden doors, into this dining area, and might really be better suited as an extra living space.
Up front, the living room is bright and fairly spacious, with sliding-door access to the front walkstreet patio.
Along the front of the house, there are some decent ocean peeks, and even better ocean breezes.
The extra bedrooms upstairs are OK sizewise, with mirrored sliders on the closets.
The master is sizable and has a good balcony, from which you can see the MB pier, PV and a whole bunch of ocean. It's one of those rare master-bedroom balconies that you will always want to step out onto, about 365 days a year.
All of the bathrooms seem to have the original cabinetry, though with newer sinks and countertops. Only the kitchen seems to have had a more thorough remodel at some point, but it's not 21st-century, now, either.
The second unit is a separate building over the garage, a 1br/1ba, 600 sq. ft., somewhat updated unit that is rented out. (Open-house visitors will not be able to see it, but there are several pics toward the end of the listing.)
On balance, this is a livable home in a terrific location, yet still one that awaits a full-scale modernization some day.
Disclosure: Dave has toured the property on behalf of clients.
309 18th traded twice in recent years: for $1.775M in Nov. 2004 and at the same price in Nov. 2009.
It starts now at $2.099M (+$324K / +18% over the 2004 and 2009 prices), and is open Sun. 1-4pm.
As long as you've made your way to 18th St. near downtown, why not cross Highland and check out 133 17th (4br/3ba, 2925 sq. ft.)?
West of Highland, this one gets you right down next to the water on one of the great "teen" streets near downtown.
This is a 1921 original with updates and a spare unit in back. The main house has 3br downstairs with large, open living spaces up top.
Nice feature: The master bedroom, on the first floor in front, has not-kidding-ya, lying-down ocean views from bed.
The views upstairs are even better, and the living room is oriented to take good advantage.
Sometimes we talk about the west-of-Highland / east-of-Highland price gap.
Is the premium $1M, or more, to cross Highland? Often, yes.
With 133 17th listed at $3.950M, it's quite easy to see at least a $1.5M gap growing between this one and 309 18th when both have settled.
Granted, 17th St. is all dolled up and ready to dance, so it draws an extra premium for that, but that's still quite a spread for two roughly comparable houses just a few moments' walk from one another.
This home was last purchased in Feb. 2009, for $3.250M. They are looking for a nice $700K (+21%) markup now.
133 17th is asking $3.950M and is open Sat. & Sun. 2-4pm.
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Don't forget to take the Blue Zones pledge this week! And go check out Barsha, the wine and everything shop, for yourself!
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How Long to Sell, 2009-2013
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
If you launch your listing in the first part of the year, how long will it take to sell?
And how does our hot-hot-hot 2013 season compare against recent years?
We're taking a stab at answering those questions with a look at historical data on average DOM for listings that launch early in the season. Consider this a preliminary report.
We took a look at data on Manhattan Beach listings that launched between Jan. 1-Feb. 28 in each of the past 5 years, including 2013.
We focused only on those that actually sold. To narrow the data more, we looked only at SFRs west of Sepulveda.
You quickly see a pattern that is expected, in a way – listings launching in the very difficult early days of 2009 had the hardest road to selling, averaging 102 DOM before finding buyers.
The average DOM for solds was quite similar in each of the ensuing 3 years, all near 70 DOM, or about one-third less, with 2012 having the lowest average at 67 DOM.
There are very few closed sales yet among early-2013 listings, so for this year, we looked at a different number – average DOM for properties sold or currently in escrow. And we'll note, these data were captured early on Feb. 21, a full week before the close of the data window for new listings in those past years.
So with the heavy caveat that these data are preliminary, they do show something amazing: Average DOM from listing start till escrow opens is currently 18 DOM.
Sample sizes for each year were similar: 40 sales from 2009, 42 from 2010, 35 from 2011, and 42 from 2012. It's early here in 2013, and we have 18 sales (including current escrows) to report from. (We expect that to put us on pace for 40-50 sales for 2013 later, when we revisit this data.)
Now, we'll need to check back in later in the season, and later this year, to draw an honest-to-goodness comparison between 2013 and the prior years. That 18 DOM figure seemingly can only go up from here. But we'll see.
Not sure that averages tell you much?
We also grouped sold listings by DOM and found a pattern that's quite similar among years. In each of the previous 4 years, about 1/3rd of listings sold with 30 DOM or fewer, about 1/3rd more sold within 30-90 DOM, and the balance needed more than 90 DOM.
Last year (2012) seemed somewhat better, with just 20% needing more than 90 DOM.
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Inventory blast from the past: While researching this data, we noted a trail of failed listings in past years, particularly 2009. What's fascinating – inventory as of 2/28/09 was 145 SFRs west of Sepulveda. (See our MB Market Update post from then.)
Today, there are just 42 active listings, SFRs and THs, in all of MB.
Yes, late February 2009 was just about the highest point for inventory since we've tracked this market, but it's still astonishing to see current inventory at about 1/4th of that level.
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Nerdy Notes
The numerically inclined among our readers may want to know this about our post today:
Data source: All data are from the MLS and reflect sales reported there. Where sales were arranged off-market and reported on the MLS with 0 or 1 DOM, we still counted the sales.
Start date source: Our data search is based on an MLS field called the "date of listing contract," an internal field that consumers don't see, but which correlates best with the start date of a listing on the public market.
Data anomaly removed: We removed one major outlier from the 2011 data – 2020 The Strand, which tolled an amazing 707 DOM after launching in early 2011, selling only this year. With that sale in the mix, 2011's average DOM to sale was 94 instead of 76.
Some re-lists included: We had the option to try to exclude all bogus re-lists with artificially "new" start dates within the period 1/1-2/28 from this search, but decided, instead, to simply report the number of them that we found and make that an asterisk to the data.
So the number of bogus re-lists, by year... 2009: 6, 2010: 3, 2011: 5, 2012: 2, 2013: 0, so far. (217 9th has just now pulled a bogus re-list to celebrate a $110K price cut, and if it sells this year, would qualify for an asterisk in the 2013 data.)
Note about DOM and "backup offer" status: When a listing is switched from "active" (available) to "backup offer" status, rather than the "pending" status, DOM continue to accumulate during the "backup offer" period. Commonly this means that roughly 2 weeks' worth of "extra" DOM are going to toll even though the sellers have accepted an offer.
The use of "backup offer" status seems – based on an impression, only – to have increased in 2011-2013. If that impression is true, then DOM you see for the past 2-3 years are slightly high, or overstated.
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You Don't Need to Be Prime
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
Is it a coincidence, or a trend?
Among the most recent deals (new escrows) in MB are several properties with issues of some sort – and an appeal that you can identify, somewhere in the rough.
It goes to show you don't need to have a pristine property, ideally located, and normal circumstances just to make a sale.
416 21st Place (3br/4ba, 1950 sq. ft.) is a rear-unit TH built in the early 90s with some real views.
You wouldn't expect a rush to the door for a rear unit, nor for one with the unusual style and materials here – black marble, anyone? Glossy black kitchen?
But views and price seem to have helped a lot.
Up on the top level, there's a substantial patio/balcony with real views to the north and west, and there are more to the south and west from the kitchen/dining area. 416 21st Place launched at $1.349Mand now has a deal within 2 weeks.
315 Gull (3br/4ba, 2400 sq. ft.) is a northern El Porto TH that has been some kind of a ghost of a listing. As with many short sales, it simply has had a weird run on the MLS.
It's been listed by an out-of-area agent (Hollywood Hills), popping up on the market in September already in escrow, then forced on "hold" for months with occasional 1-10 day runs in "active" status, back on "hold" again – you could be excused if you simply never noticed it before.
It's in "backup offer" status now, if you feel lucky and want to enter a weird sweepstakes. There are no photos except this exterior shot and not much to the description. List price: $1.375M.
Worth noting: 315 Gull is the companion TH to 316 45th, which also sold as a short sale late last year at $1.537M. Interesting that both of these bubble-era THs (2006 build) hit the rocks and have had to look for new owners.
4421 Crest (3br/4ba, 2000 sq. ft.) is another El Porto TH without all of the weirdness factors at Gull. It's a nearby neighbor, though, just 2 doors up.
Like the Gull listing, they promise big ocean views from a TH situated at one of the highest spots in the area, and a newer TH (2001 in this case, so 5 years older).
Unlike the Gull listing, this one was not a short sale.
Something like the Gull listing (again), this one has been on and off the market in stretches – dating back to Sept. 2011, with one version of the listing quitting in Aug. 2012 with 364 DOM.
4421 Crest came back at Thanksgiving last year with a new MLS# and made its deal this week. It has always been listed for $1.299M, dating back to 2011.
3521 Laurel (3br/2ba, 1100 sq. ft.) is a crusty late-1940s cottage with an addition over the garage, and let's not beat around the bush: That's one unattractive current house.
You think we're being harsh?
The listing description's very first words are actually the lot dimensions. So they're expecting this to appeal to buyers with bulldozers.
They do add: "could be (with some work) short term rental until plans are draw." (Would that be "drawn?")
This location is on a minor artery street heading out to Rosecrans, and is already pretty darn far north, hardly an ideal site for spec construction, but you never know. They asked $1.019M and had inked a deal within 4 days. This would seem to be a story about the demand for lots – any lots – and scarcity thereof.
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Weekend Opens (2/16-2/17)
Saturday, February 16th, 2013
You're watching your health, you're taking breaks, and you're getting the kids the heck out of the house for at least part of this coming "Ski Week" break – we hope.
Don't forget to take the Blue Zones pledge (link offsite) and get yourself automatically entered to win this awesome $200+ gift basket from Barsha.
(For more on the pledge and Barsha, see the intro to our Weekend Opens post from 2 weeks back.)
Ski Week, for the uninitiated or out-of-town, is that odd, weeklong mid-February school holiday we get in MB because, it seems, without it, absenteeism in the schools would be too great during the prime powder months.
Ski Week also tends to mean fewer new listings, on a theory that goes something like this: Everyone who's looking to buy in Manhattan Beach already has kids in the schools and will, therefore, be away.
Yes, ridiculous, but this is more of a "feeling" and not a fact-based approach to timing listings.
Out of the 4 new listings we're reviewing, 3 were on the market somewhat recently. We saw 85 Bayview and 1331 Voorhees in 2012, but they did not sell, while 801 1st made several appearances on MBC in 2009-2010 as we tracked the property's somewhat difficult journey to a sale back then.
To plan your weekend open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column.
Or click here for the new-format Beach Reporter list of opens.
Hill Section
801 1st (4br/3ba, 2800 sq. ft.) has nice Cape Cod-type styling and a traditional feel in a remodeled home that sports a 1957 build date, but where the additions and updates are just 15 years old.
Location is what creates the biggest issue here. The home fronts Ardmore and is fairly near to the busy intersection at 2nd St. You have to make your peace with that. It's not so bad while inside.
Layout features 1br downstairs along with a series of compartmentalized living spaces. All the rooms are bright, and the living room opens to a pretty substantial, south-facing yard with a nice tree for shade. Some of the rooms have a little step-up/step-down, more of an artifact of the 80s or 90s.
Maybe the most out-of-date feature is the smallish (albeit remodeled) kitchen tucked away in a corner of the house. The "great room" arrangement buyers love today would put the kitchen amid the living spaces, but here it's the opposite. Laundry is just off the kitchen, more reflective of the smaller 1950s original that is the core of this house.
The remaining 3br are upstairs, and the master gets sweeping sky and rooftop views over the Sand Section just below. If you position yourself just right in the master or the downstairs living room, you get a little view of the blue right down 1st St. Prevailing onshore flows will give this house great breezes most of the year.
Some will recall the last trade on this one. After a debut at $2.095M in May 2009, the sellers finally found the market at $1.720M (-$375K/-18% from start) in April 2010. The property was referenced here on MBC a few times along the way.
This one returns now at the same start price as May 2009, $2.100M, but in a vastly different market. It wouldn't shock us to see this sell at asking, but if the final number had a 1 in front, no huge surprise there, either.
Worth noting: The prior sale before 2010 was at $1.050M in Dec. 2000, or exactly half today's start price.
801 1st starts at $2.100M and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.
Sand Section
85 Bayview (3br/4ba, 2075 sq. ft.) is a mid-90s TH with some smart updates, particularly to the master and top-floor living areas with ocean views.
Layout here is surprising, with the garage at the midfloor. So that puts 2br together downstairs, sharing a little shady patio. One has an attached bath, while the other, with its own larger bath and jacuzzi tub, requires the resident to walk down a hallway (?). Neither bath is fully updated. The midfloor master is much more of today, with the most up-to-date features.
The top floor in these units is always where it's at. Here there's a midcentury/ultramodern-type vibe (hard to classify), wide open, feeling high-end, with lots of windows to draw in the views. (Admittedly, the views aren't profound, but you get lots of peeks of blue.) The kitchen is very well executed.
With this one's start price of $1.899M, you have to look to some other neighborhood sales. There's 88 Manhattan Ave. (3br/4ba, 2150 sq. ft.), sporting what we called "generous" ocean views straight across Manhattan Ave. and down a wide street, which went for $1.925M in May last year. There's also 215 Homer Place (3br/4ba, 1950 sq. ft.) that sold for the same $1.925M in July last year, off-market.
The drastic counter-example is 97 Bayview (2br/3ba, 1500 sq. ft.) – yet another recent sale within a stone's throw – the 2br-could-be-3br-again TH with fantastic views that drew 9 offers and sold for $1.313M last September. Yes, a $500K-plus difference.
This one was on the market last year, made a deal but then quit. They're ready to try again now.
85 Bayview starts, as we noted, at $1.899M, and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4p.
Tree Section
591 29th (3br/1ba, 1000 sq. ft.) is a little original 1950 beach cottage that's been refreshed inside and out, if not radically remodeled. The major draw is the location west of Blanche and in sight of the sand dune. Lot size is 4800 sq. ft.
This one last traded in Sept. 2009 (for $895K) and was in poor condition. That was near lot value at the time, and you might have seen the little cottage get scraped and replaced by a modern home, but it was sold as an affordable "starter" home and the structure survived. It even got some love.
Now this home's back at $1.200M and is drawing lots of interest. It's once again got appeal as a starter, and we'd expect a mix of plans on the part of potential buyers – including builders looking to go whole hog with new construction here.
Disclosure: Dave has toured this property with clients.
591 26th starts at $1.200M and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.
East MB
Last year, when 1331 Voorhees (5br/4ba, 4150 sq. ft.) hit the market, it made us say out loud, "finally, something different!"
We also said then:
It's not a Cape Cod, there's not a whiff of Tuscany in the air, and it's no Caliterranean. In fact they don't name the style beyond calling it "traditional," which is fine for now.
New year, new agent, and now they're labeling this home "Tuscan-inspired." So maybe there is a whiff of Tuscany in the air.
A unique, 60 foot wide lot changes the feel and orientation of most of the rooms. The kitchen/great room in back goes on almost forever, and the formal living room up front, due to the extra width, is a huge space that you'd definitely want to use.
Another surprise: all 5br fit upstairs, and none is really squished.
The bummer: No yard in back. There's a small patio in one corner and then retaining walls and a strip of landscaping to look at as the hill rises up in back. The total lot size is just 6300 sq. ft., short of the 7500 that is more or less the standard for this part of East MB.
As the pics show, the home has lots and lots of extra custom style poured on – box ceilings, extra mouldings and custom paint patterns, built-ins here and there. It's almost a dizzying amount of detail, but very nice.
1331 Voorhees sold new (and comparably blank inside) in July 2006 for $2.025M, tried last year at $2.150M down to $2.075M, and and starts anew now at $2.075M with a new agent. It is open Sun. 1-4pm.
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Don't forget to take the Blue Zones pledge this week!
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$3.6M in the Trees
Friday, February 15th, 2013
They're reaching for historic heights with a new listing in the Tree Section.
New construction at 705 26th (5br/4ba, 4875 sq. ft.) is listed at $3.599Mpre-completion.
3.6 in the Trees? North of Valley?
To reach for those heights, first they had to dig down. They dug a basement for this house, as well as the next-door neighbor, also under construction at the same time. (A double lot at the location was purchased last year and split for purposes of the new construction.)
The basements make both new homes unusually large for a fairly standard size lot. On a 5120 sq. ft. plot, you could normally build around 3500 sq. ft., but by digging, they were able to bring the total square footage near 5000 inside.
5000 in the Trees – that's something, too.
So, what's the record for sales in the Tree Section?
We'll start just by looking north of Valley. There, as you might expect, just about all the top sales are along prestigious 31st St.:
- 649 31st (5br/4ba, 3500 sq. ft., $3.375M in Feb. 2007)
- 712 31st (pictured, 5br/4ba, 3770 sq. ft., $3.325M in July 2007)
- 768 31st (5br/5ba, 5200 sq. ft., 6525 sq. ft. lot, $3.200M in May 2010)
- 717 31st (5br/4ba, 3500 sq. ft., $3.200M in Sept. 2007)
Among those, it's worth noting that 768 31st had the biggest lot, biggest square footage and the greatest ambitions, having launched at $3.775M in August 2009.
The only non-31st St. sale we see north of Valley that went north of $3M was at 728 27th, which featured a huge 7000 sq. ft. lot, and sold in bubbly times (July 2005) for $3.300M.
Meantime, if you're going to have enormous numbers in the Manhattan Beach Tree Section, you're going to usually look to the Martyrs area.
Sure enough, you can find several $3M+ sales around there, including 2 record-smashers in just the past year-plus: 624 14th at $4.900M, a markup over 2007, and gorgeous 533 15th at $4.700M in Aug. 2011.
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Quick Deals and Relieved Sellers
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
It seems to be no big surprise that a few of last week's new listings made quick deals. But we've also seen some longtime listings finally get some ink on the bottom line as well.
We'll look at a few – wait, excuse, I need a drink of water... OK – we'll look at a few examples of each here below.
1829 Laurel (4br/3ba, 3250 sq. ft.) is a 1981 build on a corner lot home in a much-desired part of the Trees near American Martyrs.
This one was memorably described as "aching for a more thorough remodel." We were not able to tour in the narrow window that it was offered to agents to see it, but there was a queue of at least 20 potential buyers clamoring to get in.
The start at $1.970M reflects size and location. Refreshed, it might be valued at $2.3M+.
2104 Harkness (4br/3ba, 3200 sq. ft.) is Dave's co-listed property, a 1990 original that's been very nicely updated.
It began at $1.549M and drew multiple offers.
The sellers are now accepting "backup" offers.
Hold on, just another sip of water. OK, thanks.
1765 Voorhees (5br/5ba, 4125 sq. ft.) is a brand-new Cape Cod just 3 doors off of Aviation.
It came out looking fantastic in online photos (we never visited; it sold too quickly) and priced attractively, given the location, at $2.100M.
Listed Feb. 4, it had a deal by Feb. 8. (See update at the end of thi spost; property is now available again.)
317 27th (2br/2ba, 1475 sq. ft.) didn't make it to open houses, as it happens. (Though we had written it up for our "Weekend Opens" post last weekend.)
Priced at at $1.469M, this one was snapped up instantly. Technically, it's in "backup offer" status, so you'd think they might have held it open for the weekend, but no.
The huge draw here is the favorable position up the hill and ample views. The house is very charming, but barely has 2br and is pretty much original. No deterrent.
Those were the newer listings that went quickly.
But we've also seen a few long-timers finally make their deals.
1210 5th (5br/5ba, 5175 sq. ft.) is on one of the truly unique blocks of East MB, a cul-de-sac once referred to in a nearby listing as the "Fifth Street Forest."
It's a truly huge home, the lot is huge (8500 sq. ft.), but the house is a fixer – an early-90s Spanish that needs a lot of updating.
This one posts a deal during the listing's 8th month on market, with list prices dropping from $2.650M to $2.375M last.
3308 Pacific (4br/3ba, 3100 sq. ft.) is a quirky 80s contemporary in a subpar location. But the listing had some promise because, when it hit in July last year, it was entering a high-demand, low-inventory segment of the market.
That was 7 months ago. The home has been offered for rent in addition to remaining on the market for sale.
List price began at $1.699M, which might have worked with a more conventional house or a location that had broader appeal. It was down to $1.549M as of last month, and now has a deal.
Making a deal seems to have helped avoid a real indignity – the forever listing across the street, 3309 Pacific, recent made an off-market deal and is in escrow now. (See "Look Who Found Buyers.") 3309 is clearly the lesser of the two homes, so it's good for the sellers here to make their own deal, too, and not be left out of the action on the block.
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UPDATE: Both 1765 Voorhees and 3309 Pacific, which had been in escrow, have returned to active status in the week since this post first went up.
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Where We're Going This Year
Tuesday, February 12th, 2013
How's 2013 shaping up for MB real estate?
It's been good luck that Dave's been quoted recently by a couple of local media sources on that very question. (Here's the LA Times front-page story, and here a new story from the Easy Reader.)
We've tried to say just what anyone else looking at the data and working on the front lines would say.
In the LA Times:
"Last year was gangbusters," said Dave Fratello, an agent with the REAL Group in Manhattan Beach... "We flipped very quickly from a buyer's market to a seller's market.... "Everybody is shaking their heads," Fratello said. "This is crazy."
In the Easy Reader:
“Any well-priced desirable property seems to draw three to five offers at least, and that drives prices up,” [Fratello] said.... “For better or worse, I predict a crazy spring with higher prices and more bidding wars. I don’t see what’s going to stop the momentum in the next few months.” These are honest opinions about where we stand, and what's ahead.
Some totally separate questions are:
- How did this boom get started?
- What's driving it?
- Is it sustainable?
For buyers looking to get into Manhattan Beach, the questions are simpler, in a way:
- When can we get a darn house already?
- How can we "win" in this environment?
- And what's it going to cost us?
You'll notice that these are not esoteric questions. They're concrete.
If you're in the midst of a house search, you may or may not have time for the "big" questions. Most likely, you just want to get it done.
And if the market looks like it's going up, those "esoteric," "big-picture" questions about price trends don't resonate. Low rates for financing seem to make purchase price less of a consideration.
This is where we are.
Some MB Confidential readers who go way-way back with us are going to notice the contrast between Dave's line today and back in 2007.
MBC's first post began with the premise that prices were dropping in Manhattan Beach. That was early 2007. The evidence seemed clear, but it wasn't a point that was acknowledged in polite conversation. Someone had to say it.
Prices did drop, a lot, in the years that followed. We documented that, daily, and the gradual recovery that began in 2010.
But now the market's back, fairly roaring, and we have to say that, too. What's true matters.
And what's next? Markets don't switch directions suddenly. If your window is 3-6 months, expect more of what we see now. Beyond that, the "esoteric" questions start to be more interesting.
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What's next at MBC? Big changes to the site are just around the corner. Stay tuned!
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Weekend Opens (2/9-2/10)
Saturday, February 9th, 2013
That song about "too little inventory" had really gotten old, so it's about time.
This week's open-house roster is heavily weighted to the beach areas, with a virtual storm of Sand Section offerings. (Back east this weekend, they have too much snow. Here we have too much Sand.)
But if you're shopping the Tree Section or Hills, sorry – nothing new at all to tour there this week.
To plan your weekend open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column.
Or click here for the new-format Beach Reporter list of opens.
East MB
Disclosure: Dave is co-listing this property. Therefore, we're not going to offer a "review" per se.
Instead, we'll copy in the listing description and give you a chance to tour the property virtually with our walkthrough video (embedded below).
Please take note, this home has drawn immediate interest, and we must advise potential buyers to decide swiftly.
Here's the description:
This updated, turnkey home boasts high ceilings and a great open floor plan throughout. Gourmet kitchen features top-of-the-line appliances (Sub-Zero, Viking, Fisher & Paykel), walk-in pantry, spacious dining nook and connects to a warm, bright family room... [S]oaring master suite featuring cathedral ceilings, a large balcony/patio and a generously appointed master bath with whirlpool tub, separate shower and walk-in closet... Fun fact: Originally owned by Johnny Buss, one-time head of the LA Sparks and eldest son of Dr. Jerry Buss (owner of the LA Lakers).Below is a full 7-minute tour, long for the internet, but short compared to the logistics of getting yourself there to see if you're interested. (Email subscribers: use this link to see the video.)
2104 Harkness starts at $1.549M, and is open Sun. 1-4pm.
Dave will be around for much of the open house period; please drop in and say "hi" if you can.
You might note that the basic specs on this property – location, vintage, bed/bath count, square footage and even price – present this property as a direct competitor for 2104 Harkness. For this reason, to minimize any potential bias, we also will not offer a formal "review" here.
Here's the listing description:
1351 17th starts at $1.549M, and is open Sat. & Sun. 1-4pm.Don't miss this Mediterranean family style home in East Manhattan. Situated on a South facing corner, this home offers a fabulous floor plan, boasting 3122 sq. ft. (BTV) of living space, with all 4 bedrooms upstairs. Other amenities include a formal living room off the entry with fireplace and French doors that open to the front yard. A separate formal dining room also greets you as you enter. A very spacious family room is perfect for entertaining guests along with the open kitchen and a private hard-scape backyard. Upstairs include a large master with a walk in closet and views of Downtown LA. This home is near the award winning Meadows Elementary school and close walk to Poliwog Park.
The lot is unusual, running along Harkness but hemmed in on the north and south sides by other homes.
The use of the lot is even more unusual, even wasteful. The house is more or less in the middle of the lot, with enough space for a nice yard on the north side (good) and a nearly equal amount of space, largely paved, for – what? – on the south side (hunh?).
The home is small (you saw that it's 800 sq. ft.), with the common area(s) notably crunched. There's a little style to the galley kitchen, but we couldn't quite see it as "updated" and we did not see the granite countertops mentioned in the listing description, just white formica.
714 Harkness starts at $775K and is open Sat. only 1-4pm.
Sand Section
This is a 1921 original with updates and a spare unit in back. The main house has 3br downstairs with large, open living spaces up top.
Nice feature: The master bedroom, on the first floor in front, has not-kidding-ya, lying-down ocean views from bed. Why get up?
The views upstairs are even better, and the living room is oriented to take good advantage.
Though the back unit has a bedroom, modern bath and a large living room plus a mini-kitchen, it's one stovetop away from being a true standalone rental. It seems to be a rec room/suite for the current owners.
As much of a charmer this one is, we would note a couple of things. The main house could be a tight fit for a growing family. And we always prefer a walkstreet home that opens out to the walkstreet patio in some substantial way; here, it's quite a hike from the entry (far in back) to the front patio, so we'd imagine it would be little-used.
This home was last purchased in the same city, same location, but in different condition and in a much different market 4 years ago, in Feb. 2009, for $3.250M.
Photos from that 2008-2009 listing show a notably similar home, albeit with more spare and frumpy décor. We're told that the current owners did some work, too, beyond redecorating with good style. No doubt they did: Nothing really cries out for change today.
They'll benefit from that work and the steady 3+ years of market improvement since they bought this home. They're asking $700K more than acquisition to begin.
133 17th starts at $3.950M and is open Sat. & Sun. 2-4pm.
A would-be 5th bedroom referenced in the listing is actually a second open room on the lower level – now a game room – but with a little drywall and a closet it would qualify. Those 5th br's are often unused, so this is a sensible allocation of space unless/until you need the room for someone to sleep.
Sometimes with 4br plus laundry together on a middle level, you see at least 2 of the bedrooms get short shrift: Big enough for a little kid with little stuff, or for visitors or vacation use, but not much else.
Yet here the layout is better than expected, with secondary bedrooms you could spread out into for year-round use. In part that's because they didn't go overboard with the master. It's just big enough, though it does get a separate sitting/reading area with some ocean peeks.
Another modern plus: a 3-stop elevator.
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| Views from the top-floor family room (balcony) |
The kitchen, built of oak and featuring granite that dates the house a bit, may want some attention from the next buyer, but any re-do does not have to be all that pricey.
This home was under-exposed to the market in 2011 and looked positively dowdy inside at the time. It sold then for $2.7M. The current owners freshened the place up to maximize its assets. And now they have timing going for them in a couple ways. There's not another $3M-range ocean-view house on the market right now.
Disclosure: We have toured 320 32nd with a client.
320 32nd starts now at $3.299M, and is open Sat. 2-4pm.
420 36th (4br/4ba, 3000 sq. ft.) is a newer ocean-view Tuscan near the furthest northern edge of the plateau... not quite El Porto.
It's oriented wide along 36th on an 1800 sq. ft. corner lot at Vista. (The 60' x 30' lot is an unusual size.)
Big, open spaces upstairs take advantage of the light and views. There's really much more to see from this alley-adjacent location on 36th St. than we could have imagined before getting inside.
Many of the features of this home are conventional among newer builds: Dark wood flooring, nice stone flooring and tile, a high-end kitchen.
Among the 4br, one, on the first floor off the entry, is more like a full-blown guest suite, with a separate living room in addition to the bed and bath. It almost wants to be a separate 1br unit.
420 36th was listed new in 2009-2010 (tough years) without selling. It starts now at $2.199M. It's open Sun. 2-4pm.
NOTE: This property moved to a "hold" status and will not show up in a search; they will bring it back to market in March.
What this one's got is a dollhouse charm inside and mega ocean views outside from 2 levels.
Sure, it's an unusual place in some respects – but not very unlike a few dozen other 1950s/60s originals you may have seen that have been upgraded without really being changed.
The first level features a modest living room, dining area and a little pocket of a kitchen, but that kitchen is modern beach chic with a purely pleasing, bright feel. Just outside is a wide deck with terrific ocean views. It's chief asset #1.
The first level also has one bedroom and an updated bath. That bedroom opens to a shady porch out back.
Upstairs is another bedroom sleeping area, a modern bath and big living room with expansive ocean views, including a substantial sliver over the rooftops the west. Another ocean-view balcony qualifies as chief asset #2. A little office tucked away off the living room has a big ocean view, too.
Note: We can't fully call that a "bedroom" upstairs because it has no wall or door on one side – a sheer curtain can be pulled to separate it from the upstairs living space, but it's otherwise just one big open space upstairs. (The bath has a door.)
317 27th starts at $1.469M and is open Sat. & Sun. 2-4pm.
This is listing #5 in the Sand Section for just this post, could it have ocean views, as do all the others? Yes – we saw real blue from the top-floor balcony, even the living room. The streak is alive.
This is a comfortable place with a wide-open top-floor living area. And since these half-lot homes often lack for common space, it's a nice touch to see a little landing on the mid floor that can host a mini-office area.
437 28th Pl. starts at $1.439M and is open Sat. only 2-4pm.
Hold on. This is #6 out of 6 new listings in the Sand. They all had ocean views before. And here?
Yes. The streak continues through the end of our report.
Up on the top level, there's a substantial patio/balcony with real views to the north and west, and there are more to the south and west from the kitchen/dining area.
Each bedroom has its own bath; the master suite is positively huge for a TH, with a large extra space now set up as a small living room, complete with fireplace.
Some of the materials, and even updates, don't feel very now – black marble in several places, glossy black cabinets in the kitchen. But the wood flooring upstairs is a nice base for a refresh on the unit.
416 21st Place starts at $1.349M and is open Sun. 1-4pm.
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Look Who Found Buyers
Friday, February 8th, 2013
Tight inventory will do that. It's as if you can't fail to sell these days. Even properties that are not on the market.
Two odd houses that have sold recently come to mind.
This is a home that ran 5 months on market in 2011 without success.
Here at MBC, in July 2011, we called it "a curiosity in terms of design and layout," noting "echoes of the home's 70s vintage supplemented by newer updates."
This was a fairly gentle way of saying the home was peculiar and needed work. We toured it with clients who'd have loved to be down on the flat walkstreets, but people just could not get their minds around the house.
With its $2.1M pricetag and the all work that would be needed to bring it more in line with most peoples' wishes, it was hard to figure.
That was the broader market's response, too: 5 months, $2.1M asking, no go. The listing quietly faded away in December 2011.
And then, off market, in December 2012: a "yes." For $2.3M. Tax records show the sale closing just before year end.
That's $200K (call it 10%) more than the home did not sell for a year earlier. Wow.
We know something about off-market sales on the flat walkstreets. As we've noted before (in "Tale of an Off-Market Sale"), Dave arranged the sale of 409 7th St. (5br/4ba, 3475 sq. ft.) in November for $2.675m. The location's much better, mid-block and away from Valley, the house was newer, almost a third bigger and had a far more conventional, workable layout. But 505 7th went for a price that's in reach of the sale at 409. Like we said, wow.
We almost had to self-impose a moratorium on posts about 3309 Pacific, because it was such a frequent flier here at MBC. (See, for instance, "A Long, Strange Listing" from Feb. 2009.)
The 4br/4ba, 3500 sq. ft. property made appearances on the market for 7 consecutive years, appearing in parts of 2005-2011. But they never could sell it.
One of our last posts, titled, "3309 Pacific is Lucky in 6th Year," was missing two letters: "Un-," as in, "Unlucky." That's because the deal they had in Summer 2010 flopped.
The property sat out 2012, the first year out of 8 where it wasn't marketed.
But here in 2013, 3309 Pacific is back on the radar, having just posted a deal (no doubt arranged off-market) with a list price of $1.200M.
Think about this one. It's possibly the most hard-luck property of all the hard-luck properties to be offered to the public since the bubble years. Heck, it started being offered in the bubble years (at prices as high as $1.799M), only to see the bubble pop.
Now that something else is happening (b-word, anyone?), have they really sold it? History suggests we be a little careful before declaring it done. So for now, we'll say a careful "wow."
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