Spring is looking slightly better then winter for home sales in the Beach Cities. While the numbers are not much to shout about they are an improvement over the 4th quarter. The big winner once again is Redondo Beach. Both North and South Redondo saw inventory stay fairly level and sales volume increase. Price is likely the big factor.... you can buy more house for less money in Redondo then the other Beach Cities.

North Redondo townhomes are the hot item of the month. An interesting side note is that the median listed price and the median sold price are the same.... $699,000. In this case the price per sq ft tells the tale... $345 for active properties and $316 for sold. The $699,00 number is also significant as conforming loans, while scheduled to rise to $729,750, are still sitting at $625,000. With a $699,000 price buyers can get a conforming loan with 20% down or an FHA loan with less down.

Meanwhile there are 29 homes for sale in Manhattan Beach under $1,000,000... 7 are under $800,000. These homes are not moving as quickly as you might think. While many buyers are waiting for the conforming limit to go back to $729,750; others are waiting to see if prices will fall more. Most of these homes are small and many are in "C" or "D" locations. Builders are not in the market for non prime land... or even prime. In fact rumor has it that no permits have been pulled for new "spec" homes in Manhattan Beach so far this year.

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold January 2009

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold November 2008