To you, it's a coincidence.
To us, it's a chance to track the market through a unique prism.
Within the week, two new listings have hit the market in the exclusive Estate Homes section of Manhattan Village, the local gated community.
Now we want to see how each of them does, as they begin in direct competition with one another.
Though there are 5 separate floorplans among the Village's detached single-family homes, as luck would have it, both of these are the same floorplan: Plan 4.
The similarities only begin there.
19 Chatham (4br/3ba, 2972 sqft.) begins at $3.395M. (Pictured above; it is listed by Lizabeth Walker, Strand Hill Properties.)
6 Village Circle (4br/3ba, 3076 sqft.) also begins at $3.395M. (Pictured below; it is listed by Edward Kaminsky, eXp Realty of California Inc.)
Similarities
- Same price
- Same floorplan (and # of beds/baths)
- Similar square footage
- Both have upgraded kitchens
Comparative Differences
- Chatham: kitchen appears somewhat newer, "sunken" living room was leveled out, "tube" style elevator added, one bedroom is built out as a dedicated office, lush backyard gardens with wooded hillside
- Village Circle: primary bath seems newer, fresh carpet/flooring throughout, all new white paint almost everywhere, bedrooms simpler (no office built-ins), backyard is mostly (not all) flagstone patio area
Lastly, as to location (which people tell us is important in real estate), Chatham is on a short, lower cul-de-sac street fairly near to the pool, while Village Circle is on an outer perimeter street, with the backyard jutting up against Marine Ave. (although that seems not to be a big factor).
Recent Sales Comps
The Estate Homes (SFRs) in the Village are fewer in number than the development's townhomes/condos, and they don't trade very often.
In the past 10 years, there have only been 23 sales of these SFRs, compared to 147 sales of the townhomes and condos.
The two most recent:
5 Cambridge (4br/3ba, 3118 sqft.) was nicely remodeled and on a lushly landscaped, 7923 sqft. lot.
Starting at $3.495M in early February this year, it settled after 7 weeks on market at $3.250M.
10 Cambridge (4br/3ba, 3058 sqft.) listed in October last year at $3.200M, but closed for $3.010M.
(Dave's clients got this one, and they have subsequently remodeled it so much as to make this photo above irrelevant – it's quite modern now.)
For reference's sake, the highest-ever on-market sale of a Village SFR came in (guess the year!) 2021, when a massively overhauled home at 10 Westport, near the end of a cul-de-sac, sold for $3.500M. (See below.)
Now that we see the two latest Estate Homes entering the market, we'll check in from time to time to see how they each perform – in the market generally, and against each other, specifically.
The race is on!
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
