August 2010 
There are 25 blog entries for August 2010.
A Summer Bounce in Inventory
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 8:15pm. 135 Views, 0 Comments.
For the 3-month period ending today, Aug. 31, there have been 25% more new SFR listings west of Sepulveda than in the same June-August period last year. (Click graphic to enlarge.)But August 2010 has seen just one more new listing – as of early afternoon on the month's last day – than Aug. 2009.
The boost from Summer 2009 to this Summer tells you something about a change in the mood of sellers.
Last year, the mood was grim, for a reason – the Fall 2008 financial market meltdown had its impact on the local RE market over the ensuing several months. There were deals and hard bargains driven in early 2009, but lots of buyers were spooked, and money was hard to come by, regardless.
Why list your house then if you didn't absolutely have to?
Potential sellers…
Open Forum (8/30– )
Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 4:07pm. 126 Views, 0 Comments.
So that was Summer?
You can maybe squeeze out a couple extra days over the next week, but then it's time to get your Halloween decorations out.
As we kick off a new "Open Forum" we'll simply point you over to a few weekend posts and stories:
You can maybe squeeze out a couple extra days over the next week, but then it's time to get your Halloween decorations out.
As we kick off a new "Open Forum" we'll simply point you over to a few weekend posts and stories:
- Local real estate agents could be required to pay a business tax that MB has not previously imposed on them. Various reactions: "terrible," "absurd" and "a matter of fairness and equity." Yes, there's a gulf between the sides on this one.
Weekend Opens (8/28-8/29)
Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 4:32am. 119 Views, 0 Comments.
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| Paddleboarders at the Pier / Photo: Joe Bark |
Come welcome the racers beginning around 11am Sunday at the MB pier. Then vow to do the race yourself next year, or maybe the year after that...
To plan out your weekend tours, try this new Redfin map list of open houses – you can sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column. Or click here for the more traditional Beach Reporter list of opens (which may not be as complete).
As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin. We ask MBC readers who visit the…
Closing 757 30th Again – For More
Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 1:26pm. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
The developers behind 757 30th surely would have waited an extra year if they had known they could get $2.125m for the property.Instead, they sold it short last August for $1.8m. (See "Close the Books on 757 30th.")
364 days later, it has now closed for the aforementioned price of $2.125m in an off-market sale.
One year later, and a resale for $325k/+18% above its recent trade – color us surprised.
The slightly-larger-than-average Tree Section speckie (5br/4ba, 3350 sq. ft.) debuted on the market in November 2007 at $2.699m. We had plenty of time to track it here at MBC. It logged 550 DOM by our count, as it went through the usual round of tentative cuts, sniffing buyers, broken deals – and ultimately the short sale process. (The once-ever-so-present bank…
More Late Summer Deals
Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 4:01am. 111 Views, 0 Comments.
Late August continues to surprise with a nice little run of sales activity. It's as if they don't deliver newspapers with worrisome news in town.
Here are a few more new deals of note (as always, click any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin):
2104 John (5br/5ba, 3980 sq. ft.) is a big, newer Spanish on a wider-than-normal lot (5700 sq. ft.). Its debut at $2.599m seemed a stretch, but it's got a deal now after less than 6 weeks.
The layout and look of the newer (2002) build is familiar if you know recent Tree Section homes, though each room is just a tad larger than expected.
John made just one price cut to $2.499m before popping up in escrow.
Much, much longer in the tooth was 1011 Pacific, a big (6br/5ba, 6875 sq. ft.) ocean-view home…
Here are a few more new deals of note (as always, click any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin):
2104 John (5br/5ba, 3980 sq. ft.) is a big, newer Spanish on a wider-than-normal lot (5700 sq. ft.). Its debut at $2.599m seemed a stretch, but it's got a deal now after less than 6 weeks.The layout and look of the newer (2002) build is familiar if you know recent Tree Section homes, though each room is just a tad larger than expected.
John made just one price cut to $2.499m before popping up in escrow.
Much, much longer in the tooth was 1011 Pacific, a big (6br/5ba, 6875 sq. ft.) ocean-view home…Busy Highview
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 4:10am. 212 Views, 0 Comments.
We called it the "dog days" just last week.
There's been a nice run in late August, though – not just in El Porto Norte – and one quick new sale on the Hill Section's hidden-away Highview Ave. reminded us how busy that block has been this year.
801 Highview (6br/7ba, 6425 sq. ft.) is a big, stately corner-lot home near the crest of the Hill at Pacific.
There are just a few prime positions up there, and 801 Highview's got one of them. Commanding views from the top level, PV and ocean – many claim it, a few have it. There are even some peeks from the first level, where all the bedrooms and one living/media/fun room are located.
The late-90s home has been updated, though it's heavy on stone and tile, not the hardwoods that buyers seem to prefer these days.…
There's been a nice run in late August, though – not just in El Porto Norte – and one quick new sale on the Hill Section's hidden-away Highview Ave. reminded us how busy that block has been this year.
801 Highview (6br/7ba, 6425 sq. ft.) is a big, stately corner-lot home near the crest of the Hill at Pacific.There are just a few prime positions up there, and 801 Highview's got one of them. Commanding views from the top level, PV and ocean – many claim it, a few have it. There are even some peeks from the first level, where all the bedrooms and one living/media/fun room are located.
The late-90s home has been updated, though it's heavy on stone and tile, not the hardwoods that buyers seem to prefer these days.…
Good Morning, El Porto!
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 4:05am. 131 Views, 0 Comments.
Suddenly, things are hopping in El Porto – whoops, El Norte – and it starts with a most unlikely headline:
The "Gateway to MB" has a buyer.
It must have been the switch to "West" Highland that did it. (See "New Label for the 'Gateway.'")
Monday, the former speckie-turned-rental, recently touted as an investment property, finally posted a deal. This fairly new version of the listing (old pic here) for 4419 Highland had run just 2 weeks at $998k.
That was not so different from the Gateway's last price of $999k under a listing that began in March at $1.189m. (See "'Gateway' Returning?")
The first listing on the Gateway, a long, long 3 years ago, began at $1.695m.
Just a little further up Highland, there's also a buyer as of Monday for the recently renovated…
The "Gateway to MB" has a buyer. It must have been the switch to "West" Highland that did it. (See "New Label for the 'Gateway.'")
Monday, the former speckie-turned-rental, recently touted as an investment property, finally posted a deal. This fairly new version of the listing (old pic here) for 4419 Highland had run just 2 weeks at $998k.
That was not so different from the Gateway's last price of $999k under a listing that began in March at $1.189m. (See "'Gateway' Returning?")
The first listing on the Gateway, a long, long 3 years ago, began at $1.695m.
Just a little further up Highland, there's also a buyer as of Monday for the recently renovated…No War on 29th After All
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 1:20pm. 133 Views, 0 Comments.
This year in the Trees, we've seen 2 homes try the strategy of "underpricing" to draw multiple bids. Now both have sold. How'd they fare?
The first case was 2708 Pacific, which first failed to sell at a high price (as high as $1.849m) early this year, then dropped starkly to $1.399m as part of a conscious strategy to start a bidding war. (See "Get 'Er Done.")
On Pacific, the strategy worked.
Tax records show that it sold last week for $1.530m, though there's no MLS entry yet of the closed sale. (Having seen people moving in, we were curious and looked up the sale through other means. Also, we hear this was a second winning bidder's deal after the first winners left the scene midway.)
Just 2 weeks after the huge price cut on Pacific triggered multiple bids…
The first case was 2708 Pacific, which first failed to sell at a high price (as high as $1.849m) early this year, then dropped starkly to $1.399m as part of a conscious strategy to start a bidding war. (See "Get 'Er Done.")On Pacific, the strategy worked.
Tax records show that it sold last week for $1.530m, though there's no MLS entry yet of the closed sale. (Having seen people moving in, we were curious and looked up the sale through other means. Also, we hear this was a second winning bidder's deal after the first winners left the scene midway.)
Just 2 weeks after the huge price cut on Pacific triggered multiple bids…Weekend Opens (8/21-8/22)
Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 4:07am. 140 Views, 0 Comments.
The new slimmed down, trimmed down, back-to-basics AVP Manhattan Open nearly got under way Friday, then stopped.Turns out, no need for a Friday qualifying round, after all. If you registered, you're in, starting Saturday.
This photo captures the area south of the MB pier Friday afternoon, where you would have expected to see a massive grandstand, had AVP not failed last week, and where you might have seen some qualifying games Friday, had they been happening.
They say the weekend will be plenty busy, though. Games start Saturday and Sunday at 9am.
Of course, there will be time for open houses as well...
Click here for the 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…
July '10 Sales in MB
Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 1:39am. 114 Views, 0 Comments.
The news Wednesday was full of worried chatter about an evident, recent dropoff in housing demand.
An example from the LA Times: "Southland home sales fell dramatically in July... A total of 18,946 homes were sold in the six-county region, a 20.6% drop from the previous month and a decline of 21.4% from July 2009."
The Times also pointed to a modest 1.6% drop in median prices from June 2010, but said that in the (admittedly massive) area under consideration, median prices were up 10% from July 2009-July 2010.
"Dramatic" drops in sales volume, but year-over-year price increases. OK, that's how the region performed. What about MB?
Here, the story of July 2010 was a positive against almost all points of comparison.
We looked at MLS data for sales in MB, this…
An example from the LA Times: "Southland home sales fell dramatically in July... A total of 18,946 homes were sold in the six-county region, a 20.6% drop from the previous month and a decline of 21.4% from July 2009."
The Times also pointed to a modest 1.6% drop in median prices from June 2010, but said that in the (admittedly massive) area under consideration, median prices were up 10% from July 2009-July 2010.
"Dramatic" drops in sales volume, but year-over-year price increases. OK, that's how the region performed. What about MB?
Here, the story of July 2010 was a positive against almost all points of comparison.
We looked at MLS data for sales in MB, this…