The Dirt on the Home Live Auctioned North of Montana

A single-story fixer upper on 23rd Street sold at a live auction last weekend for $4.7M.

445 23rd Street was listed for $3M, 28 days ago. This home was formerly owned by a local real estate agent who was responsible for many sales in the area over several decades.

When it first came to the market, many of us thought it was strange that it would be auctioned. However, it seems like an auction was indeed the correct strategy as the home sold for more than most careful students of the market predicted it would.

Maybe the lack of available homes for sale helped push the price up a bit. The only other recent land-value sales have been on 50’ wide lots. 445 23rd Street is of course a 60’ wide lot.

DID YOU KNOW?

* Siting a manufacturing facility is much more complex than siting a new home - but we can learn from commerce as to how they evaluate things: there are around 850 distinct data points that can sway a siting decision. Transportation, housing, quality of life, cost of living, utility rates — it’s all relevant, as are the nitty-gritty details of the site itself — its size, shape and location, and what’s in the water, soil and natural habitats. (Bloomberg)

* Since about 2000, the number of Americans who belong to a church, synagogue or mosque has plummeted from around 70% to around 47% in 2021, partly due to COVID. Many religious institution buildings are being sold and rehabilitated or replaced. It is estimated that there are currently around 1,100 former churches for sale in the US. (Bloomburg)

“Do not allow negative thoughts to enter

your mind for they are the weeds that

strangle confidence.” — Bruce Lee

* Insurance fraud costs an estimated $900 per consumer, mostly due to increased premiums as a result of fraud. Health care insurance fraud (including Medicaid and Medicare insurance fraud), costs consumers an estimated $105 billion annually, followed by life insurance fraud ($74.7 billion) and property and casualty insurance fraud ($45 billion). (NASDAQ)

* Around 79% of those 65 and older own a home.

I am voting NO on 33 and hope you will too.

Irrespective of neighborhood, as a city, Santa Monica homes on the market total 60, ranging in price from $1.6M to $60M. There are 18 under contract and in the past 6 months, 132 have sold and closed, ranging from $1,080,000 for 1417 23rd Street to $19,150,000 for 512 Georgina Avenue.

There are currently 18 Active listings, only one of which is really new;

739 20th Street- Re-Listed for $5,395,000. Adjusted way down from the original list price of $5,995,000. I suspect this one will be under contract soon at this new price. It is a large, 5,800 sqft house on a 60’ wide lot. The garage is located under the house so the backyard space is really maximized.

Five in escrow-
445 23rd Street - Listed for $2,999,000. This is the home that was auctioned.

239 Georgina Avenue - Listed for $6,495,000.

515 24th Street - Listed for $9,250,000.

424 10th Street - Listed for $4,500,000.

634 15th Street - Listed for $4,250,000.

Seven Sold-
711 San Vicente Blvd - Sold for $3,450,000. Listed for $3,999,000.

345 25th Street - Sold for $5,800,000. Listed for $6,200,000.

371 20th Street - Sold for $7,995,000. Listed for $8,495,000.

618 10th Street - Sold for $3,700,000. Listed for $3,698,000.

635 20th Street - Sold for $7,550,000. Listed for $7,495,000.

709 10th Street - Sold for $4,775,000. Listed for $4,995,000.

447 9th Street - Sold for $4,025,000. Listed for $3,499,000.