Regional Spotlight: South Bay Home Sales Increase Second Straight Month

RISMEDIA, April 30, 2007-Following a 28.6% jump in February, home sales rose another 23.3% during March in the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, with 222 homes changing hands in the four cities compared to 180 last March and up from 127 the previous month, according to the monthly Shorewood Report.

At current sale rates, the inventory of homes available for sale in the four cities fell to just 2.2 months, the lowest that figure has been in more than a year.

The average asking price rose 7.5% to $1.47 million, while the median sales price fell 5.9% to $930,000 in the four cities. Region-wide, the median price rose 9.4% to $640,000 compared to $585,000 last March.

There were 145 homes in escrow last month in the four beach cities, compared to 167 a year earlier, while the typical home spent 55 days on the market, compared to 41 days last March.

Results were mixed elsewhere in the region, with sales increasing 14.6% in Torrance and 6% in Lawndale, but falling 9% in Palos Verdes Estates and 33% in Hawthorne.

Arnold Goldstein and Larry Wolf, co-owners of Shorewood, said that the South Bay market results for the past two months signaled the start of a healthier-than expected spring season. "Shorewood's transaction volume was up 1.7% during the first three months of 2007, and we continue to gain market share," they said. "These region-wide figures show that both buyers and sellers are moving more confidently into the market than we've seen in recent months, which continues to bode well for the future. As long as interest rates remain stable, we continue to think 2007 will be a very positive year in the South Bay," they added.

The most active price category in the four beach cities during March was homes priced from $1 million to $1.5 million, with 124 offered for sale in that range and 47 sold. Another 121 homes were offered between $750,000 and $1 million, with 76 sold in that range, while 73 were offered between $500,000 and $750,000 and 49 sold. Ninety-two homes were offered at $2 million or more during the month, with 24 selling in that price range.

The Shorewood Report is compiled from data supplied by TrendGraphix, a Sacramento-based market research firm. Figures include combined sales of single-family homes as well as town homes and condominiums in El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. The report also includes a supplemental chart with selected data for the cities of Ingle-wood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Torrance and Palos Verdes Estates.

Shorewood captured 33.6% of all closed sales in terms of dollar volume for El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach more than its next six competitors combined and was also the leader in all four cities individually, including 41.5% in Hermosa Beach, 42.7% in Manhattan Beach, 57.5% in El Segundo and 16.9% in Redondo Beach. The company also led in Hawthorne and Torrance, with 10.3% and 8.8% market share respectively. Overall, Shorewood was #1 for all 18 South Bay cities in the Trendgraphix survey, with 18.2% market share for the month.

For the 12 months ended March 31, Shorewood reported a total of 1,790 transactions worth a total of $2 billion (representing 14.5% of all closed sales during the period for the entire region), for an average per-transaction value of $1.12 million.

For more information, contact Shorewood at (310) 376-8021 or any of its local offices in El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes Estates.

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