It's possible sometimes to try the same thing over and over, and actually get a different result.
Someone said that's the definition of insanity, but it doesn't have to be.
What do people do when trying to sell a house and it's not working?
They mix it up. Change price. Stage if they hadn't. Change agents. They take steps to give themselves a chance.
Our Edge real estate office here just closed up a sale that could be called a "rescue," where we took over listing a home that had run 3 months without selling. With a new look and our lively marketing, we got the sellers $94K more than they had been offered under the prior listing.
We decided to look around MB and see who's trying right now to spin the wheel and get a different result.
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PLEASE NOTE: Below, we discuss listings on the Manhattan Beach market. They are listed and brokered by a variety of agents and firms. The name of the listing broker and agent for each property, along with any contact information supplied through the MLS, is displayed with each property, next to the price. Blog author Dave Fratello of Edge Real Estate Agency is not the listing agent unless so stated with the listing. Any observations, comments and analyses about listings represent the professional judgments and opinions of the author, Dave Fratello, not the listing brokers or agents. Please see our blog disclaimer.
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The first two were pretty obvious. They're both Tree Section listings already under contract after dramatic changes in price.
3616 Elm (3br/2ba, 1714 sqft.) and 3004 Oak (3br/2ba, 1794 sqft.) had both run for a while this Summer without success.
The Elm property had begun at $2.300M, but quit after some cuts didn't work. It was most recently at $1.599M under a new agent, needing about 2 weeks to ink a deal.
(Both 3616 Elm and 3004 Oak are currently listed by Daniel Jensen, Jensen Realty.)
Similarly, 3004 Oak had run a while with prices as high at $2.650M, but came back with that new agent at only $2.199M, making a deal in a week.
Both were pretty clearly short-term success stories, where ultra-attractive prices helped cure what ailed the listings before.
So who else is trying to make something happen?
400 10th (4br/3ba, 2964 sqft.) has just returned to market this week after about 3 weeks dark.
Close readers and ultra-savvy buyers may recognize the photos in the listing, many of which appear to be identical to those used in the prior listing by another agent. (Surely by agreement.)
What that says, in part, is that the theory of the case for the prospective sale was not that the home needed any kind of refresher or staging. Instead, the sellers went with a new horse, and a new price.
The sellers had begun at $5.200M in August this year, shaving off $201K after a couple of weeks, then another $250K two months later. The home sat at $4.749M for only about a week before going "on hold" in early November.
It's back now another $54K lighter at $4.695M with that new agent.
(400 10th is now listed by Gary Richardson, Strand Hill Christies International Real Estate.)
513 N Dianthus Street (3br/3ba, 2770 sqft.) sold for $3.200M in April, $200K over asking at the time.
The home got a pretty thorough style makeover, with new flooring, paint and accents. Something else changed, though, because the home came back to market in August at $3.600M, with an out-of-area agent.
Cuts didn't work, and the sellers changed agents, bringing back the local office that had sold it to them in April.
And the price is way down to $3.349M.
(513 N Dianthus Street is Listed by Edward Kaminsky, eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
1143 23rd (3br/2ba, 1764 sqft.)
This is a flipper remodel that officially has 19 DOM today, but a full 101 combined DOM when we count the first, July listing.
They've tried to improve the presentation and the offering ever since Summer. First, they posted only a few smart phone photos of a vacant home; now, they have more photos of a properly staged home. (Maybe still phone photos.)
The price has come way down, from $2.395M in July to $2.099M in October, then, under a refreshed/rebooted listing now, they're down to $1.988M.
(1143 23rd is listed by Keith Brabec, Century 21 Union Realty.)
There always seem to be a lot of buyers looking under $2M in Manhattan Beach, and for 10 days this one's been in that target zone. Flippers are usually sellers, so watch this one.
1500 Voorhees (4br/2ba, 1744 sqft.)
This upgraded corner-lot SFR across from local schools has now tolled over 100 DOM across two listings, the most recent at 68 DOM.
(1500 Voorhees is currently listed by Craig Marson, First Team Real Estate.)
Across both listings, and dating back to the property's first appearance in early June, the list price has always been $1.825M. MLS records show that the property was under contract for about 10 days in late June, but it fell out of escrow.
After that failed escrow, the property was mostly off-market until a new agent took over in mid-September.
The listing presents a rare case of a seller moving from using a local agent to an out-of-area agent, in this case a high-volume operation that specializes in probate sales. The main change we see between the listings is that now, the home is completely vacant, unlike before.
317 8th (3br/3ba, 2176 sqft.) is a remodel on a flat walkstreet corner near downtown.
(Listed by Ray Joseph, Radius Agent Realty.)
That's what people want!
If you can't figure out why it hasn't sold yet, you can probably join a small club.
Price has been adjusted. The listing began in go-go February 2022 at $4.700M, re-listed in July at $4.575M and has cut 4 more times since, to $4.150M. (The latest cut coming soon after this post first went live.)
Where's the level that makes sense?
It's been 2 years, but the property actually traded for what seemed like a steal of a price in Dec. 2020, at $3.250M, pre-remodel. Interior walkstreet lots are going near $4M these days, and a corner with some view potential like this one seemingly could have done better way-back-when. (The market is the market.)
This listing points to a bigger question: What the heck is going on with the walkstreets?
There's been a small rush of listings in this exclusive South End neighborhood, with precious few actual sales so far. (See 400 10th, the first in this post, as an example.) We'll come back to that topic soon.
