Not Everything Sells, Even Today

In documenting real estate market activity here at MBC, we focus mostly on homes that come to market and those that sell. 

Certainly in today's environment, where buyers feel starved for inventory, most listings do sell.

But not all.

We've compiled a partial list of homes that have canceled off the market this year, including some surprising examples.

Why didn't they sell? Each has its own story. Unfortunately, instead of packing their bags and stashing away some cash, all that the would-be sellers got was wave after wave of unsolicited phone calls from real estate agents offering to help them sell, after their listings canceled.

We can't link to these properties directly, because they're offline, but we are linking to our posts that mentioned the properties, in case you want to look at them in a bit more detail.

13 Laurel Square (3br/3ba, 2475 sqft.) is a remodel in a unique Tree Section community of homes near the Martyrs church that are all built around a central common area, with basketball courts, pool and other open spaces. It began at $2.875M just 3 weeks ago, but has quit. (See our weekend post discussing that one – this image is from that post.)

316 28th (4br/5ba, 3450 sqft.) is a custom modern with huge panoramic views and nifty extras like a hot tub and cold plunge built into the "outdoor room" just off the main living spaces. Was asking $7.995M. (Here's a March post with more.)

616 12th (5br/5ba, 4300 sqft.) is newer construction that had barely been lived in since it was acquired for $6.500M in April 2022. They tried to re-sell in late 2022-late Feb. this year, last at $7.239M. (Post with more here.)

200 S. Poinsettia (6br/6ba, 5061 sqft.) is a big Hill Section remodel that tried in 2019 and again from Spring 2022 till the end of February this year, racking up 300+ DOM. Last at $7.500M. (Post with more...)

3209 Palm (4br/2ba, 1500 sqft.) was, as we say, a highly upgradeable house (needs work). They posted it as pending/in escrow in mid-May, but canceled at month's end. Last at $2.099M. (Here's the weekend post with more – this image is from that post.)

325 10th (triplex, 5br/3ba, 2207 sqft.) was offered in late April and made an immediate deal, but canceled in mid-May. Last at $4.000M. (Here's a post with more.)

330 20th Place (3br/2ba, 1033 sqft.) appeared to be mainly a lot-value sale on the 20th St. walkstreet, asking $4.250M for 6 weeks before it quit.

1400 19th (5br/4ba, 5425 sqft.) appears to be a flipper remodel of a 3-unit East MB house that was auctioned off late last year for $3.024M. The revised product was offered for $4.700M but quit after 11 weeks. (Here's a post showing the new version.)

628 35th (4br/4ba, 2881 sqft.) was a recently redone Tree Section house, first offered in late January for $3.895M. After 2 months, they quit the market. (Post with more – this image is from that post.)

3608 The Strand (several units) – this was a unique offering, a 1970 building with the feel of a rambling apartment complex, but with some cosmetic updates to some units. The entire building was being offered as a "tenants in common" sale, meaning everyone kinda shares responsibility for everyone else – different from a condo setup. Units that were on the MLS were priced from $1.900M to $5.700M, but all were withdrawn.

2701 Manhattan Ave.  (3br/3ba, 2356 sqft., 2556 sqft. lot.)is a nice corner lot across from the lower part of Bruce's Beach park. The old duplex had little value, but endless views from the location have value. The listing began at $5.250M in November and quit in February, last at $4.650M. (We mentioned this one in a post about the oldest homes for sale in Manhattan Beach this year.)

Surely, we'll see some of these back on the market at some point. 

It's not uncommon for homes that fail to sell on the open market to get gobbled up later, when desperate buyers' agents call around about past listings to see if there's a deal to be had.