Every once and so often, an older Manhattan Beach property winds up in that narrow lane between being a pure scraper and being the sort of place that an owner/user would want to remodel.
Too much work for a typical buyer, too much house to knock down.
The opportunists who find and fix those places are the…
Every once and so often, an older Manhattan Beach property winds up in that narrow lane between being a pure scraper and being the sort of place that an owner/user would want to remodel.
Too much work for a typical buyer, too much house to knock down.
The opportunists who find and fix those places are the flippers of the world.
A couple have very recently succeeded.
1437 23rd (3br/4ba, 2300 sqft.) was acquired in April 2018 for $1.599M.
The revived, modernized version came to market in September 2019, asking a big $2.850M.
It took some time to work through the system, making 4 price cuts over 4 months, including one near year-end 2019.
They've closed it up now, though, at $2.500M.
That's basically a $900K spread between acquisition and sale, and there's big profit there if the renovations were done for near $400K or so, all things considered.
Also, 2704 Oak (3br/3ba, 2175 sqft.) looks like a success from here.
The original was dated and quite degraded when it sold in Sept. 2017 for $1.500M.
And the location is a challenge, the commercial side of Oak with very little buffer from noise from Sepulveda in the backyard.
But the flippers gave it a go, removing walls and opening up the place, adding modern style and delivering a midsized home with a newer feel and some flair. They even revived the pool and deck.
The end result was not the $2.499M they first sought, but $2.230M in a sale that closed last week.
Of course, that's still a decent spread after costs of sale and renovations are considered. And greater than $1,000/PSF, no less!
Not looking quite as promising: 1776 Voorhees (3br/2ba, 1625 sqft.), acquired for $1.231M in March 2019, and currently asking $1.499M with over 7 months on market. (It got as low as $1.468M late in 2019 before re-listing.)
And it's still to be seen what they can pull off at 1148 Poinsettia (3br/3ba, 1975 sqft.), acquired for $1.625M in May last year and new to market at $1.998M now in its improved condition.
It's striking that the margin between acquisition and list price is so modest, just $373K, and you might see $100K in costs of sale, reducing the potential profit to ~$275K minus costs of renovation.
Whatever they paid for the work, that's going to be a much narrower fit, and profit, than the two recent flipper closings noted above.
UPDATE: Our original post failed to take note of 707 S. Redondo (4br/4ba, 2465 sqft.), also a flipper remodel. Acquired for $1.292M in April 2019, the updated version debuted at $2.175M and has found a buyer quickly.
It's generally a sign of health for the market when profit-seeking remodelers see opportunity. And we get newer homes without going all the way down to dirt, keeping a bit more of the neighborhood's scale.
You can certainly appreciate the service flippers provide in updating the look of some homes.
Below, the "before" photos from each of the 3 flips pictured above.
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.
