The Spring season is doing what it's supposed to for us here – we're getting more inventory, and more sales.
But things are still out of balance. The sales are too quick.
Just last Friday we reported in our MB Market Update that there were 45 listings in Manhattan Beach, 40 of those being SFRs and 5…
The Spring season is doing what it's supposed to for us here – we're getting more inventory, and more sales.
But things are still out of balance. The sales are too quick.
Just last Friday we reported in our MB Market Update that there were 45 listings in Manhattan Beach, 40 of those being SFRs and 5 townhomes.
Wednesday morning we're down to 38 total.
There are far more properties in escrow now in MB: 62 total.
Here's our take on some of the most recent sales.
(See our very busy "Newest Deals" page any time for a full list, and be sure to check the MB Dashboard regularly – that one-stop update page is fairly smoking.)
1304 Lynngrove (3br/1ba, 1085 sq. ft., lot: 5400 sq. ft.) looks to be the auction of the week.
It is, as we said last weekend, "quite simply, an original 1950s Liberty Village cottage... Call it a blank slate."
Remodel? Add on? Scrape and start over? Those are all options. Moving right in – not so much.
At $799K, the price was a huge come-hither call in this market.
It's a little more than the lot value or even the base price paid recently by remodeling teams working in the area. So you'd imagine this as an owner-user project house, meaning the buyer would commission the work and move in at the end.
It was a crowded race to the finish line, 'twould appear. We got a tip here at MBC that there were 16 offers, 8 of them for cash. (We'll work on verifying that; it's plausible information, so we're running with it here.)
1304 Lynngrove is in escrow now, its 8 DOM being just enough time to expose the property, manage multiple offers and declare a winner.
1909 Faymont (3br/2ba, 1820 sq. ft.) is another Liberty Village option, but this one is move-in ready. It came out last week at $1.299M and has a deal now.
We said this past weekened that the "boxy exterior doesn't advertise much to get excited about, but the interior living space flows pretty well and has a very open, bright feel."
This is not to say the home's conventional – the early-90s addition/remodel has a flavor that isn't for everyone. The cute backyard and covered patio helped a lot.
461 36th Place (2br/2ba, 1050 sq. ft.) goes into that (expanding) category for 2013 known as, "What couldn't sell before, can now."
This little ocean-view TH was on the market around this time last year, but didn't sell. This year, with a lower start price ($925K), it's got a deal in less than a week.
If all you really need is a place to sleep, then the big ocean views from this little place up toward Malibu are simply a very nice bonus. As we said, "For a little starter TH, it's got its pluses and minuses."
461 36th Place sold for $999K in June 2008 and came out at $925K this year month week.
There's something different about 1728 Walnut (5br/5ba, 3900 sq. ft.) in this mix.
Well, there's a lot different about it. It's one of those "pre-ZORP" houses with enormous square footage (for the Trees) and an almost unheard-of 3rd story in back. (Oh, ZORP, you buzz-kill!)
It's also different because this one hung around long enough to make price cuts. Go figure.
It launched at $2.249M, which we said in our review here in January, "reflects the extra square footage more than the curb appeal or condition."
It was last at $1.999M, having logged an unbelievable 6 weeks on market. Like, forever.
2311 Manhattan Ave. (3br/4ba, 1985 sq. ft.) is an ocean-view TH that actually has stretched out for quite a while on the market. It was deep into its 6th month before posting a deal Tuesday.
That story has been largely about price. It launched very ambitiously at $2.199M. More than $1,000/PSF for a TH on an alley with blockable views? That was a reach.
The cut to $1.999M (still $1K/PSF) came after the first month on market, but the chopping stopped then. In October.
That's when the waiting game began. Make this market come to me, you could almost hear the seller saying.
When the comparable TH at 1406 Manhattan Ave. (3br/3ba, 2280 sq. ft.) sold recently for $1.950M, it was some kind of validation.
Now they've got a deal. We'll see where it settles out.
473 29th (5br/5ba, 4150 sq. ft.) has tried and tried to sell in recent years, but just could not make it happen. We last saw it on the public market in 2010 at $2.499M.
But its across-the-street neighbor, 472 29th, is in escrow – listed at $2.899M – and this looked like a good time for 473.
It was a good time. Listed at $2.699M, this one went into escrow Saturday before the (canceled) open house.
One post isn't going to cover all the action, but here are just a few more:
- 2418 Peck (3br/2ba, 1985 sq. ft.) is one of the Roth-built homes with a familiar floorplan and some nice updates. The location along Marine and Peck was a challenge, though. Listed at $1.095M, it's got a deal now. (The DOM tally is at 60, but this dates back to late last year. The listing went on hold a while until mid-February, and may "feel like" a new listing for that reason.)
- 121 36th Place (4br/4ba, 2300 sq. ft.) is a cool, very custom, ocean-view home that's tried to sell off and on for at least 14 months. Now? Deal. List: $2.595M.
- 1603 5th (4br/5ba, 4700 sq. ft.) is a very large East MB house with a familiar floorplan and nice flooring, plus a pool with bridge. This one rested in the background for much of the past 4 months, but "relaunched" last week and made a quick deal. Are $2.5M+ prices coming back in East Manhattan? Here, the asking was $2.579M.
That's quite a rush.
Thank heavens there's more inventory coming.
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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.