Bullish Start to 2016

People want to see signs... omens... hints of what is to come.

There are no guarantees of future performance this year, but look at some deals made in the first 5 weeks of 2016:

611 Bayview (3br/4ba, 2720 sqft.) is a slick, modern and nearly new view townhouse near town but on the quiet alley street just up off of Manahattan Ave.

Purchased new for $3.250M in January 2014, this one was quite nearly the first Manhattan Beach Sand Section townhome to ever garner more than $3M. (Off The Strand, that is, to be clear.)

But that was so, so long ago... two years.

Listed for $4.650M this year, this market maker is doing it again – getting an offer within 9 days.

That $1.4M markup is +43% over 24 months. In retrospect, maybe they got a deal on the original purchase by buying pre-completion. 

Does this mean 4 is the new 3 when it comes to newer townhomes?

569 33rd (6br/5ba, 3650 sqft.) is new "Nantucket" inspired construction in a cozy, nice location down by Sand Dune Park west of Blanche. Asking $3.8M for much of the pre-completion listing time on the MLS, the home was recently completed, cut $100K and now has a deal.

The $3.695M asking price would be a record for Tree Section homes under 4000 sqft. if they get it all, slightly besting last year's off-market resale at 594 33rd ($3.649M).

Don't be surprised if they exceed the list price by quite a bit, however – interest flowed once the home was completed.

Related: A late-January sale at $3.500M of new construction at 3101 Maple (much smaller at 3200 sqft.) may hold the PPSF record for a while: $3.500M = $1,089/PSF.

440 6th (6br/6ba, 4200 sqft.) – Sought $4.5M when new in 2009, later sold for $3.275M a year later. Finally, now, it sells (off-market) for the original, projected price... and more: $4.600M, in a deal that just posted Wednesday.

This is kind of where the flat family walkstreets have gotten. You can and do see higher numbers on interior lots off of Ingleside.

616 18th (5br/4ba, 4020 sqft.) – Martyrs area custom remodel that's totally darling, though layout is not optimal.

It listed in 2015 for $4.2M, found then lost a buyer, came back $200K higher at $4.400M and got a (new) immediate deal in 2016.

512 Pacific  – An 11,400 sqft. Hill Section lot, asking $4.6M as a "come on," sparking an auction and overbids up to perhaps 20% higher. (See "Hill Section Duel Lasts 3 Days.")

428 23rd (4br/5ba, 2735 sqft.) – A wider lot allowed a larger-than-normal build, and here they went with something sharp, new and stunning in a spec-built townhome.

Asking $3.849M for a home with just a sliver of view down 23rd St., this one had a deal within 2 weeks.

Bravo to you if you saw that one coming.

3307 N. Poinsettia (5br/5ba, 3375 sqft.) – Solid, easy-on-the-eyes "Nantucket" that's pretty far north, overall. Prior listings ran up plenty of DOM but not this time, with the 2007-build home asking $2.950M. Looks "cheap" compared to 2 new construction projects getting ready for market across the street.

1147 3rd (6br/4ba, 4250 sqft.) – Big East MB home built in the late 90s, needing updates. Listed at $2.775M, compiled 7+ months' worth of DOM, mostly in 2015, found a buyer early this year.

UPDATE: After this post went live, another sale came in so we'll add that now:

200 16th (4br/5ba, 4150 sqft.) – a lower walkstreet new build, no basement (standard max square footage), a home that might have been in the 7's in recent years – listed for $9.475M. They've got a deal now.

The precedent is a notably larger new home on a comparable walkstreet, 205 20th (4br/6ba, 4750 sqft.), a smash-bang modern that sold late last year for... $9.475M.

That's not even the full list of eye-opening sales to date here in 2016.

And all of this is before the LA Rams start buying up all the rest of the houses in Manhattan Beach. (They're coming, don't you know...)

Oh and did you hear Facebook just rented a huge new space in Playa Vista?