Manhattan Beach saw 286 home sales totaling nearly $1.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2019. Nevertheless, both the total number of home sales as well as the sales volume were down from the same point in the last two years, according to Manhattan Beach Confidential.

Dave Fratello, real estate broker at Edge Real Estate Agency and author of Manhattan Beach Confidential, reports that there were 334 sales in the first three quarters of 2017, compared to 307 sales in 2018 and 286 sales in 2019.

Sales totals for the year so far are now second-lowest of the last 8 years.

Fratello also reports that there was a drop in the year-to-date total amount spent on local homes. The sales volume was $1.925 billion in the first three quarters of 2017, compared to $1.760 billion over the same time period in 2018 and $1.576 billion in 2019 (an overall drop of 18%).

Fratello notes that analysts don't often cite dollar volume for comparisons between years, because with home price increases over time, the dollar volume changes can be misleading. Yet for the period of 2017-2019, prices have been relatively similar, he says, which means that comparing at least these past three years' worth of data should be valid.

What does it all mean? "There's just a little bit left of this year's market. Maybe we'll see a busy October before things calm down," says Fratello. "And we could use a little rally."

For the full market update for the first three quarters of 2019, visit Manhattan Beach Confidential's latest Market Update.

To view the most up-to-date changes in Manhattan Beach real estate listings, visit the MB Confidential Dashboard.