August 2009 
There are 25 blog entries for August 2009.
Newly Gone, South
Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 7:30pm. 190 Views, 0 Comments.
Good news for the South End walkstreets – the first new home to hit the open market in a long time has found a buyer within 2 months.
440 6th (6br/6ba, 4200 sq. ft.), a new Cape Cod on a corner lot at Ingleside, has a lot to love. (Listing can still be viewed while in "backup offer" status.)
Just quickly recap what we've got here:
What's missing? An ocean view, we suppose, but there's nothing like the family lifestyle of the flat walkstreets on most downhill, ocean-view blocks west of Highland. (Where the last comparable sale was newbie 224 7th at $4.9m in late April – see "Recent Closings.")
The listing for 6th never varied from its start price at $4.495m. We're…
440 6th (6br/6ba, 4200 sq. ft.), a new Cape Cod on a corner lot at Ingleside, has a lot to love. (Listing can still be viewed while in "backup offer" status.) Just quickly recap what we've got here:
- new,
- corner,
- South End,
- walkstreet.
What's missing? An ocean view, we suppose, but there's nothing like the family lifestyle of the flat walkstreets on most downhill, ocean-view blocks west of Highland. (Where the last comparable sale was newbie 224 7th at $4.9m in late April – see "Recent Closings.")
The listing for 6th never varied from its start price at $4.495m. We're…
Weekend Opens (8/29-8/30)
Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 3:34am. 123 Views, 0 Comments.
Happy Labor Day to readers – oh, no, that's technically next week. Who can tell?
If you're around this weekend, there are not many brand-new listings (give it another week or 2), but we are suggesting a few that haven't made the weekend recommendations list before.
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
801 1st (4br/3ba, 2800 sq. ft.) has nice Cape Cod styling and a traditional feel in a…
If you're around this weekend, there are not many brand-new listings (give it another week or 2), but we are suggesting a few that haven't made the weekend recommendations list before.
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
801 1st (4br/3ba, 2800 sq. ft.) has nice Cape Cod styling and a traditional feel in a…More on 'Foreclosures' in MB, Pt. II
Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 7:02am. 122 Views, 0 Comments.
We'll continue here looking at some of the properties from a recent foreclosure-related data run. Recall that the list is in PDF form, downloadable via Blake Roberts' post from Tuesday.
Also recall our warning – virtually any data you find online regarding the "foreclosure" status of a given property needs to be verified. Even the paid information services provide inadequate data, often out-of-date or overtaken by events.
We're trying to lay out what we know about homes on the list, but we're not intimately familiar with these situations. If you have more to contribute, please share information here.
Yesterday's post focused on homes that are active on the market or had recently sold or gone into escrow. Today we'll examine homes that were listed for sale at…
Also recall our warning – virtually any data you find online regarding the "foreclosure" status of a given property needs to be verified. Even the paid information services provide inadequate data, often out-of-date or overtaken by events.
We're trying to lay out what we know about homes on the list, but we're not intimately familiar with these situations. If you have more to contribute, please share information here.
Yesterday's post focused on homes that are active on the market or had recently sold or gone into escrow. Today we'll examine homes that were listed for sale at…
Open Forum (8/27- )
Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 12:15am. 142 Views, 0 Comments.
If you judge by the scofflaws around town – even on The Strand! – MB residents haven't taken to these new water restrictions all that well. Some people routinely don't know what day it is, didn't get the memo, or don't care.
But we're not going to let a few bad apples ruin what our town has achieved: a 24% reduction in water usage in July, the first month of the restrictions.
That's not just a year-over-year comparison – it compares the average of the previous 4 Julys. That means the change in July 2009 was real. (Chart via the city of MB.)
Water use began to drop from the 4-year average in May, which the city thinks is due to awareness of the coming restrictions. We're thinking: not likely. But it's good work nonetheless.
Now, on a somewhat related topic –…
But we're not going to let a few bad apples ruin what our town has achieved: a 24% reduction in water usage in July, the first month of the restrictions.That's not just a year-over-year comparison – it compares the average of the previous 4 Julys. That means the change in July 2009 was real. (Chart via the city of MB.)
Water use began to drop from the 4-year average in May, which the city thinks is due to awareness of the coming restrictions. We're thinking: not likely. But it's good work nonetheless.
Now, on a somewhat related topic –…
More on 'Foreclosures' in MB, Pt. I
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 11:59pm. 129 Views, 0 Comments.
Some people complain about MBC's tone being a bit gloomy sometimes, despite all the neutral and positive news we run here. Well, those are the sorts of slings and arrows you get for being outside the system.
But what can we say, then, about these recent posts on the blogs of 2 local agents:
"When your home is worth less than you paid..." (Kaye Thomas)
"Foreclosure activity for Manhattan Beach, 90266" (Blake Roberts) Kaye is talking through the merits of short sales versus "walking away." Blake posts a list of 81 properties in default or up for auction. What are these people trying to say about the local market?
OK, we kid. Of course we appreciate the willingness of both agents to dabble in the dark stuff. It's part of giving a broader, more honest picture.
…
But what can we say, then, about these recent posts on the blogs of 2 local agents:
"When your home is worth less than you paid..." (Kaye Thomas)
"Foreclosure activity for Manhattan Beach, 90266" (Blake Roberts) Kaye is talking through the merits of short sales versus "walking away." Blake posts a list of 81 properties in default or up for auction. What are these people trying to say about the local market?
OK, we kid. Of course we appreciate the willingness of both agents to dabble in the dark stuff. It's part of giving a broader, more honest picture.
…
Poll Results: 2401 John
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 4:05am. 123 Views, 0 Comments.
By late 2008, it was readily apparent that the whole spec-construction game in MB was nearly over for this RE cycle.
Boldly into those choppy seas dove the builders of 2401 John. They acquired the lot for $1.189m in October 2008, and about 9 months later have given birth to a sparkling new speckie.
It might be one of the last new homes to hit the market in the Tree Section for a while.
As MBC noted in detail in the story setting up our most recent pricing poll (see "Pricing Poll: 2401 John"), open-market sales of comparable new construction have been coming in at or below $1.9m for the past 6 months. Those sales have firmed up the trend away from $2m+ prices that had been the norm for several years prior.
But 2401 John starts at $2.499m. That's to be justified…
Boldly into those choppy seas dove the builders of 2401 John. They acquired the lot for $1.189m in October 2008, and about 9 months later have given birth to a sparkling new speckie.It might be one of the last new homes to hit the market in the Tree Section for a while.
As MBC noted in detail in the story setting up our most recent pricing poll (see "Pricing Poll: 2401 John"), open-market sales of comparable new construction have been coming in at or below $1.9m for the past 6 months. Those sales have firmed up the trend away from $2m+ prices that had been the norm for several years prior.
But 2401 John starts at $2.499m. That's to be justified…
Atypical Deal on the Hill
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 4:48am. 119 Views, 0 Comments.
Next time you find yourself tooling up or down 2nd St. in the Hill Section, ponder this: someone just got some kind of a deal on one of the unlikeliest homes on the block.
1042 2nd is the first home you will see on the south side of 2nd if you're turning down the hill from Sepulveda. It's the last home you'll see if you're coming uphill to the light or – more often – waiting at it.
We're calling the home "unlikely" because it's some kind of amazing that someone deigned to build a big new home right next to the imposing office building at 2nd/PCH in the first place. (It's got a twin next door at 1038 2nd; they appear to be detached townhomes, technically, though 1042 2nd was always marketed as an SFR.)
With no views to speak of, the backed-up traffic factor…
1042 2nd is the first home you will see on the south side of 2nd if you're turning down the hill from Sepulveda. It's the last home you'll see if you're coming uphill to the light or – more often – waiting at it.We're calling the home "unlikely" because it's some kind of amazing that someone deigned to build a big new home right next to the imposing office building at 2nd/PCH in the first place. (It's got a twin next door at 1038 2nd; they appear to be detached townhomes, technically, though 1042 2nd was always marketed as an SFR.)
With no views to speak of, the backed-up traffic factor…
Weekend Opens (8/22-8/23)
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 3:47am. 108 Views, 0 Comments.
You know where it's hot? Seattle. Portland.
And not? MB.
We're talking weather here, as our Summer flops along, chilly. A crest over 72 is news.
Fun activity: Note and report any open houses this weekend where they're running the fireplaces.
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
718 N. Poinsettia (6br/5ba, 5725 sq. ft.) is much bigger than it appears, including ample yard.
On top of a raft…
And not? MB.
We're talking weather here, as our Summer flops along, chilly. A crest over 72 is news.
Fun activity: Note and report any open houses this weekend where they're running the fireplaces.
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
718 N. Poinsettia (6br/5ba, 5725 sq. ft.) is much bigger than it appears, including ample yard.On top of a raft…
Pricing Poll: 2401 John
Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 5:14am. 126 Views, 0 Comments.
No one has sold a new home in the Tree Section for a price with a 2 in front in the past 6 months.
Not that no one is trying.
The subject of our newest pricing poll, 2401 John, is fresh on the market and starts well above the $2m threshold at $2.499m. (Click address for more pics & details via Redfin.)
It's a bit bigger than your standard-issue Tree Section newbies at 5br/5ba, 3500 sq. ft., boasting a lot sized at nearly 5100 sq. ft.
The Cape Cod currently offers no interior pics, but we're hopeful that some will surface soon.
2401 John is open Sunday from 1-4pm, and we'll encourage readers to see it and share reactions in our "Weekend Opens" feature.
Before most anyone has seen it, this listing poses the question: What's the most that good new homes in the…
Not that no one is trying.
The subject of our newest pricing poll, 2401 John, is fresh on the market and starts well above the $2m threshold at $2.499m. (Click address for more pics & details via Redfin.)It's a bit bigger than your standard-issue Tree Section newbies at 5br/5ba, 3500 sq. ft., boasting a lot sized at nearly 5100 sq. ft.
The Cape Cod currently offers no interior pics, but we're hopeful that some will surface soon.
2401 John is open Sunday from 1-4pm, and we'll encourage readers to see it and share reactions in our "Weekend Opens" feature.
Before most anyone has seen it, this listing poses the question: What's the most that good new homes in the…
Open Forum (8/19- )
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009 at 11:15pm. 142 Views, 0 Comments.
The front page of the local fishwrapper carries big news:
Southern California home sales and prices rise in July
Wow, housing crisis ebbing?
We last looked at similar news and how it pertains to MB (or doesn't) almost 3 weeks ago in "MB vs. CA & U.S. Trends," so we won't recap the whole story again.
But here's a speed-reader's guide to the LA Times story today (graph above taken, with credit here, from the LA times), some quotes both optimistic and causes-for-concern:
Southern California home sales and prices rise in July
Wow, housing crisis ebbing?
We last looked at similar news and how it pertains to MB (or doesn't) almost 3 weeks ago in "MB vs. CA & U.S. Trends," so we won't recap the whole story again.
But here's a speed-reader's guide to the LA Times story today (graph above taken, with credit here, from the LA times), some quotes both optimistic and causes-for-concern:- [Data show] a sharp rise in home purchases and an increase in median prices for a third straight month -- suggesting that the two-year decline in home values may finally be over.
- Lower-priced homes are getting most of the action, with bidding wars for homes listed at $500,000 or less.
