walkstreets

Nothing has happened yet this year to slow the momentum of 2014 carrying over into 2015. That means for Manhattan Beach real estate: Look out above.

We've got one big example of the ongoing sky's-no-limit phenomenon to look at, but first, let's look at a place where common sense may reign.

At 1208 Oak (5br/4ba, 3125 sq. ft.), you'll find a 10-year-old Cape Cod, solidly built, with a familiar floorplan and a couple of twists.

The home feels very solid and shows well. With a modern kitchen and tasteful master bath, it's a pretty straightforward home, easy to like... once inside.

So why is this good-sized, newer Tree Section home priced at "only" $2.000M, when comparable homes seem to be selling for $2.3M-$2.5M?

Location, location...

Not only is this…

It has been something of a crazy year for land sales, and we're going to end 2014 with a bang, it looks like.

We'll be focusing on a few of the most recent Sand Section land sales. There's plenty to help drop your jaw to the floor.

First up, today, is one that will ultimately seem like "not such a huge number." We'll turn to the others in later posts.

The new sale at 309 18th at $3.250M immediately raises the bar for properties in a distinct pocket east of Highland.

Only once has there ever been a full standard-size-lot property sold in the same area for more... just $15K more, and there was a brand new house on the site at the time.

Here we are looking at the narrow set of walkstreets between 16th and 20th east of Highland, a rarefied sub-sub-market.

We've just wrapped up the sale of a home where the location always had us thinking and talking.

It's 329 11th (5br/5ba, 4100 sq. ft.), very nicely executed new construction just a block off of Manhattan Beach Boulevard.

For starters, there's no debating the currency and beauty of the home. It's white and bright and modern, with an island Four Seasons feel to the whole property.

The top floor is wide open, not a wall or a step to be found – the complete "great room" feel that buyers find so attractive today. There are peeks of ocean, PV and the Hill Section over and between the rooftops, giving you a distinctive sense of place.

And then there is the location, near both the beach and downtown.

For some, clearly, it was "too close" to downtown. That's…

There has been an odd rush of landlocked half-lot homes this year, as we noted just a few weeks ago. (See "Year of the Landlocked Half Lot.")

The second of these to come to market recently was 333 8th (1br/1ba, 765 sq. ft.), a quirky little place, fully built of brick, but in a great mid-block location on the treasured flat family walkstreets of the South End.

They listed it for $1.200M because, hey, what's something like this worth? No garage, no street access, tiny place, can't be built up... How do you do the math?

The answer: $1.447M, with the sale closing Friday.

That's within range of a somewhat larger, nicer home with slightly more land that was the first landlocked half-lot home to sell, 124 17th (2br/1ba, 880 sq. ft.).

When that one sold…