This chart shows Q1 and Q2 for each of the past 10 years.

Every single year, except 2025, the number of sales in Spring (Q2) has been higher than in Winter (Q1). Sometimes, the jump is drastic – closed-sales figures doubled, or nearly did, from Q1 to Q2 in 2017, 2021, and 2023.

This year's Q2 sales total (84) is better than 3 of the prior 5 years, but otherwise lagging. Most years saw 100+ sales in Q2.

"There really was something astonishing about Q1," said Fratello. "Dollar volume for all Q1 '25 closed-sales hit $367 million, making the quarter the 7th busiest quarter of all time by this measure," said Fratello. "It was head-and-shoulders above any other Q1."

What Changed in 2025?

There were three trends driving sales this year, according to MB Confidential.

1) Wildfire relocations – New buyers with deep pockets choosing Manhattan Beach after their home areas were devastated by the tragic January fires were a major contributor to the Q1 rush. 

2) Buyer trends from 2024 continuing – A sizable number of individual buyers decided to jump back into the market. People had put off their plans long enough, no longer believed mortgage rates were due to dip substantially, and they liked what they saw on the market. 

3) Sellers re-entering the market – Homeowners who had been on the fence began deciding to sell. The biggest "boycott" in the market from 2022-24 had been owners – tied down by the "golden handcuffs" of low mortgage rates – who were unwilling to sell even if they had wanted to. In 2025, people in all kinds of situations decided that this was the time to put their homes on the market.

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