open houses

Folks, they're going to declare that it's officially Summer soon.

The solstice looms, the end of school looms (what are the kids going to do?!?), and the June gloom looms on many days, though it's never quite "cold." Yep, Summer.

Traditionally, listings taper off a bunch for Summer, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Our working hypothesis here is that the Summer ahead will feature more sellers-by-choice than usual and more choices for buyers. All the better if you're trying to get into MB, even in time for locking into the schools.

But we'll see.

We're at 59 total listings in MB as we enter the weekend, a little dip from last week, and only about a third of the inventory level of what we've seen in sluggish markets past. What comes out

Inventory this week is up just a tick to 66 as we write on Sunday, and there was a nice rush of new options emerging all week.

There's another chance to see 468 34th this week, so please come by Sunday and check it out.

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens.   

Tree Section

2712 Ardmore (2br/2ba, 1700 sq. ft.) doesn't look like much from the road, but the sunny common spaces and huge yard in back make it unique and easy to love.

It's a very large lot for the Trees at 7500 sq. ft. – 75 feet wide and 100 feet deep. Very different dimensions for this area, too.

The signature of this home

The kids go to school every day, but after Memorial Day, are they still working? The high school seniors have all but packed up for college; the lower grades seem to be largely coasting. Beach days seem more prevalent than late-night studying.

So, yes, Summer is truly coming.

We begin June with 64 active listings (SFRs and THs), a little creep upwards of 5 since last week.

We're giving you another chance to see 468 34th this week, so please come by Sunday and say "hi."

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens.    

Tree Section

625 31st (4br/4ba, 3370 sq. ft.) is a 10-year-old custom build

First things first, we hope you enjoy your first (unofficial) weekend of Summer!

If you happen to be in MB looking for something unique to do, why not give the MB 5K a run on Monday morning?

Very early Monday (like 7am early), the tide will be very low, and the flat, wet sand will invite hundreds of folks out for a unique kind of run. It starts and finishes right under the MB pier.

No road race can hold a candle to a waterside run in your hometown, with waves crashing and cheering crowds at the finish. There are kids' races, too, a bit later.

To us, this annual run is a signature event for Manhattan Beach. So MBC is proudly sponsoring the race this year.

In terms of housing, we enter the holiday weekend with 59 active listings (SFRs and

We've got inventory at 55 now, heading toward Memorial Day weekend. We sense that the old rule about inventory dropping, and sales activity slowing, in June won't quite bear out this year. We're thinking Summer will be busier than expected. But still, this can be viewed as the last week of the Spring market.

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens.   

Sand Section

468 34th (4br/5ba, 3525 sq. ft.) is Dave's new listing up on the plateau. Of course we think it's great, but we don't purport to offer "neutral" reviews of our own listings. So here's the official description, and here's hoping you'll

Moms don't ask much, but they do like to get a little respect. And maybe a rose, or a nice brunch.

So this weekend we do our best to say "thanks," and typically the open-house caravan is shut down for Sunday. (What if mom wants to look at houses for kicks? There are some opens, after all.)

So focus your tours on Saturday, and focus on mom Sunday.

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens.  

East MB

Modest little 1150 Keats (3br/2ba, 1275 sq. ft.) could be the must-see property of the weekend, simply because it presents an affordable entry-level option, is somewhat updated and conventional

Did you notice the little pickup in inventory late in the week?

We had just bemoaned in our April 30 market update that there were just 38 offerings in MB – and then came a little flood. By Saturday, we were up to a whopping 52 offerings citywide.

Many of these came in at the higher end, but more is simply better, isn't it? 

There were plenty of new homes to see this week and review.

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column, or click here for the Beach Reporter list of opens. (This week, the BR list is a little buggy.)

Hill Section

1023 9th (4br/3ba, 2500 sq. ft.) is a 1950s original that's been added onto, stretched out and even given a

This past week was disappointing for buyers looking for more choices. No bogus holiday got in the way of new listings, but the recent pace of new offerings just didn't continue.

Has MB lost its "big mo"?

Not in sales, but maybe in new supply. (Yikes, just 37 listings active as of Saturday.)

We've only got reviews of 2 new listings below that both launched this week and have public opens.

There are others open that we've reviewed before, including Dave's listing at 700 27th. Here's hoping you can stop by there and say hi.

To plan your open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column.

Or click here for the new-format Beach Reporter list of opens.

Tree Section

It was another one of those weeks that Spring 2013 is becoming famous for.

You want more choices? You were happy about the 16 new listings in the past 7 days.

You want more choices? You saw fewer, net, as 19 active listings went into escrow over the same time.

You haven't bought yet? Here's hoping you're preapproved, well represented, locked, loaded and decisive.

Below we'll look at some of the highlights of the weekend's open houses. There are more we couldn't quite get to.

To plan your weekend open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column.

Or click here for the new-format Beach Reporter list of opens.

Sand Section

440 5th (4br/5ba, 3070 sq. ft.) is

Everyone wants more choices – and they're coming.

East MB seemed to debut the most listings this week, so we'll start there. The Sand and Hill Sections: A shutout for the past week. Hey, folks, are you holding back?

To plan your weekend open-house tours, try this Redfin map list of open houses – sort by price or sub-region of MB by clicking the title on a column.

Or click here for the new-format Beach Reporter list of opens.

East MB

1430 3rd (5br/5ba, 4000 sq. ft.) is new construction on a great, low-traffic block tucked away so near to school, and yet so far away. It's a great family-friendly location, and a quality Cape Cod with everything that's "now" beckoning buyers to make it theirs.

A wide-open first floor, plus-sized rooms,