A Tale Of Two Markets

Does anyone remember the bursting of the real estate bubble?  In real estate terms, it seems like last century.

For those in need of reminding, we saw home prices peak in 2007 and then drop 20% over the next two years.

So, for example, the median single family home sale price in Manhattan Beach hit almost $1.8 million in 2007 ($1,799,000 to be precise) and then fell to $1,450,000 in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis.

In 2010, there was a brief head fake, with prices bumping up to $1,522,500 but that was a mere blip.  Over the next two years, the median sale price in Manhattan Beach hovered right around $1,455,000.

But this year - a different story with the median sale price for a single family home in our fair city rocketing to $1,716,500 by the end of October (it's even higher today at $1,725,000).

Personally, for us here at Real Estate Edge, this contrast between today's real estate market and that of just a few years ago was most vividly on display when we listed and sold the 3800 sq.ft. Craftsman at 2200 John Street,pictured above, in the Manhattan Beach Tree section over the summer and received 10 offers. 

Three years ago we sold the home next door, 2104 John Street, an equally large (and newer) Spanish Mediterranean on the same size lot.  But then it was a buyer's market, a totally different atmosphere.

For more on these two contrasting sales - one in yesteryear's buyer's market and the other in today's seller's market - click here.