Manhattan Beach History   In its earliest days, Manhattan Beach was part of the original Spanish land grant for "Rancho Sausal Redondo" ("Ranch of the Round Clump of Willows") in 1822, a rancho with a land mass of nearly 25,000 acres which extended from the areas as far north of what is now Playa del Rey, as far east as Inglewood, and as far south as Hermosa Beach. At one time the area was called "Shore Acres" by George Peck, who owned a section of the north end of town.  Manhattan Beach is built on sand. Planks were laid in the sand on Manhattan Avenue for vehicles and along the Strand and side streets for pedestrians. In the early days, old timers speak of walkways disappearing, small structures sliding and the sting of the sand. The dunes were a major... 07/19/2012

All of us at Hoffman Murphy want to help with your next move. If you are considering moving to the South Bay, look no further than the Hoffman Murphy Team! The Hoffman Murphy Team: Are Keller Williams leaders in the industry Has a proven track record of over 1,000 home sales Has over 40 years of experience in the industry Was locally recognized as the best real estate company in the South Bay Are nationally renowned – we are in the top 1% of agents in the US Sue and Marie want to help you with your next home search and move into the South Bay. Contact us today at 310-939-9393 for more information, or simply fill out the form below!  07/13/2012

Innovative, patient, creative, generous, intelligent, persevering and professional – these are the words that flow from our mouths when we talk about our cherished real estate agents. We are in our new home, after having outgrown our old one, and we could not be happier! These amazing women achieved what seemed to be impossible - we wanted to sell our townhouse and buy an affordable single-family home. Everything was stacked up against us: slumping economy, slow market, financing woes, difficult buyers, termites – but we thankfully had the one thing in our favor that proved to be stronger than all of those factors combined: the Hoffman Murphy Team. They educated us with snapshots of reality and gave us more tools than we can count to prepare our home before the “For Sale” sign could be... 07/12/2012

The South Bay real estate scene in Los Angeles is brightened and blessed to have three lovely coastal beach cities–Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo. The coastal lifestyle is evident with surfboards atop autos or underarm when spending time in any one of the three cities. Sand and sun are always abundant in these Southern California beach towns. There is also no shortage of luxury homes.   As we enter July it appears the daily coastal fog, fondly referred to as June gloom, is lifting and the number of luxury home sales is also on the rise. 19 Beach Cites luxury homes sold with price tags topping $2,000,000 during June 2012. Manhattan Beach, the ever popular choice for those wanting to combine the beach lifestyle with urban conveniences, topped the luxury home sale list with 17 sales. Herm... 07/09/2012

Homes sales report for the Hill Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during May 2012. Homes for sale: 10 Homes are listed for sale in the Hill area priced from $1,599,500 to $11,900,000. Pending sales: 6 Houses are in escrow priced from $1,100,000 to $4,595,000. May sales: Three homes sold in the Hill Section during May 2012: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 515 N Dianthus St. $1,360,000 5/3 2565 3251 1960 42 947 10th St. $2,100,000 5/3 3620 8238 1989 26 864 9th St. $2,850,000 5/5 4000 5800 2000 123 Homes for sale in the Hill section of Manhattan Beach:   06/24/2012

Homes sales report for the Mira Costa neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during May 2012. Homes for sale: 19 Homes are listed for sale in Mira Costa priced from $744,000 to $2,650,000. Pending sales: 10 Houses are in escrow priced from $750,000 to $1,699,000. May sales: 9 Homes sold in May 2012 in Mira Costa - Manhattan Beach: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 1524 Matthews Ave. $915,000 3/2 1283 7462 1955 45 1500 2nd St. $920,000 4/2 1609 3172 1961 42 1618 3rd St. $1,380,000 4/3 2767 6656 1960 32 1648 8th St. $1,393,000 5/4 4964 7500 1990 142 1447 8th $1,400,000 4/4 3900 8251 1991 18 1159 10th $1,417,500 5/5 3924 7497 1975 173 1535 Ruhland Ave. $1,875,000 5/5 4822 7956 1998 151 1525 Mathews Ave. $1,975,000 5/6 4510 7486 2007 302 1160 Duncan Dr. ... 06/24/2012

Homes sales report for the Heights / Liberty neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during May 2012. Homes for sale: 4 Homes are listed for sale priced from $799,000 to $1,850,000. Pending sales: 5 Houses are in escrow priced from $675,000 to $900,000. May sales: Three homes sold in May 2012: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 1408 Lynngrove Dr. $855,000 3/2 1488 5828 1950 86 1530 Marine Ave. $1,025,000 3/2 2226 6888 1969 100 1305 21st St. $1,960,000 5/4 3522 7500 2006 137 Homes for sale in the Liberty / Heights section of Manhattan Beach: 06/24/2012

Homes sales report for the Tree Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during May 2012. Homes for sale: 17 Homes are listed for sale in the Tree Section priced from $699,000 to $4,295,000. Pending sales: 25 Houses are in escrow priced from $819,000 to $2,600,000. May sales: Eleven homes sold in the Tree area during May 2012: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 2401 Oak Ave. $897,000 3/2 1161 4484 1948 15 3524 Walnut Ave. $965,000 3/2 2088 4646 1967 234 2001 Pacific Ave. $990,000 3/2 1068 4797 1950 43 2000 Pacific Ave. $1,024,725 3/2 1655 5058 1947 33 700 29th St. $1,290,000 3/2 1652 4801 1938 198 3404 Pacific Ave. $1,350,000 3/2 1748 4482 1956 54 2701 Pacific Ave. $1,350,000 3/3 3000 5547 1950 92 3504 Palm Ave. $1,570,000 5/4 3449 4643 1998 89 ... 06/24/2012

Parking Meters in Manhattan Beach, CA: Past, Present and Future! In fairness to disclosure, I am all for progress. Then again sometimes we get confronted with the past and we are pleasantly surprised that “old” is still good and it works.  No need to change it since it still works.  As you know I love to go to Manhattan Beach, CA all the time. I blog about this community and all the great things it has to offer to the visitors, locals and neighbors. This was a fun experience for me to discover as the past and the present are crossing paths and the future is nearby. Parking can be a challenge during the summer months, unless you know where the “available spots” are. As it turns out I do, FYI you need to park one street above Manhattan Ave if there are none available. The only thing you n... 06/24/2012

Homes sales report for the Village neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during May 2012. Homes for sale: No homes are listed for sale in the Village area. Pending sales: No houses are in escrow. May sales: One home sold in May 2012: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 32 Village Circle $1,510,000 4/4 3256 5832 1984 149 Homes for sale in the Village area of Manhattan Beach:   06/24/2012

Homes sales report for the Sand Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during May 2012. Homes for sale: 26 Homes are listed for sale in the Sand Section of MB priced from $755,000 to $22,499,000. Pending sales: 15 Houses are in escrow priced from $1,050,000 to $5,600,000. May sales: 12 Homes sold in May 2012 in the Sand area: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 301 25th St. $1,321,125 4/3 2052 1747 1966 200 521 2nd St. $1,370,000 3/2 1435 2703 1960 39 526 Marine $1,385,000 3/3 2232 4410 1986 24 325 21st St. $1,565,000 3/2 1536 2700 1957 67 228 33rd St. $1,700,000 3/3 1825   1999 175 437 1st St. $1,730,000 4/3 2632 2707 1985 0 3116 Alma Ave. $1,875,000 4/2 2491 3465 1927 84 121 32nd St. $2,705,000 4/3 2206 2696 1959 533 225 16th St. $3,000,000 5... 06/24/2012

Page's Bookstore in Manhattan Beach is in its third year! Hard to believe that Page’s Bookstore only opened its doors in February of 2010. It feels like they have been here forever.  Against all odds an independent bookstore opens as many were closing their doors, including the larger national chains were shrinking their stores all over the nation.   We were thrilled that not too far from us another bookstore opens instead of the usual news that one closes. Needless to say we immediately became supporters. Three passionate women against all odds decide to follow their passion. Since books are our passion it was a natural fit to support them. Every opportunity we have we stop in and buy a book or two. Fuels our passion and supports their store.   So if you are every in Manhattan Beach, p... 06/23/2012

Manhattan Beach Creamery:  A great ice cream Emporium If you ever strolled on Manhattan Ave in Manhattan Beach, then I am sure you must have seen this great Ice Cream Emporium. Question is, have you been able to walk by it, without going in? My next question is once you went in, where you able to walk out without buying something? This place is full of nostalgia: Ice cream, frozen yoghurt, had dipped strawberries, bananas, pretzels, marshmallows and I could go on and on. Assorted candies, from M&M are to an assortment of Lollypops which will bring out the inner child in you. They have assorted deserts of all types. Just to name a few of their deserts: Carrot Cake, Chocolate Moose, Red Velvet Cake and many more. Their famous ice cream sandwiches must be mentioned by me. Rather than readi... 06/17/2012

As it's not a holiday weekend, the current list of Manhattan Beach open houses is a great indicator that inventory is down in the beach community.  According to Manhattan Beach listing agent Keith Kyle with South Bay Brokers, "the market is experiencing very low levels of home inventory.  May of 2012 saw the highest number of Manhattan Beach home sales that we've seen in years and we are not seeing new listings to replace them".  This week offers about 50% of the usual number of open houses in the area.  The Manhattan Beach real estate market has really changed since the beginning of the year and seems to have become, at least temporarily, a sellers market. Below is this weeks open house list in Manhattan Beach and it's about half of what was available to see just weeks ago.   Days Hour... 06/14/2012

The real estate market in Manhattan Beach has continued at a brisk pace and summer seems to be heating up even further. May of 2012 saw a whopping 51 closed escrows which is the highest number of home sales in Manhattan Beach in the past 5 years. Of the 51 homes 8 sold over the list price, with 9 selling at list price and a majority of the other home sales closing fairly close to the list price. The luxury home market remained strong with 18 of the May 2012 home sales priced over $1.80M. The median listing price in Manhattan Beach for May 2012 was $1,559,000 and the median sold home price was $1,417,500. The chart below shows the inventory clearly low while both pending and sold homes in Manhattan Beach are rising fairly dramatically. Below are the Manhattan Beach home sales for May of ... 06/14/2012

Lloyd Cullen Real Estate is a local Manhattan Beach Short Sale Realtor. As a Manhattan Beach Short Sale Company that specializes in short sales, you are assured the highest standard of professionalism and can always count on our Manhattan Beach Short Sale Realtor to help answer any questions you have in regards to Manhattan Beach Short Sales. Manhattan Beach Short Sale Realtor Lloyd Cullen is a local Manhattan Beach Short Sale Expert with experienced Manhattan Beach Short Sale Agents here to assist you.   Manhattan Beach Short Sale Realtor We specialize in Short Sales for Manhattan Beach and Surrounding Areas In this slow economy, are you upside down on your Manhattan Beach mortgage? It is possible to get out of an upside down mortgage if you utilize the help of a Manhattan Beach Short ... 05/30/2012

Homes sales report for the Village Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during March 2012. Homes for sale: No homes are currently for sale in the Village area of Manhattan Beach. Pending sales: One home is in escrow at the asking price of $1,559,000. March sales: No houses sold during March 2012. 04/29/2012

Homes sales report for the Hill Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during March 2012. Homes for sale: 10 Homes are listed for sale priced from $1,449,112 to $4,895,000. Pending sales: 9 Houses are in escrow in the Hill Section priced from $1,000,000 to $3,600,000. March sales: Five homes sold during March 2012: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 307 Larsson St. $885,000 3/1 1216 3438 1957 27 8th $1,335,000 4/2 1958 5770 1960 0 206 S. Dianthus St. $2,050,000 3/2 1205 6250 1947 10 849 10th St. $2,400,000 5/5 4356 6000 2005 240 819 10th St. $3,600,000 5/5 4600 10,500 1999 287 Homes for sale in the Hill Section of Manhattan Beach:   04/29/2012

Homes sales report for the Tree Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during March 2012. Homes for sale: 12 Homes are listed for sale in the Tree section priced from $819,000 to $2,695,000. Pending sales: 19 Houses are in escrow priced from $849,000 to $2,599,000. March sales: Nine homes sold in Mar. 2012: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 3308 Pine Ave. $930,000 3/2 1330 4637 1948 25 2912 Palm Ave. $992,000 3/2 1604 4634 1960 177 2801 Palm Ave. $999,000 3/2 1098 4643 1950 2 2516 Palm Ave. $1,200,000 3/2 2264 7342 1947 28 1805 John St. $1,352,000 4/2 1394 5063 1950 7 3617 Pacific Ave. $1,425,000 6/5 2800 4726 2007 413 759 27th St. $1,589,000 4/3 1205 6250 1947 22 3613 Maple Ave. $1,599,000 5/5 3200 4643 2011 115 2600 Pine Ave. $1,799,000 5/5... 04/29/2012

Homes sales report for the Sand Section neighborhood in Manhattan Beach, California during March 2012. Homes for sale: 28 Homes are listed for sale priced from $755,000 to $22,499,000. Pending sales: 18 Homes are in escrow priced from $750,000 to $3,295,000. March sales: 5 Homes sold in March 2012 in the Sand area: Address Sale Price Bed/Bath Sq. Feet. Lot Year Built Days Listed 433 Marine Pl. $957,000 2/1 650 2702 1934 61 329 19th St. $2,300,000 4/4 3632 2705 2001 143 544 3rd St. $2,900,000 5/5 3800 2691 2011 81 1204 The Strand $5,750,000 6/4 2613 3318 1925 122 1712 The Strand $10,500,000 4/5   3338 2008 92 Manhattan Beach "Sand Section" homes for sale. 04/29/2012