One builder has decided to step into the pool of development in the Manhattan Beach Tree section…He is the only one out there and he is putting a lot of chips on the table!

Represented by Raju of Shorewood Realtors,  one builder has bought 4 lot value properties in the last few months with the purpose of building new construction “spec homes”.  I am being told that you can pre-buy any of these homes now and have your pick of the 4 locations.

I am told the builder is Willie Campbell who is partnering with Raju on the 4 properties. I am also being told the price for the finished products are going to be $2,000,000 or less.

(I have heard all of this information from numerous people in the business but it’s by no means guaranteed.)

Lot Purchases (recorded in the MLS):

1605 Pine Ave. lot sft.:4,256- 37.5X112 builder paid $800K

2610 Maple Ave-lot sft.: 4,640- 40X116 builder paid $840K

2600 Pine Ave. (2 lots, side by side) 4,480 sft – 40X112 builder paid $ 1,600,000 ($800K each)

If you are interested in any of these lots, in my opinion, I would pick 2610 Maple Ave. because its 116 feet deep, then I would probably pick 1605 Pine. Even though 1605 Pine is the smallest lot out of all of them it is the only one with a west facing back yard, which means you get the afternoon sun.  I would make these picks based on all other aspects of the property (house size, house style, price, etc.) being the same.

Ok now it’s March 2011. Japan is suffering and so is New Zealand. Both from earthquakes. Life is short.
The good news is real estate in the south bay is doing great. Recently we listed 3 properties at very attractive prices and 2 out of 3 got offers over asking and the 3rd one got an offer very close to the asking price. This all happened within a week of their listing hitting the market. Wow. I say that is a strong market.
We all here in the South bay are so fortunate. Great weather and quality of life. We all have taken some loss in our values of our homes but nothing like many other places on this earth.
I just traveled to the central coast and checked out their market. A precious town of Shell Beach has dropped 40 %. Wow.
We did not suffer such a loss.

So as we move towards the end of this first quarter of 2011, I feel that the market will continue to be steady and the value will troll along these prices for a while. We probably won’t see any real appreciation for maybe year or two depending on the property.