The second half of August can really slug along in the South Bay as agents and clients are wrapping their last summer vacations. Most agents will hold off from listing their new inventory until Labor Day. For this week’s blog, I will be diving into some interesting South Bay sales that all occurred last week.
Manhattan Beach
- 2200 Harkness Street sold for $2,780,000 (5 bed, 5 bath, 3,578 sq. ft., new construction)
This Liberty Village new construction sale is a perfect example of Manhattan Beach buyers’ insatiable appetite for new construction. In April, a comparable sale at 1401 Lynngrove Drive sold at a record price of $2.68 million, but Harkness, only four months later, cleared at a $100,000 premium.
In certain areas and price points in Manhattan Beach there are certainly signs of price fatigue, but new construction, especially in East Manhattan Beach, has shown little sign of weakness.
Hermosa Beach
- 36 15th Street sold for $5,395,000 (4 bed, 4 bath, 2,300 sq. ft., town house)
When throwing out tear-downs and premier Hermosa Avenue and Strand homes, this move-in ready town home just broke the all-time price per square foot (PPSF) record in Hermosa Beach. The $2,345 PPSF should stand for quite some time based on other move-in ready comparable sales.
Can you blame the buyer though? This was an extremely unique location with the town home neighboring Noble Park, giving it unobstructed views of the park, Strand, beach, and pier. Some may argue it yields better views and more privacy than actually being on The Strand, while others will argue the park is busy during the summer and attracts late night ruckus from the bars.
In the end, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Would you buy a town home like 15th Street that is move-in ready for $5.395 million or a North Hermosa Strand duplex at 3411 The Strand for $6.499?
Redondo Beach
Even with the multi-year price growth throughout the Beach Cities, Redondo Beach still offers value if you know where to look.
- 802 Camino Real #105 sold for $410,000 (1 bed, 1 bath, 669 sq. ft., condo)
This Brookside Village condo proves that there are still some affordable options to own turnkey real estate. Sure, this is pricey overhead for a one bedroom, but you certainly do not need to be anywhere close to a millionaire to have made an offer on this property.
- 622 N Guadalupe Avenue #B sold for $1,029,000 (3 bed, 3 bath, 2,336 sq. ft., town house)
- 2017 Warfield Avenue #A sold for $935,000 (3 bed, 3 bath, 2,083 sq. ft., town house)
The two above properties closed last week at $440 and $448 PPSF, respectively. This is about as close as you are going to get to replacement value for “affordable” homes by the beach. Most people would be shocked to find pricing like that in the Beach Cities, but they happen all the time in Redondo Beach. There is still a ton of value to be had in this housing market if you know when and where to pick your spots.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula
East Side of The Hill
- 30016 Grandpoint Lane sold for $1,608,000 (4 bed, 3 bath, 2,616 sq. ft., turnkey single-family home)
This completely remodeled home with fabulous panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and Los Angeles Harbor shows how much value you can get in Palos Verdes off P.V. Drive East. The PPSF at $614 is insane with views like this, when comparable views in the Manhattan Beach Hill Section or Hollywood Hills can fetch well over $5 million.
Portuguese Bend
- 28 Narcissa Drive sold for $1,787,500 (5 bed, 3 bath, 2,227 sq. ft., single-family home and vacant lot)
This one feels like a pricey sale for the area both in final price and PPSF. However, if you love the rural feel and want ocean views at a discount, then this property is surely a score. What gave this home value beyond the surface was that the vacant lot next door was included with the price.
Lunada Bay
- 1249 Via Landeta sold for $1,651,000 (4 bed, 3 bath, 3,598 sq. ft., single-family home)
- 2729 Palos Verdes Drive West sold for $2,988,000 (4 bed, 5 bath, 3,373 sq. ft., single-family home)
The homes above are two similar-sized Lunada Bay properties but closing at two very different prices and conditions. I found these two sales closing last week to be a very interesting proposition to make from a buyers perspective.
Do you move right into the updated P.V. Drive West home for $3 million? Or do you purchase the same size home that needs work but has a $1.3 million discount? At the end of the day, the discrepancy in price was probably right on the money.
Richard Haynes
DRE: 01779425
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The Richard Haynes Real Estate ShowA leader in South Bay real estate for the better part of a decade, Richard thrives as an advisor to his clients with over $248 million in sales as a broker or investment principal at his boutique agency, Haynes. Richard is known for his keen local market insights which have been featured in the L.A. Times, The Street, and Forbes, along with his weekly South Bay real estate blog. [read more]