Saturday, May 24, 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: SOLD April 2008


Queen's Necklace

I'm posting this later then usual as I was at a Real Estate conference last week in Phoenix. It is always informative to meet other REALTORS from different areas of the state and country. Surprisingly, despite the headlines, most seemed to see some improvement in their local real estate housing markets over the last quarter. Nothing stellar was noted by anyone but most markets were doing a bit better.... with the exception of the Phoenix and Las Vegas areas. These real estate markets... like those in the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Sacramento have a long way to go before there is any light at the end of the tunnel.

Everyone gripes about the Beach Cities real estate market. If you are a seller home prices are too low... if you are a buyer home prices are too high. But if you really think about home prices in Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo and El Segundo a stable market is better for everyone.... buyer or seller.

OK.. don't rush to the computer keyboard yet. Stop for a second and consider... even those of you who believe this market will see prices fall another 25% have expectations that as soon as you buy the market will move upward again and you will make money on your purchase. The reason you believe this to be true is because it is historically true. Our market with the exception of the last few years is a stable market. There are no huge tracts of abandoned homes.


The number of foreclosures in the Beach Cities, in a really rotten market, is lower then in most areas of the LA County. We will see more over the coming months which is to be expected... given the current market. But you won't see hundreds of vacant townhomes in North Redondo or weeds growing in Tree section yards or boarded windows along the Strand in Hermosa. Even the most bearish of bears really doesn't want to see that type of market because it would mean you could never be secure when buying a home. Think Detroit or parts of Texas that have never had their housing markets recover.


So that said.. what's happening in the Beach Cities.. a little of everything. Inventory is still up in most cities. Pending sales are better then we have seen in the last 5 months and closed sales are up in almost every city. Prices are more negotiable then they have been in years but no markets where prices are crashing. This is probably what the market will continue to look like in the coming months.. inventory is always up in the summer.. sales are slow... rates are pretty stable for the moment so perhaps there are a few good deals to be made.



South Bay-Beach Cities: SOLD April 2008(click on graph to enlarge)
South Bay-Beach Cities: SOLD March 2008


South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold February 2008


South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold January 2008


South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold November 2007


South Bay-Beach Cities: October SOLD 2007


South Bay-Beach Cities: September SOLD 2007


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

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kaye, my guess is that prices in South Bay drop and then......they don't start going up again for a long, long time (not jumping up 25% any time soon).

Let's see what the rest of this year brings. I know there is one large corporation in S.Bay which is busy shifting hundreds of jobs out of the area to Arkansas and Texas. I expect that they will start laying off by the end of the year based on entire departments don't have too much to do right now.

I think the next couple of years are going to be tough for a lot of people.

Kaye said...

Anonymous 5:07,
I don't see prices rising for about5 years.. I agree if we continue to see inflation and major job losses we could be in trouble.

William's Blog said...

Hi Kaye,
Things look like they are easing a bit. I don't see job losses dropping there either. Some larger Metro adreas will be in shake up mode for a while but otherwise I see signs of improvement. Perhaps too optomistic but that's me, glass always half full and getting more full, :-)

William

Kaye said...

Willian,
Seems like there are always pockets that do better then other aras.. even those that are close. I know your area is doing better then most of San Diego County..

Anonymous said...

William,

Prices will continue to rise in the South Bay, just wait for the June numbers as I think things are really turning around. We have the best beach in Southern California and you can't beat the upscale shopping and dining. If you're interesting in living here I would be sure and act fast. It truly is one of a kind.

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:36,

Do call MB the best beach in Southern California ia an overstatement. I'm not sure that prices won;t continue to erode. The basic fundamentals seem out of wack to me. I have a hard time buying that people making 500K and up a year would prefer MB to the Palisades or Brentwood. MB just doesn't have the same cachet or even the same types of residences. The Trees have become way too crowded for our taste (We've lived here for ten years.)

Anonymous said...

I am going to have to agree with the above. Lots of beach's in So.Cal. Lot that are cleaner. Or a little more remote. I find it pretty unbelievable that the very well-to-do want to live in Manhattan Beach. I've lived in Palisades, and it is very nice. MB is certainly OK, but I still don't quite get it.

PS: I'm management in a local corporation. Not rich, but I do OK. MB is a great choice if you are local. But it is a big country, and there are a lot of choices out there.

Kaye said...

Anonymous 9:35
Again it's a personal choice.. the Pallisades is not the beach.. I've lived on Ocean Front in Newport Beach.. and I loved it.. However if you want to go to dinner, at a place not within walking distance, in the summer you get to wait in line with the young kids on Newport Blvd on Friday, Sat or Sunday trying to get home