After holding steady for the first half of 2023, the median home price for Manhattan Beach has dropped substantially and stayed down for the last part of the year, according to local real estate blog MB Confidential.

MB Confidential reports that the Manhattan Beach median price fell to $2,745,000 for both October and November this year, a drop of $367K and 11.8% over a single 12-month period.

Furthermore, the year-over-year drop in the median price in Manhattan Beach is substantially the most dramatic in the South Bay, three-and-a-half times the little slip of -3.3% for Redondo Beach.

However, notes real estate broker and MB Confidential author Dave Fratello, "The picture improves quite a bit if we drop condos and townhomes out of the data, and compare median prices for single-family homes, only. By the SFR measure, Manhattan Beach is outperforming the two other beach cities, and doing better than the South Bay as a whole."

But why the drops - in the South Bay and elsewhere? 

"The first problem confronting almost all real estate markets is gravity," said Fratello. "Prices were lifted to the stratosphere and beyond by cheap money in 2020-22 as a consequence of pandemic-inspired monetary policy. Markets may be correcting unevenly still, as both inventory and sales volume are way, way down throughout SoCal. Fewer listings has generally meant more competition and more stable median prices, but that seems only to work for a while."

And what happened in Manhattan Beach specifically? 

"The simple, statistical answer is: More homes were sold at lower prices than at higher prices," said Fratello. 

For much more detailed numbers and analysis, read the full median price story on MB Confidential.