Hermosa Beach Sand Section Homes. There have been a lot of stories in the media about the California real estate market this week. Headlines scream.. number of sales down 34%.. (courtesy of the LA Times on June 14, 2007) However the question is.. did the volume of sales really fall that much and if they did.. is this a national or a local phenomena.. With that in mind, I decided to track the number of sales in Manhattan Beach and North Redondo every May from 2000-2007. May is historically the month that is usually in transition from the hot Spring months to the slower Summer months. I used Manhattan and North Redondo as these two cities represent the highest and lowest priced markets in the Beach Cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach , Redondo beach and El Segundo.So.. here are the f... 06/16/2007

Lots of stories in the news about falling home sales and growing foreclosures. Some stories point to the downfall of the housing market while others seem to view things with a more local perspective. Dan Green in his blog The Mortgage Reports has an interesting take on the cities that RealtyTractnoted as the largest areas of foreclosures in Ca. Peter Viles in his real estate blog at the LA Times looks at the California foreclosure market as well as the drop in sales and the rise in prices in Los Angeles County. Meanwhile Dr. Susan Wachter, a Professor of Real Estate, at the Wharton School of Business has another take in her report.. What Homebuyers Pay.. What Everyone Should Know. She sees buyers getting smarter and taking out fixed rate mortgages instead of adjustable and another tren... 06/14/2007

   The market is showing signs of slowing down a bit... which is normal for this time of year. As the school year ends people start planning vacations and house hunting becomes less intense then during the Spring. Inventory has increased slightly over the last month, sales and pendings have slowed but as a market trend prices are holding fairly steady.. rising a little everywhere except east of Sepulveda in Mira Costa( area 47) . The number of homes for sale in the $4,000,000 plus category has increased from 2 to 7 .. two are on walkstreets and 5 are in the Hill section.Single family homes and townhomes in the Sand section (area42) are still moving faster then in other areas. Inventory in the trees has increased but sales are down a bit.. which may be because the market over $2,100,000 ... 06/02/2007

  April sales were a bit less then March for most of the Southern California South Bay Beach Cities  with the exception of Manhattan Beach which had 6 fewer single family closed sales and 7 more townhome sales.  Pending sales in all cities are close to the same number as closed sales.  Days on Market is shorter then last year at this time.  The market continues to be stable with no highs or lows and inventory remains lower then the same period last year.  Buyers are cautiously beginning to write offers.  I think part of the reason is that rents are continuing to climb in the South Bay.  Another reason may be that the market has been relatively stable in the last 5 months. To find out  what has been happening and get more detailed information .. Go to Manhattan Beach and all South Bay Be... 05/18/2007

 I’ve been sending out some of the nice selections locally to a picky market. Hard to figure. People seem to be very selective with no particular reason. Even 4-unit listings are beginning to make an appearance after it seems like a lifetime of sitting in the weeds. Buyers are simply finding it hard to make a buying decision these days. Even the rising prices, and euro’s 36% addition to the dollar have been less detering for US buyers in France, than the attitude created by our mystical press locally. Poor loan availability is understandable...it should have been this way all along. Mortgages rates are very attractive and prices are only slowly making upward drifting in most cases; in some, they’re drifting down a tad. In all, nothing dramatic has actually come cruising into the real es... 05/17/2007

  Contrary to all the predictions Manhattan Beach,CA  real estate continues to move at an even pace.  A few days ago a gentleman questioned why I thought the market in Manhattan Beach appeared to be returning to a normal market.  I told him that it was because the local market seemed to be acting in a rational manner.. that is home prices were going up a little in some areas, down a bit in others while showing little movement in still other sectors. Most Buyers and Sellers have realized that prices aren't going to see huge increases or decreases but rather will continue to stay at a level pace.  There are currently 84 single Family Homes and 28 Townhomes/condos for sale. There are  48 single family homes and 19 townhomes/condos that are under contract (pending sale).   Since April 1, 20... 05/06/2007

  A  very nice thing happened to me a few days ago... I received an e-mail from Peter Viles who has started a real estate blog for the Los Angeles Times called LA Land  He  found me through AR and featured a link to my  post  Southern California:The Market That Won't Die on his blog.   Of course there was an immediate comment from Bakersfield Bubble  who I believe was calling for reinforcements.  I'm currently having an interesting  conversation with a gentleman named Howard in the comments part of that post here on AR.  I don't know if Howard is a friend of the Bakersfield Bubble author or if he  found  me by accident.  He also thinks I'm crazy and that the California housing market will soon fall into the abyss predicted by all Bubble bloggers and their followers.  I know I won't win ... 05/02/2007

  After reading  Lenn Harley's blog: What Do You Do When You're Blue and True.... and Find Youself in a Corner?  It occurred to me that maybe we should start giving Buyers a  Home Instruction Manual at the close of every sale .  I'm not talking about how to run the dishwasher or turn on the stove.... well that might be in a separate section.  I'm talking about what  buyers need to know if they are going to own a home.  Most buyers were renters before taking the leap to homeownership.  They paid their rent and never gave much thought to the place they called home. Many, fearing a rent hike, rarely let the landlord know when something wasn't working.  Others just didn't have a clue how things were supposed to work.  I had a tenant who never used the oven because he didn't know how to turn... 05/01/2007

  OK I'll admit it... I've been reading the Bubble Bloggers.  I periodically check out what they have to say to find out what people  supposedly outside the industry are thinking. I note that because for civilians many of them have a lot of information that can only come from a local MLS. I'm noting some major changes in the last 6-8 months on most of these blogs.  For one thing the authors have either gotten day jobs or don't have as much to say because the number and frequency of posts has declined on most sites.  The volume of readership has also decreased compared  last year when the media frenzy was at it's height predicting 30%-50% price declines. While we are still no good rotten greedy REALTORS® much of the really nasty rhetoric seems to have quieted down a bit. I did notice tha... 04/24/2007

  The lake and concert area at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach  Market Snapshot for Manhattan Beach CA  April 1-23, 2007.  Information is for Active, Pending and Sold properties.   This is the breakout by price range:Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot March 17, 2007Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot March 5, 2007Beach Cities Sold March 2007Beach Cities SOLD FebruaryBeach Cities SOLD JanuaryManhattan Beach MemoriesManhattan Beach: Take a Walk by the Sea All content copyright © 2007   Kaye Thomas   04/23/2007

 Take a TOUR of South Redondo.What's Happening in the Market?The South Bay/ Beach Cities home market is as unpredictable as ever. Headlines in newspapers and sound bytes in the media push the fallout in the sub prime loan market. Forecasts of thousands of foreclosures are being blasted eveywhere. Meanwhile in our little corner of the world people are buying without paying much attention to what's happening with sub prime loans.Will we feel some fall out from the sub prime debacle... probably. Will our market be devasted with huge numbers of foreclosures.. probably not.To find out why we seem to doing better then other areas in the State go to:  Manhattan Beach and all South Bay Beach Cities Real Estate Info to get the rest of the story. All content copyright © 2007   Kaye Thomas    04/20/2007

  What's wrong with this picture.. no sub prime loans, prices are not nose diving, inventory is declining and buyers are once more in multiple offer situations.  Guess it must be Spring in the Beach Cities. Here is the breakdown for available listings and number of sold properties in the Beach Cities:Manhattan Beach: Single Family Homes: 90Townhomes/condos: 29                   Sold:  60Hermosa Beach:Single Family Homes: 54Townhomes/condos: 48                   Sold: 27North Redondo:Single Family Homes: 56Townhomes/condos: 64                   Sold:  75South Redondo: Single Family Homes: 27townhomes/condos: 91                    Sold:  34El Segundo: Single Family Homes: 17Townhomes/condos: 9                    Sold: 20Inventory levels in most of the beach cities are half what they were ... 04/13/2007

      Back in the days of the dinosaurs.. when I started selling real estate .. people looked at buying a house a bit differently. First there were not 57 different varieties of loans.  You went for a fixed or an adjustable.  The adjustable was pretty simple.. it moved up or down, was tied to a fairly stable index and no negative amortization. Oh.. and you had to qualify for the loan.  Most people chose the fixed rate loan because they wanted to know what their payment would be over the long term.  If you hadn't saved much money or been a bit too free with those pesky credit cards then you took some personal responsibility.  I can't tell you how many people came in who wanted to buy but had to wait 6-24 months while they saved a little more toward a down payment or paid down the credit ... 04/10/2007

   I was listening to my favorite afternoon radio talk show yesterday.. John & Ken on KFI.  They were talking about an article in the LATimes about why residents in other states disliked Californians who moved into their states and changed things.  One of the biggies was how California transplants have influenced NO SMOKING laws in many states.  The other reason they are not happy about Californians moving into their areas is because they think we are responsible for higher real estate prices.  In some respects this is true... but there are simply not that many people from CA moving to every city in the United States to blame us for all rising real estate values. It may be convenient to blame us for everything that you don't like in your state but be reasonable we really aren't everywhe... 03/28/2007

It's impossible to talk about the history of Manhattan Beach without including the history of the Neptunian Woman's Club of Manhattan Beach.  Rumor has it that if  The Ladies of Manhattan Beach, as they were called by the local population, hadn't strongly whispered in their husbands ears  it would have taken much longer for the city to incorporate.  As it was Manhattan Beach was far behind their sister cities of Redondo and Hermosa in establishing a city.  The Neptunian Woman's Club of Manhattan Beach was formed in 1909 by 10 local women.  At that time the population was about 600 and there was not much in the way of social life.  The women got together to promote a library , a social group to improve life in Manhattan Beach and to get the city incorporated.  It wasn't until September 1... 03/20/2007

    Hermosa Beach tour February is not only a short month but usually also a slow one. There is a lot of property currently in escrow ( sale pending). We should see more action as properties close in March reflecting a 45-60 day escrow period. Here's a quick snapshot of home sales in the beach cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and El Segundo for February 1-28, 2007.  Keep your eye on next month's figures as inventory continues to declineand sales increase.  Here's an example... last year you couldn't give away a townhome in Manhattan Village and this year they are selling as soon as they hit the market.To find out how we did go to: Manhattan Beach and all South Bay Beach Cities Real Estate InfoAll content copyright © 2007   Kaye Thomas   03/19/2007

 Inventory is still low in Manahttan Beach compared to last year. Currently there are 93 homes for sale.  Well priced homes are selling within a week. Buyers are being choosy and if a home is not in good condition or is overpriced then buyers will continue to pass.  Here is how they break out based on price:$0-$1,000,000 ( 7 properties for sale )$1,000,000-$2,000,000 ( 36 properties for sale )$2,000,000-$3,000,000 ( 35 properties for sale )$3,000,000-$4,000,000 (13 properties for sale )$4,000,000 or more (2 properties for sale ) This is the break out by area:Sand Section ( Area 42) 19 homesTree Section (Area 43) 31 homesHill Section ( Area 44) 12 homesManhattan Village (Area 45) 1 homeManhattan Heights (Area 46) 8 homesMira Costa ( Area 47) 22 homes For more information on Manhattan Bea... 03/16/2007

  So far 2007 is a lot different from 2006. If you want to buy in Manhattan Beach you know that inventory is very low particularly  in the $2,000,000 or less range. There are only  87 single family homes for sale in Manhattan Beach and less then 20 condos. These are the stats for price for single family homes in Manhattan Beach:         $0-$1,000,000 ( 5 properties for sale )$1,000,000-$2,000,000 ( 31 properties for sale )$2,000,000-$3,000,000 ( 35 properties for sale )$3,000,000-$4,000,000 (13 properties for sale )$5,000,000 or more (3 properties for sale )  This is what is available in each neighborhood:Sand Section ( Area 42) 20 homesTree Section (Area 43) 29 homesHill Section ( Area 44) 9 homesManhattan Village (Area 45) 1 homeManhattan Heights (Area 46) 11 homesMira Costa ( Area 47... 03/05/2007

  On those mornings when I have way too much coffee my brain seems to turn in strange directions. Today is no exception. Inventory has really declined in Manhattan Beach  and in fact in all the Beach Cities.  So it occurred to me that maybe the reason inventory has gone down and people appear to be  buying is that there have been almost no negative articles on real estate in the last few months.  In fact when looking at the archives for our local South Bay newspaper.. The Daily Breeze the last really negative feature was on October 27, 2006.  In 45 articles on California home prices in The LA Times the last dismal  real estate sucks article  was October 12, 2006.  So I'm thinking that perhaps people pay a whole lot more attention to media news then we think and especially to negative me... 03/03/2007

Brian Brady  wrote a terrific piece You Can't Miss with this Real Estate(if you can afford it) about why some markets will always be high priced.  I think the South Bay Beach cities.... Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula should be added to his list.   The Donald has built a golf course on the hill and is selling luxury homes to his friends.  Can the beautiful people be far behind?   What's Malibu have that we don't?  Las Vegas... oh come on Brian.. all they have is money and showgirls.. We'll match our beach beauties with the best of them!  Why should Brian add us to his list?Well to find the answer to that question take a little stroll over to: Manhattan Beach and all South Bay Beach Cities   I think you will agree that the South Bay is a very ... 02/26/2007