All Blog Entries by Dave Fratello

It's somewhat hard to say or believe, but for the first time, the sales pace this year is now slightly slower than it was in the same period in 2020.

For the full month from May 16-June 15, there were 42 new escrows in Manhattan Beach this year, lagging behind the blistering pace of 51 new escrows in 2020. (Although it is true, as our chart shows, that this year's number is very consistent with several other recent years.)

Last year at this time was like a rocket launch, as the world began to emerge ever-so-carefully from lockdown as Memorial Day approached. In real estate, it was the late re-start to the traditional Spring market. Pent-up demand definitely made its presence known.

It was basically a year ago that this amazing, busy,…

The pace of new listings seems to be slowing for now (is it finals week?). We're languishing in the mid-60s for homes for sale in Manhattan Beach. Where's a buyer to look?

Check out this week's crop below, and you might even find some of these and other listings open this weekend. (Our Hermosa Beach listing at 339 27th will be open Sun. 2-4pm. Come say hi!)

Below, click any address link to view all photos and property details. We generally feature listings with 3D tours first.

Listings appearing here come from the whole MB market and may or may not be represented by MB Confidential author Dave Fratello and Edge.

Sand Section

3316 Crest Dr (4br/3ba, 2086 sqft.)

From the official description:

"[C]ontemporary 4 Bedroom 3.5 Bath single…

Amid the general action in this busy year, we've just seen two special properties go into escrow.

Here's a brief appreciation for each one.

2615 Crest (3br/5ba, 3215 sqft.) is a super-custom modern built to take advantage of one of the finest view points in the whole city.

People can put in all kinds of superlatives about the views they've got from one property or another. This one practically sets the standard, maybe the ceiling, against which views in Manhattan Beach can be judged.

Perched near the very top of the hill and with Bruce's Beach Park just below, the lot benefits from a steep elevation jump up from Highland. The property in front can't build up more to block views, and recently completed townhomes on the south side preserved the

There was no letup in the pace of sales locally in May.

Was the month not quite a record month? No, it wasn't, just hot. (Well, if you've been here, the weather's been, frankly, chilly, but we're talking real estate.)

With our chart, we can look back over 9 years, using data published regularly here in our twice-monthly Manhattan Beach Market Updates.

This May, with 49 new contracts signed within the month, is third-best among those 9 years. Not quite as smokin' hot as 2017, and somewhat behind that busy year of 2014, but otherwise better than the rest.

We were calling 2020's 31 new escrows a sign of recovery, a "bounceback in demand." (See "Manhattan Beach Market Update for 5/31/20.") In that first notable pandemic-recovery month, most of the