June is mostly about graduation and weddings ...which historically makes it  a slow real estate month in Manhattan Beach and the Beach Cities.   But after a wild ride with the credit markets last fall this June seems to be holding up fairly well all things considered.    There are 164 homes for sale, 46 pending sales and 16 closed home sales since June 1, 2008.  There are 31 townhomes/condos for sale, 10 pending sales and 6 closed sales since June 1, 2008.  Not bad considering the time of year and the overall market in California.   I suspect that overall home sales in Manhattan Beach will be similar to those of April and May by the end of the month.

This is nothing to run home and crow about but it is steady which is very important in a market like the one we see today.  Higher volume would be nice but consistency is the key to the health of our Manhattan Beach real estate market.  We are not going to see the home sale volume numbers like those from 2002-2005 anytime soon.  Nor will we see prices and appreciation like those for a long time.  But that doesn't mean you should count out the Manhattan Beach home market.  I've been following many of the discussions on Manhattan Beach Confidential, our local consumer blog.  One of the things I found interesting was the number of people who are trying to predict this market using numbers from the 1990's when a majority of those working in the aerospace company lost their jobs becuase  the cold war ended. 

This market is not like the one in the 90's.  it may turn that way if we see some major job losses but so far that is not on the horizon. Predicting trends in this market based on what happened in the 90's is like trying to predict the weather next winter based on what happened 10 years ago.  You might get close but the chances are good you will not be very accurate.  The same is true in today's real estate market.  So far Manhattan Beach has not followed the predicted path of massive foreclosures and huge price declines.  We don't have disastrous job losses that are affecting a majority of the local residents.  There are some things that are similar but overall this is a different market. 

  If you are going to plan a strategy for buying or selling a home in this market you are going to have to deal with the market as it is, rather then the way you hope it will turn.  This doesn't mean we won't see more foreclosures in the future or home owners who are facing financial problems.  The market is in flux and the credit markets are still not out of the woods.  The best plan of action is to stay on top of what is actually happening in your local market.  If you want to survive this market and maybe make a little profit you need to know this market not the one 10 years ago. 

Manhattan Beach: Market Snapshot June 20, 2008  

 Manhattan Beach: Price Range June 20, 2008

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