A standard market report will give you sales counts, average price, and year-over-year change by city. That’s a fine starting point, and we’re happy to share those numbers whenever anyone asks. But after spending decades in the South Bay working these streets, Hermosa, Manhattan, and Redondo Beach, we’ve learned that the most useful information rarely shows up in a spreadsheet like that. It shows up in the pattern of what actually happens to a listing between “For Sale” and “Sold.”

So for this quarter, we wanted to share something different: what we’re tracking beneath the surface of the local market this year. The listings shared quietly among agents before they ever reach the MLS. The ones that disappeared and came back changed. The real time it takes to get an accepted offer, versus the headline number a buyer sees at a glance. And where estate and trust sales fit into all of it. This is the part of the market that lives in relationships and daily attention, not in a public database, and it’s exactly where we spend our time.

Quick Stats (South Bay Beach Cities, First Half of 2026)

  • 897 new homes came to market across Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach
  • 20 homes (2.2%) moved through a “Coming Soon” period before going fully active and open for showings. 11 are in that window right now
  • 57 homes (6.4%) were pulled off the market and came back within six months; 84% of those returned at a different price, averaging 4% lower
  • Homes that had been quietly relisted before finally selling showed a “Days on Market” number on Zillow averaging 37.5 days, but their true time on the market averaged 54.6 days, 46% more than what buyers typically see
  • 11% of everything that came to market this year was tied to a trust or probate estate

The Quiet Pre-Market: What “Coming Soon” Really Means

Under our local MLS rules, “Coming Soon” listings are now included in the data feed that goes out to Zillow, Redfin, and other third-party sites, so a home in that status is often visible to the public within a day of hitting the MLS. What it doesn’t have yet is showings or accepted offers; it’s marketing exposure that arrives before the home is fully active, not before it’s public. This year, we tracked 20 South Bay homes that spent time in that Coming Soon window before going fully active, and as of today, 11 more are sitting in it right now.

The real hidden layer of this market sits one level below that: listings that never touch the MLS at all. In January 2026, Compass merged with Sotheby’s International Realty’s parent company, bringing these brokerages under the same umbrella. As part of the Compass family of brokerages, we have access to Private Exclusive Listing, a program that lets a seller share their home exclusively among Compass affiliated agents and their buyers, off the MLS and off every public site. It’s a program that draws real debate in the industry, since it limits a listing’s exposure to the wider market, but it also gives a seller a genuinely quiet, controlled process when that’s what they want. We have a Private Exclusive Listing right now, and based on the buyer interest we’re already seeing, there’s a real chance it sells before it ever needs to reach the MLS.

The part that never leaves a trail at all is everything in between: a call between agents, a preview before a broader launch, a conversation with a buyer we already know is looking in that neighborhood. That’s the part of the market that comes from being in it every day, knowing who’s about to list, who’s quietly looking, and how to connect the two before a home ever needs a “Just Listed” post.

The Cancel-and-Relist Story We See Every Year

Here’s a pattern that comes up more than people expect: 57 South Bay homes that came to market this year were pulled (canceled, withdrawn, or simply expired) and came back within six months. That’s about 1 in every 16 homes listed. Of those, 84% came back at a different price than where they started, dropping by an average of 4%, after sitting quietly for an average of 77 days in between.

To a buyer scrolling Zillow, a relisted home often just looks like a fresh listing with new photos and a “Just Listed” badge. The price history isn’t hidden. It’s right there on the listing page for anyone who checks. But most buyers don’t scroll down that far, and it’s exactly that history, the fact that the home already tested the market once at a higher number and didn’t sell, that changes how you should think about the negotiation. And for a seller weighing whether to hold firm on a price, it’s a useful reality check: most homes that get pulled and relisted don’t come back at the same number. They come back lower. Getting the price right the first time, based on a genuine read of demand, is almost always the better path, and it’s the conversation we have with every seller before a home ever hits the market. Where buyer demand hasn’t been tested recently, we advise sellers to adjust price early during the marketing process based on actual buyer interest.

The Real Time-to-Offer, Versus the Headline Number

Overall, homes are moving quickly across the South Bay right now, a median of about 11 days on market and an average of 28 days for homes that closed in the second quarter. That part matches what most of us are feeling on the ground.

But look specifically at homes that had been relisted before they sold, and the picture shifts. The “Days on Market” figure attached to their final listing, the headline number most buyers glance at first, averaged 37.5 days. Their real, full time on the market, counting the entire listing history, averaged 54.6 days. That’s 17 additional days, roughly 46% more than the headline number suggests. That full history is there to see, on Zillow and elsewhere, if you click into it; the “Days on Market” counter itself only tracks the current listing period, and it’s easy to take that number at face value without pulling the history behind it.

If you’re a buyer using “Days on Market” to gauge how motivated a seller might be, or a seller wondering how fast homes are “really” moving, that gap matters. It’s exactly the kind of thing we walk clients through before they make a decision based on a number on a screen.

Where This Connects to Trust and Probate Sales

One more pattern worth sharing: 11% of everything that came to market in the South Bay this year was tied to a trust or probate estate, more than one in ten homes. That tracks with what we see constantly in our own practice. Estate sales are exactly the kind of transaction most likely to move quietly at first: heirs and personal representatives often aren’t looking to broadcast a family sale right away, attorneys and fiduciaries frequently prefer a more controlled process, and having an agent with an established buyer network can mean a strong offer arrives before a listing ever needs wide public exposure.

If you’re buying or selling a property as an heir, executor, or trustee, this is exactly where our experience matters most. We’re certified probate and trust specialists, and we’ve written more about what that process actually looks like. See What is Probate and How Does it Play into the Real Estate Market? and Skip the Hassle, Choose Control: Why Trusts Offer a Superior Estate Plan for more.

The Bottom Line

None of this comes from a spreadsheet you can pull together in a few minutes. It comes from being in this market every single day, watching which homes move quietly, which ones come back changed, how long things really take, and where estate sales fit into the bigger picture. That’s what decades of working the South Bay, street by street, actually gives you.

Thinking about buying or selling in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, or Redondo Beach? Let’s talk about what’s really happening on your street.

FAQ: South Bay’s Off-Market Activity

How many South Bay homes move quietly before reaching the open market?

This year, at least 2.2% of South Bay listings spent time in a “Coming Soon” period before going fully active, and that’s only what leaves a visible trail on the MLS. A meaningful amount of true off-market activity, including listings shared privately among agents and never entered on the MLS at all, happens through direct relationships and never shows up as a public data point.

What does a “Coming Soon” period mean for a listing, and is it on Zillow?

Under current MLS rules, yes, a “Coming Soon” listing is typically included in the feed to Zillow, Redfin, and other sites, so it’s often publicly visible within a day of hitting the MLS. What it doesn’t have yet is showings or accepted offers. That’s different from a true private listing, which is shared only among agents and their buyers and never appears on the MLS or any public site at all.

What is a “Private Exclusive Listing,” and how is it different from Coming Soon?

A Private Exclusive Listing is shared exclusively among agents within a brokerage network, in our case, Compass and its affiliated brands, and their buyers, without ever being entered on the MLS or syndicated anywhere public. It’s a more controversial approach because it limits a home’s exposure to the broader market, but for sellers who want a genuinely quiet process, it can be the right tool, and it sometimes means a home sells before it ever needs wider exposure.

Why do homes get pulled from the market and relisted at a different price?

This year, 84% of South Bay homes that were pulled and came back within six months returned at a different, usually lower, price, averaging about 4% below the original. This typically means the original price was set higher than actual buyer demand supported.

Is the “Days on Market” number I see on Zillow accurate?

Zillow does show a home’s full listing history, but the headline “Days on Market” figure most buyers see first usually reflects only the current listing period. Among South Bay homes we tracked that had been relisted before finally selling, that headline number averaged 37.5 days, while the full listing history showed 54.6 days, 46% more, once you account for the earlier time on market before the relist.

Do trust and probate sales affect the South Bay market?

Yes. 11% of everything that came to market in the South Bay so far this year was tied to a trust or probate estate. These sales often move quietly through trusted local channels before appearing publicly, which is why experience with probate and trust transactions matters for both sellers navigating an estate sale and buyers hoping to find these opportunities early.

Who is the best realtor for off-market or probate listings in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, or Redondo Beach?

Team Plunkett at Vista Sotheby’s International Realty® is a certified probate and trust specialist with decades of hands-on experience in the South Bay’s beach cities, tracking off-market, pre-market, and estate-sale activity as part of our day-to-day work in this community.