It sure looks like Manhattan Beach is coming into its own.
Whatever people might want to think or say about pricey Manhattan Beach real estate, the fact is, our high end has generally fallen short of the highest end of LA County sales.
Why? And... So what?
Speaking from right here, in our small town by the sea, we don't really see the appeal of gated estates in Beverly Hills or Brentwood, or those big hillside homes above L.A., or Malibu, or, frankly, Pacific Palisades. Yet people pay tens upon tens of millions of dollars to live in those places, and not all of the homes are part of money-laundering schemes.
Oh, let's dish. Connecticut?!? Bah, humbug. Who wants to live where you can't go outside most of the year? Just because you get a yard, and a mere hourlong commute to NYC? Shoot me. And Florida? That'll be under water soon enough.
Manhattan Beach is where it's at. The smart ones understand. The real people understand. Because this is a place with an identity and a charm that you can't find in California south of Santa Barbara. What we have is worth a lot.
Our town's main demerit among the super-rich is that they can't build big enough walls, or moats, or hire big enough security forces to keep the hoi polloi at bay. Well: Sorry, not sorry.
What we're going to do here is celebrate the fact that Manhattan Beach is seeing new record home prices, as buyers with the capacity are paying to be here, and not in (ugh) West Palm Beach, or Bel Air, or freaking Greenwich.
Until this year, Manhattan Beach had seen exactly one public sale of any property at $20M – an oversized double lot in the Hill Section with a grand home and guest house at 814 Pacific back in 2017.
Then, in July this year, 1800 The Strand (5br/6ba, 5329 sqft.) sold for $24.500M. (Don't forget, you got that news here first, before the legacy media figured it out 2 months later.)
In between, 1001 1st (6br/9ba, 9479 sqft.) pre-sold as new construction off-market in 2021, at a publicly reported price of $19.589M, with rumors that the full deal price was actually closer to $23M. (Both can be true, depending on how the construction costs were paid.) Due to the posted sale price, and lack of MLS data, that one didn't count officially as a $20M sale.
And 809 Highview sold off-market in 2022 for $20.999M.
Now we have a third public $20M+ sale. Once again, it's on The Strand.
It's 3216 The Strand (5br/8ba, 7454 sqft.), closing up at $21.000M.
Is $21M a big comedown from prior ambitions? Yes it is.
The home was first listed in January 2022 at $30M. (See: "Epic Manhattan Beach Strand Listing Begins at $30M," which contains more photos and appreciation of the home.) The sale here finally closed on the third listing.
And was the sale this year nerve-wracking?
We'll guess "yes," as the buyer who closed wasn't the first to open escrow on the property this year.
It seems that every escrow bounces off the rocks at least once. Sometimes, the ship sinks. Lucky for 3216 The Strand, there was another buyer just pulling into port as the first one went down. (Apologies if this metaphor fails.)
So there you have it.
In a year where we've already established that "MB's Higher End Is Moving," and, hey, not incidentally, your blog author and local broker here just closed a $14.1M sale in the Hill Section (808 John) with great buyers, we see a second $20M+ sale in town this year, the third ever, and there is surely more to come.
A sleepy "recovery year" is getting more interesting by the day. Stay tuned.
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.
