I received an email interested in comments on 127 Hollister Ave. Which I suggested should broaden into a look at the South Beach Tract, the small pocket of historic bungalows next to the beach north of Ocean Park Blvd. and west of Nielson Way in Ocean Park.
We'll start with 127 Hollister (the Spanish house, center-left above), a 3 bed / 4 bath house built new in 2005 (along with the two east of it) on what had been a single lot with a little old stucco house. Originally listed 10/2/08 for $3,395K, it was reduced 12% to $2,999K in late November. Note the part about bankruptcy in its description:
"Located on 100 feet of Ocean Avenue with stunning whitewater ocean views, this immaculate 3 bedroom, 4 bath Spanish home was custom built in 2005. The entire top floor is a romantic master suite and sitting room with a luxurious bath and spa tub. The gourmet kitchen features a charming breakfast area and ocean view. Entertain in style on the spacious 2nd floor terrace. Subject to bankruptcy court approval; Property sold "as is"; Addendum to accompany all offers."
The other current listing is the 2 bed / 1.5 bath remodeled bungalow, listed 10/22/08 for $3,295K at 124 Hart Ave. (tall dark-green on left above), described as:
"Rare 1904 quintessential beach bungalow completely restored to green standards w/ ocean views. Original charm & details, antique wide planked floors, bead board, moldings & built in window seat. Solar panels, hydronic floor heating system, dual-glazed low-E windows, skylight, security system & sound. Cook’s kitchen w/ marble counter tops + premium appliances. 2 car direct access garage, grassy yard & bonus room/guest house. Steps from the beach, gorgeous ocean views, walk to Main Street."
I've thought of low-end (which these aren't) South Beach Tract houses as priced like low-end north of Montana; you get less lot (only 1,890 SF at 124 Hart) but you're by the beach.
Looking for recent sales, I don't see any in 2008! Which doesn't look good for the two current listings at even higher prices. These two didn't sell:
150 Fraser, 2/2, LP=$2,050K (-18%), LD=10/4/07, Withdrawn 9/8/08
152 Hart, 4/3, $2,200K, 2/8/08, Expired 8/08
Looking back to 2006-2007 I find:
133 Hart, 4/2.5, $2,189K, 5/3/07, SD=7/11/07, SP=$2,189K
150 Fraser, 2/2, $2,395K (-4%), 10/4/07, Expired 12/07
136 Wadsworth, 4/4, $2,695K (+2%), 2/18/07, 5/4/07, $2,600K (-4%)
152 Hart, 4/3.5, $2,599K (-4%), 8/06, 10/31/06, $2,560K (-2%)
136 Wadsworth, 4/3, $2,750K, 9/06, 5/4/07, $2,600K (-5%)
120 Hart, 5/4, $2,980K, 7/06, 1/4/07, $2,700K (-9%)
Monday, December 8, 2008
South Beach Tract
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14 comments:
Lived in OP for three years until recently. Not to start a flame war but I really struggle to see who pays several million dollars for a "whitewater view" of all the homeless guys sleeping across the street. And, again not trying to start a flame war, it's naive to think that's a safe place for women and younger kids after dark.
agreed
op is dangerous compared to la mesa
Oh come on, that small neighborhood is a great little pocket of Southern California. It's not without its problems, but it has insane amounts of character. We all think all of Santa Monica is still overvalued and I can't see why this one is any more overvalued than any other location. There are so many beautiful old homes there and I, for one, fully understand why someone would like to live there and pay a premium over most of Santa Monica to do so.
Uh - people live on Hollister for the "coolness" factor
Hollister is such a well known emblem of cool that a clothing company was named after it
teens from all over the world flock to Hollister and OP for this factor and those that like this vibe choose to live on Hollister
and that pocket is small enough to potentially hold value better than 90402 as those who would like to live there likely are very motivated to do so. Properties do not change hands that much in that little tract. There are homeless everywhere in Santa Monica. At least here you get to be adjacent to the water and Main st. I agree that I probably would not select it if I were looking for a place to raise kids, but otherwise I think it's an outstanding location. I live in Sunset Park, on a quiet street, and I still get the homeless roaming around. The other day I saw what was probably a heroin deal at 7am while walking my dogs. Nasty.
As my friends who live on the Manhattan Strand tell me about beachfront life: you only have assholes living on three sides of you.
This is Ocean Park, the most historic and interesting part of SM....I think this area is very unique and special!
That neighborhood is the SM ghetto. No joke. I wouldn't go there after dark on a bet!
Hollister has a different feel than north of montana -
hollister is a big pick up scene, a big pary scene. Full of playas
North of Montana is 100% quiet and family oriented
it depends on what you want
if you see santa monica on MTV's "cribs" it is going to be SM at Hollister
if you see santa monica in the New York times wedding page it is going to be North of Montana
different crowds in both places
South Beach Tract is SM's ghetto? That's just foolish. Not there exists a ghetto in Santa Monica, but Urban? Virginia/22nd? Michigan/Delaware between 20th and Lincoln? Those places can get shady at night, but they are still ok neighborhoods by greater LA standards.
Someone is just trying to ignite the thread with those statements. It worked.
See the new post for a photo of a block party on Fraser in 2005. Nice little community!
Some interesting history - that Tract ran all the way south, connecting to Venice. It was targeted for Urban Renewal and completely torn down (too Black for Santa Monica, I guess.) The 2 apartment towers went up in 1961 and the Sea Colony condo developments were completed in the 80's. So, for half of the past century, a huge chunk of land sat only partially developed where all those cute little beach homes once were.
That area is a disaster! Dangerous and terrible for women and kids. Also, the water floods the homes there. And there are termites. And locusts. And roving bands of Aborigines coming to steal our women!
So, if for your safety, you wanna sell your place to me, i may do you a favor and buy it. Cheap. (cuz i love it there and cant afford it at even current prices!)
You have to drop 120% off asking to get me interested in this ghetto. Whereas in 90402 I'd say that it's only got 80-90% more to fall before it's in line with actual value.
Back to 127 Hollister.
I watched them build it and also the two houses to the east. There was something odd about 127 because it had a basement and was smaller than the other two. There was a big sales effort and they asked almost $5m for 127 and around $4m for the others, presumably because 127 had full ocean views. So the present listing is the second time it was for sale. I can't find that 127 has ever been sold since it was built and expect that to be the case. Somebody seemed to inhabit it for a while and the furnitue in it now is the same as was there when it was originally for sale. This would indicate that it never sold and probably the builder is now bankrupt. I don't even know if the other two houses were sold, but I never tried to check. They seem to be occupied now.
It's hard to tell what it is worth. It certainly is worth more than the one on Hart that is listed higher.
Just a strange situation.
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