Over $4M on the Flat Walkstreets

It takes luck and money to wind up on Manhattan Beach's famed South End flat family walkstreets. Increasingly, more and more money.

The newest sale in the area is 340 6th St. (5br/5ba, 3600 sq. ft.) at $4.235M. That's a healthy 4+ type number without precedent among MLS-reported sales.

The home style is called "Beach Plantation," with details inside that have to be called modern in flavor. There's ample family space all around the first floor, including the kitchen, all opening to the walkstreet. Bedrooms are midfloor. Up top there's one more bedroom, an entertaining space and a fantastic, large deck, partially covered, with big-sky views of the Hill Section and PV.

The best-publicized new construction on a flat walkstreet that sold recently was probably the gorgeous, traditional Cape Cod at 412 8th St. (5br/4ba, 4400 sq. ft.), but that actual sale at $3.925M occurred off-market in June 2012.

Off-market this Summer, an even higher height was hit with the $4.500M sale of a new build at 337 7th St. Like 340 6th, that home on 7th had a crowd-pleasing Cape Cod style and a well-known local builder behind it. It was 4br and about 4200 sq. ft.

 If we look much further back, we see that 4-ish ad 4+ numbers were previously, at best, aspirational for new walkstreet homes.

 440 7th (4br/5ba, 4000 sq. ft.) sold for $3.660M back in May 2011. That corner-lot "Island style" home was a new build by the same builder behind 337 7th. It is a riveting, terrific home and now looks like that absolute steal of the past few years in the South End. 440 6th was a somewhat bigger new Cape Cod (6br/6ba, 4200 sq. ft.) that sold for $3.275M way, way back in July 2010.

From those sales, you see the escalation from the 3's to the 4's in just a few years' time. It was only about a year ago that Dave's clients purchased a 1990s build at 409 7th (5br/4ba, 3475 sq. ft.) off-market for $2.675M. (See "The Tale of an Off-Market Sale"). But it seems like the world has changed since then.

Want new on the flat walkstreets?

There's just one publicly listed option: 416 8th (5br/5ba, 4200 sq. ft.) at $4.250M. You'll have to be patient, though. It's not built yet; they're looking for a buyer first to get started.