Clicky

East MB Activity Insights from Early '23

There's been a lot of real estate life east of Sepulveda this year.

Interesting things keep happening that are worth a comment, so here goes.

Fun Palace Flies Off Shelf

One glimpse of 1833 8th and you knew it was something special.

The 3 bedroom (yes, 3), nearly 3700 sqft. house was custom built in 2017, with a wide-open first floor, indoor/outdoor dining/living room, and a backyard paradise.

The pool includes a "Shamu shelf."

We learned the term, and now you have, too.

1833 8th Street, Manhattan Beach, CA

This grand, luxe playland came out asking $3.888M, and it didn't last at all. 

After the open houses, it was posted in escrow before 1pm on the ensuing Monday.

Lesson: People love cool houses. You can have a limited number of bedrooms. You can be the 6th house in off of Aviation. People want it if it is cool.

1833 8th Street is listed by Christopher Plank of Pacifica Properties Group, Inc.

One Lot Sale Really Missed the Peak

1427 5th Street, Manhattan Beach, CAWe return to the saga of 1427 5th St. now that the lot sale has closed.

In a longer-form post in February, we noted that the listing had a history of overshooting the market and not selling. (See "Lot Seller Got Real, Found a Buyer.")

At last, they had cut the price to a more manageable number, and opened escrow.

But.

Just a calendar year after comparable East Manhattan lots were selling for $2.400M, this one has closed for $1.960M.

As noted in our longer post, this property had been overpriced at $2.100M from March 2020-March 2021. No East MB lots had sold at those great heights yet.

The rub: They missed the East Manhattan land value boomlet from 2021-2022, where the paper value of this property surely hit $2.300M at least. (Arguably, the location is better than the first couple that hit $2.400M.)

The listing just happened to be dark during that boom time, and then, suddenly, the boom was over.

Village SFR Comes Back to Market

Two weeks ago, we posted what we labeled an "alert," noting that a home purchased in 2021 had just resold here in 2023 for $100K less than acquisition.

That was 24 Westport (4br/4ba, 3256 sqft.), which sold for $3.100M in July 2021 and then resold in March 2023 for $3.000M. Same-house sales like that offer a rare barometer of market trajectory.

23 Village Circle, Manhattan Beach, CAAt the time, another Village SFR ("estate home") at 23 Village Circle (4br/4ba, 3184 sqft.) was in escrow, last priced at $3.299M.

But it came back to market, falling out of escrow a week after 24 Westport closed. 

There are coincidences in life, but this might not be one of them.

When 24 Westport went into escrow in early March, it was still listed at $3.499M. Who knew it was going to sell $500K lower?

Meantime, 23 Village Circle went under contract a week later. If the deal was anywhere near the $3.3M asking price, it might have been under contract 10% above the very recent comparable sale.

As noted, Village Circle came back to market a week after Westport closed.

23 Village Circle is listed by Damira Bacic of Damira Bacic.

A Few Listings Cut to Try to Find Their Level

1232 2nd Street, Manhattan Beach, CAThe second longest-running listing in East Manhattan is at 1232 2nd (4br/3ba, 3526 sqft.).

The 90s custom modern on a "flag lot" first emerged in September 2022 asking $3.499M, cutting $200K a month later.

For stretches of time, it's had the field to itself, so to speak, with near-zero or actual-zero East Manhattan SFRs on the market to draw buyers' attention.

This week, they made their first cut in more than 5 months, taking another $200K off to $3.099M.

As the market gains momentum, can the lower price finally help make a match?

1232 2nd is listed by Alexandra Gauss of Stand Hill Properties.

1201 23rd Street, Manhattan Beach, CAMeantime, well across town at 1201 23rd (6br/5ba, 3442 sqft.), they made a quick but somewhat modest price adjustment, taking $51K off the top of a $3.500M asking price.

The custom (!!) 2018 Mediterranean has just finished its first full month on market.

It's a hungry market, and this is the only Mediterranean out there, for those who are looking for Mediterraneans. It's at $3.449M.

1201 23rd is listed by Tom Royds of Redfin Corporation.

1525 3rd Street, Manhattan Beach, CAAnd lastly, on a nice block near Mira Costa, you'll find 1525 3rd (5br/5ba, 4477 sqft.), a very spacious 1990 build with a pool and some upgrades.

Think about this.

This home has an elegant pool (no Shamu shelf), plus two more bedrooms and 1,000 sqft. more living space than 1833 8th, that fantasy home we mentioned way up at the top.

And location is inarguably in this one's favor, by comparison, as well.

This home, however, launched at $3.700M and has now adjusted by $125K down to $3.575M.

Is that $3.5-ish price the magic they need?

1525 3rd is listed by Dunham Stewart of Vista Sotheby’s International Realty.


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 March 29th, 2024 at 1:25am PDT. 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.