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Sand Section Quasi-Auction Closes 17% Over Ask

132 1st Place, Manhattan Beach,

Late in March we published a little treatise about the strategy of pricing low. (See "Is No Price Better Than a 'Low' Price?")

It was prompted by 132 1st Place (3br/2ba, 1494 sqft.), a half lot on a corner near the water, and along Manhattan Ave.

They began the listing at a price of $2.100M, generating some disbelief.

Could you really buy a livable (if dated) beach house in the 100-block for $2.100?

No! Of course not! That was never going to happen!

And now that it has closed, we can say, it DID NOT happen.

The closed price was $2.449M, $349K and 17% over asking.

Or, erm, actually, the price was $2,449,162.

When a sale price ends in an oddball number like -162, you know something else was going on.

Wouldn't you like to know more about exactly what else was going on!?!

It looks to be that the buyer paid for some additional costs, while the purchase price for the property alone was that $2.449-ish figure.

We'd like to tell you more, but while this IS Manhattan Beach Confidential, the actual details are being held confidential by the seller's agent, and that's the most we, you, or any appraiser is going to get, it would seem.

Oh, but, we can speculate wildly all we want.

Let's guess a bit. Perhaps the buyer wanted the lowest possible purchase price for property tax purposes, for instance.

They might offer to pay all of the transaction costs, meaning all the brokers' fees, escrow and title costs, etc.

And we'll just spitball this, but if those costs altogether amounted to a little over 6% total, you'd have an effective purchase price of $2,600,000 or so. 

Something like that figure might be the more relevant comparable value. In most transactions, sellers pay most of the transaction costs out of their proceeds. So you have to adjust the values involved when the seller does not pay.

Because we're speculating here, we're unable to settle your bets.

We had actually said in that prior post, about the list price vs. the eventual sale: Do you want to take the over or the under on +20%?

Well, how do you pay out if the MLS price is 17% over asking, but you have reason to suspect that the actual amount paid was closer to 24% over asking?

See, this is why they tell you never to bet on home prices.

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.

Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of May 17th, 2025 at 3:30pm PDT. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.