About Town: Billions in MB 

Home buyers in Manhattan Beach spent nearly $1 billion more on homes in 2021 than in the previous year, according to new data compiled by local real estate broker Dave Fratello and published on his MB Confidential blog. Dollar volume for Manhattan Beach home sales hit a record total of $3.554 billion. The 2020 total of $2.563 billion was the previous high. “Home sales activity was so strong in Manhattan Beach last year that we blew away our own new record by almost 40 percent,” said Fratello, founder of Edge Real Estate Agency. “It seemed that 2020 was a home-buying frenzy that could not be repeated. In fact, the momentum only increased.”  According to Fratello,  almost 400 homes usually sell each year in Manhattan Beach. In 2020, that total hit 430 homes sold, the highest in eight years. Yet the total leaped to 518 sales in 2021, a rise of 20 percent in total sales. The median home price reached $3 million for the first time in November. “When you have more sales at higher prices, that’s part of the story for how you get to $3.5 billion,” Fratello said. Strand homes sold at a record pace, with 16 total sales and $161.45 million in total dollar volume. The number of sales exceeded the three prior years combined and was a record total for the past 20 years, Fratello reported. One Strand sale posted at $19.2 million, was also a record.  ER