First Big Over-Asking Sale of '26 in East MB

Maybe the Tuscans are back?

That might be overstating one lesson from a recent sale at 113 S. Herrin (5br/5ba, 4354 sqft.). 

One thing that's for sure: The newly closed sale here at $4.500M, fully $605K above asking, is the second-highest over-asking margin of the year among Manhattan Beach sales. 

That's a pretty nifty accomplishment for a 2008 Mediterranean with heavy Tuscan accents and a recent interior whitewash, but no major changes from original condition. 

Asking $3.895M, the listing closed out 15.53% above asking, which we'll round up to 16%.

We kinda saw this coming with the initial reaction by buyers to the home. We warned you in our weekend review of the home:

There seems to be quick activity on this one – take a look if it might be a fit." 

Meantime, the Tree Section has had its 15-percenter on Oak (1728 Oak at $2.525M, 15% over asking). That home is a 1981 original that mostly begs for updates.

Somehow, that one beat out the gorgeous, must-have, multiple-offer sensation at 1717 Pacific, which got 13% over asking ($3.399M -> $3.826M). ("Beat it out" percentage-wise, not in price, obviously.)

The greatest margin over asking in the Sand this year was perhaps unexpected: A modest and water-damaged 1902 Highland (4br/2ba, 1954 sqft.), on an oversized 1800 sqft. half lot, which went 14% over asking at $2.683M. 

Naturally, the Hill Section had an entry early this year in this over-asking sweepstakes. 

That was none other than 811 6th, a corner-lot Craftsman with a flawed floorplan that was probably more just a lot sale, 14% over asking ($9.750M -> $11.100M). 

We'll pause to note here that only one of the homes in this list so far was totally move-in ready: 1717 Pacific. (Move-in ready, yes, but actually rented out for now – at $16.5K/mo.)

The others were fixers and/or lot sales. Isn't that an interesting factor with the over-asking sales?

And then comes the champ for this first part of 2026: 600 15th (7br/4ba, 3031 sqft.). 

For reasons not easily understood, the out-of-area agent listing this property – located up a few doors from a recent $12.5M sale – put this fixer/lot sale up at just $4.655M. 

Remove those MB bubble blinders for a second, and we can all appreciate that, yes, $4.6M is a lot of money for any house. 

But not for one right here in the Martyrs area... as the market showed.

Multiple bids came, and it sold 29% over asking at $6.000M.

So if you're pursuing records in Manhattan Beach this year, 29% is the over-asking figure to beat. 

(Intriguingly, this is another of the over-asking sales that really didn't qualify as move-in ready – could be a major fixer or lot sale. Wouldn't you like to know which? The buyers for 600 15th would, too. Word is they're not settled on a direction yet. Martyrs location was the first priority.)

What's that?

You're saying no one really keeps "records" for over-asking price sales? 

You are correct.

It's really a market indicator.

Many instances of under-pricing this year seemed to result from sellers and agents pricing cautiously – too cautiously – only to be overwhelmed by buyer interest. 

Pricing is mostly a backward-looking process, and looking back at the second half of 2025 would have given anyone pause. The year had ended almost listlessly. 

Listing agents underestimating demand means local professionals just could not see where current buyers were at, until they tested the market. 

One regular reader offered an opinion on this phenomenon recently:

In this market when you sell a deal in a few days of multiple offers it means that you priced it way too low that's it. Doesn't mean you did anything special. It's kind of like a surfer going out and claiming that he's creating the 10 ft waves."

Yep, it sure looks easy. Just price low and watch multiple offers drive the price up.  

No competent realtor really plays it that way, though, and few sellers want to risk "underpricing." ("What if that's all we get?") 

When homes sell far above asking, it often means there's something in the market environment that the sellers and listing agents haven't yet been able to see – not that everyone's playing games. 

And that describes early 2026 pretty well – there was something out there early this year that was unexpected. Let's see how it continues now.