MB Market Update, Hills & Sand

Our MB Market Update spreadsheets cover activity for the first half of the month (June 1-15), but this update will extend a bit further up to the current moment.

With just 4 new listings and 4 sales (new escrows) combined between them, the Hill and Sand sections were relatively quiet in the first half of June. In the 8 days since the close of our twice-monthly spreadsheets, there are 8 new SFR listings spread across the areas, but no sales yet.

Here's a look at some of the new listings by section – including some that came on after June 15. (Click highlighted addresses for more pics & details via Redfin.)


Hill Section

• 222 John (4br/4ba, 3850 sq. ft.) is a late-90s contemporary custom-built to the lot to maximize the home's main asset: spectacular ocean views.

Of some concern: the home design is probably a bit formal for the average family, and there's really no yard. Starts at $3.399m.

• 922 11th (3br/2ba, 1525 sq. ft.) is a ho-hum 1950 cottage with a huge 7500 sq. ft. Hill Section lot. The church parking lot across the street is a bit of a drag. Starts at $1.295m. 

• 931 Highview (3br/2ba, 2050 sq. ft.) may be viewed mostly as a lot sale, with ocean-view potential from a new, upper level. Starts at $1.5m.

• 234 Larsson (3br/3ba, 2300 sq. ft.), which is technically a stand-alone TH, but it's often been marketed as an SFR (as it is now). The inside was remodeled very nicely after being acquired in 2007 for $1.075m, but the exterior is dated and the location dicey. Starts at $1.250m as an REO.

Sand Section

• 228 31st (4br/4ba, 3950 sq. ft.) is an ultramodern new home with huge and, they say, unblockable ocean views.  Undergrounding is complete in the neighborhood – not all of the Sand can say that. 

This one will be open for the first time this coming weekend, and we'll mention it again then.

The lot for this project was acquired so late you could call the timing "early post-bubble," for $2.1m in April 2008. Only west of Highland – as this home is, barely – could you imagine this penciling out at a profit. Start price now is $4.895m.

• 409 21st Place (3br/3ba, 1400 sq. ft.) is a clean, updated 60s box that boasts ocean views. Starts at $1.149m.

• 233 42nd (3br/3ba, 1675 sq. ft.) is a duplex on Highland in El Porto Norte, suitable, we gather, as an SFR since it's on the SFR list as well. (The listing touts rental rates, real and potential.) Completely and totally redone this year, it's up at $1.365m.

• Up on the plateau, 469 32nd (3br/3ba, 1675 sq. ft.) (pictured) is a remodeled, but original, 1950s cottage near the end of the block, meaning the top of the Sand Dune. Whether that's a pro or a con may depend on how they implement the Dune reservation system this year. Meantime the home's up at $1.299m. 

• 621 N. Valley is back after 9 months on market last year. The little (3br/2ba, 1025 sq. ft.) remodel is broken up, with one BR downstairs with a separate entry – call it a wannabe duplex. It does have that walkstreet frontage, though. Sellers paid $1.0m in March '05 before remodeling, and now seek $1.090m.

The sales (new escrows) in the first 2 weeks of June were few enough to mention together:

• 440 5th (4br/4ba, 3070 sq. ft.) (pictured) is a newer custom home on a flat walkstreet and on the corner with Ingleside. The home found a buyer within a few days of launching at $2.899m.

• 456 27th (3br/3ba, 2625 sq. ft.) is the Old World house up on the plateau that got a few mentions here at MBC over its 100+ DOM. It made a deal when last priced at $1.559m. (See "Hard Cases Find Deals.")

• The other "hard case" in the story mentioned above was 501 7th, a 90s contemporary that needs a lot of imagination to get right. Last at $2.190m.

• 605 8th (5br/7ba, 6625 sq. ft.) in the Hills was the last of 4 new escrows in the first half of June. 

It's a marvelous, newer Cape Cod with real views and a pool.

Having held this one 4 years, the owners asked only to get back what they paid in June 2006: $5.495m.

We'll close with a look at closed sales from the first half of June. We start out heavy on lot sales.

• 416 6th is a fairly big 60s box (4br/3ba, 2600 sq. ft.) which isn't much to behold, but it had that flat walkstreet location going for it. Priced at $1.779m, it actually closed higher at $1.804m.

That's quite a step up from land values established in other nearby sales.  441 6th Place, the corner of 7th St./Ingleside, sold for $1.5m in January. And earlier this month (June 2), another full lot at 404 7th St. closed for $1.470m.

If the new owners of 416 6th can make the existing structure work for them with a remodel, great. If they scrape it, you can argue that they overpaid for the dirt.

• 317 8th is a corner lot at Crest and 8th quite near downtown. The existing home, added to here and there since the original 1950s build, could be made to work, but we're guessing that the $1.6m paid here was for the lot and location.

• 121 17th is another lot sale in a prime part of town, one of the hilly, ocean-view walkstreets near downtown. 

We called the existing home "Reagan's Suit" a few times (see "Reagan's Suit is Bought" or "Reagan's Suit Less Pricey"), in memory of the former president's dreadful early-80s brown suits.

This one began near $4m, but came way down to $2.6m for the dirt, which is starting to look like a bargain, all things considered.

• 943 8th (4br/5ba, 5300 sq. ft.) is a 2006-built Cape Cod east of Poinsettia. Bonus: A pool. It began at $3.099m, and closed not too far south at $2.987m.

More shortly on the busy, busy Tree Section.