For a limited time in 2012, there was an outbreak of sales within a complex of townhomes at Aviation Place – a complex that's not only east of Sepulveda but east of Aviation Blvd., too, and yet still, officially, in Manhattan Beach.
Back then, 6 of the 28 units sold within 6 months. That certainly made the MBC…
For a limited time in 2012, there was an outbreak of sales within a complex of townhomes at Aviation Place – a complex that's not only east of Sepulveda but east of Aviation Blvd., too, and yet still, officially, in Manhattan Beach.
Back then, 6 of the 28 units sold within 6 months. That certainly made the MBC radar, and we wrote it up in, "Hoppin' at Aviation Place" (Oct. 2012, covering 5 of the sales).
From that moment forward, the Manhattan Beach real estate market heated up relentlessly, and none - not one, nada, zilch – none of the townhomes in this complex sold.
It's as if 2012 had been some sort of finish line. The sales were just done for a while.
Well, Rip Van Winkle has just woken up in one of the units to find that his condo may well be worth 50% more than it was when he went to sleep.
Rip (not his real name) is selling 213 Aviation Place (3br/3ba, 1750 sqft.), with an asking price of $1.149M to begin.
The last sale in the complex was for $740K.
The highest sale ever in the complex was for $830K.
And while this may be a terrible time of year to debut a listing, it's still 2015, so we're not of a mind to bet against this one. Sure, it's priced 38% above the high sale for the complex, but that's not how the market (necessarily) works.
Buyers are looking mainly at inherent value and recent comps. It's the neighbors who may be tickled to see the first sale in this complex over $1M.
The Aviation Place complex, known formally as "Manhattan Pointe," is a quiet little community unto itself, orderly, with lots of owner-residents, a well-managed HOA and some nice and totally private common areas that exist only for residents and can't be seen from the road or the neighborhood. The complex has the air of a city block of row houses, uniform in style, but with character.
(Side note: We can't resist pronouncing the contrived, silent "e" when it's stapled on to add "class" to the name for something. So please join us in calling the complex, "Manhattan Pointy.")
The units are on the newer side, though nearing 15 years old, sizable and – this is big – physically inside the 90266 ZIP code. That's a lot of good. It has always been easy for buyers to look at these units and say something like, "I can get that much within Manhattan Beach for that little?"
There are a few sales this year that one might look at for a comparison, though none topped $1M.
Two were in the Tennyson condos which are just in off of Artesia, where some units back up to the drive-thru of a billion-burger chain restaurant.
1202 Tennyson #6 (3br/3ba, 1750 sqft.) closed for $995K in September.
1208 Tennyson #3 (3br/3ba, 1750 sqft.) closed for $985K in July.
The other similar sale from earlier this year was at 1773 Mathews (3br/3ba, 1900 sqft.). There, the location is even more questionable as a Manhattan Beach address than Manhattan Pointe, as it is in a strange little pocket of North Redondo just off the corner of Aviation and Artesia. The unit there is a stark 2012 modern, and the complex lacks the community amenities of the Aviation Place townhomes. Still, Mathews got $929K in March.
Now we'll see how buyers weigh 213 Aviation Place. If Rip van Winkle can unload his condo for $1 million smackers or more, one wonders: Will that inspire another wave of sales in the complex next year?
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.