I think the best thing that can be said about 2008 is that it's over! December was not a great month for real estate sales in El Segundo, Manhattan Beach or Hermosa. Redondo Beach, however, was a different story. There were 44 closed sales in North and South Redondo in December compared to a total of 30 closed sales for El Segundo, Manhattan and Hermosa. Since January 1, 2009 there have been 13 properties close escrow... 9 of them were in Redondo, 3 in Manhattan Beach and 1 in El Segundo. 16 homes have gone into escrow since January 1, 2009... 12 of them are in Redondo Beach and 4 in El Segundo.

So why is Redondo so hot while Manhattan and Hermosa appear to be relegated to wallflower status... My guess is prices and loan limits. Redondo Beach and to a certain extent El Segundo have seen more rapid adjustments in home prices then either Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach. 4 months ago your could find a number of single family homes in North Redondo under $550,000; in fact there were some that were under $500,000. Most of them have now gone into escrow. Buyers were quick to take advantage of FHA and conventional financing at low interest rates. You can still get a home in North Redondo in the $600,000 range with less then 20% down using an FHA loan. With owner occupied fixed rates at 4.5% a lot of buyers have decided now is the time to buy.

I think the second reason has to do with conforming loan limits. When the government decided to lower the conforming rate from $729,750 to $625,000, higher priced communities lost a big advantage for entry level home buyers. At $729, 750 it was possible to buy a home in Manhattan or Hermosa with a reasonable down payment. The loss of $100,000 on the conforming loan limit is a big blow to entry level home buyers who want to be in Manhattan Beach or Hermosa Beach. The new Administration has a lot of things on the agenda for real estate in 2009. They face a tough job trying to bring back stablity to the credit markets and ultimately to the housing markets.

I liked Tom Petruno's Friday thoughts in the LA Times titled Investing for hard times, not The end . He wrote about one of the issues I have always found to be so strange... the number of people hoping to see complete chaos in the housing market. As we have seen in the last few months when the economy takes a dive it affects everyone.

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold October 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold September 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold August 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold July 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold June 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold May 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold April 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: SOLD March 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold February 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold January 2008

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold November 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: October SOLD 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: September SOLD 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: August SOLD 2007

South Bay- Beach Cities: July Sold 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold June 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold May 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold April 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold March 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold February 2007

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold January 2007