For all the mathematically inclined periodically I'll post price per square foot figures for Manhattan Beach homes. Many think this is a better number to use for comparison purposes then the median price.. One thing I did notice is that sales in August are almost always less then those in July. It will be interesting to see how the figures look in September.
The following graph is the price per sqft for homes from July and August 2000-2007.
Manhattan Beach: Price per Sqft July-August 2000-2007
The price per square foot can decline as homes get larger. Also if a number of larger homes sell in a given month then the figure will be smaller then if a number of smaller homes sold in the previous month of the same year. Also if you have a lot of new construction or very expensive homes selling in any given month it can skew the figures. So far there seem to be a number of homes over $3,000,000 that are pending. As they close in the next 30-60 days this will have an effect on the price per sqft. This is why there can be large fluctuations in Manhattan Beach home prices from month to month.
2 comments:
the interesting thing about this analysis is that in almost every month surveyed, 2006 was the peak in $/sqft.
is it possible to calculate $/sqft without lot sales & new constructions? that might give one a better sense of the underlying trend, absent the upgrade cycle.
Anonymous- I probably could but I don't think it would give an accurate picture of prices in Manhattan Beach. New construction and lot value have always played a big part in determining home prices.. especially at the entry levels.
First time buyers who are competing with builders drive up prices on the entry level. We also don't have that group of charming mid-level older homes that are found in many other cities. You also have to remember that many of the new homes are not builder spec homes but are built by owners to live in so they should be counted.
We are a unique little place and the truth is there really isn't any one method of tracking prices that is better then another. I think consistency is the best way.. if I use the same method to track on a consistent basis then you can compare apples to apples... or at least that's the theory...
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