The Manhattan Beach Sand Section has been zoned to encourage building density for many decades. With so many people wishing to live near the beach, ocean and other coastal attractions, the city wants to encourage more residences in the area. Townhomes are the answer.

In most cases in Manhattan Beach, Sand Section townhomes are two units sharing one standard-sized lot of about 2700 square feet. They can be detached, or share one common wall. While the two units are individually owned, the land is jointly owned. Most commonly, a townhome will be somewhat less expensive than a comparable single-family home.

Current townhome listings and recent sales are displayed below. For more information on townhomes, see the area below the listings.

More About Sand Section Townhomes

Under California real estate law, townhomes are actually condominiums, the legal term for this form of ownership. The term "townhome" is nonetheless used commonly to distinguish buildings with just 2-3 units from larger "condo" buildings. (Once in a while, a local townhome will be listed as a "condo.")

Newer townhomes can be built up to 3 stories and 30 feet in height. The most common size for townhomes is around 1900-2100 square feet of interior living space, with a two-car garage. With larger lot sizes, sometimes the living space can be greater, between 2400-2800 sqft.

While all townhomes have a Homeowners' Association (HOA) at the time of their building, it is common for the owners not to formally operate an HOA. Instead, they choose to share expenses on more of an ad hoc basis. Sometimes, the only expense townhome owners share is joint structural insurance, and sometimes, not even that.

Many townhome owners adopt a "live and let live" attitude toward their neighbors. But in many cases, exterior renovations and even paint can be subject to the neighboring owner's approval. In a case where two detached structures are sharing the land in a townhome setup, it might still be very difficult for one owner to build a new house on the half of the lot where their structure is located, because the other owner has a right to approve or disapprove of the work.

For more information, see this page about townhomes in all of Manhattan Beach.

Want to see what Sand Section townhomes are selling for? Click here for recently sold Sand Section townhomes.

More Manhattan Beach Information

You can see all Manhattan Beach listings here, visit our detailed Manhattan Beach real estate resources page, or see our articles all about Manhattan Beach lifestyle, parks, schools and more.

Work with Dave Fratello

Looking for help with your home search or sale? MB Confidential producer Dave Fratello is an active local broker with Edge Real Estate Agency. He and the team would be honored to help!

Edge is a full-service, boutique real estate agency representing buyers and sellers. We are experts in residential real estate in Manhattan Beach and nearby South Bay real estate markets.

We’re different because we uniquely blend online savvy, tech proficiency, marketing expertise, local knowledge and experience with negotiations and transactions in this area. For any question or a free consultation, reach out to Dave today!