The Following Article is from the Spring 2012 Newsletter
A year-to-date (YTD) market recap as of April 24th, 2012 shows closed sales at around $96 million with an energy unlike any in years. At this time our MLS shows 30 active listings, 19 properties in escrow, 33 sold and 26 that have gone off the market for a total of 108 properties in various stages of play.
The MLS shows 52 homes reported sold (including back-up and pending sales) in the 90402 zip code so far this year and with about 15% of the market selling without ever being published in the MLS, one can figure another 9 sales to make this one of the best starts in several years. It was not long ago that only 10 homes sold in a month, but the recent market shows an average of 15 homes per month year-to-date.
Our hope is that with 19 listings under contract and 33 closed sales, we may be experiencing a new period of price stability, supply/demand equality and increased volume. Here is a look at a few note-worthy closings:
The Pence Hathorn Silver’s sale of a $9 million, new construction on the corner of Georgina and 22nd St surprised naysayers that thought the three level home was too large (apx. 11,000 sq ft) for the apx. 13,047 sq. ft. lot. The truth is that the yard and open space at this home was greater than many homes on the typical 7,500 to 9,000 sq. ft. lots nearby. The home has a chef’s kitchen, very tall ceilings, a huge finished basement, and an east coast traditional style and stunning quality. It is environmentally friendly with many high tech, green features.
The Canyon has been red-hot with six recent sales (and five others reported in escrow). One was a five-bedroom home on Sycamore that traded for $2 million. It is a Modern-style home that was originally built in 2002 and has a third story dining deck.
Very early this year, a Pence Hathorn Silver listing closed for over $9.3 million. The property had not been on the market since 1999. It was first sold in 1989 for $3.6 million.
The North of Wilshire neighborhood has seen a surge of five sales already this year and one on beach, north of the pier with four bedrooms a pool and spectacular ocean views sold for $4.5M
Lastly, a new construction two-story Mediterranean home on one of the college streets with five bedrooms closed at $3,185,000. There are two quiet listings available in the view section right now, one is $10 million and the other is $4 million.
At the low end of the spectrum, north of Wilshire there was a short sale for $650,000 on a smaller lot. This little California bungalow had two bedrooms and one bath. The home had last sold in 2004 for $895,000.
A small apartment building with four units sold in multiple offers on 21st street for $1,525,000.
Only ten days were needed from listing to close for a house North of Montana that sold for $2,405,000. The Hacienda home has three bedrooms with a charming courtyard and pool. The home also sold last at the height of the market, in 2005 for more than $2.3 million.
My favorite sale of the year was that of an older home on Georgina for about $3.1M. The two-story colonial house has a double lot with a flat grassy back yard. The property went from listed to sold in less than two weeks. This was one of the very best opportunities I’ve seen in a long time.
