The Malibu Real Estate Blog

Being a Malibu real estate agent is a lot like being a stock broker. Everyday there are bits of activity that affect every other home for sale within the market and it’s my job to monitor and analyze it’s affects. A foreclosure in a condo complex can cause an over night crash in values. The short sale of estate can lop $1m bucks off the value of the neighbors listing and cause them to withdraw the listing. Sometimes it goes the other way too with a beach home getting snapped up for millions more than expected. Then everyone thinks their homes jumped a million overnight and chances are you’ll see a few new listings in the immediate vacinity. I often even refer to homes “trading” in a certain price range rather than being “sold”. When someone asks about homes for sale on Malibu Road, I’ll say, “yeah, those have been trading at about $6-7mm for a small, but clean place”.

Now when I see a home heading to half of what it once was asking, again, like a stock broker, I’m looking at it like it might be a great opportunity to buy in low. Here is one such home that fits the bill that was originally listed for $7.5mm and now is asking $4.85mm
Call 310-699-8428 for showings

From the MLS…”THE PERFECT SOPHISTICATED MALIBU BEACH HOUSE DONE IN THE BEST OF TASTE. LOCATED ON MALIBU COLONY BEACH THIS TRI-LEVEL HOME HAS IT ALL. FIRST FLOOR HAS A DECK, GOURMET KITCHEN, FULL BATHROOM, FIREPLACE. SECOND FLOOR HAS A BEAUTIFUL MASTER BEDROOM SUITE WITH FIREPLACE, DECK, BEAUTIFUL SHOWER, AND A LARGE WALK IN CLOSET, A DEN AREA, ANOTHER LOVELY BEDROOM AND A FULL BATHROOM, THIRD FLOOR HAS AN ART STUDIO/OFFICE/BDRM – AN AMAZING ROOF TOP DECK WITH VIEWS OF THE COASTLINE, SURF, AND DOLPHINS. HOUSE CAN NEVER BE DUPLICATED. A LARGE CLIMATE CONTROLLED STORAGE ROOM. THERE IS A/C THROUGHOUT. THE BEST AT THE BEACH!”

The Malibu real estate market is still very active as we head in to the holidays and what is traditionally a very slow time for real estate. There are apprx. 200 Malibu homes for sale, 17 Malibu homes in escrow, and several quite sales have been completed on the beach and on Point Dume. If there was ever such a thing as Black Friday sale on Malibu Homes here are a few that would make the list. These Malibu homes for sale are all on my best buy list.

The best deal on a Malibu beach house is 23952 Malibu Road on Colony Beach. The home came on the market at $7,500,000 and is now offered at $4,850,000. It’s approaching a potential sales price at 50% of its highest asking price. The large beach houses a few lots to the East are all in the $10m-$20m range. It has been offered for lease in the summers at $50k per month. The website can be seen Malibu Beach House For Sale.

The best Malibu real estate deal on an home under $5m is 5600 Sea View. $3,200,000 for 6800 sq.ft with great ocean views. At the peak of the market this home could have asked $5,900,000.

The best Malibu real estate deal on an Malibu estate over $5m is 27530 Villa Cascata. $11,750,000 for almost 14,000 sq.ft. It’s been listed as high as $17m

The best Malibu real estate deal on a Malibu condo is the unit at Rey de Copas for $299k that should rent out for above $3300 per month. It has 3 bedrooms and three bathrooms. These same condos were asking $500k at the peak of the market

Email me if you’d like a list of my personal list of bets buys. Please be specific about what you’d like sent Malibu Real Estate@mac.com

A Point Dume home just hit the Malibu real estate market at the unbelievably low price of $1.3m and get this….it has good ocean views and a beach key! Say what? Yeah, you heard me, it’s got the goods. So here is the low down. The house is seriously outdated. It’s got that funky 70′s vibe  and you wouldn’t even question me if I jokingly told you it was once used to film the show CHiPs. Officer Francis Ponch Poncherello would like this place. One more thing to mention….it’s on a flag lot  sandwiched between several homes and there isn’t a whole lot of yard.

Here’s the good part. It’s a short sale. Someone is going to score a great deal. That is one hell of a low price and I’m not sure there will ever be another home on the Point Dume in the low $1m’s that has a beach key and a view. The home is currently rented at apprx. $4500 per month and in the past it has been as high as $5800. The home is an ideal investment property especially with a tenant who’s lease runs in to the middle of next year. There is also some new carpet, new paint, and a repaired deck. The bones are good and the whole thing could probably be remodeled in to some sort modern structure.

Call for a showing…..this one will go fast! 310 699 8428

This very moment I’m sitting in reception area of an arbitration office in downtown Los Angeles waiting to be called as an expert witness. Being a Malibu real estate agent and professional photographer can lead you to interesting places when a dispute arrises between two neighbors about ocean views. I’m hear to talk about some images I took over the course of a year for  a client who had another neighbors trees blocking their ocean view. The City of Malibu has always has some guidelines and codes about vegetation and views but it wasn’t until recent that Malibu decided to deal with the issue with a view ordinance.

From the Malibu Times

The ordinance allows residential and commercial property owners to reclaim one 180-degree “primary view” that has been obstructed by foliage growth within a 1,000-foot radius of their property. To qualify under the ordinance, the view must have been unobstructed when the property was purchased or at the time of the city’s incorporation in 1991, whichever is later. The staff report defines a “primary view” as “visually impressive scenes of the Pacific Ocean, offshore islands, the Santa Monica Mountains, canyons, valleys, or ravines.”

A property owner claiming a view obstruction must first consult with the owner of the obstructing foliage or trees informally to try to reach an agreement. If those discussions are unsuccessful, the city would pay for a mediator for up to three hours to help the two sides reach an agreement; a neutral third party who would act as a negotiator.

As a Malibu real estate agent I can tell you with certainty that the amount of ocean view can affect the price of a home in the millions of dollars. It’s not uncommon to hear someone boast that their house is worth far more because they have 50% more view than the house down the street.

This reminds me of something I saw last week on agent caravan. There is a house for sale right now on Point Dume that is a great buy at $2,800,000. When I went up to the second floor to have a look at the ocean view I noticed that there were tons of trees blocking about 40%of the ocean view. Imagine the value if the next buyer could go in and get the trees trimmed! A far better investment than any remodel. $20,000 spent on tree trimming might yield a $150,000 increase in property value!

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