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Going on the MLS tomorrow!
1412 Faymont Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA $899,000
3 bedroom 1 bath TOTALLY UPDATED, TOTALLY CUTE and CHARMING!
Great, private, grassy back yard with detached 2 car garage and automatic gate access to the driveway and garage. This house is move in ready!

511 Pacific Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

This house has been through so much, multiple listing agents, bankruptcy, law suits, economic down turns and yet it has made it through it all and has sold to some one, finally!  It has been a fall from grace so to speak, at one time it was in escrow at $7,800,000 prior to be being completed to now selling on 6.29.10 for $5,250,000.  This was a beautiful 3 level, 8,000 sft. home that was not your typical hill section home.  I feel this buyer got a good deal, the views are unblock-able, its close to town, close to the beach and full of great features that give this house a great feeling when you are in it.

Listed By Coldwell Banker-Sean Goodsell Sold by Shorewood Realtors Dan O’Connor

617 6th st. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Here is another troubled property that was a house that was not completed due to the economic down turn , then the bank tried to foreclose and the builder went bankrupt, the private party 2nd TD took over the property, worked out a deal with the first TD loan and finished the project and turned around and sold it!  It is nice to see some of these properties getting some life back into them with new owners, real owners that will live there and take care of them and enjoy them.  This house was very nice as well, a comparable location to the 511 Pacific,  a smaller house with similar features just smaller.  This house is approximately 5,700 sft and sold for $4,500,000.

This home was listed by Shorewood Realtors and sold by Pierside realty: Bill Herman and Lyle Egan

Click to Read-Mortgage rates still low!

Today it was recorded, 660 33rd st. Manhattan Beach was sold for $1,990,000 after being listed for $2,195,000.

The real story is that the house did have multiple offers in the range of $1,950,000 and $2,100,000 and this buyer got the house for over $2,000,000 but then backed out his own commission to reduce the price for himself (buyer/agent).
So Retail price on this house was $2,050,000.

Only a few “new construction homes” left there is one more that is not on the market from the “golden era” on Pine with a basement that is set to hit the market soon if it has not sold off market.

Speaking of off market there has been tons of activity off the market and if you are not working with an agent “in the know” then you are at a disadvantage for those good properties.  I smell another blog entry!

here are the specs on 660 33rd st…

“New Construction…Now Bank Owned REO. Stunning new rustic spanish home with over 4700 sq. ft. of living space. Beautiful travertine stone and stained walnut wide plank floors thru-out. Large cook’s kitchen with granite center island, vege sink, pantry, butler’s pantry and quality Thermador appliances. Large family room with hardwood floors and big stone fireplace, plus french doors opening to patio and outdoor fireplace. Large basement with rec. room and storage. All bedrooms have their own bath. Spacious master suite with vaulted ceiling, stone fireplace, walk-in closet, separate spa tub and shower. Excellent location, walk to parks, award winning Grandview Elementary School, restaurants and the beach.”

Also see my video blog entry on this property: http://www.oconnorproperty.com/blog/?p=206

So when we look back at 2009 we could definitely be looking at the bottom of this real estate cycle. I am not ready to call it yet but there is some strong evidence that we have hit it.
In general we have seen a large pick up in activity in the last 60 days and there are no signs of it slowing down. I want to be clear that I am not saying prices are going to go flying back up. on the other hand there does seem to be a floor that we have hit and prices are down (from the peak) but they do not seem to be continuing to drop. Not everything is flying off the shelf but the homes that are priced well sell quickly!

Here are some stats:
2009: 5 sales between 2,000,000-3,000,000
1825 Poinsettia,MB $2,000,000
1901 Walnut Ave., MB $2,150,000 (new)
700 35th St., MB $2,250,000
2401 John St., MB $2,275,000 (new)
1801 John St., MB $2,550,000
*2200 Palm Dr., MB $1,975,000

2010 thru March 10th
SOLD:
562 33rd St. $2,000,000
3113 Laurel Ave. $2,025,000
2100 Pine Ave., MB $2,100,000 (new)
1811 Agnes Ave., MB $2,150,000
PENDING:
2603 Palm Dr. MB, listed for 3,000,000 in escrow for under full price.
1900 Walnut Ave., MB Listed for 2,025,000 in escrow for close to full price, sold in one day!

If those two “pending sales” close we will have already pasted the number of $2,000,000+ sales for last year, in March!
There is also an off market sale that will record over $2,000,000 soon that I will share once its official.

Well we have had a lot of activity in last week or two and I thought I would briefly discuss the highlights of the last few weeks.

First off, 432 9th st. Manhattan Beach CA
This was our new listing last week, on the market for 7 days and is now in escrow.  This house showed really well, it had a lot of style and a very functional floor plan.  We had lots of activity and ended up with multiple offers by the time we sold it.  The price was questioned by a lot of people inside and outside the industry, I felt like it was priced right with the intention that someone would fall in love with the house and the street and not mind paying top dollar because they would be living there for a long time.  I will tell you that if I listed the house at 2,499,000 I would of had 10 offers! I feel like the buyers are getting a great house in a great location! I should know I grew up on that street.

Also to come and go very quickly is 1900 Walnut Ave., Manhattan Beach
This a very charming tree section home with lots natural light and a good floor plan.  It sits on the south-east corner of 19th St. and Walnut which allows it to get great sun light all day long, it also allows them to have a a front and back yard, each of which are off of a living space in the house.  This house went on the market this weekend and I am told is already sold with multiple offers as well.  No word on price or terms but sounds like it must have been a good deal for them to take it after one day on the market.

Other notable sales in the last week are:

225 Moonstone, Manhattan Beach: This was a half lot single family home in “el porto” that was listed for 1,125,000 sold right away.  It was for sale a year ago and could not sell.

908 The Strand, Manhattan Beach: This is a prime location in south Manhattan, this also sold for basically land value, multiple offers over the asking price.

645 36th st. Manhattan Beach: This tree section home was on the market for a very short time as well, listed as 4 bed. 2.5 bath 2,066 sft., $1,339,000 sold with multiple offers.

New listing Going on the market on Wednesday!

432 9th Street, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

4 bed, 2.5 bath
2700+ square feet
This home is absolutely gorgeous!!!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO and see pictures.