Manhattan Beach Pier.. January 2008
The Manhattan Beach real estate market has always been contrary.. contrary to logic... to income standards... to investment basics... basically to most yardsticks used to measure property values in other places. We have continued to maintain high prices even as the market has slowed down. The number of sales have decreased, the days on market have increased while prices have only seen slight declines.
The question floating through our Manhattan Beach community is whether or not this will be the year that we see the real estate market move downward or will we continue with minor adjustments and a basically flat market. Buyers are opting for prices moving downward while sellers are hoping to hang on with a flat market or a minimal downturn.
Manhattan Beach and the Beach Cities in general have fared better then many similar communities in Los Angeles County. So far our foreclosure rate is minimal and the hope is to keep it that way. I'll be posting information about the Beach Cities in the next few days.
Manhattan Beach: Home Prices Sold.. 2005-2006 (click on graph to enlarge) 
When you review the numbers for each neighborhood over the last three years it's amazing how stable the market has actually been. That may be about to change if the tight credit market continues into most of next year.
The big surprise may be that buyers are going to be fine as most people who want to buy in today's market have to have stable finances, cash for a down payment and good credit. The ones who may wind up in trouble are those who bought with marginal resources. We could also see problems if a recession does materialize. I think we will have a handle on where the Manhattan Beach and the Beach Cities housing market is headed by spring to early summer. If we make it through the next 6 months intact we are likely over the worst.
Your South Bay Real Estate resource for Buying and Selling in the So. CA /LAX Beach Cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo. Find the answers to all your questions
Manhattan Beach.. Where's the Housing Crash?
Manhattan Beach CA: Market View June 2, 2007
Beach Cities: Market Snapshot April 2007 Sales Data
Manhattan Beach CA: Market Snapshot May 6, 2007
Southern California: Holding It's Own in the Real Estate Wars?
All Homes Should Have Instruction Manuals
Southern California Real Estate: The Market That Won't Die!
Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot April 23, 2007
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2008 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
Hi Kaye, How are you? Happy New Year.
I really like the balance in tone on this post. With all the nay sayers ( especially the media that is driving this new effort for recovery into the ground) it certainly feels nice to know that that huge sucking sound was the toilet and not the whole housing market.
This is such a wonderful way to present realistic and truthful data. It makes me envious that I still haven't put together my format for local posting to show similar things here in San Diego. Did you know that Carlsbad homes have gained 11% in value over the year. Where's the Newspaper Headline? Maybe the folks that live and buy there know something the rest of the communities haven't figured out. " If you are not selling your home, what difference does ultimately make what the value is. And if you are selling it and have sucked the virtual life out of the place, why should you figure that it should be worth more than when you bought it.
Well done!
Kaye. Very nice presentation. The DOM for these areas is very reasonable. I'd love to see that around here.
I am definately seeing a slight uptick in buyer traffic. Let's hope it portends of good things to come. We surely do need some motivated buyers.
Our prices have come down sufficiently that we can find some good buys here these days.
Hi Kaye,
Great job on this one.
A question for you, I'm not sure if I'm reading this correctly or not, (I could find a way to view it all on my screen at one time without scrolling all over). Looking for example in Man. Village, condo prices have gone down less than 10% while SFR (median) prices has actually gone up in 06 & 07? Am I reading this correctly?
BTW, like Lenn (above) we've also seen an increase in activity since the first.
Nice series on prices, Kaye. Pretty amazing where they have been and still are in your area, although we have a few communities here that are there too. But what a great community MB is! We, too, have seen more activity (expected), and some towns have seen an uptick in inventory of 2-5% (also expected) but not all.
Jeff
William.. Thank you for the kind words.. We all know the market has changed .. what many dohn't realize is that not all areas in CA are in serious trouble.. The truth is that most coastal areas will are far better then inland cities.. they always have been the places where people want to live..
Lenn- Thank you..You are the Master of the Real Estate Information Post... I have learned a lot from you... our Dom is getting higher then we are used to seeing but far better then other areas.. That's good news that buyers are beginning to look at homes again.. I certainly think the prices are very reasonable for the amount of house a person can buy in your area..
Lynda-Yep you read correctly... Manhattan Village is in a world of its own.. it's either very hot or dead.. right now the market in the Village is hot.. I think with rates as low as they are we are going to see people taking another look at homes in areas they like.
Jeff-Interesting to hear that you are also seeing more interest from buyers.. I'm wondering if buyers have figured out that while prices have come down from their high point ... most of the better areas are not going to see drastic price declines.. Now if there is a major recession that could change.. but then if you lose your job you won't be buying so may be a moot point..
au- I apologize for not getting back to you yesterday.. The median price went up and prime ocean front/walk street continues to increase but overall not the percent increase you are questioning.. Same with PVE.. If you want some specific info e-mail me privately at kaye@kayethomas4homes.com