Clearing the Racks of Some Stuck Listings

A few recent new escrows almost came out of the blue.

Like: Oh, yeah, that one's been on the market a long time. Bravo for them!

For instance, the DOM champ of Manhattan Beach, 201 15th (triplex), now has a deal.

Now, hang onto this blog post so that some day, you can tell your kids or grandkids all about the 900-plus-day listing of this set of units downtown.

You're not likely to see anything with 937 DOM in any market at any time, let alone in downtown Manhattan Beach. (It was 936 on Monday when the property was first reported to the MLS to be under contract.)

Now, we need to be super fair. They could have canceled and re-listed this property any number of times over the years. It first came to market nearly 4 years ago, in April 2020.

In fact, it's been "withdrawn" from the MLS a couple of times, and put on "hold" for months at a time, meaning it would have been well within the MLS rules to start a new listing. Instead, they revived the prior MLS listing each time, stacking DOM on top of DOM.

Over the life of the listing, they've also cut prices 14 times, and increased prices 3 times, while also reporting one prior escrow (late 2021). The very first price was $4.550M, while the last asking was $3.695M. (201 15th is listed by Kevin Pratt, Strand Hill Properties.)

Meantime in the Hill Section...

114 N. Poinsettia (5br/6ba, 6013 sqft.) is a corner-lot custom Spanish that was into its 11th month on the market for its current listing. (It is listed by Michelle Zabukovec, Redfin Corporation.)

The listing began at $9.600M in April 2023, and cut $500K to its current price of $9.100M in October.

Prior to that, it ran 5 months with a local agent priced from $9.200M down to $8.499M, quitting in Nov. 2022.

This was one we truly almost had forgotten was for sale, despite knowing the market, and even passing by the house often.

Still in the Hill Section...

308 Anderson (4br/4ba, 2520 sqft.) only needed 2 weeks to sell this year, but that's a big change from 2022-23. (This year's listing was by Darren Pujalet, Re/Max Estate Properties.)

The property ran 3 months from July-Oct. 2022, asking $3.400M, and returned from June-November 2023 at prices from $3.200M down to $2.899M.

This year's start price was basically the same as where it was last seen: $2.890M, which met the moment this time.

Back down in the Sand Section...

540 3rd (5br/6ba, 3521 sqft.) is new construction that's been in escrow since early February.

Last year, the property debuted at $6.499M in June 2023, cutting 3 times to get to $5.750M before quitting in January this year.

It came back with a new agent (listed by Jim Leonard, Vista Sotheby’s International Realty) and made a deal after only 9 DOM when it began anew in late January at $5.499M, a full million below last year's ambition.

(Oddly, this year's listing has twice been reported as sold – slightly over that new asking price – only to have the sold info retracted while the listing went back to "pending" status.)

Recapping How They Fared Before Making Deals

All of these listings had to make some price adjustments over time:

201 15th went from $4.550M to $3.695M (-$855K / -19%).

114 N. Poinsettia went from $9.200M down to $8.499M, back up to $9.600M (+$1.101M / +13%) and down again to $9.100M (-$500K / -5% from newest start).

308 Anderson slid from $3.499M down to $2.899M (-$600K / -18%), restarted $9K lower and found a quick deal.

540 3rd went from $6.499M to $5.750M (-$749K / -11%) before restarting this year at $5.499M and making a fast deal.

Now all they've gotta do is close 'em.