July 2010 
There are 27 blog entries for July 2010.
Weekend Opens (7/31-8/1)
Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 4:02am. 140 Views, 0 Comments.
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…
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…3309 Pacific Is Lucky in 6th Year
Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 5:08pm. 145 Views, 0 Comments.
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…
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…
Larsson TH Comes Off the Board
Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 4:08am. 145 Views, 0 Comments.
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| 234 Larsson |
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.
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| Larsson's remodeled interior |
11% in 3 Years
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 8:07pm. 114 Views, 0 Comments.
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%.…
11% in 2 Weeks
Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 4:14am. 158 Views, 0 Comments.
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…
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…
More Ugly Ducklings
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 4:16am. 138 Views, 0 Comments.
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…
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…
MB Local News Roundup
Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 11:06pm. 131 Views, 0 Comments.
A few local developments seem to deserve a quick check-in:
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…
- 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:
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…
Close the Books on 440 6th
Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 2:06pm. 142 Views, 0 Comments.
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,…
Weekend Reading & Reviews
Saturday, July 24th, 2010 at 2:15pm. 120 Views, 0 Comments.
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 …
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 …
Big Changes North & East
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 1:45pm. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
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…
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…
