south end

Nothing has happened yet this year to slow the momentum of 2014 carrying over into 2015. That means for Manhattan Beach real estate: Look out above.

We've got one big example of the ongoing sky's-no-limit phenomenon to look at, but first, let's look at a place where common sense may reign.

At 1208 Oak (5br/4ba, 3125 sq. ft.), you'll find a 10-year-old Cape Cod, solidly built, with a familiar floorplan and a couple of twists.

The home feels very solid and shows well. With a modern kitchen and tasteful master bath, it's a pretty straightforward home, easy to like... once inside.

So why is this good-sized, newer Tree Section home priced at "only" $2.000M, when comparable homes seem to be selling for $2.3M-$2.5M?

Location, location...

Not only is this…

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…

Just 14 months ago, there was a bidding war for 109 Bayview.

The ocean-view townhome (3br/4ba, 2030 sq. ft.) in the South End of the Sand Section was built in the early 90s and still looked very much like that in 2013. And the floorplan's a bit choppy.

Still, it was easy to see why multiple bidders drove the price up $200K at the time: Ocean views that are simply jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring... heck, they're darn near a religious experience. (Over the top?)

Those views are partly thanks to favorable topography, and partly thanks to old height limits. You can't build this tall again, so there's a special kind of scarcity factor built into this building.

In November 2013, the sale closed at $2.600M. Then the new owner started thinking through a remodel.

…

Two sales closed just before the ball dropped in Times Square and showed that motivated – or at least realistic – sellers were willing to do what was needed. They wanted their sales done in 2014, and got 'em done.

One was on a pristine, newer (2007) Cape Cod at 220 8th St. (4br/5ba, 4200 sq. ft.).

The listing came out at the end of October, a tenuous time to start a big-dollar listing. Buyers are increasingly tuning out the Manhattan Beach real estate market by then to focus on other things.

The start price: $6.490M. (Call it $6.5M.)

To get it done, the sellers let go of $440K that they had wanted.

Sold price: $6.050M.

That's still firmly above $6M, and well above a couple of 2013's comps.

Let's take a quick look at those comps, as a measure of how…