Thursday, January 22, 2009

511 N Dianthus.. Manhattan Beach... Take another look Sunday 1-4



Last week I wrote a post for my open house at 511 N. Dianthus in the hill section of Manhattan Beach. I had three comments two of which were rather disparaging. I've always wondered if the negative remarks reflect the difference between people who are serious about buying a home and those for whatever reason, are not going to purchase.



Last year I wrote a post about starter homes in Manhattan Beach. I used a home I had listed at 3612 Poinsettia as an example of a starter home. I received a number of comments telling me how overpriced and terrible the home was. A month later the house received multiple offers and sold at the asking price. For weeks after Poinsettia went into escrow I had calls from buyers who wanted to make offers. Yet the comments indicated the house would never sell.





I don't know that the same thing will happen in a month at 511 N Dianthus... but it is one of the largest homes west of Sepulveda under $1.4 million(see graph). It is being shown a lot by agents with buyers. Last Sunday I had 20 people visit 511 N Dianthus... which is pretty good in this market. Roughly half of the visitors liked the house.... again not bad in this market. The house is retro with a lot of character, great views.... and a lovely yard... Cookie cutter it isn't!



Visitors were interested in the fact that the seller would carry a second trust deed. A few had been talking to lenders and knew they were requiring higher down payments. Some were just starting to look while others had been looking for awhile. This may not seem important but if you don't have 30% or more down this could be very important. lenders are no long making second trust deeds on properties so that buyers can take advantage of rates on a conforming first.

The graph below reflects the inventory for available homes west of Sepulveda listed under $1,400,000. There are a number of homes at $1,199,000 ... one dollar less then 511 N. Dianthus. If you check out the square feet and price per square foot you will note that there are only two other homes with a smaller ppsf then 511 N Dianthus. (Click on graph to enlarge)







We've had a couple of offers that we couldn't quite get together. The sellers are ready to sell. If you are looking for a larger home west of Sepulveda that is priced under $1.4 with character and big views then this might be the one for you.



Open House Sunday January 25, 1-4

18 comments:

christyzee said...

Just passing through...don't wager on the neg. comments, it could be immaturity just showing up. Beautiful home, good luck.

Anonymous said...

Do you really not understand why this still-overpriced home hasn't sold in 268 days of being on the market?

Could it be the tiny, narrow lot surrounded by McMansions?

Could it be the kitchen and other areas that need upgrading?

Could it be that there is a small demographic that would even be interested in such a property? (It doesn't work for families, maybe 20-something singles?).

Lot value on the home is under $800k. The house that's on that lot is not worth $400k.

Kaye said...

Anon 11:54,

Actually lot value is well over your estimate... 505 Anderson, view not as good,complete tear down, same size lot, 8+ offers and I believe is in escrow at over $900,000

Anonymous said...

What about the listing on Anderson
listed for $799K. It seems to be
the same type of listing as yours?

Kaye said...

Anon 6:40,
See my answer at 12:34... that is the house. It is for all purposes a tear down and had 8 offers with sale around $900,000 or slightly more.

Anonymous said...

Kaye, that house is fairly similar.

I've visited you at open house at Dianthus. It is not peach. The mcmansions do really ruin the privacy, and it needs an update.

I rent a few block away. A better house for 3,400/month. You can do the math on what a 30 year fixed on a 20% down would be for Dianthus.

Anderson is a step in the right direction. It is very expensive as a starter home. I would not consider it at all for the price.

Kaye said...

Anon 8:16,
I'm guessing you didn't have an opportunity to see Anderson...

I don't disagree that Dianthus needs some updating but you could move in and live there without doing anything... not the case with Anderson.

I like Dianthus. This is what homes were like in the 60's and 70's before we moved into the McMansion era. I love the yard with the waterfall. It wouldn't take much to upgrade into a very warm home.

As they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder...obviously this is not the house for you. However for those who do like it... and there are people who do... the owners are ready to sell.

Anonymous said...

No, I did not look at anderson. Just at the listing.

I also though Dianthus could use an interior spruce-up. You are trying to sell it for 1.2 M, and the last time I looked, that was still a lot of carpet.

If I recall (and it has been a few months), it looked like it had newer carpet, but it was bottom of the line, apartment grade.

I bet the owners could throw 10-20 K worth of upgrades into that place, and it would show a ton better. Maybe some non-flat white paint on the walls and new fixtures.

It really does feel like an apartment or condo right now, which was the comment that someone else made. My wife told me the same thing after looking at it.

Anyway, good luck.

Kaye said...

Anon 3:05,
The home is a probate and the owners are out of state... the goal was to freshen up the house.

The paint choice was neutral and is a cream with white trim. The owners were not sure at first if they were going to sell or rent.

We put in medium grade carpet rather then other flooring choices because we thought buyers would want to customize flooring to match what they did to kitchen.

Anonymous said...

If your seller is really motivated to sell, as you say they are, lower the price. It is that simple. I think at this point your client is just riding the market down.

Kaye said...

Anon 4:53,
The ever popular Chicken vs Egg situation.

Anonymous said...

....or reality vs delusion.

Anonymous said...

i was one of the people to comment last year on the poinsettia home.

correct me please if i am wrong, but didn't it only sell after a few price "adjustments"?

not trying to be snarky, but if this house isn't selling-maybe an "adjustment" is in order? or are the owners just greedy?

you could always go with the tried (or tired) and true "it's fair market value"....or "they only need ONE buyer".....good luck with that, seriously.

oh, and another thing I wonder if you don't see the part you played which has led to our current economic "situation"?

Kaye said...

Anon 8:40,
Poinsettia, as well Dianthus, was a probate. The house was listed at the value determined by the state appraisal...and taxes were paid on that amount. The property was in escrow to a builder who bailed a week before it was to close. It went back on the market at that price... and yes the price was reduced.

However a number of comments on Poinsettia said that the house would never sell at the listed price... when in fact it sold at almost the full list price and received multiple offers.

We are at a time where buyers want sellers to lower prices before making offers and sellers want buyers to make offers before they accept a lower price.

In all markets buyers determine prices not sellers. The value of the property is the highest offer by a buyer .

Anonymous said...

Nice price reduction. $5k?
Every month, the probate attorneys go back to court and update the Judge.

That's gotta cost $1500.

You're going to have a tough time selling this house.

No one wants to live in it. Even if lot value (ahem) is $900k, that's a huge premium for a house that's unliveable.

This'll sell at $1,025,000 in October.

Kaye said...

Anon 1:40,

The home is veryclean and quite livable... it could use some updating but everything is in good condition... the roof and windows were recently upgraded and the carpet and paint are new.

The price reduction by the sellers was a first step while they consider whether they will rent or keep on the market. People do things in their own time not necessarily to please someone else.

I am curious about why you spend so much time commenting about a property you don't like...

Anonymous said...

Meow!

Kaye said...

Anon 10:50,
No.. I notice this on a number of websites where comments are allowed and am curious