South Bay Home Markets – Who’s Hot and Who’s Not

Who’s HOT

Manhattan Beach New Construction

This is no secret but Manhattan Beach has been on a new construction kick. Buyers in this city tend to be high-income earners and want to focus on their business, not remodeling a home.

Although East Manhattan Beach was down as a whole, new construction prices continued to make record highs even to this day. That being said, Liberty Village is setting new records for itself as well.

The Tree Section was flat in 2018 and although new construction has slowed slightly, people are still picking up new builds at a strong pace.

The Hill Section poses a lot of risks for spec builders, so when a newer well-done home comes to market, Buyers are still willing to pay up. Just like the buyer did for the recent sale at 814 10^th Street.

• 814 10^th Street
  • 6 bed, 8 bath, 8,963 square feet
  • Sold for $8.425 million

East Hermosa Town Homes

I have written a lot about town homes in Hermosa Beach lately. If you missed those posts, check out “Wild East Hermosa Beach New Construction Home Data” and “Hermosa Beach Valley Town Homes Have a Huge Spread. Which Home is Right for You?”

As you can see, new construction town homes in East Hermosa and in The Valley have been killing it. Record highs on record highs!!!

There has been good absorption of current town home inventory throughout the city. Builders are getting bolder with current record asking prices along with plenty of new buildings planned for this summer. Town homes built before the 2000’s are almost non-existent since those offer the most affordable options and have all been gobbled up.

Valmonte and Silver Spur

Usually known for its affordable homes, relative to the rest of the Palos Verdes Estates sub-markets, Valmonte might break some records this year.

The highest MLS sale ever in Valmonte was at 2825 Via La Selva, which sold for $3,317,218 in 2012.

• 2825 Via La Selva
  • 5 bed, 7 bath, 6,565 square feet
  • Sold for $3,317,218

Just yesterday, 3116 Via La Selva went to escrow asking $3.8 million. This is a special house and it deserves a big price. If it closes near its asking price, it will be a huge comp for this small neighborhood.

• 3116 Via La Selva
  • 5 bed, 4.5 bath, 5,273 square feet
  • In Escrow Asking $3.8 million

If you read my Silver Spur blog last month, you’d know that this Rancho Palos Verdes sub-market is on fire. If you missed it, you can read it here.

The big pending sale that could spur (pun intended) the market higher was the 26126 Birchfield Avenue remodeled flip. It went to escrow in only five days after asking $1.538 million but surprisingly only sold for $1.495 million.

• 26126 Birchfield Avenue
  • 3 bed, 3 bath, 1,912 square feet
  • Sold for $1.495 million

Don’t sweat the lower sale though! Both parties represented themselves so ZERO commissions were taken to get the deal done. That is almost $75,000 in savings…so in reality, this home sold for $1.57 million which is a whopping price for a home of that size in the area.

Who’s NOT

Property on The Strand

In October of last year, I wrote “Manhattan Beach Strand Home Values Set to Decline.” That post demonstrated some weakness along the South Bay’s most famous street.

Hermosa Beach kicked off 2019 with a $4.4 million Strand sale which is one of the lowest single-family Strand sales in years. This year, Hermosa Beach has had six Strand sales and only one of them has been higher than $10 million.

The Strand in Manhattan Beach has seen better days. Last year, 108 The Strand sold at $15.25 million…a huge let down…here’s why: Two years prior 104 The Strand sold for $18.4 million which was an almost perfect, neighboring comparable.

• 108 The Strand
  • 5 bed, 8 bath, 6,910 square feet
  • Sold for $15.25 million

• 104 The Strand
  • 5 bed, 6.5 bath, 6,123 square feet
  • Sold for $18.4 million

Small North Redondo Condos

North Redondo has been one of the hottest, if not THE hottest, markets over the last two years. Buyers love the bigger town homes, tall and skinny options, and new construction in all forms. But do you know what has been flat lately? Small, affordable condos…

Perhaps the most affordable home assets in the city (two- and three-bedroom condos in Villas North and South) are selling for their asking price. That is not a bad thing, but when you have condo options in the $600,000 price range selling for around $500 per sq. ft., you would think these homes would be selling for much higher due to other much more expensive options in the city.

Take for instance these two properties below…

• 2000 Mathews Avenue #4
  • 2 bed, 1.5 bath, 1,238 square feet
  • Sold for $650,000 ($525 per sq. ft.)

• 2120 Dufour Avenue #2
  • 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 1,368 square feet
  • Sold for $689,000 ($503 per sq. ft.)

The Oceanfront Estates in Rancho Palos Verdes

Oceanfront Estates is a luxury tract home development built in the early 2000’s in Golden Cove. Massive homes between 6,000 and 8,000 square feet sit on these estate lots with some stunning ocean views.

This development ran very hot after bottoming during the Great Recession but hit its peak during 2016 and 2017. Today, some of these homes have been sitting on the market for almost a full year. The homes that have sold closed at extremely low prices for the area.

The property at 31 Via Del Cielo is asking $5.85 million after selling for $5.1 million in 2016.

• 31 Via Del Cielo
  • 4 bed, 4.75 bath, 6,008 square feet
  • Asking $5.85 million

This Del Cielo listing will tell us if the market is going to make a come back or head even lower.

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