Where the surf meets . . . the suburbs
It’s an aberration in today’s real estate market: a development of more than 100 homes and nary a “for sale” sign in sight. What makes this Malibu neighborhood so desirable that houses rarely come on the market and, when they do, they fly off in days? (Yes, days.)
What it’s about
To the untrained real estate eye, Malibu Country Estates is an enigma. It’s a development community, centrally located at the foot of Pepperdine University, with most homes built in the mid-1970s by Alcoa and since remodeled. Nothing grand, nothing ostentatious, nothing that screams “Malibu.” And there is no one living here who is followed by a posse of paparazzi.
Although home styles vary and are certainly distinguished, no marquee architects left their marks here. Plus, lot sizes are as small as 11,000 square feet -- making that ubiquitous Malibu swimming pool all but impossible in most cases.
Views, though far from unpleasant (this is Malibu after all), don’t compare to the sweeping vistas of other Malibu neighborhoods. And the privacy and seclusion of other parts of Malibu are also absent.
So how do you explain the pull that makes this one of Malibu’s hardest-to-buy-in neighborhoods?
Well, there are sidewalks and street lights and sewers -- the stuff of true suburbia. Which, said Matt Rapf of Pritchett-Rapf, is precisely the draw of this neighborhood -- it’s suburban living with kids riding bikes on safe streets and neighbors exchanging emergency house keys. Rapf said he has clients who want only Malibu Country Estates. Period.
And residents were further blessed when the recent wildfires licked their heels and then spared the neighborhood.
Housing market
The numbers don’t lie. This is a place of die-hard loyalists. Homes rarely come on the market, and even in this buyers’ market, when homes do become available, they are bought quickly, often before the listing reaches the Multiple Listing Service.
In the last 18 months, the MLS shows that only five homes have changed hands. It is believed that a few more sold privately. Of the five sold publicly, one sold at full price in one day; another took eight days and sold at asking price. In the third case, the house was listed, taken off the market and re-listed with another agent who sold it in 21 days for $2.1 million -- $400,000 under the listing price. One lingered at a price widely thought by area realty agents to be high but still sold in a few months. And a fifth sold in four days at just under its listing price of $2,750,000.
Prices hover in the mid-$2-million range with some higher and some lower. There is only one home on the market now, listed at $2,995,000. It has three bedrooms and three bathrooms in 3,572 square feet and has a pool. There are mountain views. The living room has vaulted ceilings and the bathrooms are newly remodeled with custom tile, marble and limestone.
Insider’s view
Malibu Country Estates is indeed suburbia, but since when did that become a bad word, wonders Laura Lazar. The mother of two moved here with her family in August 2006 as her daughter was about to enter kindergarten.
They came for the public schools, she said, and love living just a stone’s throw from Webster Elementary. “I tell my daughter that if we are ever late for school, I will be very embarrassed.”
In a place where people have to drive to most things, being just two minutes from the school, the supermarket, popular restaurants and the soccer fields is a luxury.
Supermarkets? Soccer fields? When you think of perks sought by would-be Malibuites -- privacy, celebrity neighbors, waves crashing beneath the deck -- those qualities wouldn’t seem to be high on the list.
But it’s the best of both worlds, Rapf contends. “Sometimes people move to Malibu and wind up feeling isolated. This is a close-knit community within the larger Malibu.”
Good news, bad news
This neighborhood is right off John Tyler Drive, which is the main thoroughfare onto the Pepperdine University campus. Although students, faculty and visitors all use the road, traffic isn’t a problem, residents say.
The development shares Pepperdine’s sewer system, making these homes the rare exception in Malibu to having to maintain a septic-tank system.
Proximity to Pepperdine also gives residents the chance to take advantage of the university’s sports and cultural offerings. Alumni Park is walkable, and families with young children enjoy visiting the ducks in the park’s lake. And, as residents learned in the recent fires, Pepperdine’s extensive greenbelt makes a great fire break.
What’s the bad news? There really isn’t much unless you are suburbia-phobic or have expectations about living in Malibu that don’t include suburban family life.
Report card
Children who live in Malibu Country Estates can attend schools in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District. Out of a possible score of 1,000 on the 2007 Academic Performance Index Growth Report, Webster Elementary scored 918; Malibu High, 818.
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Sources: cde.ca.gov; mattrapf.com/; www.malibucomplete.com/mc_around_malibucountryestates.php; www.prumalibu.com/loc_malibu_country_estates.php.
