Realtor Current Market Conditions, early April 2006

The Realty Times current market conditions reports rank Current Market on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=buyer's market, 5=seller's market), and Current Price Trend on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=falling, 5 = rising). It's a very mixed bag out there, with data being selectively reported. That there are conflicting reports suggests that the South Bay market area is not the powerhouse it used to be.

Don Tambini's April 4, 2006 report for Redondo Beach single family residences (SFRS) ranks Current Market = 3 and Current Price Trend = 4.

               Mar 2006       Mar 2005
Average DOM          56             36
Average Price  $895,000       $974,000        
Number Sold          33             32

Townhouses and condos both decreased in number of sales but average price is still going up.

Note: average price is particularly misleading, but it's notable that even average price is down for SFR in Redondo, suggesting perhaps that the higher end homes are not exactly selling like gangbusters the way they have been in, say, Manhattan Beach.

Realtor Kay Grundhaus, who ranks Current Market = 4 and Current Price Trend = 3, reports:

You can get more for your money in this area...South Redondo continues to grow in pricing...the climate has changed a little this year...sellers are still trying to get last year's prices and buyers are waiting for the market to drop...houses are staying on the market longer and some really wanting to sell are lowering their prices, but not much...

That sounds about right. On Zip Realty I've seen a number of price reductions in 90278 but nothing major. I've seen a small handful of properties sneak back in as relistings at reduced prices, but even those reductions are still less than 10%.

Manhattan Beach. Realtor Don Tambini ranks Current Market = 3 and Current Price Trend = 3, and reports on Manhattan Beach SFRs:

                Mar 2006       Mar 2005
Average DOM           74             29
Average Price $2,045,000     $1,636,000
Number Sold           34             40

Overall, SFR sales still look fairly strong, even though average DOM now is sharply up in March. The number of sales for townhouses and condos in March, and their sale prices, were about the same as a year ago.

For Manhattan Beach, Realtor Robert Kissig ranks Current Market = 5 and Current Price Trend = 5 (I am not sure how he comes up with those numbers.) He reports:

SFR median price (for February? unclear) is $1,950,000, +23.8% from February 2005, while townhouse/condo median price is $850,000, -35.7% from February 2005...it's becoming a buyer's market.

For Hermosa Beach, realtor Don Tambini ranks Current Market = 3 and Current Price Trend = 3. For March 2006 SFRs, he reports:

                Mar 2006     Mar 2005
Average DOM           73           30
Average Price $1,539,000   $1,180,000
Number Sold            9           12

The number of sales and prices for townhouses and condos were similar to last year.

Overall, no signs of panicky sellers yet, though the long reaching tentacles of the slowdown seem to have reached this area and buyers appear willing to wait. On a side note, this is the first year, in almost 11 years renting where I do, that realtors have been leaving calendars, business cards, and literature on our doorstep. Real estate transaction dollars are down and it's the commission-earning realtors who are feeling the financial pain first, not the homesellers who are still selling their homes at greatly appreciated prices.