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Another Big Price Gap for a 'B' Unit Townhome

A recent sale has demonstrated another example of a hefty price difference between a front and rear townhome, in a new development.

413 21st Place (3br/4ba, 2085 sqft.), a rear/alley side unit, first came to market in November 2023, asking $3.695M. So did its companion on the front/street side, 412 Marine Ave. (3br/4ba, 1961 sqft.).

The listing for the rear unit made 4 price cuts – getting down to $3.299M – before quitting in August this year, unsold.

Lo, it was back online immediately, a quickie re-list that reset the DOM count, tossing aside 273 DOM in favor of 0 DOM. The price just before and after the re-list: $3.299M.

Now, 413 21st has closed for $3.245M. That's $450K under the original ask, but that's not the main measure that we're focused on here.

Instead, we're looking at the gap between front and rear units – what we've referred to here on the blog as the gap between "A" and "B" units in a two-townhome set. To explain (from a prior post):

When a developer puts up two townhomes on a single lot in the Sand Section, one is always the superior unit. Let's call that the "A" unit. The "A" unit will have the better views, and/or the least exposure to traffic noise. The "B" unit might not have any views at all, or just inferior views, and may face greater traffic impacts. Naturally, the "A" unit is going to sell for more once the project closes out, and the "B" unit for less.

Since the front ("A") unit, 412 Marine, sold for $3.925M (in Jan. '24), and the rear ("B") unit here sold for $3.245M, the price gap is $680K, or 17%.

That's well within the range of normal.

We once observed (in a post) that the typical A/B gap is between 10-20%.

Then, in a June 2024 post, we demonstrated that typical gap with a chart, updated below to include these two latest sales.

 

So this latest 17% gap is the biggest – except one – since Spring 2020.

Also, it's the closest to 20% without going over out of all the A/B samples we could find going back more than 10 years.

For what it is worth, the original gap in asking prices between these two units was $300K, or just 7.5%, a margin much smaller than most of the recent, paired A/B sales of new Sand Section townhomes.

Ultimately, the start price on the front unit was only 1.7% higher than its sale price, while the rear unit ended up selling 12.2% below its own start price.

We're still watching for one more set to close up this year.

2512 Alma, Manhattan Beach, 2512 Alma (4br/4ba, 2576 sqft.) is a new front-unit ("A") townhome that's already closed, for $5.325M in September.

(That was pretty close to its $5.399M start price, and it barely needed a month on market.)

Now, the rear-unit ("B") twin townhome is under contract.

2513 Vista (4br/4ba, 2728 sqft.) isn't your typical Vista-side unit. In this case, the upper levels actually have a bit of a view to them, looking out over Grand View elementary to get some treetops and, heck, just a lot more open sky than you will usually see or feel along Vista.

The unit began at $4.295M and has been under contract for a few days.

If 2513 Vista closes for asking price, the total A-B gap will be 19.3%, which would be at the higher end, but obviously not without recent precedents.

In fact, that'd be a bigger gap than 413 21st Place, albeit with a price about a million dollars higher.

(2513 Vista is listed by Rachel Ezra of Vista Sotheby’s International Realty and Jen Caskey fo Compass.)

 


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.

Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of February 9th, 2025 at 1:15am PST. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.