Manhattan Beach: Manhattan Village.. The Hottest Spot in Town?

What's Happening in Manhattan Village?


Manhattan Village Patio Homes...

I've been putting together my Beach Cities market report for solds for November. As I was totaling up the numbers I was really surprised by the sales in The Village. Manhattan Village seems to have two temperatures.. either cold or hot.. and right now the Village seems to be hot. After a long summer of few sales.. June, July and August saw only 5 closed escrows... the Village has caught fire..... as six escrows have closed since October 15, 2007.

Currents stats are: 5 active listings, 1 pending and 5 that have closed escrow since November 1, 2007

In November 20 properties closed escrow ( homes and townhomes) in Manhattan Beach. Four or one-fifth of those were in the Village. Now that's amazing at any time and certainly in our current market. Even more surprising is that the mix seems to be favoring the more expensive Patio homes.. with 2 Court homes and 4 patio homes closing escrow in the last two months. The days on market has been pretty quick at an average of 35 CDOM.



The CDOM ( cumulative days on market) in the other neighborhoods of Manhattan Beach since October 15 is two or three times higher....Sand section:10 homes sold CDOM 78.....Tree section: 13 homes sold CDOM 71...... Hill section: 4 homes sold CDOM 24..... Manhattan Heights: 3 homes sold CDOM 83...... Mira Costa: 9 homes sold CDOM 118.

Active Listings:
Plan I ..... 1465 sqft... $929,000
Plan II ..... 1557 sqft... $995,000
Plan III .... 1916 sqft... $1,150,000
Plan 8 ..... 2045 sqft... $1,450,000

Pending:
Plan 4 ... 1903 sqft .... $1,299,000

Sold:
Plan I .... 1465 sqft ..... List: $795,000/sold: $795,000
Plan 6 .... 1820 sqft ..... List: $1,324,000/sold: $1,235,000
Plan 8 .... 2045 sqft ..... List: $1,400,000/sold: $1,380,000
Plan 5 .... 1450 sqft ..... List: $1,400,000/sold: $1,240,000
Plan 8F ... 2310 sqft ..... List: $1,399,000/sold: $1,363,000
Plan II .... 1583 sqft ..... List: $849,000/sold: $800,000

I have no real idea why The Village is so hot right now. I do know that it can go cold very quickly. Manhattan Village is a neighborhood that you either really love or hate.. there doesn't seem to be much middle ground.


One of the more curious aspects of Manhattan Village is the pricing. Invariably after a few listings have sold at $XXXX; the next listings that go on the market will be priced at $XXXX++. They will sit on the market for awhile until the price returns to $XXXX and then they sell fairly quickly. The listings that don't follow this practice sell within a short time while their neighbors stay around for a long time. It just seems to be one of the quirks of The Village.