MB Market Update, Trees

As with yesterday's update on the Hill & Sand Sections, we'll take the info from our 6/1-6/15 spreadsheets and merge it with some more up-to-date information before we head into the weekend.

That's a harder task, in some respects, because the Trees have been busy all month.

There were 9 new listings and 8 sales (new escrows) in the Trees in the first half of the month, and already we see 4 more new listings and 2 more sales (new escrows) in the subsequent week or so.

Tally those up, and you have 13 new listings in June, plus 10 sales, with a week to go. A majority of the action has been at the "lower" end, with 8 new listings and 6 sales priced under $1.5m.

Let's look first at some of the new listings (click here for the 6/15/10 list of Tree Section actives < $1.5m, and over $1.5m):

• 594 30th (4br/3ba, 2050 sq. ft.) is on a quiet half-block near Sand Dune Park. The late-50s home has been updated with a sense of style, with modern updates to the kitchen and baths.

There are some very custom outdoor-living aspects to the home: a small lap pool, paving stones set into the main back yard create a soft-hardscape feel, a deck off the kitchen/dining area. Layout, though, with the master up and other bedrooms down, is an issue. Starts at $1.4m.

• 637 29th (4br/3ba, 3350 sq. ft.) is a 1970 home that's had some remodeling work done, but still shows its age. Priced at $1.399m, it was intended to generate multiple, higher offers. (See "Betting on a War.") As we write, it's in escrow.

• 717 12th (3br/2ba, 1600 sq. ft.) (pictured) is a fresh home that's close to downtown. It won't be enough for every family, but the space flows nicely and includes 2 outdoor decks and a little yard. All the important stuff is newly remodeled: kitchen, baths and master. Sellers paid $1.512m in Aug. 2007, before much of the work, and now offer it back at $1.299m, somewhat below last year's offering price.

• 2326 Ardmore is the legal address of a home they'd like you to call 2326 Laurel Bluff Drive, or even "Villa Romanza." It's a 4br/4ba, 3175 sq. ft. home of mid-90s vintage, very nicely updated and customized along the way. Last purchased in July 2005 for $2.1m, it starts now at $1.899m

• 2100 Walnut (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) (pictured) is a custom Mediterrean with great touches everywhere and nice treetop views from the master. With a start price of $1.999m, as we said in our recent "Weekend Opens" post, it's got the look of a real deal.

Yes, there have been several sales in this period, including a couple of fresh listings that went right into new hands. Some highlights are below (for Tree Section solds through 6/15, see this page):

• Two quick sales in the Trees were at 700 29th ($1.250m) and 520 14th ($1.299m), both needing some work but also both boasting good locations.

• 656 19th (5br/5ba, 4000 sq. ft.) (pictured) made a deal within 8 days, after starting at $2.399m. You can see why – brilliant Cape Cod, high on the hill, large lot. Yes.

• 2708 Pacific (5br/4ba, 3400 sq. ft.) set out to ignite a bidding war, and did, with a restart price of $1.399m after a much earlier start at $1.849m. (See "Get 'Er Done.") Expect a sale between $1.5-$1.6m.

• 3516 Blanche (3br/3ba, 3000 sq. ft.), a 50s cottage with various additions and remodels, began at $1.525m, cut over 3 months to $1.375m and found a buyer. That last list price was also its June 2005 acquisition price.

• 1312 Ardmore (4br/3ba, 2450 sq. ft.) is a mid-1980s home, recently remodeled, near downtown – with 7 parking spaces. There's also a sunny little yard out back. This one began last July at $1.789m, went on and off the market over time, and found a buyer when listed recently, not so much lower at $1.679m.

Among the closed sales this period, several have already been written up at MBC:

• 728 26th (5br/5ba, 4700 sq. ft.), a big corner-lot home north of Valley, needing some work to be fully updated, closed at $2.350m. Perhaps surprisingly, that's a drop of just 6% (-$149k) after 385 DOM, that last of which were with a new agent.

• 3001 Agnes (5br/6ba, 4375 sq. ft.), an outstanding corner-lot Spanish near 31st., closed for $2.725m in a quick sale. (See "Near and Over $3m in the Trees.")

• Not so quickly, a large (5br/6ba, 5600 sq. ft.) spec home at 529 18th sold for $3.075m after 612 DOM, and after the builder had moved in for a while. That was way down from its much-too-ambitious start of $4.279m (-$1.204m/-28%).   

• 848 14th, a big (5br/5ba, 3500 sq. ft), stony, new Caliterranean near Pacific School, closed at  $2.150m, down $749k/-26% from start, also after 600+ DOM. (See "Close the Books on 848 14th.")

• 1144 Highview (3br/3ba, 2800 sq. ft.) is a newer (2005) modern up near the top of the hill south of Martyrs, and near MBB. The home has both ocean and treetop views, depending on which direction you look.

Though the home's styled aggressively outside, inside it has a more comfortable feel inside – more spa than art gallery. MBC wrote this one up in early April as the latest example of a Tree Section listing being coded, improperly, as Sand Section (see "More 'Sand' Confusion"). You'll still find it coded that way, now with a closed price of $1.950m, barely down from its start at $1.995m.