Luxury Home Market Turning For Sellers
Blog, Manhattan Beach News, Market Updates, Selling | Dunham Stewart
Top tier properties are getting close to ending their multi-year buyers’ market and quickly reaching a more equal balance between buyers and sellers, catching up with less expensive homes . Since early December, the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s Market Action Index has risen 30 percent and is now only seven points away from reaching a seller’s market on a national level. The index, which is managed by Altos Research, measures available supply relative to the current level of demand. Despite the fact that the number of new listings has increased 51 percent over the past six weeks, the average days on market at 204 has declined slightly, from 209 to 204. Luxury homes typically take longer to sell than less expensive ones and the ILHM average days on market (204) are much higher than Realtor.com’s January median of 119 days for all price ranges. The percent of properties with a price decrease, another sign of buyer dominance, has also decreased over the past six weeks, from 26 percent to 24 percent of all luxury properties.
South Bay residents are becoming increasingly healthier according to a new study released Wednesday during the Beach Cities Health District board meeting. The new found improvements are being touted as an indication that the Blue Zones Project – a community health initiative launched in 2010 – is gaining momentum in its goal to make the beach cities a healthier and happier place to live, work and play. The study found that beach cities residents have shown an overall well being increase since 2010 and are now smoking less, working out more and eating healthier than they were two years ago. Since the Blue Zones project began in Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beach, organizers said they have been successful in influencing city governments, restaurants, schools and businesses to adopt healthier practices. While many indications of well being are increasing, the beach cities still have a big area to improve upon – stress. About 47 percent of beach cities adults reported carrying significant stress on any given day compared to the national average of 40 percent.
The Friends of the Roundhouse Aquarium will hold a fundraiser on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at The Strand House, 117 Manhattan Beach Blvd. in Manhattan Beach, from 6 to 8 p.m. The, Roundhouse, located at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier is an iconic symbol. It houses the aquarium which is a hands-on facility that educates about the ocean and the environment in a fun way. During the weekday mornings and early afternoons, staff members teach classes to school children who visit from throughout Los Angeles County. The Roundhouse is open to the public free-of-charge from 3 p.m. to sunset on weekdays and 10 a.m. to sunset on weekends. Event organizers hope to gather about 125 people support the cause. Proceeds from the event will help with some much needed improvements to the aquarium, and also refurbishment of the children’s area. For more event details and to purchase tickets 
The Foundation of Local Arts presents its fourth annual event join us at the beautiful Hutter home built with green resources and artfully designed interior at 584 33rd St. in Manhattan Beach. The Tickets are on sale for a Saturday fundraiser that will benefit art education in Manhattan Beach schools. It will feature a docent-led tour of a home “built with green resources and decorated with a unique artistic vision.” It runs from 7-10 p.m. Dennis Jarvis, owner of Spyder Surfboards Inc., will be on hand to talk about his art as a surfboard shaper and surfboard art graphics designer. To buy tickets, priced at $30, link to 
The high-powered Quadrantids meteor shower should have peaked just before dawn Thursday with a maximum number of meteors per hour of about 80, but there’s a chance to see them again before dawn Friday. Mother Nature has helped would-be Quadrantids viewers in Los Angeles the past two nights with clear skies providing and a setting moon providing good viewing oportunities. The meteor shower is expected to “last only a few hours,” 
Manhattan Beach can now add another notch on its belt of distinctions after being named as one of the nation’s 12 most beautifully painted neighborhoods and towns by the Paint Quality Institute. This year’s “Prettiest Painted Places in America” contest honored Manhattan Beach, “a colorful coastal community near Los Angeles where the beautiful landscape is punctuated with artful, individualistic paint color.” The purpose of the competition is to give recognition to places that use paint to express pride in their communities and highlight how an attractive exterior paint treatment can enhance the curb appeal of virtually any home, building or exterior structure. Nearly 200 nominees from 48 states and the District of Columbia submitted color images of beautifully painted homes, buildings and exterior murals. Manhattan Beach and Tubac, Ariz., were chosen as the winners in the Southwest Region. The city will be rewarded with a nationwide publicity campaign with HGTV and USA Today.
he SKECHERS Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, which is presented by Nickelodeon, is anticipating 10,000 participants at this year’s event.Traveling from the Manhattan Beach Pier to Hermosa Beach Pier and back, the 3.4-mile walk will include performances from local school bands, cheerleading teams and free activities for the entire family. Today they announced that legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, Dancing with the Stars co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet, and fitness expert Denise Austin will host. They aim to surpass the $600,000 fundraising total from 2011. Since its 2009 launch, the walk has raised $1.2 million to help retain vital educational programs, maintain smaller class sizes, upgrade school technology, as well as support The Friendship Circle – a non-profit organization that assists children with special needs and their families through one-on-one peer mentoring and social programming. Visit the event website 
Technology, Entertainment, Design, has been a much-talked-about acronym over the past few years. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to “ideas worth spreading.” TED gets leaders in various subjects from around the world to give short speeches. The speeches are videotaped and put online for anyone to view for free. TEDx is a program of self-organized, hyperlocal events, a smaller branch of TED. TEDx Manhattan Beach will be on Saturday, October 13th, has held more than 20 events over the past few years, bringing in more than 1,000 people. This year’s conference theme is “Journey to Purpose: Dream. Educate. Thrive,” bringing leading-edge thought leaders and educators together to share their ideas on how to define and find purpose and its effect on the human mind, spirit and well-being. For all the details and to purchase tickets visit the site 
The 8th Annual Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation Family Surf Fiesta will be held this Sunday, Oct. 14 on the beach at 42nd St. in Manhattan Beach. It’s a family friendly surf contest with all ages and skill levels encouraged to participate. The JMMF provides free of charge its unique program of Ocean Therapy to the United States Marine Corps. Wounded Warrior Battalion-West, as well as the Veterans from the West LA Veterans Hospital and youth from several care and shelter facilities for abused and foster children. Surfing begins at 7:30 am. The finals will be about 4:30 pm. The after-party/awards start about 6 p.m. at Verandas (the old Orville & Wilburs). There is all-day parking at Verandas. For the first time ever, the silent auction will be at the beach, with incredible items from SBYKE, Body Glove, Spyder, ET, trips to Nevis and Park City, Sector 9 Skateboards, Trilogy Spa, Kai Candles, Wine Packages, and private surf lessons with Dayton Silva and other top South Bay Surfers.
