median prices

Last year, Manhattan Beach real estate saw a new high with a median home price of $1.900M.

So, what's a typical median-priced house in Manhattan Beach going to look like?

Turns out, we have 7 answers for you. 

That's because 7 homes sold in 2014 for exactly that new median price. This is an interesting way to get a picture of what that money buys in a few different areas of town.

For more on median prices in 2014 and past years, see our recent post: "MB Median Prices Rocket to New High in 2014."

Here's the full gallery of 7 homes:

3504 Palm (5br/4ba, 3450 sq. ft.) is a late-90s Mediterranean in the Tree Section with modest upgrades, but largely original.

It features the fairly open, great-room floorplan that's more or less standard for family homes…

From the department of unsurprising – and yet still shocking – news, we have this update.

Manhattan Beach real estate hit an all-time high for median home prices in 2014: $1,900,000.

Maybe you saw a new peak coming? Still, the data are pretty incredible.

The rocket-fueled jump from only the prior year, 2013, was an amazing 17%. (Well, 16.7% to be exact.)

That 17% year-over-year figure suggests monthly home price appreciation of 1.4%.

Some other angles to see in these data about our booming market:

• The MB median price is up 34% in just 2 years;

• The median price jumped exactly $500K since 2010;

• From recent trough (2009) to current peak, the median price is up 38%; and

• This new record high median price bests the prior, 2007 peak, by

It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.

In September and October 2008, the Great Recession kicked into full gear, as stocks nosedived, unemployment peaked, Fannie & Freddie were taken over and the first desperate big bank bailouts began. Everyone lost money and began to fear the future.

And man, oh man, was it ever a terrific time to buy Manhattan Beach real estate. If you could.

Of course, that second part is only really clear now. Because not only has there been a housing recovery nationwide, from which MB has benefited. Also, in these recovery years, MB seems to have begun to glow much more brightly on the map. It's now a destination. A smart place to invest. A market that's drawing more top-tier buyers than ever before. That's pushing…

It took a while for MB median prices to start to track what seemed to be happening in the market.

No more.

Take a look at our newest compilations of data as of the midpoint of this year.

Citywide, the median price for single-family homes (SFRs) is $1.803M, up 12% year-over-year. That's a quick, cool $200K bump in no time at all. (Please note: We have excluded townhomes traditionally from our median price calculations for a few reasons; now, to compare year to year data, we continue to focus only on SFR data.)

Look at that trendline. It's a rocket to the moon.

There was an anomalous dip in the 2012 median to $1.432M, even as the market was recovering solidly at the time. From there, it's two years of big climbs – a 26% jump in only 24 months.

Word to…