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.

There have been 4 sales  in the last 2+ months on 8th St. in the Manhattan Hill section all of which sold in the low $3,000,000 range.

(going oldest to newest sale)
864 8th St. Manhattan Beach, sold in October for $3,150,000 by Vintage Real Estate (Stroyke Brothers)
This house was a nice cape cod style house, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, built in 2007. 3,882 square feet of house and 5,680 square feet of land.

717 N. Poinsettia, Manhattan Beach, sold in late November for $3,110,000.
This house was on the corner of 8th St. and Poinsettia Ave., it has great curb appeal.  The inside was a little dated since it was built in 1987, the house was 4 bedrooms, 5 baths, 4,180 square feet, and the lot was 11,423.  This is a great looking home on a large lot but definitely needs to be updated which I am told the new owners are doing.

 718 N. Poinsettia, Manhattan Beach is currently in escrow, it was a brand new house, never been lived in.  It is very large at 5,725 square feet on a 6,495 square foot lot.  This house is a 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom house designed by Louie Tomaro and built by a local builder.  It was last listed at $3,485,000 and I was told it sold in the low $3,000,000 range on par with the other 3 sales.

877 8th Street, Manhattan Beach was last listed at $ 3,299,000 and is currently in escrow supposedly close to that price. This home is listed by South Bay Brokers and has been on the market for 209 days.
This home was built in 2006 with 4,658 square feet of house and 5,760 square feet of land.  It features 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms with lots of nice features.

It is interesting that all for of these sales literally happened with in 50 ft of each other…

I think it does prove a “base line” of what a nice 5,000 +/- square foot house  on 8th Street will sell for, it also shows that there are  buyers out there that can and will buy high end homes in this market, as well as the fact that banks are lending in this price range, I do know that at least 3 of these properties had to get financing in order to buy these homes.  Also it should be mentioned that none of these homes had an ocean view!

Why would these buyers not just go buy a nice tree section house and save themselves $1,000,000 in mortgage?  The answer is the size of the house, these homes are much bigger then your average newer home in the tree section and honestly people also like the idea that they live in the “Hill Section” as well.  There are a lot of families with 3 and 4 kids and there is a need for houses of this size.

2 other notable sales in this price range:
1019 Duncan sold for $2,900,000; new house, 4,800 sft. (this did have an ocean view)
502 Anderson sold for $3,150,000; built in 2004, 4,200 sft. (no view)

Below is a list of new listings that have come out this month and sold in less then 10 days!

1456 19th st. listed for 775,000, 2 bed 1 bath house on a 7,000 sft. lot, sold very quickly in 7 days!

1708 Magnolia listed at $699,000 3 bedroom 1 bath 1,236 sft. 4,870 sft lot very charming sold in 8 days with 22 OFFERS!!!  They have since raised the price on the house to $825,000.

1904 Manzanita listed at 949,000 3 bedroom 2 bath remodeled “liberty village” home, 1722 sft. 5,346 sft lot. it had 4 offer in total and supposedly went over the asking price as well.

1509 Manzanita (my listing) listed at $749,000 an original 3 bed room 1 bath house, 1,100 sft. on a 5,300 sft lot.  Also received multiple offers and was bid up. The price on this property has also been raised to $799,000.  This house sold very quickly.

Finally a large house at 1531 9th st. listed at 1,995,000 5 bedroom 4 baths 4,080 sft. sold in one week as well, this one did not go over the asking price but was sold quickly to a strong buyer.  Also this house is interesting because it was a house that was bought by an investor at a foreclosure auction, he paid all cash somewhere well below $1,995,000 and then turned around and put it on the market for a quick sale and some quick profits.  We are seeing more of this as the year goes on.

2401 John st. Manhattan Beach is one of the last of the New construction home to come to market.  This is a brand new listing and a brand new house is a very good location.  After this house and about 3 or 4 others coming out of the ground there will be no more new construction homes in the trees for a couple years, at least as for as spec homes are concerned.

2401 John st Listed by South Bay Brokers Judy D’angelo
$2,499,000

This is a standard size Tree section house, nicely finished by Ken Johnson Development.
The house is 5 bedrooms 4.5 Baths and about 3,500 sft. it sits on a lot that is 5,080 with the Back yard facing west so you have the sun in the back in the afternoon which is nice.

The price does seem a little high for what it is.  The tree section has been hit the hardest as of this year because of a lot of new construction houses that could not sell and ended up going back to the bank or short selling.  This builder seems to be perfectly stable financially but he may be holding on to the this one for a little while based on comps.

116 Terraza Place, Manhattan Beach 90266

This is the ultimate private estate. Its size, quality and privacy cannot be matched anywhere in the beach cities making it truly a one of a kind estate. As soon as you step foot in this home you will feel the coziness and comfort of a family retreat as well as the vastness of a tremendous estate home. You can lock your self off from the outside world and relax in one of the 7 bedrooms, take a dip in the infinity pool or open it up to family and friends to entertain in the movie theater or poker room…the possibilities in this home are endless. Once you experience the privacy and the tranquility of this home…you will never want to leave home again. More specifically it is a Spanish style retreat with a turn around gated driveway, half court basket ball court, fire pit, outdoor kitchen, outdoor living room, grass yard, 3 car garage, movie theater, poker room, attached apartment, office, formal dining & living rooms, library and so much more. Property is currently 95% complete.

This is a project I am involved in, it is being built by Mike Davis Custom Homes mikedaviscustomhomes.com
and the property was designed by Louie Tomaro AIA www.tomaro.com.

If you would like more details please fell free to email me.

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.

Ok here we are at the end of a very stormy year.  The financial world is not so good but I must say that the real estate world here in the Beach Cities is still doing fine.  Of course, values have softened but nothing like inland areas.  Our foreclosures are slim, although there are some out there.  Short sales are out there too but non of these are a dime a dozen.
I look at it like real estate is “on sale” right now some at 10% or 20% off.  That’s a nice discount!
As they say….buy low,  sell high and now is your chance to do it.
Dan and I have stayed consistent with our sales this year as in years past.  Currently, as of November 2008 we have 4 properties in escrow which is normal for us.
We are still growing and are moving to a new, larger location in Hermosa Beach.
As of December 1, 2008 we will be located at 3201 Manhattan Ave, Hermosa Beach 90254.

So your money is not doing well in the stock market but it can buy a better product in the real estate market with growth around the corner.  Real estate is tangible and can create a nice future retirement.  I bought some units in 1993, when the market was in the tank and that is what will be my nice retirement income.  People have to live somewhere so rents here in the Beach Cities stay strong.
Think about it….Its delicious food for thought!

Lorie O’Connor

So here we are, so many people talking about gloom and doom.
Well if its gloomy out there, lots of people don’t know about it.
In the last 3 months, Dan and I have either been involved in or have witnessed at least a dozen properties that are receiving multiple offers.
Yes, you heard me.
Now you might say that I’m just saying that to try and drum up more business. I’m not just saying that. Its so true and it is killing me.
Recently we listed a town home in South Redondo Beach, it was priced well and had 3 offers in the 3rd week and sold close to the asking price. Deal closed!
We also had a house in North Redondo in which we had a buyer who could not qualify for the loan (lousy credit) and so we canceled because we had a excellent back up offer. Deal closed!
Then we had a buyer for a home in Hermosa Beach that was listed a bit under market. It fetched 9 offers for nearly $200,000 over the asking price. We didn’t get that one!
Then there was a home in the tree section that was listed very attractively. it received 12 offers and sold for over $200,000 over asking.
Same story on a home in east Manhattan Beach and there are more stories like this one.
We had a client who was looking at a home in San Pedro. Before we wrote an offer, we made sure all his financial ducks were in a row. Just as we were ready to write, the listing agent called us to tell us they received a full price all cash offer and that they couldn’t wait for us. Shocking.
Units in San Diego….multiple offers.
House in Costa Mesa….multiple offers.
It is crazy out there and I think you should know especially when you ask if you can low ball a primo house in an A+ location. . It just ain’t happening no matter what the NEWS stations are saying. No the sky isn’t falling in the South Bay Area.

What you can get in today’s market is a well priced home compared to years ago.

Lorie O’Connor 7/22/08

Hello everyone! sorry I have not done many entries lately but I have been a little busy with the new born. I am back on track with a new “deal of the week”!

This house is at 3404 Pine Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. The Property is listed with Shorewood Realtors-Dennis Maloney and was built by Zivec Development.

Description of the house from the MLS:

Best priced new home in the Tree Section! Compare to ANYTHING at this price!!! Hilltop Mediterranean quality new construction by Zivec Development. Well located on a charming, quiet street with great southern exposure. Hilltop location allows for treetop views looking southwest toward American Martyrs. Numerous distinctive touches distinguish this home from the competition; Aggregate driveway highlighted with flagstone. Professionally landscaped with mature trees. Flagstone patio in backyard. Walnut hardwood flooring throughout the living areas. Tasteful tile and stone work throughout kitchen and baths. Kitchen features Viking & GE Monogram stainless steel appliances. Distinctive wrought ironwork and light fixtures. All 4 upstairs bedrooms are spacious and feature vaulted ceilings.

This house is brand new and very nicely done. It is Spanish style with lots of detail and very well built. Zivec Development has a very good reputation as a solid builder that does quality work. The location of the home is B+ not bad, but there are better streets. At this price I think this is a real buy!

-Good quality house, good location, lots of good features!

MAP THIS LOCATION

My deal of the week is 1401 Manzanita Lane, Manhattan Beach CA 90266 listed with Olivia Moreno of Real Estate West.

This is the cheapest Single family house in Manhattan Beach! And its not on Aviation or Rosecrans or Marine, its on Manzanita Lane (click to see map) one of the best streets in “Liberty Village”. It is small (approximately 884 sqft) but it looks to me like they use the attached garage as extra space, and it is nice sized lot (approximately 5,342 sqft.) It is 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. This house is ripe for the picking for a young couple or family that is willing to buy something in a great location and add on sooner or later.

OH YEAH the price just got reduced to $799,000!!! This will not be around much longer.