Sunday Opens (1/30)

There's been a nice trickle of new inventory so far this year, though behind the scenes, a number seem to be hitting now due to distress, personal or financial.

The selling season should begin to kick into a higher gear next week. The Super Bowl marks the traditional kickoff for local RE.

Meantime we'll mix up a few new and returning listings as we prepare for Green Bay's big march to victory next week. (Unless they let Roethlisberger roll out.)

To plan your open-house tours for this week, use MB Confidential's online list of Manhattan Beach open houses (it's mobile-friendly!).

If you tour, tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like in the comments here.


Hill Section

861 10th is a big (5br/6ba, 4500 sq. ft.) Craftsman-inspired home that was last purchased less than a year ago after just 4 DOM. That's because it's a beaut.

But it came right back to market. MBC wrote about the quick turnaround in "Hey, Didn't They Just Buy That?" last August. The most recent sale had closed just 5 weeks before the property was offered again, due to a job change – more or less – for the owner.

But the 4 DOM experience did not repeat. After about 4 months trying to re-sell last year, the listing quit. It's back now with a new agent at a higher price. (The increasingly rigorous MLS system counts the CDOM ["combined days on market"] as 130 at this writing, because the property was off-market less than 90 days between listings.)

Worth noting:

• June 2002: Purchased new for $1.885m
• June 2010: Purchased for $2.635m
• Aug. 2010: Offered for $2.699m
• Jan. 2011: Offered for $2.749m

So last year's attempted resale was in range of the acquisition price, but this year: a markup of $114k (+4%), at least to start.

We said of the home last year:

It's easy to see the appeal. The newer (2001) build is a slightly different take on a familiar layout, with a high-ceilinged living room at the entry that shares a 2-sided fireplace with the dining room, leading back to a large great room with high-end kitchen.

The hallway connecting front to rear features a quirkily charming built-in bookcase with ladder, a nod to an older time. Like that, you'll spot several Craftsmanesque details here and there. It's no Gamble House, but these hints of style give it some extra charm.

The 6000 sq. ft. lot is a bit smaller than you might expect, affording an adequate but not large yard, opening off the great room for a well-integrated indoor/outdoor living space.

861 10th starts (this time) at $2.749m, and is open Sun. 2-4pm.


Sand Section

224 34th (4br/4ba, 3700 sq. ft.) got a mention here the other day principally because it's a 2006 (peak-year) purchase heading for a 2011 resale. (See "Not Rewinding on 34th.")

Now we can talk about the house, and that's a treat.

Though sporting an official build date of 1982, the home was completely redone – down to the studs – in 2003, and inside it still feels sharp and unique. (The listing says it pretty well, for a change: "This home is truly a one-of-a-kind, built by a perfectionist and impeccably maintained with custom features in virtually every nook and cranny.")

There's a lot more house tucked behind that modest façade than you may expect. Great ocean views, a terrific master with a little enclosed patio (now a mini-gym), a spacious kitchen/great room combo. It's a delight.

Even if you can't make the tour, the listing pics are unusually good – though one MBC commenter noted that they'd been tweaked a bit to maximize color, and the photographer came here and conceded as much. You get a real flavor regardless.

Last purchased off-market in 2006 for $2.925m, 224 34th is now offered at $2.999m, and is open Sun. 1-4pm.

522 24th (3br/2ba, 1550 sq. ft.) is listed as "532 24th" in the Beach Reporter, but don't go there, go to 522. It wasn't open to agents Friday but is open to the public Sunday, so it'll be new to almost everyone then.

The home's a 1940s cottage with some updates. From the look of things, the feel is beachy but the layout a bit convoluted. The listing touts the enclosed patio as bonus outdoor space.

Worth noting: 522 24th sold for $1.380m in Feb. 2007, and the nearby larger, more recently upgraded home at 532 24th (3br/3ba, 1750 sq. ft.) sold in Nov. 2010 for $1.275m.

522 24th starts at $1.399m and is open Sun. 2-4pm.

132 20th (5br/5ba, 4000 sq. ft.) provides an interesting contrast to 224 34th because it's somewhat pricier, but needs work. Location is a major factor in favor of 20th, so you have to adjust for that.

20th hit the market last June and its persistence (200 DOM and counting, with a little holiday break in between) plus some price cuts (-$300k to date) suggest that the sellers mean to trade it. But the number of buyers looking to spend $3.5m and then get to work is pretty limited, and so it goes on.

As we've noted before, the mid-80s vintage of the home is dominant. Stylistically, it isn't quite beachy or contemporary, but some compromise between them. Updates are rare.

The home offers some ocean views from the front, but more from the big, top-floor patio/deck/outdoor room off the kitchen and dining room in the rear.

The home could be so much more, but needs the right mix of a project-oriented buyer and the right price.

132 20th began at $3.750m and is down to $3.450. It is open Sun. 2-4pm.

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Interested in East MB opens? Janie Sue Nagy's own version of "Weekend Opens" is heavy on those this week. Check out her post.

If you're interested in any of these properties, or something else, and need help finding a good agent, please consider asking MBC. For more, please see our Agent Referrals page.