June 2011 
There are 21 blog entries for June 2011.
Shortie Gets Stolen
Thursday, June 30th, 2011 at 9:51pm. 148 Views, 0 Comments.
They did finally find a buyer for 421 26th (3br/3ba, 2900 sq. ft.), a late-70s "contemporary" (but hey, it ain't the 70s anymore) that was once a showpiece and now had become a major project.The home was offered short as of Labor Day last year, starting at $1.449m – called an "auction price" on the flyer. That didn't draw multiple bids, though. A buyer did come in later, but walked partway through the short sale process.
In April this year, in "Steal This Shortie," we noted that the price had come down to $1.299m, pretty amazing for almost 3000 sq. ft. in a decent location on the plateau.
The sale has now closed for $1.240m, after the main lienholder declared, "lower the price and blow it out."
Find us another listing in the Sand that has sold for…
East MB Overbid?
Thursday, June 30th, 2011 at 2:00pm. 177 Views, 0 Comments.
This week, we've been looking at a few must-have properties that sold above asking.But it looks like the record holder is a Liberty Village remodel with less than 1800 sq. ft. that's just steps down 15th St. to the middle school.
It's 1500 Lynngrove (3br/2ba, 1775 sq. ft.), listed early this May and nabbing a buyer within a few weeks.
Though the sellers asked $953k, they cleaned up after what seems to have been one heckuva bidding war.Final reported sale price: $93,000,000, more than $92m above asking.
Maybe they got the oil and gas rights with the house?
And a Sand Overbid
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at 4:27am. 133 Views, 0 Comments.
We've been waiting a while to see what 3120 Alma might fetch.You may recall that this is a larger-than-normal, 3500-sq.-ft-. corner lot with ocean views. (See our late-May review.) The little 1920s Spanish on site really has no chance of survival.
The listing launched at $1.495m, and, wow, was $1.5m for dirt really possible?
Possible on Alma, where, if you don't drive carefully, your rear-view mirrors might get knocked off by one "for sale" sign or another?
Oh, yes, 1.5 was possible.
Alma closed Tuesday for $1.560m. Another overbid.
It's a very bullish sign for the neighborhood.
Look all around Alma, both sides, up at the crest of the hill with good ocean views on both sides of the street, and you see an amazing mishmash of properties. Some are ancient, some are…
Tree Section Overbids
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011 at 3:58am. 147 Views, 0 Comments.
If you're going to pay more than asking, make sure it's something special.
With 2 recent deals in the Tree Section, that seemed to be the case.
Interestingly, both overbid sales featured nearly double-sized lots.
3008 Ardmore (3br/2ba, 1900 sq. ft.) has a couple of nice assets. First, it's basically a 7500 sq. ft. lot, quite large for the Trees. You get an ample (and nicely landscaped) front yard and a more than spacious back yard off the family room – also nicely landscaped.
After our first tour – as the offers were already pouring in – we called the home itself "a wonderful blend of old and new, a nicely maintained 1950s rancher with a fully modern kitchen" among other features.
It was clear that first day that the home wouldn't last. Particularly with a…
With 2 recent deals in the Tree Section, that seemed to be the case.
Interestingly, both overbid sales featured nearly double-sized lots.
3008 Ardmore (3br/2ba, 1900 sq. ft.) has a couple of nice assets. First, it's basically a 7500 sq. ft. lot, quite large for the Trees. You get an ample (and nicely landscaped) front yard and a more than spacious back yard off the family room – also nicely landscaped.After our first tour – as the offers were already pouring in – we called the home itself "a wonderful blend of old and new, a nicely maintained 1950s rancher with a fully modern kitchen" among other features.
It was clear that first day that the home wouldn't last. Particularly with a…
Big Rewinds From '05 Prices
Friday, June 24th, 2011 at 2:20pm. 152 Views, 0 Comments.
Two recent Tree Section sales were significant setbacks for the sellers, at big discounts over their 2005 acquisition prices.
2916 Palm (5br/4ba, 3425 sq. ft.) is a home we've called "a splendid, higher-end Cape Cod in a nice, if B or B+, location."
At first it was offered in March at $3.6m, with the next-door lot (2912 Palm) included. The notion was that someone might knock down the rental home there and make it a yard for a double-lot "estate" on Palm. This was met by giggles and raspberries. Within 10 days, the Cape Cod alone was offered for $2.199m, which we considered a pretty nifty deal at the time.
Turned out, with a seller moving to take a new job elsewhere, the price kept pushing down and the property was marketed aggressively as a bargain to be…
2916 Palm (5br/4ba, 3425 sq. ft.) is a home we've called "a splendid, higher-end Cape Cod in a nice, if B or B+, location."At first it was offered in March at $3.6m, with the next-door lot (2912 Palm) included. The notion was that someone might knock down the rental home there and make it a yard for a double-lot "estate" on Palm. This was met by giggles and raspberries. Within 10 days, the Cape Cod alone was offered for $2.199m, which we considered a pretty nifty deal at the time.
Turned out, with a seller moving to take a new job elsewhere, the price kept pushing down and the property was marketed aggressively as a bargain to be…
Creepy Carrie Makes the Sale
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 at 11:58pm. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
It was fun to chat with a reader just yesterday who recalled MBC's story on the bizarre MLS photos from a particular Hermosa listing. We don't go outside MB much in our coverage, but that one was worth it.
Turns out there's a little news on that listing...
First, to recap: In a pre-Halloween story last year, we discussed this strange little-girl doll's placement throughout the listing pics for 941 13th in Hermosa. (See "Creepy Carrie Hawks an HB Listing.")
For a Daily Breeze column in January (available here), we spoke to the listing agent who had initiated the placement of the doll in all the pics. We called her crazy, but maybe "crazy like a fox," given all the multimedia attention that her listing got after those pics were published.
Now, Creepy Carrie,…
Turns out there's a little news on that listing...
First, to recap: In a pre-Halloween story last year, we discussed this strange little-girl doll's placement throughout the listing pics for 941 13th in Hermosa. (See "Creepy Carrie Hawks an HB Listing.")
For a Daily Breeze column in January (available here), we spoke to the listing agent who had initiated the placement of the doll in all the pics. We called her crazy, but maybe "crazy like a fox," given all the multimedia attention that her listing got after those pics were published.
Now, Creepy Carrie,…
Strand Cuts of Different Scales
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at 11:45pm. 151 Views, 0 Comments.
The year 2011 has seen some big-dollar trades on The Strand, and a little too much kool-aid passed around among other would-be Strand sellers. Overpricing is like an epidemic at the beach.
We last looked at this problem in late May, as 3112 The Strand finally came down to $5.999m, where it probably should have begun 6 months earlier. (See "Clogged Strand Finds a $6m Option.")
Slowly, some others are coming along:
2504 The Strand (4br/5ba, 3415 sq. ft.), is touted as "exquisite" and "stunning," but it's actually dated with an older modernistic update (to a 50s original). It launched at $7.190m in March, but a week after that MBC mention, switched to a number with a 6 in front: $6.490m (-$700k/-10%).
3308 The Strand (technically 3309 Ocean, an SFR with…
We last looked at this problem in late May, as 3112 The Strand finally came down to $5.999m, where it probably should have begun 6 months earlier. (See "Clogged Strand Finds a $6m Option.")
Slowly, some others are coming along:
2504 The Strand (4br/5ba, 3415 sq. ft.), is touted as "exquisite" and "stunning," but it's actually dated with an older modernistic update (to a 50s original). It launched at $7.190m in March, but a week after that MBC mention, switched to a number with a 6 in front: $6.490m (-$700k/-10%).3308 The Strand (technically 3309 Ocean, an SFR with…
REO Didn't Fail, Then Failed
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011 at 4:21am. 149 Views, 0 Comments.
Trying to track the bouncing ball that is 217 Seaview (3br/2ba, 1400 sq. ft.) could make anyone dizzy, so we won't spend too much time on the latest news. We asked early this month: "Can An REO Fail?" The issue was the high $925k start price on a home that last year was up (short) at $849k.
Sure, that short sale failed – the whole story around 217 Seaview is about failure. But the silver lining, if you will, is that there's always some glimmer of hope. People always seem to be almost buying it. Then it fails.
So it was news of a sort that the home posted a deal on Friday. And it's news again that the deal flopped. Unexpected? No.
Seaview is back now at a reduced price of $899k, ready for the next chapter.
The Vision Thing
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 at 4:34am. 177 Views, 0 Comments.
Sometimes, the home they're selling isn't the home you'd want. But imagine the possibilities!
(Don't look over here, look over there.)
One of our favorite sub-genres of listings is the home that comes with plans for something different.
MBC looked at this phenomenon quite a while back in "They've Got Plans," featuring 3 separate listings that touted plans for future new builds or remodels on the properties.
As it stands, 2808 Manhattan Ave. (4br/4ba, 3300 sq. ft.) didn't sell with the plans, but did sell after the (awesome) new modern was completed.
The lot w/ plans was offered for $1.799m in 2008, while the completed home sold for $2.9m in January this year.
626 Rosecrans was a little 1br/1ba, 600 sq. ft. home that was surprisingly spiffy, clean and…
(Don't look over here, look over there.)
One of our favorite sub-genres of listings is the home that comes with plans for something different.
MBC looked at this phenomenon quite a while back in "They've Got Plans," featuring 3 separate listings that touted plans for future new builds or remodels on the properties.
As it stands, 2808 Manhattan Ave. (4br/4ba, 3300 sq. ft.) didn't sell with the plans, but did sell after the (awesome) new modern was completed.The lot w/ plans was offered for $1.799m in 2008, while the completed home sold for $2.9m in January this year.
626 Rosecrans was a little 1br/1ba, 600 sq. ft. home that was surprisingly spiffy, clean and…
Weekend Opens (6/18-6/19)
Saturday, June 18th, 2011 at 4:32am. 180 Views, 0 Comments.
The NBA and NHL playoffs are over, leaving only baseball for, what, about 6 months... ? School's winding down, and with that, the structure and schedule of the week is going out the window. And did we just have a warm, sunny day, too?
Now that's what Summer's supposed to be like, and here it comes, ready or not. Dads, have yourselves a great little weekend.
New opens this weekend are a bit limited, in deference to the Hallmark holiday, but there are a few intriguing options.
To plan your Sunday tours, try this 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.
As usual, we appreciate it when readers share views on this week's …
Now that's what Summer's supposed to be like, and here it comes, ready or not. Dads, have yourselves a great little weekend.
New opens this weekend are a bit limited, in deference to the Hallmark holiday, but there are a few intriguing options.
To plan your Sunday tours, try this 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.
As usual, we appreciate it when readers share views on this week's …
