recent sales

Ready for another shocking overbid? Or maybe we don't get "shocked" anymore?

725 12th (3br/2ba, 1325 sq. ft.) is a nearly perfect little beach cottage inside, in a location that affords a quick walk to downtown, church and elementary school.

We said in our review:

It's a great example of the most you can do to a little 1950s cottage. Wide open, high ceilings in the great room, a modern kitchen – with marble, not granite – and attractive baths.

Those "must have" qualities sparked a bidding war when the home came out in April at $1.399M. Multiple multiples again.

What would happen?

First, look back. The same property had traded in very nice condition in 2008 at $1.187M, after a start at $1.400 and 100+ DOM.

But that was 5 years

The biggest news in local real estate right now might be this weekend's Sophisticated Snoop tour. It's the 40th year, and your chance to see the triple-lot house on The Strand, as well as 4 other great homes.

True facts we just learned about the triple-lot house (212 The Strand):

• They call it "Beachwood"
• They cite influences including "the Caribbean, the American East Coast and the Far East"
• Materials used include flooring "rumored to be from Napoleon's stables"
• According to the Snoop flyer, there is an "underwater grotto"

This year's selection of homes offer a great reason to part with $35 this weekend. Tickets are available from several downtown stores if you missed the chance at presale. Check it out.

In other news, it's time

It was almost 2 months ago that one of the more amazing Spring bidding wars broke out.

That was at 1312 Walnut (3br/3ba, 2100 sq. ft.) a remodeled (and added-onto) 1950s cottage in a nice location on a corner near the elementary school.

This one launched at $1.599M, which seemed clearly to be pushing the limit for the property.

But no.

After multiple-multiple bidders came in, it went 10% higher.

The newly closed sale price: $1.760M.

We had said shortly after the deal posted: "[T]he sale price here will simply shock you when it closes. Imagine what's the most you'd think it could go for. Then add. Then a little more. Wow."

We can still say that pretty comfortably about $1.760M, but word is they had an even higher bid in place at one

They've just closed an above-asking deal at 2417 Crest (3br/4ba, 2300 sq. ft.), a rear-unit TH with great ocean views.

This is a bigger-than-standard TH at 2300 sq. ft., and they sought a bigger-than-standard $1,090/PSF when they first put a sticker on the home.

But those views, and the distinctive stlying, brought many suitors. And when that happens, prices jump.

In this case, from $2.499M to $2.575M, with an enhanced PPSF of $1,123/PSF.

This home, a 2002 build, got a thorough re-do with panache in 2009, and it's got several signature elements that stick with you.

Two unique features jump out: The long (14' long) built-in, modern dining table stretching from the kitchen – a bold statement that defines the home as an entertaining space.

To say that 217 9th St. has been offered for sale for a long time might miss the point.

It came to market in February 2012, hoping to strike while last Spring's market was just starting to heat up.

But at $3M, this little 3br/3ba, 1700-odd sq. ft. modern on a half lot did not look like a deal. It began at $1,701/PSF, much higher than you'd find on The Strand.

The listing limped through Summer last year and only made a big, bold cut when a new agent took over in October.

That cut dropped the asking to $2.500M. Still steep.

Another 6 months passed, but now the little modern city house has closed for $2.250M. Officially, 309 DOM tolled for the property from Feb. 2012 through April this year.

Sure, that sale was 24% off the start price, but

Blame low inventory.

The one and only measure by which MB is not off to a gangbusters start this year is: The number of closed sales.

Not enough product, not enough sales. Evidence suggests MB is not lacking for demand at all.

To see some context, we looked back 10 years at the number of SFR sales in the first third of each year.

With 96 sales closing between Jan. 1-April 30 this year, we're slightly trailing the pace of 2012, and only barely above 2011. Really, the last 3 years look the same.

This year blows away the two popped-bubble years, 2008 and 2009, and is somewhat better than 2010.

But as bubbly as this year feels, it can't hold a candle to the 4 bubble years captured in our chart here. From 2004-2007, there were well over 100

Since our redesign here at MBC, we've been publishing spreadsheets of our market updates. But this time, we wanted to try one of our update posts like from the olden days, with a discussion of market action during this period, broken down by section of MB. It takes a little longer to produce these "Comings & Goings" reports, but here's hoping you enjoy.

First, here's the quick overview on active inventory:

• 38 active listings as of 4/30/13 (+3 from mid-month)
• 34 SFRs (+5 from mid-month)
• 4 THs (-2)

Active listings by region of Manhattan Beach:

• Tree Section: 8 actives
• Sand Section: 16 actives
• Hill Section: 0 actives (nothing, truly nothing)
• East MB: 14 actives

You can see the complete report on active listings, with

We've already got the 2 big (current) college football coaches in Manhattan Beach.

Now the Lakers' (current) coach, Mike D'Antoni, has come to town.

As the LA Times reports this morning, the coach purchased an MB walkstreet home for $6.9M, and that would have to be this one.

In a recent post on "New 100-Block Heights" we mentioned this home:

[This is] a bigger-than normal home thanks to subterranean space, with 5br/5ba and 5000 sq. ft.

Location? Nearly at The Strand, with a walkstreet on one side, the corner at Ocean Ave. (no neighbor to west, in other words) and a fully built Strand house across the way that seems "low" and affords even better views from the top level of 116 25th.

And oh, what a top level that is – very high

When we launched the new/improved MB Confidential about 2 months ago, we were hopeful that readers would take to the new tools we had made available. (See "MB Confidential's New Look & Tools.")

We're happy to see that you are using the site tools and info here. 

As we anticipated, the most popular page, day in and day out, is the MB Dashboard. This has all the comings and goings – newest listings, newest pending deals, closed sales, etc.

In this very busy Spring market, the dashboard has proved to be a way to track the fast and furious action.

We met a new client recently who had been using both active listing searches and the MB Market Updates on pending/sold properties to gauge the market for his own property. (The most recent updates are

So many new listings, but still many new sales.

Inventory dropped from late March through mid-month.

Here's the quick overview on active inventory:

• 35 active listings as of 4/15/13
• 29 SFRs
• 6 THs

This is a drop in inventory by 7 homes from the end of March. New listings are simply being absorbed.

(Update: Inventory is at 41 total as of Friday morning.)

Active listings by region of Manhattan Beach:

• Tree Section: 8 actives
• Sand Section: 13 actives
• Hill Section: 1 actives
• East MB: 10 actives

You can see the complete report on active listings, with live links to every property, in this single post on our data blog: "MB Inventory as of 4/15/13."

It's worth noting that Sand Section listings dropped the most,