June 2007 
There are 30 blog entries for June 2007.
The Street Where Listings Don't Last
Saturday, June 30th, 2007 at 5:45am. 121 Views, 0 Comments.
If you're thinking of selling, this is a tough time. Particularly if you're in the Tree Section, and you are entering the crowded $2m+ segment......unless you happen to own a home on Poinsettia between Valley and 31st.
In that case, stick a sign in the yard and schedule a meeting with your investment broker, for you shall rather soon have much to discuss.
This is "The Street," a little slice of storybook-perfect suburbia, a unique couple dozen homes sharing a tree canopy reminiscent of towns much farther east. In a lucky turn of events, the redevelopment of the last decade here has mostly been tasteful and careful. It's so charming you could just pinch the block, if you could pinch a block.
This week, the third home on this block to be put on offer in 2007…
Meet the Latest, Priciest Home in the Trees
Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 6:43am. 126 Views, 0 Comments.
For several months, builders have been pushing the ceiling up in the Tree Section, trying to make $3.5m the new normal for top-end everything.
Along comes 1718 Pacific, blowing them all away with a $4.5m pricetag on a remodel just a few doors down from the school. (To be fair, this was a big-time rebuild/remodel, in '03.)
The big asset: a 9,900 sq. ft. lot – yes, double the normal size for the area, and it's well-concealed, too, because the lot is much deeper than it is wide.
The rear yard has room for all you'd find in a different kind of suburban neighborhood – a patio for entertaining, some grass, a pool, and a sports court.
Compare this to the previously most-expensive home in the Trees: new construction at 570 27th (across from Ladera School), and there…
Along comes 1718 Pacific, blowing them all away with a $4.5m pricetag on a remodel just a few doors down from the school. (To be fair, this was a big-time rebuild/remodel, in '03.)The big asset: a 9,900 sq. ft. lot – yes, double the normal size for the area, and it's well-concealed, too, because the lot is much deeper than it is wide.
The rear yard has room for all you'd find in a different kind of suburban neighborhood – a patio for entertaining, some grass, a pool, and a sports court.
Compare this to the previously most-expensive home in the Trees: new construction at 570 27th (across from Ladera School), and there…
Price War Starting on Pacific?
Thursday, June 28th, 2007 at 6:15am. 100 Views, 0 Comments.
The folks offering 2804 Pacific to the public apparently would rather not bother with the routine of overpricing, waiting, reducing, reducing again and wondering why there are no offers.Today they have thrown a monkey wrench into the whole Tree Section market between $1m-$2m, asking a paltry $1.399m for their 3br/3ba, 2050 sq. ft. home.
As the photos show, the home is pleasantly remodeled, even a bit sleek inside. There is good outdoor space (patios, not a yard, exactly, but nicely landscaped). The listing says it's in "move-in condition," and by appearances that's right. (No one has walked through yet.)The price is $200k below all comparable homes in the Trees, and it thereby threatens all 9 active listings currently marked at $1.5m-$2m.
Most directly, 2804…Trulia Terrible for MB Searches
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 6:52am. 115 Views, 0 Comments.
Not so long ago, property search engine Trulia.com offered a nice "widget" for bloggers that MBC considered using.
By dropping a little code into the template, we could offer viewers a "search box" into which readers could easily type an address and pull up info.
It turns out that Trulia is truly terrible. At this hour, a Trulia search for SFRs in MB 90266 pulls up 36 entries. By contrast, a ZipRealty search pulls up 121.
The Trulia results are not just skimpy, but several are simply wrong. For instance, try to find 7 Highland Ave. on a map. Oops, it's in Connecticut! But it's one of those 36 you will pull up in MB 90266 on Trulia. Or try looking up 770 N. Bayview Drive, which clearly shows up as MB – turns out you can't get a home for $120k on the South End,…
By dropping a little code into the template, we could offer viewers a "search box" into which readers could easily type an address and pull up info.
It turns out that Trulia is truly terrible. At this hour, a Trulia search for SFRs in MB 90266 pulls up 36 entries. By contrast, a ZipRealty search pulls up 121.
The Trulia results are not just skimpy, but several are simply wrong. For instance, try to find 7 Highland Ave. on a map. Oops, it's in Connecticut! But it's one of those 36 you will pull up in MB 90266 on Trulia. Or try looking up 770 N. Bayview Drive, which clearly shows up as MB – turns out you can't get a home for $120k on the South End,…
Buy OR Rent for $20k/mo.
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 6:02am. 148 Views, 0 Comments.
Where can we even start with 512 John? So much to cover.
First, believe the hype. This is a striking masterpiece of a home, built in 2000 in a great location, the kind that some folks are just dreaming about when they write "panoramic ocean views." The home is set high above the street and takes good advantage of the added privacy. (MBC might criticize the first-floor master facing the street, except it's private and it drinks up the ocean views.)
The home's style might not be yours. It's very modern, Japanese-inspired, using simple materials – concrete, glass, bamboo, steel. The walls are white. You get a feeling of order, cleanliness, simplicity. It's striking. It just might not suit your furniture, your plates, your clothes or your kids. But it's great.…
Saying It Doesn't Make It So
Monday, June 25th, 2007 at 5:26am. 112 Views, 0 Comments.
If you're browsing the Beach Reporter looking for your new home, you might come across this ad for 2709 Oak, new construction in the Trees. It fairly blares two claims:"NEW LISTING"
and
"PRICED RIGHT"
Neither of which appears to be true.
2709 Oak was first listed on August 15, 2006, 314 days ago.
Perhaps some of those days on market were pre-completion, but the home has been ready for a long while.
Is it "priced right?"
The first list price, which lasted nine months, was $2.395m. This month, it dropped a token $16k to $2.379. Before this week's deja vu debut, the price dropped again to $2.349m. That's a total reduction of just $49k.
Ten months on market, with little movement and no sale, offers evidence that the home is not "priced right." Saying it doesn't make…
Spring Slowdown
Sunday, June 24th, 2007 at 4:38pm. 144 Views, 0 Comments.
The most widely read data source on Southland home sales is the Dataquick numbers published in the LA Times Sunday Real Estate section.
As detailed in this brief at our sister site, Manhattan Beach Market Update, the data paint a picture of a substantial slowing this Spring.
Would you believe: A 21% drop in sales from April to May, and a 40% drop from March to May?
Remember in the first part of the year when folks were amazed at how well the market was moving?
As detailed in this brief at our sister site, Manhattan Beach Market Update, the data paint a picture of a substantial slowing this Spring.
Would you believe: A 21% drop in sales from April to May, and a 40% drop from March to May?
Remember in the first part of the year when folks were amazed at how well the market was moving?
Sat. Lite: Check Your Listing Language
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 at 6:18am. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
MBC is going to go out on a limb here and invite a threat to the site's accessibility from AOL, public libraries, and others that filter content.
You know this is not an x-rated site, but today MBC is compelled to share the "addendum" to a newer listing at 877 8th (verbatim, we swear):
Gourmet kitchen includes a solid walnut bar, breakfast nook and opens to the great room with bookshelves and desk. WALKER ZANGER glass tiles, Anal sacks limestone-stunning top-of- the-line finishes. The romantic master suite becomes a soothing haven french doors leading to the private yard, its own fireplace, two closets and a striking master bath.
Something in there just seemed wrong, but we tried giving the benefit of the doubt.
We tried our best to find that particular kind…
You know this is not an x-rated site, but today MBC is compelled to share the "addendum" to a newer listing at 877 8th (verbatim, we swear):
Gourmet kitchen includes a solid walnut bar, breakfast nook and opens to the great room with bookshelves and desk. WALKER ZANGER glass tiles, Anal sacks limestone-stunning top-of- the-line finishes. The romantic master suite becomes a soothing haven french doors leading to the private yard, its own fireplace, two closets and a striking master bath.
Something in there just seemed wrong, but we tried giving the benefit of the doubt.
We tried our best to find that particular kind…
More Faith in Rising Prices
Friday, June 22nd, 2007 at 8:43pm. 110 Views, 0 Comments.
Nationally, more than half of all Americans think they can sell their home now for more than they could have fetched last year.
The LA Times reports:
The LA Times reports:
- 55% of Americans believed they could sell their house for more now than a year ago, down slightly from the 59% who felt that way last summer; and
- Nearly three-quarters think they could sell their homes within the next six months at a price they set.
- 83% believe that home values in their neighborhoods will remain the same or increase over the next six months; and
- [M]ost of the no-decrease folks
Some Haircuts in the Trees at $2m+
Thursday, June 21st, 2007 at 5:15am. 113 Views, 0 Comments.
As some closed sale data start to come in from the Spring, we're seeing a few haircuts that got properties sold in the Tree Section in the glutted $2m+ segment.- 758 27th - dropped $199k (began 2/5/07 @ $3.099m, closed 5/7/07 @ $2.9m)
- 3104 Maple - dropped $109k (began 9/20/06 @ $2.599m, closed 6/19/07 @ $2.49m)
- 637 35th - dropped $149k (began 11/10/06 @ $2.699m, closed 6/17/07 @ $2.550m)
- 2104 Poinsettia – dropped $299k (began 1/18/07 @ $2.099m, closed 6/14/07 @ $1.8m)
Now, these cuts were no great strides toward mass affordability.…
