510 23rd st. Manhattan Beach sold for $2,005,600 4 bed/4bath 3200sft.  New construction built by Gary Lane

429 31st st. Manhattan Beach sold for 2,160,000 4 bed/ 5 bath 3793 sft. built in 2002

517 21st st. Manhattan Beach sold for $ 2,270,000 4 bed / 5bath 3400 sft New construction “green house”

528 6th st. Manhattan Beach sold for $2,600,000 4 bed/ 4bath 3890 sft built in 2005 on a walk street in So. MB.

One can see the similarities the size, the bedroom count, the age and proximity to the beach are all very close, they are are 3 level homes.  Why did they all sell?

Becuase there is  a need for these types of homes, the newer larger home that is in a good location…they also are easily 20-30% cheaper than “peak” of the market.  3 of the 4 followed the market down over the last year, 429 31st came out at $2,199,000 and sold in a week.
An example of who buys these homes: those buyers lived in a town home down close to the beach and needed more space so they sold their house and bought this one.

These sales are all signs that we are approaching a “bottom” or some normality to our market.  It proves that not all buyers are buying for the short term and can see that they need a house for their family and plan on being there for a while so they don’t really care if the market does not recover right away.  It also proves that there is lending going for homes over 1,000,000!  I think they all got decent deals on these properties and will do very well in the long run.

Friday, April 10, 2009 Customer 1 Line Report -

MLS #       Address    DOM   Br/Ba   Sqft   YrBt    L/Price
Manhattan Beach
S09038162  1521  1st ST    5      4/4      3,350   1995  $ 1,299,000
S09038527  1757  11th ST  7      5/5      3,865    2001 $ 1,550,000
S09035555  554  Mathews 10    6/6    4,831     1992 $1,695,000
S09039032   312  17th ST    7     4/5    3,524  1949  $ 1,949,000

Hermosa Beach
S09037400 579  11th ST      7    2/3  1,880  1991 $ 769,000
S09038516  1236  3rd ST    8   2/1     894   1928  $ 879,000
S09036932  709  3rd ST    11   2/2   1,310   1985  $ 649,122

Here is a perfect example of 7 sellers that listened to their agent and sold their listings in 11 days or less, 5 of the 7 were sold in 8 days or less.  I know for a fact that atleast 2 of them sold for over the asking price with 5 offers or more.

These were all really good deals for the buyers that ended up stepping up to the plate and doing what it takes to secure them a self a good deal and when they look back in 3-5 years they will be in a good position.

There is a North Redondo Neighborhood called the “Golden Hills” or Area 154 in the MLS  it is where the tall and skinny homes are.  These are “typically” 1700-2200 square foot homes on 25 foot wide lots by 100 feet deep.  The activity in this area is usually good it has a lot of turn over because they are “typically” first time home buyer or 2nd time home buyer homes and when you have a couple of kids or more they tend to get small.

Here is a picture of the type of home I am describing (see above).

The activity is as follows:

Active listings:

18 single family homes are for sale right now in that neighborhood priced between $527,500-$1,194,000 of those 18 Ten of them are the “tall and skinny” on those 2500 square foot lots, they are priced between 699,000-1,079,000.

In Escrow:

7 properties are in escrow which range from 475,000-849,000 (last listed prices) of which 5 are tall and skinnys…one at $475,000 and 4 over $600,000.

SOLD as of 1/1/09

9 sold in the neighborhood sold prices between 533,000-744,000.  This is a crazy statistic! The Highest closed sale for the neighborhood is $744,000!!!!!! that is crazy. Of those 9 sales 5 are tall and skinny, from $644,000-744,000 only one escrow right now has the possibility of closing higher than $744,000 the rest of the pending sales are all lower.

BEST DEAL OUT THERE

I am not being bias at all but my listing at 1741 Havemeyer no listed at 725,000 is the best deal out there.

Click here to see my listing.

1521 1st st. Manhattan Beach, Ca 90266 This 4 bedroom 3.5 bath home sits on a 5,000 sft. lot and is 3,350 sft. of living space.  It was built in the 90′s and shows very well.  It has a formal living room dining room, open kitchen and family room and a decent back yard for that sized lot.  The kitchen shows well but is not brand new with tile counter tops but does have stainless steel appliances.  The rooms are good size and the house is very clean with new carpet and fresh paint.  My sense is that this house will sell very fast (or should) and would not be suprized if they get multipul offers and/or over the asking.

Here is the description from the listing:

Welcome to this gracious and elegant Manhattan Bch home. South facing, sunlight streams into the formal lvg room with 2-story ceilings and walls of glass. A graceful arch way separates the formal dining rm from the kitchen and lvg rm and provides a friendly space for family gatherings. A WOW cooks’ kitchen, with all new stainless appliances, acres of counter space, mini office and large breakfast area opens into the huge family rm. This is the best entertainment flr plan around, including a beautifully landscaped backyard with a large patio, grassy play area and plenty of privacy. Head upstairs on the gracious central staircase to a wide landing with entrances to all 4 bedrms. The lovely mstr bedrm has a lg walk in closet, amazing bathrm w/ spatub and lge shower.Guest bedrm has its own private bathroom and a walk in closet; 2 add’l bedrms share a spacious Jack and Jill bathroom.This home has everything much more expensive homes have, including over 3300 sq feet, at a fantastic price.

Property is listing by Marie Hoffman and Sue Murphy of Keller Williams.