Manhattan Strand Homes Update - 3/2/10 Yesterday I wrote about the recent home sales activity on the Hermosa Beach strand.  Inventory is strong and with 12 sales over the last couple of years, the market appears to be quite active.  Interestingly, there have been fewer homes sold on the Manhattan strand over this same period even though there are 50 or more strand properties in Manhattan Beach over Hermosa Beach.  In fact, there have only been five closings here since the beginning of 2008 with an additional couple of homes in escrow as of this writing.  The prices of the closed sales ranged from $4,700,000 to $9,000,000.  The two homes in escrow have been sold for under $8,000,000.  The high-end strand market is clearly showing signs of renewed life.The home pictured above at 1600 The ... 03/02/2010

Whether you're actively looking for Manhattan Beach real estate, like to spend your weekends looking at homes, or just want to take a peek inside your neighbors home, there is a lot to choose from this weekend with over 60 homes, townhomes and condos available to see.  If you're interested in Hermosa, Redondo, Torrance and other neighboring cities click to see the weekly South Bay open house list. Day Time Address Details Price Sun. 1-4 1421 12th St. #4 2 BD, 3 BA, Townhouse.Low HOA'S,Great Loc. $669,000 Sun. 2-4 2900 Oak Ave. 3 BD, 1 BA,Tree Section $849,000 Sun. 1-4 131 Kelp 2 BD,2 BA, Steps to the beacchMove in Condition $899,000 Sun. 1-4 919 Johnson St. 3 BD, 2.5 BA,2,700+ sq. ft. $935,000 Sun. 2-4 200 Gull 3 BD, 2 BA, View,Guest Quarters $959,000 Sun. 1-4 932 Man. Bch. Blvd. #B 3 B... 02/24/2010

South Bay Homes Market Update for the Week of 2/14/2010 The inventory of homes in the South Bay continued to grow for the period of 2/12/10 through 2/18/10.  Another 55 homes of all types were added to the market for sale and of these, 35 are single family homes.  This is commensurate to the increase of last week and is outpacing the sales rate for homes here.  There were 44 sales this past week, down from 69 the week before.  The total number of closings also retreated this past week to 20, down from 23.  For the year-to-date closings, the number hit 210.  This is way up from 124 last year and 115 the prior year.  The other good news in this period is that the median sales price has bounced up to $850,000 from $750,000 last year.  There is still a large gap, however, between the curren... 02/18/2010

Updated foreclosures in 90266 through 2/18/2010   Here is a list of homes in various stages of foreclosure in Manhattan Beach.   Foreclosure activity in 90266 96 Highland Ave 621 27th Street 501 4th Street     For information on how I can help you with all of your real estate needs, please contact me at 310.989.4466 or chamb@earthlink.net   www.RebeccaChambliss.com   02/18/2010

90266 Foreclosure Updates 1/9/2010 - 2/4/2010 Here are some homes in various stages of foreclosure in Manhattan Beach. 90266 425 35th Place #1 529 18th Street 2612 N Poinsettia Ave 29 Coronado Court 424 6th Street 640 Manhattan Beach Blvd #6 2512 Alma Avenue   For information on how I can help you with all of your real estate needs, please contact me at 310.989.4466 or chamb@earthlink.net   www.RebeccaChambliss.com   02/04/2010

Manhattan Beach Home Sales in January 2010 This year is starting with a bang as far as home sales go in Manhattan Beach.  There were 30 completed sales of homes of all types in this past month compared to only 13 the same month last year and 12 the year before that.  In addition, the median sales price for these homes was $1,422,000 compared to $1,324,000 last year.  By pretty much any standard, this is an impressive start for Manhattan Beach home sales this year. The least expensive home sold in Manhattan Beach in January was a townhome near Mira Costa for $630,000.  The most expensive sale was a single family home a block from the beach in the sand section that went for $3,300,000.  Last year the lowest price paid in January was $525,000 for a townhome near Polliwog Park.  The highest... 02/02/2010

Manhattan Beach Strand Home Sales It has been some time since I sold my home on the Manhattan Beach strand, but the memories from this fantastic experience carry on brilliantly.  There are probably 270 or so strand homes here and over the past ten years, at least 45 of them have had a change in ownership.  This is a turnover rate that is consistent with the rest of Manhattan Beach, especially over the last few years.  The highest price paid over this past decade for a home here was $10,700,000 back in 2007.  It is the only home to have sold for over $10,000,000 on the strand in Manhattan Beach that I am aware of.  Time and time again we hear how about much more difficult it is to secure financing for real estate and certainly for the super luxury homes.  It is with this backdrop in mind... 01/25/2010

Manhattan Beach Homes During the Rains Yesterday I took the opportunity to do a sand run on Manhattan Beach as the storms were subsiding.  The beach looked battered from getting pounded for several consecutive days with heavy rains (relatively speaking of course).  It doesn't happen all that often here.  I had my phone with me and took some pictures of the beach and a few strand homes along the way. Our beaches are usually groomed so it is shocking to see them like this.  I realize there are many areas were weather has had a far more severe impact and that little damage was done here.  I am sharing this for folks who have had the opportunity to be on Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach over the years and can appreciate the contrast from the summer months.  At the same time, I thought it mi... 01/23/2010

Manhattan Beach Liberty Village Home Sales in 2009 The area surrounding Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach is known as Manhattan Heights/Liberty Village in local real estate parlance.  Single family home values here have done well over the course of the past decade.  Back in 2000, the median sales price was $525 K and had been steadily increasing through last year when it was just under $900 K.  The number of sales here, as has been the case in the vast majority of sub-areas in the South Bay, has dropped by half from the peak here in 2000.  What is interesting in Manhattan Heights and Liberty Village is that the number of sales jumped 50 percent from 2008 to last year while the median sales price slid by about six percent.  The challenge will be to maintain this sales momentum through the... 01/19/2010

Manhattan Beach Village Home Sales in 2009 The city of Manhattan Beach consists of six different sub-areas in the world of the real estate multiple listing services.  Each of these areas has clear distinctions that make them unique from the others.  The Manhattan Village area is the only fully gated community in Manhattan Beach.  Also, unlike the other areas in Manhattan Beach, the Village has far more townhomes than single family homes.  In fact, there are more than four times as many townhomes.  Back in 2000, it was one of the more exclusive areas to live.  The Village area was the second most expensive area in all of the beach cities to buy a home and the sixth in the South Bay when you add the cities on the Palos Verdes peninsula.  This past decade has seen a shift occur in the Sout... 01/18/2010

Manhattan Beach Mira Costa Home Sales in 2009 The Mira Costa section of Manhattan Beach is one of several areas in the South Bay that have seen an increase in the number of single family homes sold in 2009 from 2008.  Yet at the same time, the median sales price dropped by 20 percent from the previous year.  What is interesting about this is that the median sales prices for the years 2006 through 2008 were within striking distance of each other and so the 20 percent drop in price more or less represents the decline in value from the peak year of 2006.  The current median sales price is $1.35 M, up significantly from the beginning of the decade when it was $835 K.  Given that there are only a handful of single family homes in escrow at this writing and that the current active inventory i... 01/16/2010

Manhattan Beach Hill Section Home Sales in 2009 There are two sub-areas of the South Bay that really stand out when it comes to exclusivity based on home values.  Rolling Hills is one of them as it has been the most expensive area to buy for the vast majority of the past 10 years.  The other one, the Hill section of Manhattan Beach, has been gaining ground with higher appreciation rates over the years and had even enjoyed one year at the top of the most expensive area to buy list.  This past year they essentially had the same median sales price.  The Hill section, however, appears to have greater momentum moving into 2010 and may very well see sales prices recover to their peak of a few years ago a year or two before Rolling Hills does. Sales in both areas have halved from the stellar y... 01/15/2010

Manhattan Beach Sand Section Home Sales in 2009 Not surprisingly, the value of single family homes in the sand section of Manhattan Beach has more than doubled over the past decade.  There have been a number of compelling changes to the scene here during this time.  The most notable may very well be the build-out of the old Metlox property, which now includes a number of highly popular restaurants, lounges, and shopping venues.  This growth and development has rejuvenated the downtown Manhattan Beach area and helped bolster the values of the homes here.  Unfortunately, the credit market crash of 2007 clobbered every city and Manhattan Beach was no exception.  The sand section, however, has recovered better than all but only one or two other areas in the South Bay.  The median sales pric... 01/15/2010

Manhattan Beach Tree Section Home Sales in 2009 This past year has been a tough one for home sales in the Tree section of Manhattan Beach.  In fact, the word tough may actually be sugar-coating it.  There are 34 sub-areas in the South Bay when this region is defined as the three beach cities and the primary cities of the Palos Verdes peninsula.  Only a handful of these sub-areas had a decrease in the number of single family homes sold from 2008 to 2009.  The Tree section not only had a drop in sales, but the number of sales fell sharply by over 20 percent.  Median sales prices fell by a similar percentage.  To put this into a broader context, the strongest year for home sales in the Tree section was back in 2002, as it was for most areas in the South Bay.  Whereas most areas had sales i... 01/14/2010

Updated foreclosures in Manhattan Beach for 12/28/2009 to 1/8/2009.   If you have been following the foreclosures I have been posting for the past month or so, I have added to the list!  Don't forget...if you would like to see the long list of foreclosures in Manhattan Beach, read my earlier blogs.   Manhattan Beach foreclosures 606 N Ardmore Ave, 90266   For information on how I can help you with all of your real estate needs, please contact me at 310.989.4466 or chamb@earthlink.net.   You can also visit my website at www.RebeccaChambliss.com 01/08/2010

  If you're interested in starting off 2010 by looking for a home and wanted to take advantage of this weeks Manhattan Beach open houses take a look below to see this weeks open houses. Other links of interest: This weeks South Bay open houses Recent Manhattan Beach home sales Current Manhattan Beach home listings Day Time Address Description Price Sat. & Sun. 1-4 1421 12th St. #4 2 BD, 3 BA, Townhome.Low HOA's $669,000 Sun. 1-4 919 Johnson St. 3 BD, 2.5 BA,Reduced Price $935,000 Sun. 2-4 105 Crest Dr. 3 BD, 3.5 BA,Ocean view Townhome. $1,395,000 Sun. 2-4 4321 Crest Dr. #A 3 BD, 2.5 BA, White,Water Ocean Views $1,499,000 Sun. 1-4 225 20th Pl. 3 BD, 3 BA $1,585,000 Sat. & Sun. 12-4 3611 Vista Ln. 4 BD, 3.5 BA,Malibu views $1,599,000 Sun. 2-4 4320 Highland Ave. #C 3 BD, 2.5 BA, White,Wate... 01/01/2010

As the 2009 year winds down, we are still seeing activity in foreclosures in the area. I have updates on some homes in one of the three stages of foreclosure updated as of 12/15/2009. This home is in Preforeclosure and the owners may be looking to short sale. There may be others coming onto the market soon. For information on how I can help you with all of your real estate needs, please contact me at 310.989.4466 or chamb@earthlink.net! You can also visit my website at www.RebeccaChambliss.com   90266 Manhattan Beach Foreclosures 900 N Dianthus Street, Manhattan Beach     12/29/2009

Earlier this month, Manhattan Beach City Council delivered the verdict regarding undergrounding utilities in the proposed District 13. After 5 years of getting signed petitions and cost assessments, those who were in favor of replacing overhead lines with underground lines were very disappointed to hear City Council dissolve District 13 with the 3-2 vote. So what were the reasons for shooting down such an investment? Well the major downturn was the fact that the original 2006 cost of the project, approximately $3.6M, turned into $6.67M by 2009 due to inaccurate measurements for the required trenching. After the new estimated costs were presented, City Council decided they were not going to allow the project to continue. Good idea or bad idea? The Pros vs the Cons: Underground utilities ... 12/23/2009

The Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers of 2009 In 2006 Joe Ferrara and Rudy Bachraty , when blogging was just beginning, decided to name the Top 10 Women Real Estate Bloggers for 2006.  In 2007  and 2008 the list grew to 12 Women.  These women are chosen from all over the United States.  It is an amazing honor to be part of this special group of women.This year I am so excited to be among the 12 Top Women Real Estate Bloggers in the United States.   Truthfully, I am still stunned and thrilled to be chosen along with  these 11  amazing Women Real Estate Bloggers: Colleen Kulikowski Buffalo New York   Mary Pope-Handy in the Silicon Valley  Dru Bloomfield from Scottsdale AZ  Diane Guercio founder of The TwitterQueens, Amy Chorew truly a Tech Queen  Jessica Riffle Edwards from Wilmington Nor... 12/23/2009

Manhattan Beach is one of the most popular beach cities here in Southern California and is known for its prime residential real estate. Manhattan Beach offers a ton of activities for residents and visitors….volleyball, surfing, and trips to the aquarium. And for those who need to be close to the Hollywood film action, Manhattan Beach is also home to a few film studios. Manhattan Beach is a great place to explore when it comes to buying homes. Because everyone is looking for a bargain home these days, I added a Manhattan Beach list of homes in foreclosure. These opportunities could have great potential for anyone looking to move to Manhattan Beach or looking to buy an investment property. For information on how I can help you with all of your real estate needs, please contact me at 310.9... 12/21/2009