High Sales of 2015 in Manhattan Beach: Hill Section

Let's continue with a look back at data from 2015.

Here are the highest sale prices in the prestigious Hill Section last year.

Highest Sale of 2015

612 John (6br/8ba, 7400 sqft.) very nearly tripled in market value since its 2000 build.

That's a fascinating headline from the highest-ever public market sale in the Hill Section.

Closed Price: $9.400M in July.

This home was built on spec way-back-when in the year 2000, becoming a fine exemplar of the era's modern/Mediterranean estates that now dot the Hill Section. It sold new for $3.320M in December 2000.

The most recent prior purchase had been for $5.400M in 2011. That new owner went about customizing and updating the property inside.

Views from the property are considerable, among our town's best. They're not formally "protected," but a long-term lease on those views was established when the next-door neighbor to the west, 600 John, was purchased (for $4.3M in late 2010) and the decision was made not to build new, but to extensively renovate the one-story house on site, making for a sensibly scaled, single-level property that does not impinge one bit on the views from 612 John.

Until the day the neighbors finished that project, you have to imagine that the owners of 612 were thinking, "Pinch me! We can't be this lucky!" They were.

The sale at 612 John marked a $4M bump over 3 1/2 years. Impressive, but can you imagine that there may have been some letdown, too? They had listed the home for $10.500M. So they took quite a bit less. (Worth noting: The tax records show a sale price of $9,365,500, another small notch down from the MLS-reported $9.400M.)

For more on 612 John and all of the record high sales in the Hill Section, see our July 2015 post, "Take $1M Off, and We'll Talk."

Runner-Up:

927 10th (5br/7ba, 5100 sqft.) presents a whole different story.

No views here at this home on a flat-to-downsloping block that's fairly far to the east. It's just a block and a half to Sepulveda, and 10th gets more than its share of traffic due to the Post Office and other services at the corner with the highway.

Still, this "Plantation Contemporary" new construction, with high style, all the bells and whistles, and a large 50 x 150 (7500 sqft.) lot, hit a pretty remarkable height: $5.800M in June.

For some perspective: This is one of only 5 homes east of Poinsettia Ave. to ever sell for $5M or more on the public market. Two of those 5 have spectacular ocean views.

Second Runner-Up:

937 8th (5br/6ba, 5150 sqft.) was a very late entrant to the market in 2015, coming out in November. The timing owed simply to the fact that a remodel had just been completed – they'd try to sell if they could, otherwise wait till Spring.

The home was a 2007 custom build, but tastes have changed in the short time since then. The owner took up the project of restyling the house as a "Montecito" modern Spanish before bringing it to market.

It worked. Offers came quickly, and while the $5.500M asking price wasn't hit, the final sale price was $5.350M.

We'll continue this week to look at 2015 sales all around Manhattan Beach.