August SOLD Beach Cities

To borrow from Bob Dylan "the times they are a-changing." South Bay Real Estate has moved to a Buyer's market; with the exception of luxury properties along the Strand, certain walkstreet locations and premium properties in the Hill Section, sales are slow and prices have leveled. Prime Beach, however, property will always command premium prices as there is a limited supply.
There are four or five articles each week about the downturn in the housing market. The headlines are big but the articles are often about the national market and not our local markets. In the Beach Cities what we are seeing, with a few exceptions, is prices leveling as opposed to major price decreases. Some sellers are still having a hard time accepting the fact that they can't just throw out a price and have 10 people bid to buy their home. This is not a market where you can list at a higher then market value to test the market. There is a lot of inventory available and buyers are looking for value. If you are well over the market price you will have few prospects viewing your home. It doesn't take long to be considered old in this market. There is just too much competition. Property needs to be priced right and in some cases slightly on the agressive side. In this market you want to make the market not chase it!
The Real Estate market is a changing one...prices go up, go down, stay stable and for those of us in the Beach Cities always seem to eventually go up to those who take on the challenge of homeownership.
As always the only sure thing about our Beach Cities market is that it is always changing!.


BEACH CITIES SOLD FOR August 2006: Beginning this month I'm adding the Average Days on Market(DOM) to all sales


EL SEGUNDO:


SINGLE FAMILY HOMES: Eight properties closed escrow in August. The least expensive was listed at $779,000 and closed at $775,000. The most expensive was listed at $1,649,000 and sold at $1,550,000.
The average DOM was 39 days.The median price ( half below and half above price) was $1,167,500,000 up significantly from last month.



TOWNHOME/CONDOMINIUMS: 12 properties closed escrow last month. The least expensive was listed at $340,000 and sold at $340,000. The most expensive was listed at $779,900 and sold at $767,000. The DOM was 61 days. The median price was $563,500 down significantly from last month.



HERMOSA BEACH:


SINGLE FAMILY HOMES: 15 homes closed escrow in August as compared to 7 the previous month. The least expensive was listed at $839,000 and sold for $828,000. The most expensive was listed @$6,499,000 and sold at $6,000,000. The DOM was 71 days. The median price ( half above and half below price) was $989,000 down significantly from last month.


TOWNHOMES/CONDOMINIUMS: 9 properties closed escrow compared to 14 in the previous month. The least expensive was listed at $479,000 and sold at $467,500. The most expensive was listed at $1,549,000 and sold for $1,470,000. The DOM was 60 days. The median home price was $940,000 up from last month.



MANHATTAN BEACH:


SINGLE FAMILY HOMES: 39 homes closed escrow in August compared to 38 the previous month. There was one home under $1,000,000.
The least expensive was listed at $899,000 and sold at $869,000. The most expensive was a walkstreet property listed at $4,995,000 and sold at $5,000,000. The DOM was 61. The median home price ( half were above and half below price) was $1,900,000 up from last month.

TOWNHOMES/CONDOMINIUMS: There were 9 units that closed escrow last month compared to 20 the previous month. The least expensive was listed at $685,000 and sold at $650,000 . The most expensive was listed at $2,250,000 and sold at $2,150,000. The DOM was 89 days. The median townhome price was $1,300,000 up significantly from last month.


REDONDO BEACH:


NORTH REDONDO:


SINGLE FAMILY HOMES: There were 22 homes that closed escrow in August compared to 12 in the previous month. There were 5 homes that sold under $650,000. The least expensive was listed at $500,000 and sold for $500,000. The most expensive was listed @ $1,199,900 and sold for $1,125,000. The DOM was 62 days. The median home price ( half above price and half below) was $752,500 down slightly from last month.


TOWNHOMES/CONDOMINIUMS: There were 32 closed escrows last month up from 26 the previous month. There was one that sold under $550,000. 11 were new construction. The least expensive listed at $399,900 and sold for $395,000. The most expensive was listed at $1,080,000 and sold for $1,050,000. The average DOM was 58 days. The median price was $737,000 down slightly from last month.


SOUTH REDONDO:


SINGLE FAMILY HOMES: 12 homes closed escrow in August the same as the previous month. There were none under $700,000. The least expensive home was listed at $815,000 and sold for $820,000. The most expensive was listed @ $1,999,000 and sold for $2,000,000. The DOM was 70 days. The median home price was $1,125,000 up significantly from last month...


CONDOMINIUMS: There were 12 stacked unit condominiums sold last month compared to 8 the previous month. Most of them were along Catalina/The Esplanade and had some ocean views. The least expensive was listed @ $367,900 and sold at $359,000. The most expensive was listed at $995,000 and sold for $995,000. The average DOM was 67 days. The median price was $495,250 down from last month.


TOWNHOMES: There were 13 townhomes that closed escrow last month compared to 10 the previous month. There was one under $650,000. The least expensive was listed @ $624,000 and sold for $607,000. The most expensive was listed at $1,209,000 and sold for $1,200,000. The DOM was 81 days. The median price was $917,000 up from last month.



Give me a call or e-mail me at: Kaye Thomas with questions or comments.
That's it for now...

Kaye