February 2008 
There are 37 blog entries for February 2008.
February Brightens
Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 5:30am. 119 Views, 0 Comments.
Try and put aside Thursday's foggy weather. The story of February for local RE was quite a bit sunnier, particularly when measured against Q4 2007 and January '08.The two most recent months saw sales of SFRs west of Sepulveda in the single digits – 9 in December and 7 in January. Currently, we've recorded 17 sales (new escrows) in our subject region in February. Several have posted in the last 2-3 days, and there's still a leap day left for more to be posted.
The deals made so far include 1 in the Hill Section (forgettable 1019 11th) and 8 each in the Sand Section and the Trees. We'd call 3 of the Sand Section sales possible lot sales, while 2 were new construction – including delicious 200 19th at $5.849m. In the Trees, 3 new homes, 1 great remodel (2317…
They've Got Plans
Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 4:55am. 123 Views, 0 Comments.
Sometimes you can get more than a house when you buy. You can also get someone else's ideas for how to make it better.In a few cases with current listings, the seller is offering plans for a remodel or new construction as part of the deal.
2808 Manhattan Ave. is the newest entry. (Click address for details, including a satellite map, via Redfin; no pics yet.) For $1.799m you get a 2200-sq.-ft. lot, plus:
[P]lans for a 3,300 sqft single family home which includes 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, living room, formal dining room, recreation/media room, elevator & 3-car garage. Plans have been approved by the city. It would appear the sellers were ready to build in a great part of town west of Highland, and just couldn't, or wouldn't, pull the trigger. A buyer could…
Early Warning: Ask/Close Spreads
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 at 3:33am. 126 Views, 0 Comments.
The national news this week is again full of tales of home price reductions. Whether you go by median prices or the Case-Shiller index, sales that are happening so far in 2008 are coming in at lower prices than last year.
Today let’s look at recent MB sales from a different angle: what some call the ask-close spread. Basically we’re looking how much recent sellers got, compared to their own starting prices.
The short version:
Today let’s look at recent MB sales from a different angle: what some call the ask-close spread. Basically we’re looking how much recent sellers got, compared to their own starting prices.
The short version:
- Recent Sand Section sales fared best, with most sales closing within 10% of their start prices.
- In the Hill Section, a small sample of 4 sales saw 3 close with cuts of 15% or more.
- In the Tree Section, resales had spreads of 11-16% off their start prices, with most at the higher end of that range; most new construction took cuts
Great Streets: Pacific (Hills)
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 7:04am. 109 Views, 0 Comments.
Depending on where you live or drive around town, you might have very different ideas about Pacific Ave.In the Trees, Pacific can be just plain busy – i.e., not very "pacific." If you're headed north in the morning (or any time), you've got refinery stacks in your sights as you shuffle toward Rosecrans.
But whoa, what a completely different story Pacific Ave. is over in the Hill Section. It's perhaps the city's premier ocean-view street, particularly in the stretch between 6th-10th St. Here, "Pacific" actually means you will see a lot of the Pacific Ocean. Big-blue-marble-type views. (Those power lines are on the way down.)
In short, when you say "Hill Section" and think "ocean view," Pacific ought to be your next thought.
(Please forgive MBC for the…
Such a Deal on Duncan
Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 10:32pm. 122 Views, 0 Comments.
When 911 Duncan first hit the market in June 2007, the builder/seller had high hopes. The listing began at $3.770m.The build was a unique, custom design, memorably touted for some time as a home that supposedly evoked Frank Lloyd Wright's "Fallingwater" – with a grass driveway on Duncan apparently subbing for the forested setting of the Wright home. (We kid.)
By the 6-month mark, 911 Duncan wasn't moving, so the price did – down $470k to $3.299m. As MBC noted in "Fallingprice," this was the greatest drop in new-construction pricing in the Hill Section in 2007.
Now, with a closed price coming in at $3.190m, we can shut the books. The final price was -$580k/-15% off that optimistic start. That's the new record for cuts on new construction in the Hills.
And…
Movement on the Perimeter
Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 6:07am. 100 Views, 0 Comments.
One factor that will tend to make the local RE market sluggish is when buyers get picky about location.Oh, we know, location (x3) is the RE mantra. Everyone knows location is important.
But in more frenzied times, buyers' goal is to buy something, anything, ASAP, and not to let a specific street or location trip them up. If they're trying to buy the ZIP code, after all – or the school district – they might look past things that suddenly seem important when they have a choice, like those refinery stacks they would see each morning out the kitchen window as they make the kids' lunches.
In a calmer market like today's, sellers can overcome their homes' location issues only with realistic pricing, or big adjustments.
In the last few days, 2 listings proved that…
Weekend Opens
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 at 5:17am. 112 Views, 0 Comments.
There are not a bunch of new listings this week, but here are some that are worth a look this weekend if you're out:131 Kelp (pictured; click for details via Redfin) is a small 2br/2ba, 1400 sq. footer in El Porto – er, "North Manhattan Beach." (Did you know there's a street in MB named Kelp? It's between 40th and 41st.) It's cozy but on the cute side. Where else can you get ocean views (from the deck) for $1.095m? Open Sun. 1-4.
At the other end of town, lovers of the South End might love the southernmost offering in MB at 207 Homer. (Did you know there's a street in MB named Homer?) This one can be tough to find: go a half block south of 1st St., then look just east of Manhattan Ave. (Former address is 80 Manhattan Ave.) Built in 1967, the home offers…
Flag It As Overpriced
Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 10:05pm. 115 Views, 0 Comments.
Just last year – in April, in fact – someone tried to sell a peculiar house in the Hill Section for less than a million dollars.It didn't work.
Instead, they sold it for almost $1.3m.
Peculiar 612 11th St. came on the market at $975k and sold for $1.275m in less than a week. (Presumably due to multiple offers.)
Now, peculiar 612 11th is back. (Click address for details via Redfin.)
And this time the sellers shouldn't have the problem of managing a bunch of overbids. They're starting at $1.599m. That's +$324k/+25% over the closed price from last May.
Why do we keep saying "peculiar?" It's the strange "flag lot." This is a polite way of saying it's the back house on a lot appears to be split in two. The "flagpole" is your driveway access to 11th.Last year, we…
Rates Spiking Again?
Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 12:52am. 111 Views, 0 Comments.
Within a few days, mortgage rates have shot up as much as 1%. This is tied largely to inflation expectations.Speaking of which, "stagflation" appears to be the buzzword of the day, appearing in headlines and stories in the WSJ, NYT and LAT today. (Opening up lots of 1970s analogies.)
This graph was produced by a free tool at Bankrate.com to show California rates over the last 3 years. Here's another tool hosted at the WSJ using Bankrate data nationwide.
The current spike, particularly on jumbos, mirrors the August 2007 panic when the mortgage meltdown became undeniable. That one eased, but you have to wonder if this time it's different. (One thing that's different is that "jumbos" are being redefined as $730k+, in our area, anyway, but this will take till…
Run Season Begins
Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 10:08pm. 128 Views, 0 Comments.
This Saturday morning brings the first of the local school fundraiser runs, a 5k in support of American Martyrs School. The route is all Tree Section, with lots of hilly Valley/Ardmore parts. Weather's looking OK.
Just around the corner, Robinson holds its 5k on Saturday, March 15th, with a route including walkstreets and Valley on the South End.
Grandview's 5k is June 7, back in the Trees.
MBC has previously called out these runs, among others, as some of our favorite parts of life in MB. (See "A New, Unique MB Event," about the pumpkin races.) Frankly, where your humble correspondent was raised, we didn't have this sort of thing, with the closing off of streets for fitness runs (or renowned bike races). Check yourself: It's cool.
If you're so inclined,…
Just around the corner, Robinson holds its 5k on Saturday, March 15th, with a route including walkstreets and Valley on the South End.
Grandview's 5k is June 7, back in the Trees.
MBC has previously called out these runs, among others, as some of our favorite parts of life in MB. (See "A New, Unique MB Event," about the pumpkin races.) Frankly, where your humble correspondent was raised, we didn't have this sort of thing, with the closing off of streets for fitness runs (or renowned bike races). Check yourself: It's cool.
If you're so inclined,…
