My friend and manager of our Malibu Compass office, Jay Rubenstein, reports that the Palisades fire which ravaged Malibu, Altadena and the Pacific Palisades in January burned down 720 homes in Malibu including over 3 miles of oceanfront homes- however, the real estate market is bouncing back!

A foreign investor from New Zealand, purchased 13 prime oceanfront lots on La Costa & Carbon Beach ranging from $4.5M to $14M. Local Malibu legend agent, and super nice guy, Chris Cortazzo, had 4 of those listings that sold including ones for $13.8 & $14M.

In addition, there were two huge sales in the Point Dume area, one for $30.5M and one for $80M!
The local newspaper, The Malibu Times, reports the story a little differently:

““A wealthy foreign investor, working with Weston Littlefield and Alex Howe of the Weston James Group, has acquired nine fire-damaged beachfront properties in La Costa for $65 million. The investor targets lots with at least 40-foot frontages for future development and has architects and expeditors ready. The agents sourced these off-market sales by using public records, as owners preferred selling rather than dealing with complex rebuilds of beachfront homes, seawalls, and wastewater systems. The investor is willing to undertake these challenges, aiming to attract wealthy buyers with new construction.””

— Malibu Times

Another real estate colleague, one that mainly sells the high-end of Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Brentwood, said that this is the most difficult market he has seen in 20 years! He reminded me how fortunate the homeowners and realtors are who live and work primarily in North Santa Monica.

Here in 90402, approximately 7 of every 10 of our showing appointments is with a Palisadian looking to replace their burned down home.

One of our clients last week beat out 16 other competing offers for a home on Georgina that will probably be closed before you finish reading this post. Two weeks prior, we helped another client win-out over 14 competing offers for a home on 18th Street.

Our sale of 317 23rd St was very competitive as well, with multiple offers well in excess of the list price.

IN OTHER 90402 REAL ESTATE NEWS

There are currently 23 active listings in North of Montana.

Right now the average time on market in the flats of 90402 is 44 days.

The least expensive is listed for $3,950,000. The most expensive is a whopping $110,000,000 and has been on and off the market for 9 days.

Year-to-date there have been 79 sales. The least and most expensive closed sales were $3,500,000 and $15,995,000 respectively.

The most recent active listings:

143 Ocean Avenue Extension - Listed for $7,195,000 by

Pence Hathorn Silver. This is a killer property. Unrivaled ocean and canyon views with all the convenience of Santa Monica living. The house is an impressive 6,200+ square feet and has a new elevator, pool, huge workshop garage- and jawdropping views from nearly every room!

212 16th Street - Listed for $3,950,000. This is a “livable lot value” and expected to sell quickly. Just over 3,100 sqft on a 50ft wide (7,500sqft) lot. 

624 23rd Street - Listed for a staggering $14,975,000. With just under 4,300 sqft, we are looking at over $3,500 per square foot! Originally built in 2006, the house is indeed impressive, whether it can find a Buyer willing to pay that sum for a 8,900 sqft lot, remains to be seen. 

859 Woodacres Road - Listed for $110 Million! This massive estate is located on over an acre of prime Santa Monica real estate. The one-of-a-kind 12,240 sqft home sits on the 7th hole of Riviera Country Club. The lot was purchased in 2012 for $8,600,000.

There are 10 properties in Escrow:

227 Alta Avenue - Listed by Pence Hathorn Silver for $5,495,000.

415 Palisades Avenue - Listed by Pence Hathorn Silver for $6,475,000.

428 11th Street - Listed for $7,750,000.

752 25th Street - Listed for $3,495,000.

218 16th Street - Listed for $3,750,000.

625 15th Street - Listed for $3,700,000.

1730 Georgina Avenue - Listed for $5,195,000.

315 26th Street - Listed for $3,500,000.

602 26th Street - Listed for $2,800,000.

634 15th Street - Listed for $7,995,000.

There have been 11 sold in the last 30-days:

424 Euclid Street - Sold “off-market” for $3,800,000.

2301 Georgina Avenue - Sold for its asking price of $7,420,625. 

222 17th Street - Sold by Pence Hathorn Silver for $3,925,000. Originally listed for $4,138,000.

709 18th Street - Sold by Pence Hathorn Silver for $4,850,000. Originally listed for $3,500,000.

317 23rd Street - Sold by Pence Hathorn Silver for $5,930,000. Originally listed for $5,495,000.

409 19th Street - Sold for $5,615,000. Originally listed for $5,549,000.

136 Georgina Avenue - Sold by Pence Hathorn Silver for $11,500,000. Originally listed for $12,495,000.

621 21st Place - Sold for $7,913,000. Originally listed for $8,495,000.

304 14th Street - Sold for $5,478,250. Originally listed for $5,890,000.

320 22nd Street - Sold for its asking price of $7,980,000.

616 21st Street - Sold by Pence Hathorn Silver for $5,500,000. Originally listed for $5,795,000.