South Bay-Beach Cities: September SOLD 2007

September was not a stellar month for real estate in any of the Beach Cities. However.... considering the woes in the credit markets and the dire predictions overall... it wasn't a terrible month. Sales in the Beach Cities seem to be patchy at best with some neighborhoods doing well while others are struggling.

El Segundo just seems to chug along at its own pace with the numbers continuing to be fairly consistent month over month. North Redondo saw the largest drop in sales of any of the beach cities with townhome sales off almost 50% over the numbers since June. Townhome sales in Hermosa also saw a big drop for the month. Meanwhile townhome sales in South Redondo were fairly respectable at 16 which was the highest number in the last 4 months. Manhattan Beach seems to be holding its own. The number of closed home sales continues to be consistent with similar figures since June. While September was not one of the best months it was at least respectable considering the projections.


Once again the key to the health of our Beach Cities real estate market is in the pending sale numbers. As of this morning there are 16 pending home sales in Manhattan Beach since October 1, 2007. Townhomes sales in North Redondo are still down but they have seen 11 sell since October 1, 2007. South Redondo has had 12 townhomes/condos go into escrow since the first of the month. Hermosa continues to see fewer sales then Manhattan Beach with 6 pending sales since the first and El Segundo is on par with last month.



North Redondo is seeing a few townhome foreclosures finally hitting the market. This is always the part of our market that is vulnerable to the vagaries of the economy. Manhattan and Hermosa will see some foreclosures and certainly more short sales but still appear to be holding steady.


As I look at the market one of the things I'm noticing is that the majority of properties that are still for sale have been on the market a long time. While I hate to pick on the Manhattan Beach Tree section I know of a number of homes that hit the market in the spring at prices that were on the high side. These homes are still on the market with no offers in sight. This is a prime example of chasing the market.


Ultimately sellers will need to decide if they want to sell or take their property off the market. If they want to sell, they will need to make some realistic price adjustments. I can think of at least ten that would have sold three months ago if they had lowered the price slightly. Now in order to sell they will have to make more significant adjustments. This is also true for the townhome market in Hermosa and North Redondo. Keeping a property on the market for months and months hoping someone will make an offer is not a great marketing strategy. The longer these sellers wait... the more money they will lose by chasing the market.

As I noted in my post about Buyers Vs Sellers a few days ago... the guy that makes the first move is the one who will win. As jumbo loans continue to see no downward movement in rates and loans are more difficult to obtain..... the number of people in the buyer pool becomes smaller and fussier. Lou Barnes has an interesting take on what is happening in the market and is certainly worth a read.. As always... nothing is ever simple about the California real estate market... it will keep you on your toes..

South Bay-Beach Cities : September SOLD 2007
( click to enlarge graph)



South Bay-Beach Cities: September SOLD 2006

South Bay-Beach Cities: August SOLD 2007

South Bay- Beach Cities: July Sold 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold June 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold May 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold April 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold March 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold February 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold January 2007