sales data

Back a bit before Christmas, we tried to calm MBC readers who were thinking that the the ocean-view lot at 864 5th in the Hill Section might be selling for less than $2M. Such a deal?

In "No, That's Not a Lot Under $2M," we pointed out that the active listing price of $1.949M had already been exceeded in a first-round bidding war.

The price had settled around $2.6M, but that was pending an all-important "court confirmation" with a potential for overbids in court.

That court hearing happened Jan. 23, and overbidding happened there.

The closed sale has now posted: $2.900M. That's for a 5700 sq. ft. lot that gets some views from front and back (that photo's from the back deck of the current structure).

Next stop: New construction. And do you even want to…

We've already heard people fretting about the pinched real estate inventory situation in Manhattan Beach.

Folks, it's January. It gets better.

Meantime, enjoy the warm days, clear skies and spectacular sunsets while the East Coast freezes.

It's time for one of our twice-monthly updates on Manhattan Beach real estate market activity, with updated spreadsheets on inventory and sales.

Here's our market update report from the period ending 1/15/15:

• 31 active listings as of 1/15/15 (+2 from 1/15)
• 23 SFRs (+5)
• 8 THs (-3)

Don't fret! Super Bowl weekend is coming, and with it, lots more.

See the MB Dashboard for up-to-the-minute data.

Active listings by region of Manhattan Beach in this report:

• Tree Section: 9 actives
• Sand Section: 10 actives 
• …

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

Happy New Year to you!

It's time for one of our twice-monthly updates on Manhattan Beach real estate market activity, with updated spreadsheets on inventory and sales.

First, let's check in with one year-end data point.

We're looking at the total number of sales reported on the MLS for each year going back to 2014. The total for the just-wrapped year of 2014 was 418 sales of residential properties in Manhattan Beach, a slight dip from each of the prior two years.

For an active year with rising prices, the minor drop in the sales total may seem like a bit of a surprise. But look at the chronic inventory shortage as a culprit. More would have sold in 2014 if the product had been there.

Worth noting on our chart: The go-go year of 2004, a full 10 years…