Up Nearly 50%

Another recent sale shows the value of buying on the dip. When/if that comes again.

512 12th (3br/3ba, 2300 sq. ft.) is a unique remodel right near downtown with the very nice feature of a large back deck for true indoor/outdoor living off the common areas upstairs.

The 1950s original was rebuilt completely in 2007 to add square footage and create that deck. 

After all that work, they sold just two years later into the worst market we've seen since Y2K. In 2009, 512 12th sold for $1.605M.

Those 2009 buyers restyled the place but didn't change much – new carpet, custom paint, etc.

They held it 5 years and brought it to market this April seeking a tidy $500K profit. List price: $2.100M.

But that was only the beginning. The rush was on.

Closed sale price went more than $250K and 12% higher: $2.357M.

That is a monster markup of $752K over the 2009 price, a 47% shot skyward.

Want to just say it went up 50% from the depths of '09?

Here at MBC we have already chronicled several resales of 2010 acquisitions that have gone for nearly 40% above their 2010 prices, sometimes more. (Most recently in "Another Big Markup Over 2010.")

So to see a resale up more than 40% from a 2009 price can almost be expected.

It may seem hard to believe, but there are real estate markets that have not yet caught up to their pre-bubble-pop highs. Manhattan

Beach seemed to gain momentum much sooner and has now rebounded with numbers that seem astonishing. We continue to reap the benefit of all the efforts to "fix" markets that needed more fixing.

And everyone is still running uphill, not getting tired.

Make a note, though: When and if this momentum reverses, and everyone gets as worried and depressed as they were in 2009, that will be a fantabulous time to buy whatever you can.