flippers

"Thar's gold in them thar... sand dunes."

Such has been the sentiment of flippers targeting Manhattan Beach during our years-long rise in real estate values.

Some recent sales show that flippers have continued to find it profitable to make deals on old, dated properties, then turn them back out, refreshed and modernized. Here are some recent sales and new escrows on flipper remodels:

1713 Lynngrove (3br/2ba, 1500 sqft.) is a Liberty Village cottage that's the latest flip to open escrow.

Redone inside with bright "California Coastal" style, this one is as good an example of currently trending design choices as any: wide-plank oak floors, white marble counters ("Carrera," d'oh!), a seemingly timeless beach-modern color palette of pale blue & teal for

One of the symptoms (for better or worse) of a real estate upcycle is that flippers come to town and find it profitable to make over homes for resale.

It may be just an impression, but this time around, it seems like the caliber of work is a cut above the kinds of quickie rehabs we saw in the early part of this century, as the last cycle was heating up (2002-2005 especially).

Hypothesis: There are now fewer "get rich quick" cable TV shows about home flipping.

Corollary/Related: There are now fewer people watching cable.

Whatever the full set of reasons, the Manhattan Beach real estate market seems to have attracted better work.

One that stood out for us was the Tree Section remodel at 3613 Walnut (4br/5ba, 3545 sq. ft.), where a sale has now closed at

New to market this week (yes, odd timing) is a flipper remodel at 3613 Walnut.

There's a unique opportunity here to see a lot of before-and-after photos, since we can show you both the old listing and the new one.

3613 Walnut (4br/5ba, 3545 sq. ft.) sold in May this year for $1.665M. (Clicking the address in this sentence gives you the old, sold listing.)

At the time, the 80s build was dreary, pretty much spent and showing its age.

Dreary, uninspired listing photos taken with a smart phone did not exactly sell the place. The listing description was pretty frank at the time in calling it a project home for someone – designers, builders, anyone with "creativity and vision."

Turns out, it was a flipper that took it on.

Now, after a very thorough remodel…

Why would you spend $200K remaking an old house?

To live in it, or to make money, of course.

But at 1345 Voorhees (3br/2ba, 1750 sq. ft.), it looks like a flip is going to flop.

If they really did spend $200K – as stated – on the substantial remodel here, they're not going to get it all back.

So instead of a profitable flip, this one's turning into something more like a charitable contribution to community improvement.

The numbers here never made sense to us.

The current owner – and would-be seller – acquired the home at full retail back in April, paying $1.200M.

After overhauling and refashioning the home, they offered it on the public market at $1.499M, claiming right there in the listing that they had paid $200K for renovations.

The stated cost…