There is no slowing to this once-a-generation super powered real estate market. Malibu saw at least 30 single family home sales during the month of June alone. Inventory remains at levels not seen since 2005, the last time such a seller’s market reigned.
Just within the month of June alone, here are some recent sales randomly selected and their eye-catching results, as well as notes how prices have changed over the years:
• Starting at $10 million, a bluff property on Point Dume sold featuring a four-bedroom home and a three-unit rental complex. There are 10 bedrooms total inside the gated compound, and all the four residences have ocean view. Originally built in 1959 and sitting on just over an acre, the property last sold in 1997 for $1.3 million.Â
• Increasingly rare are sales of under $2 million, but a nice four-bedroom home of nearly 3,000 square feet closed escrow last month in the Sea View Estates neighborhood in upper Rambla Pacifico. The sale price was $1,725,000. Quartz countertops and upscale appliances highlighted the kitchen and full landscaping surrounded the home. It last sold in 1996 for $415,000.
• The lowest priced sale of a house in Malibu during June was a unique three-story house up Latigo Canyon that sold for $1.71 million. It has ocean and mountain views in all four directions from the top two floors, as well as five bedrooms total. It has sold four times this century; the last was in 2014 at virtually the same price.
• The latest sale for Malibu Country Estates comes in at just over $3.8 million. The spacious single-story home has four bedrooms and ocean view, as well as a pool and three-car garage.
• A one-acre architectural estate atop Point Dume with a salt water pool surrounded by a grassy yard has sold for $7.2 million after a major renovation. Almost fully landscaped, the grounds include an outdoor pizza oven and meditation fountain. The home has four bedrooms plus a guest house. The home mostly faces the mountains, but parts can see sunsets over Zuma Beach. Its most recent previous sale was in 2017 for about half this price.
• There is a three-story home on Malibu Cove Colony beach designed with stone, wood and metal that has sold for $10.4 million. Near the end of the cul-de-sac, almost every room has ocean views and there are three master suites, each with fireplace. Huge walls of sliding glass doors and numerous skylights highlight the home. The same home sold in 1998 for just less than $1.5 million.
• The highest price sale of the month, widely reported in the media, is a well-known Carbon Beach estate on 105 feet of sand that traded for more than $51 million. Long owned by a prominent businessman (in 27 years, this column has never named names), the ultramodern home designed by Richard Meier (except architect names) has five bedrooms, seven baths and a full guest house. The sale is the highest of the year so far in Malibu and, of course, among the highest in Southern California.
• Malibu Road had a few sales during June, including a deal for $13.7 million that has entire walls of windows to the beach and ocean. Once celebrity owned (and, again, different celebrity owned) the kitchen has bruised gold fixtures among white and cream tiles. There is a large courtyard on the property and a remodeled ocean view guest house. Its most recent previous sale was last year for $5 million less.
• Across from Zuma Beach sits a four-acre Tuscan estate with seven bedrooms, 11 baths, chef’s kitchen, theater room, game room, wine cellar, guest suite and gym. It sold for $14.6 million. The gated compound is practically its own resort, facing straight out to the sunsets. The great room has two full-sized fireplaces.
• About two-thirds of the sales during June exceeded $5 million. Included was a Serra Retreat sale for more than $15 million involving an estate with a 72-foot pool and 20-person hot tub. There is also a tennis court and sunken fire pit on the amazing grounds of nearly two acres flat. The property has dozens of trees of different sorts amid the four-bedroom house of over 7,000 square feet. It sold in 2014 for about $5.5 million.
• A very contemporary home in the upper part of Corral Canyon has sold for $2.15 million. With nearly 3,000 square feet and a view of the mountains, the house with three bedrooms can be solar powered and includes a car charger. The price in 2004 was about $1.2 million.
Rick Wallace of Keller Williams Realty has been a Realtor in Malibu for 33 years and has contributed real estate columns to the community for 27 years.