Manhattan Beach, CA

Manhattan Beach Real Estate--Quick Guide

So, you’ve decided to take up roots in Manhattan Beach. Whether it is considered a permanent residence or a 2^nd home get-away spot, the choices of homes and locations here are as varied as there are fish in the sea. However, Manhattan Beach does have many niche locations and something that is unique about each one. We will take you on a brief insider’s tour of each area in an effort to help you decide which neighborhood best suits your needs and wants. We will start with the most expensive area, and move eastward from there. (Note: all Manhattan Beach elementary schools feed into the same middle and High School; Manhattan Beach Middle School and Mira Costa High School.)

The Strand- You could call it Billionaire’s Row. Though you don’t necessarily need a billion dollars to own there, it does attract them. Many own some of the most beautiful homes ever created and choose this spectacular beach town as their home away from home. “The Strand” is how we refer to the row of homes that sits directly on the beach. The row of homes starts at the Northern border of Hermosa Beach and ends at the Southern border of El Segundo.

Pros- up-front views and proximity to the beach; a unique ability to maintain value or increase at a significant pace; a “Front Row” seat in Manhattan Beach; unblock-able by any neighbors to the West

Cons- steep asking prices; limited privacy; some noise factors to consider; seasonal rentals as neighbors; limited parking

The Sand Section- This coveted area is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West, Valley Drive and the Tree Section to the East, and it stretches along both North and South Manhattan Beach. What “The Sand Section” really identifies is the homes that are very close to the beach. This area is known for the smallest lot sizes in the beach area, some as small as 1,345 square feet (or 30 ft x 45 ft ); about one half of what is considered a full size lot. The side set back on these lots is 3 ft which ultimately means you are approximately 6 ft from your neighbors. Homes are usually either 2 or 3 stories, depending on the zoning and location. There can be as many townhome/condos as there are single family homes, many of which have terrific coastal views and are ideally located walking distance to the central or North End commercial districts, which are known for great restaurants and quaint shops.

Pros- Close proximity to the beach and shops found in the Downtown Manhattan Beach district; many homes offer fantastic views; low traffic “walk streets”.

Cons- little-to-no yard space; price; close proximity to neighbors; a struggle to find guest parking.

The Tree Section- Bordered by the Sand Section to the West, Rosecrans Blvd. to the North, Sepulveda Blvd. to the East, and Manhattan Beach Blvd to the South, the Tree Section received its namesake from the street names most of which, well . . . are different species of trees. This area offers slightly larger lots than the Sand Section they are typically 40 ft wide and approximately 125 ft deep, allowing a full 8 feet of distance from your neighbors and a bit of a back yard. There are many classic post-war homes still maintaining their original character intermixed with homes that have been re-built over the last two decades. The newer homes are typically around 3,200 sq ft., as opposed to the original homes that are closer to 1,500 sq ft.

Pros- a neighborhood with lots of character; walk-able/bike-able proximity to the beach; charming streets; great access to popular local commuter routes.

Cons- if you are a back yard person, they still are typically small; some inconsistency in overall aesthetic of the neighborhood; many prefer not to be close to the refinery that borders Rosecrans Blvd.

American Martyrs- A special pocket of Tree Section homes that are near American Martyrs church and school. These homes often come at a premium partially because they feature most of the benefits that the Sand Section offers combined with the benefits of the Tree Section. With larger lots the homes provide the best of both worlds: a yard, sometimes a view, and an easy stroll Downtown or to the beach.

Pros- plenty of parking available; close to the beach; benefit of larger yards; classic neighborhood feel.

Cons- depending on the street and block, home to some of the most expensive Real Estate in the area.

The Hill Section- Located South of Manhattan Beach Blvd, West of Sepulveda (to Ardmore) and bordering Hermosa Beach on the South, this is the most prestigious residential section of Manhattan Beach. The Hill Section boasts even larger lots, many of which have outstanding vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Some of the largest homes in town are built here and they sell for multi-millions. This is one of the only areas where you can get a large home, a large lot, and still have gaping ocean views. If you can capture all of that it amounts to a fairly hefty price tag.

Pros- estate-styled homes, prestige, beautiful vistas, larger lots, outstanding central location

Cons- price; steep hills or sloped streets which are not as “kid friendly” as some like; slightly farther from the beach than some may like to be.

East Manhattan- The area East of Sepulveda Blvd and South of Manhattan Beach Blvd is known as East Manhattan Beach and is appreciated for consistently having some of the largest lots in town; most of which are 50 ft by 150 ft, allowing for slightly larger homes and spacious, pool-sized back yards. With 5 ft setbacks, you have the most distance from your neighbors and the most privacy of all the Manhattan Beach neighborhoods. The newer homes are usually over 4,000 square feet. For families, it allows the easiest commute to the Middle and High Schools as both are located East of Sepulveda, as well as excellent proximity to popular local commuter routes (for mom and dad).

Pros- typically the largest lots; more privacy; plenty of parking; larger, wider homes; more home + land for the money.

Cons- you are not likely walking to the beach or downtown; lack of any ocean views.

Liberty Village- Bordered by Aviation Blvd. to the East, Manhattan Beach Blvd. to the South, Sepulveda Blvd. to the West, and Marine Ave. to the North, this area is very similar to East Manhattan. One noticeable difference is that a large portion of the area has lots that are approximately 5,000 square feet (but still 50 ft in width). Though slightly smaller, they still allow for similar privacy and distance from your neighbors than locations West of Sepulveda Blvd.

Pros- affordability; proximity to the freeways, LAX, and daily shopping; slightly larger lots.

Cons- you are not likely walking to the beach or Downtown.

Manhattan Village- The only gated community in Manhattan Beach. It is located East of Sepulveda Blvd. and North of Marine Ave. The development was built in the late 1980’s with a combination of single family homes, townhomes and court-homes. The development offers many outdoor activities, including swimming pools, and is also bordered by an executive 9-hole golf course.

Pros- tasteful conforming neighborhood aesthetic; 24-hour security; gated & guarded entry; shared community amenities; walking distance to banks, shopping, dining & movie theatre.

Cons- bit of a distance from the beach; mostly townhomes with small patios; community rules and regulations.

For an in-depth look at each section of Manhattan Beach, visit www.SouthBayRealEstateGuide.com or contact the office for a copy of our exclusive South Bay Real Estate Guide.

It was only a few weeks ago when the inventory of distressed homes hovered at around 10 and it's been that way for the past 6 months with any short sales or bank owned homes in Manhattan Beach being quickly replaced by a new listing. That's certainly changed with only 2 current distressed active MLS listings and now 9 pending home sales which is absolutely an amazing turn of events.

Below is a list of the current "active" distressed MLS listings in Manhattan Beach along with a list of the current pending home sales.

Keith Kyle is a licensed Realtor, short sale specialist and Top Producing agent with South Bay Brokers in Manhattan Beach. He serves his clients throughout the South Bay and his websites KeithKyleHomes.com, TorranceRealEstateHomes.com, ManhattanBeachLuxuryRealEstate.com and FindYourSouthBayHome.com offer the most comprehensive real estate destinations in the South Bay with free MLS access, current home listings, open houses, recent home sales information and more. Keith can be reached at 310-251-2344 or by email at info@KeithKyleHomes.com. For more information on the South Bay, visit my Beach Cities Real Estate blog.

All of us at Hoffman Murphy love to let our youth know of upcoming events as well. If you are a middle or high school student in Manhattan Beach, this is only for you!

The City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation Teen Center invites all middle and high school students to join them on upcoming snowboarding trips to Bear Mountain! Middle and high school students who live in Manhattan Beach, attend the schools, or who have a parent working there are eligible to join us!

The Teen Center will be taking kids to Bear Mountain on February 4 & 18, and also on March 3. The deadline to sign up and join the fun is four days prior to each trip – be sure to sign up early so you don’t miss out on a great time!

Please feel free to bookmark this page, so you can keep up to date with everything happening in our area. Thank you from all of us at the Hoffman Murphy Team!

Where do buyers really come from?

So you are thinking of selling. You hire your favorite real estate agent and what comes next? Where do the buyers come from? Well, most assume if you hire Joe Agent, they must have a bucket full of buyers that they know and they will simply bring them over and sell the home: a pretty simple process, right?

If it’s so simple, then why does it sometimes seem to take so long to sell a home? Why does your agent never seem to show up with a buyer who actually buys your home? Why do buyers show up and say they won't buy your home because it only has 3 bedrooms and they need 4 bedrooms? Can’t they read? If there are so many open houses on my home why hasn't a buyer walked in and bought it already?

Anyone that has been in the real estate business for more than an hour will tell you if your home isn't sold, it is likely overpriced. With that being said, then why haven't the buyers written an offer at "their price"? Are you that owner that is sitting there wondering: “Why did I bother putting my home on the market only to deal with all of these hassles? Why can’t I just make a phone call to a few prominent agents in town and tell them to bring me an offer?

When I think back to my first day in Real Estate 25 years ago, I actually assumed that buyers just showed up at the office looking for a home. Coming from the retail jewelry business, that is exactly who I sold jewelry to: people who showed up at the store. Well, after about 8 hours in the business staring at the front door of the office, I realized nearly no one walks into the office looking for a home. I quickly learned if I ever intended to represent a buyer or seller then I had to figure out how to go find my own client.

I asked my manager at the time “where do buyers come from?” and he said, "Ed, hit the streets". I said, "what do you mean"? He said, “pick a street, knock on the door and ask them if they would like to buy or sell a home.” I said, “Won’t they get mad?” He went on to tell ne that some do, but if you smile and are polite, (and they don't own a gun or a German Shepherd,) you will be just fine. I spent the next 10 years of my career following his advice. With only two dog bites, one angry bird incident and, fortunately, no gunshot wounds, it ended up being a great way to find new clients.

This was, of course, before the internet; before cell phones or even fax machines were used. When we agents talked about marketing to find a buyer for our listing, the plan was this: a 2 line ad in the newspaper, a sign in the front lawn, and a Sunday open house. Life was simpler for sure.

Classic Realtor Marketing, in a different era, circa 1994 . . . (yes, that's me at age 12)

Fast forward to my 25th year in the business and the buzz is all about Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Google. Buyers are no longer coming from just around the corner. They are coming from every corner of the Earth. Finding them brings a whole new set of challenges. A bulk of them (62%, per the National Association of Realtors) found the home they bought through agent and broker branding. This really points to agents doing their job finding buyers on their own and bringing them to the properties that are for sale. Surprisingly, only 1% of homes sold were originally discovered from an open house a buyer visited. The balance comes from a variety of sources including, but not limited, to relocation services (similar to SportStar Relocation), print advertisements, the MLS systems, and For Sale signs.

Knowing that 62% of the buyers are going to be sourced through a broker’s diligence, it is also important to know that a majority of those buyers will not likely be working specifically with the agent you hire to market your home. A listing agent’s ability to market to the agents in the area becomes as critical to the marketing process as anything they do in their plan for your home.

Reaching beyond the walls of local agents and local buyers is where creativity and effort becomes necessary. Whether buyers are coming from 25 miles away, 2,500 miles away or from the other side of the globe, it takes diligence and skill to attract their eyes. With millions of internet sites syndicating your listing automatically, it continually becomes a challenge to direct and focus those buyer’s eyes on your own home or listings. In addition, the demographics of today's buyers run the complete gambit. Surprisingly, we are seeing more buyers are under 30 years old with the means to buy a home worth millions. There are buyers, 30-50 years old, and others who are in their twilight years. Knowing how to get a listing in front of all of these buyers, while simultaneously appealing to each generation, is of the utmost importance.

Today there is no question that quality and quantity of property photos online is critical. No matter the generation identifier, buyers spend hours doing research online and the more an agent can offer them up front, the better. Reaching the international market is certainly the hot topic of today. Providing excellent online content to those international Real Estate investors and buyers relocating to the States from overseas is the critical first step to garnering their interest.

Staying ahead of the game, be it via technology or otherwise, is imperative to finding the best buyers in the market. Just last week our team implemented a new “flying camera” to capture a Birdseye view of a large estate home, offering a view that could not be captured from the ground. The video camera is literally attached to a remote control Quiet-Copter™* to ensure that buyers get a full perspective of our inventory from the comfort of their own computer or handheld device on-the-run.

What is the real answer to where buyers come from? Here, there and everywhere. If you are selling, be sure you have a full service agent who has a plan to reach them all if maximizing your price is important to you.

310-798-1277/ EK@ItzSold.com

*View the Quiet-Copter in action as filmed by Hoverfly Studios

Quiet-Copter is manufactured, owned and operated by Hoverfly Studios, based right here in the South Bay.

Manhattan Beach-Beach Cities: 2012 Real Estate Market .. The year ahead

For the last few years I have shared my thoughts about where I thought the market was headed each year... and this year is no exception. Making predictions is easy, the difficult part is finding out close your ideas were to reality.

Last year I thought the market would be very similar to the one in 2009 and I was fairly accurate. Truthfully I don't see much change in 2012. I believe sales will continue to be slow but steady and prices will be flat with a few sub markets markets declining and a few showing increases in value. .

Nationally the economy appears to be growing. The final numbers won't be available for a few more weeks. Retailers and others are counting on a strong surge in spending in recent weeks as an indication that we are moving forward. California's unemployment rate dipped to 11.7% in recent weeks which is still very high but at least it is finally moving in the right direction. Nationally the rate dropped to 8.6%. Whether the trend continues down is another issue that all the Presidential candidates will discuss at length I'm sure.

Unfortunately there are issues that will affect our economy over the coming months. Just as we were beginning to see a measure of stability in our country the European nations are showing signs of real problems. China is also facing economic problems. As our major creditor this could have an effect on our economic progress. Like it or not we have become a global economy.

The Government says the problems faced by the ongoing housing crisis are a high priority but new Federal regulations and guidelines add to the problems. What Bozo thought that adding a tax on mortgages for 10 years to fund the "payroll tax cut" for 2 months was a smart idea. All we need is more of that brilliant thinking to make sure the housing market continues to flounder.





Manhattan Beach-Beach Cities Real Estate...

The final sale numbers won't be in until next week but it looks as if the number of sales in Manhattan Beach and South Redondo increased while they decreased in Hermosa Beach, El Segundo and North Redondo. If the traffic at the local Malls was any indication of how people were viewing the economy... things are looking up. The Neptunian Womans Club Gift Wrap station at The Manhattan Village Mall was busier than it has been for the last 4 years.

Our local real estate market saw an increase in the number of distressed ( foreclosure, short sales and pre-foreclosure) property sales in all the Beach Cities. Manhattan Beach had the least with about 10% distressed sales and North Redondo saw the highest with 21% of closed sales.

In October the conforming loan amount officially declined from $729,750 to $625,500. The change didn't take effect until October but lenders stopped making loans at the higher amount around the end of August. While the decrease didn't really affect Manhattan Beach it definitely had an effect on the other Beach Cities. I don't believe it is a coincidence that prices on short sale townhomes in North Redondo dropped significantly at the same time.

I don't think we will see a major change in most of the South Bay real estate markets in 2012 from 2011. Prices will bounce around as buyers remain cautious. Manhattan Beach home prices have been the most stable of all the Beach Cities. I believe that trend will continue. North Redondo will likely be plagued by short sales that will push the market down a bit. Hermosa Beach, South Redondo and El Segundo may well see an uptick in short sales as lenders decide it might be more prudent to clear their books rather than continuing to delay the inevitable.

If interest rates remain stable you could see an increase in entry level prices in Manhattan Beach. This will hold true if more builders decide to take the plunge and start buying lots. I know of a number of agents who are actively looking for buildable lots and fixers in Manhattan Beach. I don't think you will see much new construction in the other Beach Cities for awhile although there have been a few new projects in North Redondo.

Obtaining a new loan continues to be difficult. property prices in the South bay-beach Cities remain high despite the declines in value. many entry level properties will require Jumbo loans with the drop in conforming loan rates. New FHA limits will help buyers but many of their rules discourage folks who don't want to pay the upfront fees required by FHA.. Refinancing your home can take months. Appraisal issues haven't gone away as out of area appraisers are used by many lenders even though there have been changes to the original law.


While overall Manhattan Beach and the Beach Cities have had fewer problems than many other communities in LA County we are at the mercy of conditions we have no control over. Many homeowners have been holding on with a tenuous grip as the economy has remained precarious for longer than expected. Some good news in the economy would be a welcome sign for everyone.