lot values 
There are currently 52 blog entries related to this category.
What to Do with Chabela, Pacific?
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 at 7:24am. 174 Views, 0 Comments.
We've recently seen 2 homes that are severely dated, nearly un-fixable, with the upside mostly on development, not a remodel.
Not that we dare to rule out remodels every time – smart and creative people do wonders.
But 418 Chabela in East MB (pictured) and 1026 Pacific in the Hill Section share something in common: They're old, cluttered wrecks that invite require buyers to see past everything around them and imagine something different.
Chabela is the most curious case, perhaps. First, we have to say where it is. This is in the "Poets Section" of East MB, just east of Sepulveda and pretty far south for MB. (Hermosa is on the other side of Sepulveda.)
Nearly this whole area was originally developed in the 1950s/60s as flat, one-story
…Knocking Down the South End Strand
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 at 2:46pm. 506 Views, 0 Comments.
It was a little bit of a surprise, 18 months ago or so ago, to see 112 The Strand get knocked down.
It had been a completely livable, large 1988-built home, and it went for a price you'd think should maybe come with a house: $7.334M (May 2010).
But that turned out to be how someone valued the dirt alone.
They knew what they wanted: A South End lot on The Strand to build on. They took what was available and paid what they needed to pay. And then they got under way. The project has gone on a while, with a vast, deep basement carved out before the current 3-story structure sprouted. It'll be huge.
That $7M+ sale marked out a new high end for South End Strand lot values, but the question was: Would that sort of number be hit again at a time when
…You Don't Need to Be Prime
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 at 9:03am. 310 Views, 0 Comments.
Is it a coincidence, or a trend?
Among the most recent deals (new escrows) in MB are several properties with issues of some sort – and an appeal that you can identify, somewhere in the rough.
It goes to show you don't need to have a pristine property, ideally located, and normal circumstances just to make a sale.
416 21st Place (3br/4ba, 1950 sq. ft.) is a rear-unit TH built in the early 90s with some real views.
You wouldn't expect a rush to the door for a rear unit, nor for one with the unusual style and materials here – black marble, anyone? Glossy black kitchen?
But views and price seem to have helped a lot.
Up on the top level, there's a substantial patio/balcony with real views to the north and west, and there are more to the south
…Some of This Week's Sales
Friday, October 5th, 2012 at 3:43am. 196 Views, 0 Comments.
One way to tell (part of) the tale is just to look at some of the most recent closed sales:
424 2nd (3br/4ba, 2550 sq. ft.) is nothing snazzy or special or perfect from any angle, just like all the other recent $1.7m-ish sales in the South End of the Sand Section.$1.7m seems like the "new normal" for something smallish and flawed, totally livable and kinda lovable, but really needing something more... in the hallowed South End.
The poor photos don't do the home much justice. It's a good layout. Huge garage. Comfy place. But it could use a lot. We hope it does not wind up a lot sale. (We've heard conflicting things about the plans for the property.)
Recent comps:
- 552 3rd (3br/3ba, 1850 sq. ft., $1.699m),
Long Time, No Deal... Oh, a Deal!
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012 at 2:19pm. 164 Views, 0 Comments.
Demand still outpaces supply, though. Some of the new stuff gets grabbed right away, but what's really interesting is how the old, old, creaky listings with the high DOM counts are selling now, too.
If you follow our new-ish MB Property Ticker, you've seen some recent deals post at 3207 Crest (a TH with 200 DOM) and 1027 Boundary Place (a quirky Hill Section SFR over 5 months on market).
There are also recent deals at listings with the longest market exposure in all of Manhattan Beach:
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| Patch of scrubland at 117 Meadows |
What does that mean? It…
Raze the Monster
Monday, August 13th, 2012 at 10:45pm. 154 Views, 0 Comments.
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| Confused monster house at 650 18th |
A neighbor who had just toured agreed readily: the monster house (4br/4ba, 4350 sq. ft.) with its very difficult layout might be best off euthanized, razed and begun again.
In a situation like that, who knew it would go quickly (5 DOM) at the asking price of $2.6m, with – we hear – more than one suitor? (The sale closed a few weeks ago.)
So, what might you figure the lot value as here at 650 18th, with a 6240 sq. ft. plot and maybe some ocean peek/view potential, but just generally a great Martyrs hill location?
Well, you could look to the also-very-recent sale at 635…
Close the Books on 636 8th
Tuesday, August 7th, 2012 at 3:00am. 155 Views, 0 Comments.
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| Current house at 636 8t |
This one began in February at $4.850m, a reach above some comparable sales nearby.
Now they've closed at $4.1m, or 15% off the start.
Early this year, we saw comps in the $4.3m-ish range. (See "Big Views, Nearly $5m for Dirt," for MBC's rundown.) But there's a lot of art and emotion to comps – it ain't pure science, kids.
Here they figured this very special lot – 9950 sq. ft., narrow, deep, dropping down fabulously to the west – would sell itself, the scarcity factor would come into play, emotion would take over, and they could "push the ceiling" a little on a sale price.
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Big Views Discounted
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012 at 4:30am. 197 Views, 0 Comments.
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| Current house at 636 8th |
Sure, $4.575m is still some kind of stratospheric price for dirt, but it's now about 6% off from the start price, and just 6% above the most recent, nearby, reasonably comparable lot sale in the Hills from 2010.
If you want to appreciate what they're offering at 636 8th (a 9950 sq. ft. lot), you might need to devote 2 minutes to our short video capturing those views:
The potential here is impossible to miss.
The problem is that it's a $7m++ project for whoever undertakes it, and that requires a rare combination of acquisition capital and patience to achieve the right result.
We recounted a list of Hill Section comps in our…
Sunday Opens (5/6)
Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at 4:22pm. 188 Views, 0 Comments.
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| Little landlocked 533 5th |
That's tiny 533 5th (2br/1ba, 630 sq. ft.), which came with this unusual warning: "This home is protected by The City of Manhattan Beach and cannot be added on to or built up. Only cosmetic changes and maintenance can be done to the existing structure."
Now, "protected" may be an overstatement – the problem for this half-lot, walkstreet residence is that it has no garage. The back half of the lot, adjoining the alley, is separate and owned by someone else. This is informally known as a "landlocked" property. If you can't build adequate on-site parking, you can't build new.…
Sand Lot Not 'Stolen' But Under $1m
Friday, April 6th, 2012 at 5:22pm. 181 Views, 0 Comments.
Back in January we let you know about 433 Marine Place, a full-size lot (2700 sq. ft.) along a nice street just steps from Grandview elementary and with ocean-peek potential.In "Steal This Sand?" we took particular note of the start price: $725k. That was really not much for a lot on a nice block of the Sand Section, zoned for townhomes.
Of course, that was just a come-on price, meant to draw a bunch of bidders and set the market price through a slow, "unlabeled auction," as we said then.
Now the "auction" is over and the sale price has posted: $957k.
That seems just about right. In January, MBC said:
On the same block more than a year ago, 442 23rd St. sold for $1.325m. That's an odd duplex (2 separate structures) on a larger lot (40x90, 3640 sq.…
