So I’m running into my spinning class at the gym in order to get a bike next to Betsy, who sources tell me is thinking of putting her house on the market, but I find her surrounded by three other Realtors; so much for my networking prowess. I grab the bike behind her and already I’m hearing these Realtors hitting on my client. OK, she’s not my client…yet…but I was visualizing. Betsy’s real nice, in her mid 50’s and the best spinner in the class cause she spends half her life in the gym and she’s been a gym buddy over the years. I can get you a market analysis this afternoon, would 2 o’clock or 4 be good for you, says one agent while wiping sweat off her brow with a wet towel. Very original, I’m thinking. You can do it people!, yells Alice the torture instructor, as I call her, while the... 02/18/2009

So I’m walking my dogs and I get a call. I’d like to ask you some questions about your Artesia listing, the realtor says. I answer, what would you like to know? She says, well, how many bedrooms does it have? I say, don’t you have the mls listing? I lost it and I’m in a hurry, she answers gruffly. OK…well I hate to say this but one of the dogs just pooped and I have to pick it up…can you hang on? This is ridiculous, she blurts out, I’m in a hurry! Just hang on, I plead. Moments later, I’m back and I tell her it has 2 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths. What color is the master bedroom, she asks with what I can only image is a straight face. What! Are you serious? My clients hate mauve, she responds. Well…I hate to say this but…my other dog pooped. But I need to ask you more questions, she says in a... 02/16/2009

Amid all the hoopla about the $7500..nope $15,00... make that an $8,000 tax credit... there was almost no mention about reinstating the hybrid conforming loan limits back to $729,750 from $625,000. This is good news for South Bay-Beach home buyers and owners who want to refinance existing loans.The final tax credit will have a limited impact on our market because of limits on income and local home prices. Increasing the conforming loan limits however will have an impact on our Beach Cities real estate markets. Last year in the short time frame these loans existed(July-Nov.), a number of buyers took advantage of them. While the rates on these loans are slightly higher then rates on loans under $417,000 they are usually considerably lower then those on Jumbo loans... and much easier to o... 02/16/2009

For the past month I have changed my exercise routine from 100% cardio to Hot Yoga.  It is yoga in a 105 degree room with 40% humidity.  The warmth of the room causes profuse sweating allowing the body to release toxins and increase its flexability.  There are 26 postures of deep stretching, 2 breathing exercises and the class is 90 minutes.  I am so addicted!  The Instructors at the Manhattan Beach Studio are "THE BEST". I have been going every other day and have immediately recognized a change.   I am a newbie, please share your experience. Are you familiar? have you tried it? What do you think?   02/15/2009

The number of short sales and bank owned homescontinue to rise in January with 12 homes now active on the MLS.  The homes are almost all single family with the townhome at 311 Aviation Place being the exception.  While Manhattan and Hermosa have been fairly immune to the foreclosure market in the past the difficulty of obtaining jumbo loans has made for a slow market and price reductions.  See below to view the current distressed properties in Manhattan Beach.   Keith Kyle is a licensed Realtor and e-Pro with South Bay Brokers in Manhattan Beach.  He serves his clients throughout the South Bay and his websites KeithKyleHomes.com and FindYourSouthBayHome.comoffer the most comprehensive real estate websites in the South Bay with free MLS access, current home listings, open houses, recent ... 02/14/2009

My Clients are and how. My clients are leaving me much needed gratuity in this market and that makes the long days and grueling hours more bearable. Unfortunately, our personal life and families are suffering right now but this is the life if you want to make ends meet. I am finally seeing a light in the end of the tunnel. The trick is finding a niche in this market that my fellow realtors is just luck and law of persistence. How many times have you heard the saying lately that you have to work 5 times harder in this market to make the same money? I said it and then I was shocked to hear it this week 3 more times. So what do you do? Well, anyone who is a buyer/seller or Landlord/Tenant these days see how hard we are working for them. I have never had more thank you's and compliments abo... 02/09/2009

So I'm on brokers open houses this past Friday and it's time to have a looksee at a $10 mil house in the ritzy Hill Section of Manhattan Beach...my favorite fantasy dream house...and this house was great!; large, modern indoor/outdoor living with panoramic views of the Pacific to dye for. I'm walking around in my socks (shouldn't streak that gorgeous expensive wood floor), stuffing my face with a gourmet sandwich, imagining my being the suave head of the house. That sandwich is melting in my mouth as I walk down the wooden steps, WHEN NEXT THING I KNOW I'm sliding down stair after wooden stair on my side and landing flat on my ass with the sandwich extending upright in my mouth. You OK?, everybody's asking. Wawawawa, I say because I'm in shock and just lying there frozen with that damne... 02/08/2009

Will $15K make a difference to home sales in the South Bay-Beach Cities of Los Angeles County? The U.S. Senate in an effort to customize their version of the Bailout Bill and add a few more perks the House missed, voted to give home buyers a credit of 10% of the sale price or a maximum of $15,000 on a home purchase. Of course the bill is not actually a done deal... It has to go back to The House and then be signed by The President before it takes effect. Right now I'm guessing the bill will be changed along the way and won't be ready for consumers anytime soon... if ever. Unlike the previous version of a $7500 tax credit that must be paid back..the new bill will not require buyers to reimburse the government...ie taxpayers... for the money. I understand the idea behind the bill but onc... 02/06/2009

If you caught the LA Times article about Million Dollar home sales in CA you know that in 2008 Manhattan Beach had more home sales over one million then any other community in the state. There were 296 sales in Manhattan Beach of homes above $1M in 2008 . While that probably makes most Manhattan Beach homeowners happy as an indication that values didn't take a complete nosedive... the information also points out that 2008 numbers were down considerably from the 403 homes that sold in 2007. So far this year that trend seems to be continuing with closed sales in January 2009 of 7 homes and 2 townhomes...ouch! None of this information is surprising if you are buying or selling a home in Manhattan Beach or any of the Beach Cities. Sellers are trying to figure out the magic number that will... 02/05/2009

Leadership Manhattan Beach Now Recruiting Class of 2011!! Leadership Manhattan Beach Now Recruiting Class of 2011! Leadership Manhattan Beach is the premier leadership training program in the region for mid-level and high-level professionals. It provides comprehensive training through interaction with the community's top leadership, experiential learning opportunities and community-service team projects. The nine-month program identifies people of promise, familiarizes them with community issues and services and develops their leadership skills to prepare them for prominent business, cultural and political roles. The 2011 class will begin in September '10 and end in May '11.  Sessions include history, civic identity and the arts; government; education; quality of life; business and econ... 02/03/2009

So this morning I'm sitting there in a room full of fellow Realtors in our Manhattan Beach office conference room trying to keep up with this sharp, fast talking loan broker holding court about the ins and outs of present day loans. He says that generally most banks want a tremendous amount of documentation, need to see a years worth of mortgage payments in the bank and these days they pick appraisers from some list instead of local, more appropriate appraisers. Being the social animal that I am I chime in, these days appraisals are not a problem. That’s all I said. You could hear a pin drop for what seemed like several hours and the broker turns to me with this quizzical look. I’m terrified, something’s wrong! I look around to see an uncomfortable smile slowly forming on my fellow Real... 01/30/2009

The Jews, of which I am one, developed this weird language in late 1800's Europe called Yiddish, which is spoken in a strange dialect of German but written in Hebrew. It is such an expressive language that many of its words have made it into the American lexicon, propagated mainly by Jewish comedians. So when I say this buyer had real "chutzpah" I mean he had the gull or the audacity to low ball me that much! The house is listed for 2mil, he originally made an offer for 1.7 and was ooched up to 1.75 but my seller held out for 1.775. He walked away. About 2 weeks later I get an offer for 1.75 from another buyer and my seller is tired of the game and is ready to be real. So I call the first buyer's agent and tell him about the offer and that the seller is ready to swim and maybe his buyer... 01/27/2009

IMMEDIATE RELEASE! Seeking seasoned agents (30-50 deals experience) for multiple positions available in both the regular real estate & auction divisions within our company. Looking for mutliple Real Estate agents, currently licensed & with experience (at least 30-50 transactions closed), for different positions within my regular real estate division operating under Shorewood Realtors ( http://www.ItzSold.com ) and/or my auction division (http://Premiere Estates Auction Company), both based in Manhattan Beach, CA. Interested parties should contact me via email and should provide a current resume, including transaction history. EK@ itzsold.com or fax to 310-798-8883. 01/23/2009

It wasn't long ago that homes on The Strand never even made it to market.  They would often sell before actually being listed as the demand has always been so high and the supply is certainly limited.  The Strand is the ocean front strip of homes that stretches from El Porto in North Manhattan Beach to the very end of Hermosa.  As ocean front land is always at such a premium there are rarely homes for sale.  That has certainly changed in recent months.  At the moment there are 13 homes for sale with 8 being single family homes, 1 townhome, 3 hotel condo rooms at the Beach House, and one multi unit income property.  In addition there are 3 homes currently for sale that have not been brought onto the market at this point.  The most expensive home (on market) is $13.9M with the lowest bein... 01/20/2009

Results for December put a cap on what was a very tough year for home sellers in Manhattan Beach. According to the South Bay Association of Realtor there were only 14 home sales (single family homes, condos/townhomes, and residential income) for the month of December the exact same number of homes sold in January. Despite the overall tough market December did show some signs of life. The average price of a sold home actually increased .6% from the start of the year. More telling the percentage of sale price to original list price increased from 91% in January to 96% in December. For the complete Manhattan Beach market analyis go to Manhattan Beach Real Estate Market Recap for 2008. 01/13/2009

Today is January 13th. There are currently 5 homes for sale in the Manhattan Village. Here is what the market has been doing in Manhattan Village over the last year:   Date 10/07 11/07 12/07 1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08 For Sale 5 4 6 7 6 5 8 9 8 12 10 11 9 7 5 Sold 3 4 2 0 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 Pended 4 2 0 1 3 2 0 4 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 Months of Inventory based on Closed Sales 1.7 1.0 3.0 n/a 6.0 2.5 2.7 4.5 4.0 n/a n/a 5.5 9.0 n/a n/a Months of Inventory based on Pended Sales 1.3 2.0 n/a 7.0 2.0 2.5 n/a 2.3 n/a n/a 10.0 5.5 n/a 3.5 n/a Avg. Active Price 1506 1074 1266 1192 1356 1347 1226 1321 1318 1133 1086 1128 1080 965 954 Avg. Sld Price 1620 1304 1010 0 1350 1380 1481 1305 1092 0 0 814 1240 0 0 Avg. Sq. Ft. Price 638 684 579 0 570 675 659 647 528 0 0 55... 01/13/2009

In just a few hours 2008 will be gone. I don't think many will be sad to see it go. No one has escaped unscathed from the financial and economic turmoil of 2008. Our local Manhattan Beach-Beach Cities real estate market has certainly been adversely affected by the disruption to the economy. While we have fared better then other communities in Southern California we have not escaped the problems that affect California real estate. In our little slice of Paradise prices are down in all the Beach Cities and sales volume is lower then last year at this time. Interest rates have dropped, but jumbo loans( $625,000+), with few exceptions, are still at high interest rates when compared to overall rates. This is a real problem in our Manhattan Beach-Beach Cities real estate market with median p... 12/31/2008

While the real estate market around the country may be taking a hit, home values along the coast of the South Bay is almost as stable as ever.  The "sand" section of Manhattan Beach has remained particularly strong as oceanview and oceanfront homes that are walkable to the beach are always in demand.  Home prices in the sand section (see map) are reaching unbelievable highs with full lot walkstreets in the 3-6 million dollar range, depending on age, condition and view.                       Typical 1/2 Lot El Porto Home                                             Some Stunning Ocean Views While these homes are out of reach for most South Bay buyers, there is an area of Manhattan Beach that offers far more reasonable prices.  The area is known as "north" Manhattan, although it's more fam... 12/30/2008

The real estate market in Manhattan Beach remains very strong compared with some surrounding areas, but it appears as though the number of short sales and notice of default filings has been rising and there are now 10 distressed homes listed on the South Bay MLS.  This increase in bank owned and short sale homes should provide some opportunities for home buyers in the area. Click on the links below to see pictures and descriptions.  MLS # Type Address Price Br/Ba Year Sqft Lot Sqft F1792864 Short Sale 432 24TH St $1,199,888 2/2.00 1995 1768 1350 S08087696 Short Sale 465 30th St $2,200,000 5/6.00 2002 3357 2700 S08161735 Short Sale 1733 Elm Av $850,000 3/2.00 1950 1323 4480 S08142361 Short Sale 3109 Laurel Av $1,199,000 2/2.00 1953 1024 4322 S08119772 Short Sale 1608 Poinsettia Av $1,699... 12/16/2008

Holiday Lights and Spectacular fireworks! Thank you to the community of Manhattan Beach for such a great evening out! The Manhattan Beach Holiday Fireworks Festival is held at the Pier every year in December. This year they had the Skechers Snow Park which was set to a wonderful backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and a Decadent sunset. From a penthouse patio we stood awe-struck under the full glory of magestic fireworks! By the light of the display we could see the white-cresting waves, other onlookers with their neon light glow sticks and a sail boat. Ah! Winter by the Beach. We attended a Holiday Party hosted by the Panache Team http://www.panachetech.com/ With our gracious host we shared some cheer from Vino 100! Visit http://www.vino100valencia.com/To learn more about Manhattan Beach htt... 12/14/2008