We try pretty hard here at MB Confidential to keep things interesting for you.
Throughout the year, as we’re both observing the market and working in it, we come across data and stories that are worth sharing. We give you a real-time view of market trends, and might even give you some actionable intel at a critical moment.
In 2025, we posted 141 separate articles, with some 85,000 words. (If we add language drawn from listing descriptions, the total goes well past 100,000). We also posted dozens of custom-built graphs and charts, with data compiled just for MBC.
Here are some highlights of posts and data from the year, with links.
Sales Activity and Prices Throughout 2025
The Manhattan Beach real estate market saw a year of unprecedented activity and extremes in 2025, with a record-shattering start, mid-year deceleration and a tentative recovery through the second half.
The year's activity rocketed early with an influx of buyers displaced by the tragic LA County wildfires, which magnified an existing market recovery that began in late 2024. Inventory rushed to market to meet the new demand.
Several quick, high-end sales opened eyes and set the tone for a year which ultimately saw more sales over $8M than any other year, nearly double 2024’s total. The surge drove early sales volume and yearlong median home prices to historic highs.
Things got bumpy in the Spring and Summer, with some slow periods, but a bounceback of sorts in Fall, toward year-end.
Some post highlights:
MB Sales Rocketed to Normal in Q4
How the Tragic L.A. Fires Might Impact Manhattan Beach (written the day after the fires)
Quick Flood of Deals - Manhattan Beach Market Update for 1/15/25
Jan. Sales 'Blow The Top Off' -- Manhattan Beach Market Update for 1/31/25
New Deals Hit $245M in 6 Weeks
Q1 Wrapup: $367M Quarter
How Higher-Priced Sales Drove Q1 Record Stats
Who Hit the Brakes? -- Manhattan Beach Market Update for 4/15/25
Sales Jump 22% Year-Over-Year -- Manhattan Beach Market Update for 4/30/25
Local Market 'Recovery' Continued in First Half - Manhattan Beach Market Update for 6/30/25
March, April & July Lagged Last 2 Yrs. - Manhattan Beach Market Update for 7/31/25
Q3 Data - More Sales, Higher Median | Manhattan Beach Market Update for 9/30/25
Fall's Been Good - Manhattan Beach Market Update for 12/15/25
Inventory Trends in 2025
After years of tight supply, 2025 saw more sellers enter the market locally. Overall inventory levels reached, and remained close to, historical norms.
The single greatest factor contributing to "normalcy" in 2025 was an increase in "voluntary" sellers – homeowners no longer feeling bound by the "golden handcuffs" of low mortgage rates and deciding to make a move, perhaps one they had planned for years. From mid-2022 through much of 2024, a major proportion of all real estate listings – in Manhattan Beach and elsewhere that we have worked – were coming to market only after a death, divorce or job transfer, the sorts of events that make a sale all but mandatory.
While inventory levels did become “almost perfectly average” for MB (as we said at one point midyear), we never really saw bumps of excess inventory that might have signaled an outright market slowdown, or a situation where buyers gained much advantage by having a proliferation of similar options.
Post highlights:
Almost 1/3rd of Inventory is Asking $8M+
Inventory Is Higher, But Low vs. Pre-COVID Years
Inventory Almost Perfectly Average Right Now
Lease Demand Prompts Government Regulations
Demand for rentals spiked immediately after the fires in January, particularly from families displaced from areas like Pacific Palisades. For a period of time, every open home had 10 or more applications. People who had never rented out their properties felt compelled to offer them to help families who desperately needed a place.
As market prices for rentals shot up,”price gouging” regulations were established under a “state of emergency,” preventing rental property owners from raising asking rates more than 10% above any rate that was sought or charged before January 7.
Properties with no rental history were subject to an arcane formula that set prices far below market rates. By February, Manhattan Beach homes with 4 bedrooms or more (and no recent rental history) were exempted from such price controls. The state’s “emergency” declaration ended June 30, although some county-level price restrictions replaced them.
Pricing Expectations Rising on Leases and Sales
Price-Gouging Warnings Fly
Two Huge Changes Affect Local Rental Rates
Rental Price Controls Extended by LA County Action
Stricter 'Price Gouging' Rules Are Back - For Now
That's our selection of market-trend posts.
We'll shortly have a couple more wrapups like this, tying in other types of posts from 2025.
Special Report: 2026 Outlook
Our 2026 Outlook provides indepth analysis of trends ahead for 2026, along with our expectations for prices, mortgage rates, sales, and various submarkets within Manhattan Beach this year.
The report is free and delivered instantly. Just click the button above or follow this link to get the report. Enjoy!
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
