If the market in general is rolling (it is), then you just know Manhattan Beach's prime waterfront real estate is not going to be left out.
No indeed. This is shaping up to be the best year on The Strand in Manhattan Beach since... well, hang on for the data.
The latest big bang to be heard was at 2316 The Strand (6br/7ba, 5700 sqft.), under contract as of Thursday.
With a list price of $16.500M, this one could add substantially to a big year for The Strand.
How big?
We crunch the numbers below.
What's more, this one wasn't even really on the market anymore.
The listing ran from Nov. 2020 through April of this year, and quit. It suddenly re-emerged as a pending sale, reflecting an off-market deal.
(Interesting side note on this property: It sports a 2016 build date. The lot actually traded in 2013 for $8.700M, but with a perfectly livable 3br/3ba, 3900 sqft. house on it. Problem was, that custom home was underbuilt and mistakes were made, so the home only stood for 12 years. More in this blog post from 2013: "Strand Modern Endangered?")
It takes a special talent, and creates a special rush, to buy or sell a home that's not (officially) for sale.
But most Strand properties to sell this year were offered to the general public at the time they went into escrow. Let's review sold, pending and active (so far).
Strand Sales of 2021
1920 The Strand (5br/7ba, 5575 sqft.) began the year with a sale closing for $16.250M in January.
Though the listing accrued nearly 7 months' worth of DOM, it closed within 4% of asking.
On the waterfront, larger DOM counts are often more about the limited buyer pool than about issues with a property.
3212 The Strand (3br/2ba, 2300 sqft.) followed in March, closing at $10.510M, about $400K under asking.
That's still just fine for a somewhat boxy, if remodeled, duplex toward the North End.
In fact, the next-door neighbor at 3208 The Strand (6br/4ba, 3750 sqft.) got the same price - precisely the same price, $10.510M, the next month, in an off-market deal. (Not a coincidence. Both 3208 and 3212 were sold to the same LLC.)
It was another step down, pricewise, to 1144 The Strand, Unit B, an oceanfront condo (3br/2ba, 2470 sqft.). Would you believe "just" $3.500M?
4216 The Strand (5br/6ba, 3825 sqft.) showed how Strand values can vary, with a central El Porto Spanish remodel garnering $6.955M in April.
Truly, if you could pick up the house and move it south by 30 blocks (you can't), any guess how much it'd be worth there?
A condo at 3616 The Strand, Unit C, got $4.322M, also in April.
The oversized lot (4900+ sqft.) at 2912 The Strand went to overbids, selling $750K over asking at $12.500M in May.
A major remodel at 3808 The Strand (4br/7ba, 4775 sqft.) ended more than 20 months of futility by finally selling in June for $11.100M. (Asking prices had been as high as $16.500M in late 2019, while this 2021 listing began $2.400M higher at $13.500M.)
And the most recent closing was at the glam 2009 built modern with an indoor pool at 2508 The Strand (4br/6ba, 4550 sqft.). Sale price: $12.250M.
Just these closed sales alone total $87.9M.
Pending Strand Sales
3416 The Strand (5br/5ba, 3950 sqft.) was asking $11.500M, and has been pending/in escrow since May. Hey, guys, hurry it up already.
(3416 is the second one to the right/south of the walkstreet in this image.)
4112 The Strand (4br/4ba, 2550 sqft.), a TH, just went into escrow last week, previously asking $6.895M.
508 The Strand (5br/6ba, 4325 sqft.) aims to be the highest sale of the year, asking $19.900M from March through August when they made a deal.
1149 The Strand (2br/2ba, 1925 sqft.), another waterfront condo, also recently made a quick deal, asking $5.799M.
4230 The Strand (3br/3ba, 1600 sqft.), yet another condo, is under contract while asking $2.900M.
These pending sales together total very nearly $47M, which could bring the year's Strand sales to $135M.
Active Strand Listings
Obviously, it's not too late for anyone to join the party and get a purchase contract going.
An El Porto TH at 4114 The Strand (4br/6ba, 2250 sqft.) is the less pricey of the two units in the same building, asking $4.395M. The slightly larger 4112 is already in escrow (noted above).
A 1980s contemporary TH at 2522 The Strand (3br/4ba, 2740 sqft.) is on a favorable corner lot right next to the county lifeguard station (a.k.a. the land claimed by the city from the Bruce family many years ago, a subject of current controversy). Asking $8.500M.
808 The Strand is a masterfully redone TH (4br/5ba, 2900 sqft.) with big views, asking $11.695M.
And, finally 1516 The Strand (4br/4ba, 4950 sqft.) is a 2005 modern that's in its third listing since July 2020, having cut only $1M over that time to the current asking price of $17.900M.
Those four listings account for $42.5M more in potential sales on the Manhattan Beach Strand.
How It All Adds Up
Now, you already know that 2021 is setting up to blow away recent records, right?
But here are the numbers to follow:
2021: 9 sales, $87.9M (pending: 5 sales, $47M)
2020: 6 sales, $61.3M
2019: 3 sales, $24.8M
2018: 5 sales, $54.8M
2017: 8 sales, $97.8M
2016: 1 sale, $3.0M
2015: 4 sales, $22.4M
So, clearly 2017 ($97.8M) is the year to beat, but 2021 will do that if just 1/4 of the pending sales close. We already see one more sale on The Strand than in that year.
Of course it's a banner year on The Strand. Of course it is.
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Nerdy note: Our Strand sales counts for 2015-2020 involve only MLS-listed properties sold among regular residential properties, no multi-family/income property sales, and no off-market sales that were never posted to the MLS. For 2021, we did attempt to find off-market sales using tax records, but did not identify reliable information to report here.