Shorewood Realtors Listing By Ed Kaminsky listed at $1,549,000.

This is a single family home! On an over sized half lot (33X57)!
Its 3,100 sft of living space with views!  I know that it is on the corner of Highland Ave. but I believe strongly at this price location has been discounted in.  The property has been listed for over a year! Originally listed at $2,279,000, which was wishful thinking or a delay tactic of some sort but now at the current price, this property is ripe for the picking.
CALL ME if you want to see it.

In this location there has been A LOT progress with nice shops and a huge improvement in restaurants!

CLICK HERE TO SEE FLYER

UPDATE: THIS HOUSE SOLD A WEEK AFTER THIS POST.  I am just saying…

Last entry talked about the sales at 523 14th st. and 401 2nd st. Manhattan Beach (CLICK HERE TO READ)

I found out today that both sold with at least 3 offers and went well over the asking price!

They sales have not closed so the prices won’t be made official for a while but if theses buyers stay in the prices will be well above the asking price.

These weren’t the biggest sales ever…but they were both listed over $3,000,000! $3,395,000 and $3,999,000 to be exact and the both sold in less then 9 days!  The properties I am referring to are 523 14th St. (Listed by South Bay Brokers: Jack Gillespie & June Emerson) and 401 2nd St. (Listed by South Bay Brokers: Gio Altamura).

Both homes have lots of similarities.  They are both only a few years old, they both sold close to or more than what they bought them for in the past 5 years, and they both sold very quickly for fairly high prices in this market.  To clarify I am not saying these buyers over paid, but what I am saying is there haven’t been a lot of $3 million -$4 million sales in either neighborhood.  More specifically for 2nd St. we have to assume it got close to list price which is basically a $4 million sale of a house with no view.

***This just in!!  14th st. went over the asking price, which means this owner (assuming the sale sticks) will have made money on the sale after buying in 2009.  Probably over 10% appreciation!***

523 14th st. History:
Built in 2009, sold on 9/11/09 for $3,100,000

401 2nd St. history:
Built in 2006, Sold in 2007 $3,930,000

MLS DETAILS FOR BOTH PROPERTIES

As of today for the first 20 days of June there have been 56 Single Family Homes that have either entered escrow or sold.  34 went into escrow, 22 sold, and as of today there are only 117 single family homes for sale in Manhattan Beach meaning there is a 3.5 month supply of inventory.

Below are a few sales that I thought were worth mentioning:

First, 319 23rd Place AND 2315 Alma Ave.

3 lots at 24th and Alma

Listed by Jack Gillespie of South Bay Brokers.  This is a big sale, considering these 2 properties were being sold together and were sold to the same buyer.  2315 Alma is a double lot (30X90 times 2) as well as the property on 23rd place (single lot) which is the next lot down the street giving this buyer 3 contiguous lots in a row.  You can not build one house across these three lots but you can build a big house on the double lot and an extra structure on the third lot below, maybe a pool and a pool house??

Listed at $2,895,000 for Alma and $1,479,000 for 3rd lot  for a total of $4,374,000.  I know that in the end the seller did receive multiple offers from local “owner users” and that it sold for over $4.0M .  We will see what it closes at in a few weeks.  This property was listed for about 2.5 months at the time of sale.

The next property to mention is 1412 Poinsettia Ave. Listed for $ 1,569,000…sold in 5 days! (Ted Craddock with South Bay Brokers)

1412 Poinsettia

This home sold quickly which we are finding happens very often in the beach cities when a house is priced very well like this one.  This was a well maintained 3,036 sft. home built in 1994.  A 5 bedroom and 3.5 bath home in a good location of the Tree Section.

Description: Wonderful home in a great Manhattan Beach Tree Section location. It is close to Pacific School and Downtown Manhattan Beach with a great traditional floor plan. This home has five bedrooms and four baths, along with separate living, dining and family rooms. Kitchen has granite counter tops and a separate eating area looking out to the backyard. One bedroom is downstairs with its own bath. The master has vaulted ceilings, a wood-burning fireplace and French doors that lead out to a private deck. There is also an enormous laundry room upstairs. New fixtures throughout and recently painted inside and out. Two car garage with extra storage space and direct access to the house.

Also to sell in 3 days is 908 Highview Ave. in the Manhattan Beach Hill Section…this mostly land value sale was listed at $3,900,000 by Julie Lyon of Re/Max.

908 Highview - 12,866 sft. lot!

This was a 12,866 sft. ocean view lot in a prime section of the “Hill”!!!  Most of the value is in the size of the lot as well as the view but also the fact that you can easily walk to town and to the beach from this location.

This most likely sold to an owner who plans to build his dream house in the near future.

Going east of Sepulveda, selling in 7 days was Lamar Odom’s house at 1639 5th st. Manhattan Beach listed at $2,199,000 by Ed Kaminsky of Shorewood Realtors.

Lamar Odom's house

Description: This custom home was built in 2002 by Gravatt Homes. It’s a gorgeous, 5 bedroom, 5 bath home that is 4,181 square feet. The home features a formal living room, formal dining room, large family room w/custom wet bar, 3 fireplaces, high ceilings, large bedrooms, & a 3 car garage. 5th street is one of East Manhattan Beach’s prime streets as it does not travel through to either Aviation or Sepulveda, so there is very little traffic. The interior was customized by the previous owner who transformed it from a standard spec home to a model-like interior. It has beautifully done, custom faux finishes, rich wood shutters throughout, hardwood floors were added upstairs, as well as moldings around the door frames. There is updated interior stone work & garage cabinetry was added. A pool, spa, Built in BBQ area & a gas fire pit make the backyard truly spectacular. The home also features city lights views of downtown Los Angeles and the surrounding Hollywood Hills. Award winning schools close by!

Finally, the other big sale of the month was at 533 15th St. Manhattan Beach, listed for $5,350,000 by Bob Lane of Shorewood Realtors.  On the market for approximately 2 months, apparently just waiting for the right buyer to come along, which it seems it has.  A local family moving from the tree section to the popular “American Martyrs” section.  This is a really nice house in a good location, and is a big sale for the neighborhood.  The house is is big at 5,300 sft as well as a very large lot for the neighborhood, but still a big number when big ocean view houses in the Hill Section are struggling to get sale numbers above or at $5,000,000.

533 15th st. MB

Description:The Ultimate “Beach House” with panoramic ocean views. Gorgeous authentic Cape Cod. Great family home with kitchen and family room opening out to fabulous 70 ft. wide backyard with sport court, Built-in BBQ, and fire pit. Approx. 5300 sq ft (buyer to verify) of exquisite finishes. Masterful design and construction. Excellent location. Short walk to beach, downtown, schools, and parks. 3 stop elevator. Custom built and completed in 2004, shows like new. Fabulous kitchen with custom tiled center island, professional stainless steel Thermador stove, custom cabinetry, 2 refrigerators, 2 dishwashers, walk-in pantry and butler’s pantry. Built in 2004 by the current owner.

On Friday a new listing came out in East Manhattan at 1200 Magnolia Ave. 1200 MAGNOLIA flyer

This home was listed by Liz Walker of Shorewood Realtors for $799,000.

3 bedroom 1 bath on a 5,000 sft. Lot.

Description:
Don’t miss this opportunity to own this ABSOLUTELY CHARMING yet affordable home in the HEART OF MANHATTAN BEACH! STAGED & GORGEOUS, it’s move-in ready for YOU! Situated at the TOP OF THE HILL with Malibu MOUNTAIN VIEWS, this 3 bedroom (per tax rolls) or 2 bedroom + den (approximately 1000 square foot) home has been beautifully RESTORED & UPDATED: *REFINISHED HARDWOOD FLOORS, *Updated Bathroom with new low-flow toilet & vanity, newer window & refinished tub *Upgraded Electrical Service w/all new wall outlets & light switches GFI protected *Upgraded Kitchen w/new stainless steel stove, new garbage disposal & faucet, freshly painted cabinets w/ new hardware *New hardware on all the doors *Pretty Landscaped Front & Backyard w/front yard sprinklers & new rear yard wood fence & covered patio perfect for family Bar-B-Q’s *Picture Window seat in Living Room & Master Bedroom *2 Car Garage with skylight * Freshly painted inside *Great Location – close to award winning Manhattan Beach Elementary, Middle and High School.

This seems well price considering last month 1900 Manzanita ln. sold last month for the same price but was not in as good of condition.

Also a great deal, or a house that will get a lot of attention…3403 Laurel Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA Laurel flyer

This is a great property.  It is a large lot with a front yard, back yard, and a pool!  The house is very charming but does need some updating.  It is also very far north which does affect its value since its so close to the refinery.

Listed by Beach Cities Brokers, Joe Lordeon

Priced at $1,749,000

Description:
Custom Cape Cod style home with rare 80 foot frontage and inviting landscaped front yard. Six bedroom , 3- 3/4 baths, and 3616 Square feet on a 8638 sq. ft. lot. Originally custom built in 1939 it has been remodeled with charming features. Spacious gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops giving lots of cooking/entertaining space. 6 burner Viking downdraft stove allows inter action with adjacent family room. Sub zero refrigerator and freezer, two dishwashers, microwave/ convection oven, regular oven, and brick bbq. Formal entry area leads to family room with adjacent kitchen area. Adjacent to this area is a 19X16 foot formal dining room with fireplace and custom slate floors. Adjoining is a19X16 foot bright formal living with large window seat and 4 French doors to outside patio area. Downstairs floors are all oak with exception of living room and maids quarters. Preceding up the well light oak stairwell brings you to the other 5 bedrooms and three baths. The master bedroom has high ceilings, inviting window seat, ventilator fireplace,large walk in closet, and reading room. The backyard is 80 foot wide and an entertainers delight. Both patio and raised porch overlook mature trees , delightful plants, large green yard and aquamarine pool .

114 S. Poinsettia Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 sold today. It closed escrow at $4,460,000. poinsettia flyer
I say this is the end of an era because this home like other large homes in the the Hill Section or just Manhattan Beach in general have had a very hard time selling over the past 2 years or more.  Last year we saw one of the other large estates go, 511 Pacific Ave., as well as others. But this one seems to be the last of the large, new construction homes in the hill.  The history of this home being for sale dates back to 5/1/2008! They were asking…$7,750,000.  As time went on the market tumbled, and it went down with it.  In October 2008 they pulled it off the market after lowering the price over $1.5m.
They tried the market again on 02/18/2009 at a much lower price of $5,495,000, then in December of 2009 they pulled it off the market again after lowering it to 4,995,000 in September of ’09.
Then in July of 2010 they came on again this time with Dave Caskey of Shorewood Realtors at the same price as last time of $4,995,000.  As time went on that year they actually lowered the price to $4.5M then later back up to $4.9M and finally off again in January. It was off for less then 30 days when it returned in February of 2011 at $4,495,000 less than a month later (march) it was in escrow.  Then, today, 5/4/2011 it officially closed escrow.

The house itself was nice, it had some flaws like no yard, not a lot of privacy, not a great location for the hill, but it did have a good view and it was a well built home.  I personally feel this home selling was a combination of the correct pricing (finally) and the market finally hitting bottom.

Looking back the home was on the market for a total of 25 months of actual market time.  It sold with in 57% of the original list price.

As far as the general market is concerned, inventory is very low for nice homes available and there are a lot of buyers out there.  Prices do not seem to be dropping further at least for now.  I personally do not see it slipping much further if at all but only the future can tell.

I just found out the same developer also bought the lot next door to 1605 Pine, which is 1601 Pine Ave.

He paid $780,000, and plans to build a new house there as well.
See my last article for the other addresses.
CLICK HERE

http://www.easyreadernews.com/24892/hermosa-beach-city-school-district-weighs-options/

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.