How far are the Tree and Hill Sections from the beach?

About a quarter mile to a mile and a half from the pier, depending on the block. From the middle of the Tree Section it's under a mile, and about a mile and a half from the corner at Rosecrans and Sepulveda. From the Hill Section it's a quarter mile to a mile, and downtown's Metlox Plaza is about half a mile from the middle of the neighborhood.

Can you do short-term rentals in the Sand, Tree or Hill Section?

Only on Sand Section parcels inside the Coastal Zone. Manhattan Beach bans stays under 30 days in residential zones, but the ordinance in effect since December 2022 exempts the Coastal Zone, which covers about 71% of Sand Section parcels. The Tree and Hill Sections are outside it. Check the specific parcel and the city's current rules before you count on rental income.

How tall can you build in the Sand, Tree and Hill Sections?

30 feet and three stories in the Sand Section; 26 feet and two stories in the Tree and Hill Sections. Height is measured from the average elevation of the lot's four corners. In the Tree and Hill Sections, no part of a house can be more than about 31 feet above the ground directly below it, which is 20% over the limit. The code says these limits can't be raised without a citywide vote.

Is the Sand Section in a flood zone?

Mostly not. On FEMA's flood map the streets and the Strand are zone X, minimal hazard, except near the far south end of the Strand around 1st to 5th streets, and the beach itself is in zones AE and VE. The state's tsunami hazard area follows about the same line. Those were spot checks, so read the natural hazard disclosure for the specific house.

Does the refinery or LAX affect the Tree or Hill Section?

The refinery matters mostly on the Tree Section's north edge. Chevron's El Segundo refinery sits just north of Rosecrans Avenue, and the city's Noise Element singles out homes facing Rosecrans. LAX is about 4 miles north, and the Noise Element says some arriving planes pass over the city, with aircraft noise below 60 decibels. In both sections the blocks next to Sepulveda get traffic noise.

Is parking hard in the Sand Section?

Yes, near downtown and on summer weekends. The city runs eight public lots with 899 spaces, and street meters downtown cost $3.50 an hour in peak season and $3.00 off-peak under rates adopted in July 2026. Walk-street and Strand houses rely on alley garages, so ask how many cars the garage really fits. Residents can buy overnight permits for three beach lots at $30 for three months.

Sand vs Tree vs Hill Section, Manhattan Beach

Q: What schools serve the Sand, Tree and Hill Sections?

Manhattan Beach Unified serves all three, with one middle school and Mira Costa High for everyone. On the district's 2015 elementary map, the Hill Section is Robinson, most of the Tree Section is Pacific with the northwest corner in Grand View, and the Sand Section is split, with Grand View and Robinson both inside it. The district assigns by exact address, so confirm yours.

Sand Section, Tree Section or Hill Section? The short answer.

The Sand Section if you want to walk to the beach, the pier and downtown and don't mind a small lot; the Tree Section if you want a family house on a lot close to twice that size; the Hill Section if you want the biggest lots and, on many streets, an ocean view. All three are in Manhattan Beach Unified and share one middle school and Mira Costa High. In late September 2026, Sand Section houses off the Strand asked about $2.2 million to $14.3 million, Tree Section houses about $2.8 million to $8.75 million, and Hill Section houses $4.5 million to $11 million.

See them for yourself.

Restaurants and bars on a downtown corner with people on the sidewalk, a row of tall palms and the ocean behind in warm evening light — Sand SectionEvening light on the restaurants at the foot of Manhattan Beach Boulevard

Rooftops, a palm tree, and garden shrubs under a clear sky, seen from a Tree Section street — Tree SectionLooking over rooftops and palms from Flournoy Road

Tall palms stand in silhouette against an orange and pink sky, reflected in a still pond beside a green fairway — Hill SectionSunset over a golf course pond in Manhattan Village, on the east side of Manhattan Beach

The Manhattan Beach Pier and the Roundhouse at dusk, with the lamps lit and a pink sky over the water — Sand SectionThe Roundhouse at the end of the pier after the lights come on

A white picket fence behind a jade plant, a blue agave and pink hydrangeas, all lit by low warm sun — Tree SectionA front garden in late-day sun in Redondo Beach

A paved path winding through native shrubs and flowering plants at the Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden — Hill SectionThe Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden, next to Polliwog Park east of Sepulveda

Live from the MLS

Sand Section vs Tree Section vs Hill Section by the numbers.

Sand Section$5.75M

Tree Section$4.9M

Hill Section$8.38M

$5MManhattan Beach

Sand Section$2,452

Tree Section$1,500

Hill Section$1,670

$1,703Manhattan Beach

Sand Section2,568 sq ft

Tree Section3,580 sq ft

Hill Section5,016 sq ft

3,107Manhattan Beach

Sand Section44 days

Tree Section31 days

Hill Section37 days

44Manhattan Beach

The price scale and the gauge run from one end of the Manhattan Beach neighborhoods we cover to the other. Each bar on the price per square foot card is one of them, lowest asking price first. Gray always marks the median for all of Manhattan Beach. Right now Sand Section has 37 homes for sale, Tree Section has 11 and Hill Section has 3. Asking prices for homes on the market right now inside each mapped area, not sale prices.

Updated October 3, 2026, 7:00 PM PT

Which one fits you?

Sand Section 3Tree Section 1Hill Section 4

Sand Section

Walk to the beach, pier and downtown

The Sand Section runs from the ocean to the greenbelt and takes in the Strand, the walk streets, downtown and the pier. From the Tree and Hill Sections the pier is roughly a quarter mile to a mile and a half away, depending on the block.

Hill Section

Biggest lots

New Hill Section lots have to be at least 7,500 square feet, the largest minimum in the city, and half the existing house lots are bigger than about 6,000. Half the Tree Section's house lots fall between about 4,480 and 5,130 square feet, and the standard Sand Section lot is 2,700.

Hill Section

Ocean views

The ground climbs from about 90 feet at the greenbelt to about 225 feet near Sepulveda, so many western streets look out over the beach blocks to the water. There's no view ordinance, though; the height limit is what protects a view.

Tree Section

Cheapest family-size lot

In late September 2026 the Tree Section's original 1950s and 1960s houses asked about $2.8 million to $3.05 million, in a neighborhood where lots run close to twice the size of a standard beach lot. The lowest Hill Section asking price was $4.5 million.

Sand Section

Most house on a small lot

The Sand Section allows 30 feet, three stories and floor area of 1.6 times the lot, about 4,320 square feet on a 2,700-square-foot lot. The Tree and Hill Sections cap houses at 26 feet and two stories, with floor area well under the lot size.

Sand Section

Rental income

About two-thirds of Sand Section parcels are zoned for more than one unit, and the city's ban on stays under 30 days doesn't apply to the roughly 71% of parcels inside the Coastal Zone. The Tree and Hill Sections are outside the Coastal Zone, so the ban applies there.

Hill Section

Most newer houses

County records date 43% of Hill Section houses to 1990 or later, compared with about 36% in the Sand Section and 34% in the Tree Section.

Hill Section

One elementary school for the whole area

On the district's 2015 attendance map the entire Hill Section falls in Robinson Elementary's area. The Tree Section splits between Pacific and Grand View, and the Sand Section is split too.

Compare the details.

Compare Sand Section with another neighborhood

A surfer in silhouette rides a breaking wave under an orange and violet sunset sky

Sand Section

The beach blocks west of the greenbelt, where most lots measure 30 by 90 feet

Median asking $5.75M

See homes Read the Sand Section guide

Huge umbrella-shaped pines with twisting trunks spread over a park entrance and lawn in warm late-day light

Tree Section

Postwar lots about 40 feet wide, north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and west of Sepulveda, where the original houses keep coming down for two-story rebuilds

Median asking $4.9M

See homes Read the Tree Section guide

Dusk over the beach from the Strand, with the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the horizon and roses along the walkway

Hill Section

The biggest lots west of Sepulveda, on a slope south of Manhattan Beach Boulevard that climbs to about 225 feet

Median asking $8.38M

See homes Read the Hill Section guide

Homes and lots
	Sand Section	Tree Section	Hill Section
Typical lot	30 by 90 ft, or 2,700 sq ft; about one in five is a half lot	About 40 ft wide; half fall between about 4,480 and 5,130 sq ft	Half are over about 6,000 sq ft; new lots need 7,500
Housing mix	About 2,100 houses, 1,100 lots with duplexes or small apartments, 860 condo units	About 2,950 houses; almost all zoned single-family	About 820 houses; almost all zoned single-family
Age of houses	43% built before 1960; 36% in 1990 or later	46% built 1940 to 1959; 34% in 1990 or later	34% built before 1960; 43% in 1990 or later
House asking prices (late Sept 2026)	About $2.2M to $14.3M off the Strand; about $9.6M to $25M on it	About $2.8M to $8.75M (12 for sale)	$4.5M to $11M (5 for sale)

Daily life
	Sand Section	Tree Section	Hill Section
Where	Ocean to the Veterans Parkway greenbelt, El Porto to Hermosa Beach	North of Manhattan Beach Blvd and west of Sepulveda, up to Rosecrans	South of Manhattan Beach Blvd and west of Sepulveda, down to the Hermosa Beach line
Elementary school (2015 MBUSD map)	Split by attendance area; Grand View and Robinson both sit inside	Mostly Pacific; the northwest corner is Grand View	Robinson for the whole section
To the pier	The pier is in the Sand Section, with the Strand and downtown	About a quarter mile to a mile and a half	About a quarter mile to a mile

Rules and risks
	Sand Section	Tree Section	Hill Section
Zoning district	Area Districts III and IV (MLS area 142)	Area District II (MLS area 143)	Area District I (MLS area 144)
Height and floor area	30 ft, three stories; 1.6 times the lot	26 ft, two stories; 0.7 times the lot on lots up to 4,800 sq ft	26 ft, two stories; 240 sq ft plus 0.65 times the lot
Rentals under 30 days	City ban doesn't apply in the Coastal Zone, about 71% of parcels	Banned; outside the Coastal Zone	Banned; outside the Coastal Zone

Where each section is

The greenbelt separates the beach side from the other two, and Manhattan Beach Boulevard is the line between the Tree and Hill Sections.

A pedestrian walk street rises between beach houses, with palms, trimmed shrubs and orange strelitzia flowers under a blue sky — Photo: Sergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0

The Sand Section is everything between the ocean and the Veterans Parkway greenbelt on Valley Drive and Ardmore Avenue, from El Porto at the El Segundo line down to Hermosa Beach. It includes the Strand, the walk streets, downtown and the 928-foot pier. On a walk street the houses face a public walkway and the garage is on the alley behind, and from most of the Sand Section you can walk to the beach and to restaurants.

East of the greenbelt, Manhattan Beach Boulevard divides the other two, and Sepulveda Boulevard is the east edge of both. The Tree Section runs north to Rosecrans Avenue: a grid of family houses, nearly half of them built from 1940 to 1959, on avenues like Palm, Walnut, Pine, Elm and Oak, with Pacific Elementary inside it and Live Oak Park across Valley Drive. The Hill Section runs south to the Hermosa Beach line and climbs from about 90 feet above sea level at the greenbelt to about 225 feet near Sepulveda, so many of its streets look west over the beach blocks to the ocean.

The city's own documents disagree about one corner. The blocks around Grandview Avenue near Sand Dune Park are Tree Section in the city's General Plan but Area District III on the zoning map, and our guides put them in the Sand Section.

What you can build on each lot

The zoning code sets different limits for each section, and they decide how big a rebuild can be.

A tree covered in small yellow blossoms — Photo: Sergei Gussev, CC BY 2.0

The standard Sand Section lot is 30 by 90 feet, 2,700 square feet, and about one in five house lots is a half lot of 1,500 square feet or less. The code allows 30 feet, three stories and floor area of 1.6 times the lot, about 4,320 square feet on a standard lot, with a 5-foot front setback. That's why a typical rebuild there is a three-level house with a full basement. Two-thirds of the parcels are zoned for more than one unit, which is where the duplexes and small apartment buildings come from.

The Tree and Hill Sections allow 26 feet and two stories, with a 20-foot front setback. Tree Section lots are usually about 40 feet wide, and floor area there is 0.7 times the lot, about 3,250 square feet on a typical 4,650-square-foot lot. The Hill Section has the largest minimum lot size in town, 7,500 square feet for new lots, and floor area there is 240 square feet plus 0.65 times the lot, about 5,115 square feet on a 7,500-square-foot lot. In all three, up to 400 square feet of garage and a basement that's fully below grade don't count toward floor area, and the code says the height and floor-area limits can't be raised without a citywide vote.

A few other rules apply only in some of the sections. Front-yard trees 12 inches or more across are protected in the Tree and Hill Sections, and removing one takes a city permit. On Sand Section walk streets, the planted area in front of the house is usually public right-of-way, used under an encroachment permit that's recorded against the property. In the Tree and Hill Sections, the city's SB 9 rules allow two main houses on a single-family lot and up to four units counting ADUs, none of them rentable for under 30 days.

Sand: 30 ft, three stories, 1.6 times the lot
Tree: 26 ft, two stories, 0.7 times the lot
Hill: 26 ft, two stories, 240 sq ft plus 0.65 times the lot

Asking prices in September 2026

Sand Section prices vary the most, and the Hill Section had only five houses for sale.

A spike of magenta hummingbird sage flowers with dark purple bracts against a soft green garden background — Photo: Daderot, CC0 1.0

When I pulled listings in late September 2026, the Sand Section had 35 properties for sale. Houses off the Strand asked about $2.2 million to $14.3 million, the six on the Strand about $9.6 million to $25 million, inland duplexes and triplexes about $2.5 million to $6.5 million, and four condos and townhomes about $3 million to $5.5 million.

The Tree Section had 12 houses for sale at about $2.8 million to $8.75 million. The three from the 1950s and 1960s asked about $2.8 million to $3.05 million, and at that price I look at them as lots. The five built since 2014 asked about $4.75 million to $8.75 million. The Hill Section had five, from $4.5 million for a 1950s house to $11 million, with the two newest at about $8.4 million and $11 million.

The Hill Section's five listings are a thin sample, and the Tree Section's range is really two markets: original houses priced as lots and new construction. I'd price a specific house off recent sales on similar lots, not off these ranges, and the live numbers on this page may already differ from the ones I pulled.

Sand, off the Strand: about $2.2M to $14.3M; on the Strand about $9.6M to $25M
Tree: about $2.8M to $8.75M
Hill: $4.5M to $11M

What each one offers

What you get in each section, and what to check before you buy.

Rows of large beach houses and palms rise above a wide sandy beach with a blue lifeguard tower and a line of white surf — Photo: Marika Bortolami, CC BY 2.0

The Sand Section puts the beach, the Strand and downtown within walking distance, but parking can be hard and there's more paperwork when you build. Walk-street and Strand houses rely on alley garages, downtown meters cost $3.50 an hour in peak season under rates adopted in July 2026, and the Lot 3 structure at 12th Street and Morningside Drive closed in 2024 and is now a temporary surface lot. About 71% of the parcels are in the Coastal Zone, where new construction and major remodels need a coastal development permit. On FEMA's map the streets and the Strand are zone X, minimal flood hazard, except near the far south end of the Strand, and the sand itself is in zones AE and VE.

The Tree Section gets you a family house on a bigger lot, but check how close the house is to the section's edges. Sepulveda Boulevard is State Route 1, and the blocks next to it get the traffic noise. Chevron's El Segundo refinery sits just north of Rosecrans Avenue, and the city's Noise Element singles out homes facing Rosecrans. A large fire there on October 2, 2025 caused no hazard to Manhattan Beach, according to fire officials, but it's fair to factor that in on the north end. Some streets have resident permit parking, with up to three hangtags per household.

The Hill Section has the biggest lots and, on many streets, an ocean view, but the blocks along Sepulveda are louder, and only the height limit protects a view. Neighbors downhill can build up to 26 feet and to the full floor-area limit, so I look at what the lots between a house and the ocean could legally become, and I order a topographic survey with the four corner elevations, because height is measured from them. LAX is about 4 miles north, and the city's Noise Element says some arriving planes pass over the city.

Sand: survey, recorded encroachment permit, coastal status and parking
Tree: distance from Sepulveda and Rosecrans, and protected front-yard trees
Hill: topographic survey and what the downhill lots can become

Schools and rental rules

A white clapboard building with a blue door and tall windows sits behind a trimmed hedge and a big cypress in afternoon sun — Photo: SAPhoto&Art (Sarah Ainsworth), CC BY-SA 4.0

All three are in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, which had 5,905 students in 2025-26 and runs five elementary schools, one middle school and Mira Costa High School. The middle and high school are the same wherever you buy. The elementary school differs: on the district's attendance map, dated November 2015, the whole Hill Section is Robinson, most of the Tree Section is Pacific with the northwest corner in Grand View, and the Sand Section is split, with Grand View and Robinson both inside it. Since the map is that old, confirm the school for the exact address with the district.

Short-term rental rules depend on the Coastal Zone line. Manhattan Beach bans stays under 30 days in residential zones, but the ordinance in effect since December 2022 exempts properties inside the Coastal Zone, after the 2022 appeals ruling in Keen v. City of Manhattan Beach. That covers about 71% of Sand Section parcels, so two houses a few blocks apart can have different rental rights. The Tree and Hill Sections sit outside the Coastal Zone, so the ban applies there, and units added under SB 9 can't be rented for under 30 days either.

Homes for sale in Sand Section

37 active listings in the mapped area

Just listed

$8,900,000

Townhouse3 bd4 ba2,660 sqft

2522 The Strand

Just listed

$10,295,000

Single-Family4 bd5 ba4,188 sqft

Single-Family3 bd4 ba1,724 sqft

208 43rd Street

23 days on market

$6,495,000

Triplex7 bd3 ba2,628 sqft

Townhouse4 bd3 ba1,840 sqft

218 14th Street

24 days on market

$2,150,000

Single-Family2 bd1 ba828 sqft

1808 Highland Avenue

25 days on market

$3,699,000

Single-Family3 bd3 ba1,944 sqft

1200 N Ardmore Avenue

26 days on market

$13,995,000

Single-Family5 bd6 ba4,274 sqft

1404 Manhattan

30 days on market

$8,000,000

Single-Family4 bd4 ba3,596 sqft

Single-Family4 bd4 ba1,789 sqft

Duplex5 bd3 ba2,060 sqft

229 31st Street

View all 37 homes on the live map

Still deciding? Ask me.

I’m a Long Beach Realtor and I work Manhattan Beach too. Tell me what you’re after and I’ll help you get there.

Call (424) 400-9003

Slava Ploshkin · DRE #02323623English and Russian

Homes for sale in Tree Section

11 active listings in the mapped area

Coming Soon

$3,400,000

Single-Family4 bd4 ba3,829 sqft

583 36th Street

8 days on market

$4,750,000

Single-Family4 bd5 ba3,200 sqft

2517 Elm Avenue

22 days on market

$4,499,000

Single-Family5 bd4 ba3,262 sqft

3005 N Poinsettia

23 days on market

$8,750,000

Single-Family5 bd6 ba4,720 sqft

1808 Laurel Ave

24 days on market

$7,395,000

Single-Family6 bd7 ba5,220 sqft

2300 John Street

Coming Soon

$5,700,000

Single-Family5 bd5 ba3,574 sqft

586 36th

46 days on market

$3,000,000

Single-Family3 bd2 ba1,899 sqft

3508 Maple

59 days on market

$7,499,000

Single-Family6 bd8 ba5,001 sqft

640 33rd Street

Coming Soon

$6,495,000

Single-Family5 bd6 ba4,085 sqft

745 35th Street

Pool

$4,899,000

Single-Family4 bd4 ba3,580 sqft

3406 Palm Avenue

$2,798,000

Single-Family4 bd2 ba1,550 sqft

3600 Pine Avenue

See Tree Section homes on the live map

Homes for sale in Hill Section

3 active listings in the mapped area

34 days on market

$11,000,000

Single-Family5 bd7 ba6,076 sqft

1002 10th

37 days on market

$6,499,999

Single-Family5 bd5 ba4,315 sqft

845 11th

$8,375,000

Single-Family5 bd7 ba5,016 sqft

1013 10th Street

See Hill Section homes on the live map

Questions & answers

The Tree or Hill Section for most families, because the lots are bigger, and the middle and high school are the same citywide anyway. The Tree Section is the cheaper of the two: its original houses asked about $2.8 million to $3.05 million in late September 2026, and Pacific Elementary sits inside the neighborhood. The Hill Section has bigger lots and one elementary school, Robinson, for the whole area. The Sand Section suits families who want to walk to the beach and don't mind a smaller lot, usually 30 by 90 feet.

For a house on a full family lot, the Tree Section; for the lowest single asking price, the Sand Section. In late September 2026, Tree Section houses asked about $2.8 million to $8.75 million. Houses off the Strand in the Sand Section started around $2.2 million, on lots that are mostly 30 by 90 feet, and about one in five Sand Section house lots is a half lot. The Hill Section's five listings asked $4.5 million to $11 million.

Lot size and slope. The Hill Section, south of Manhattan Beach Boulevard, is Area District I, with a 7,500-square-foot minimum for new lots, half its house lots over about 6,000 square feet, and ground that climbs from about 90 to 225 feet. The Tree Section, north of the boulevard, is Area District II, with a 4,600-square-foot minimum and half its house lots between about 4,480 and 5,130. Both have a 26-foot, two-story height limit and protected front-yard trees.

The Hill Section, on many of its western streets. The ground rises from about 90 feet at the greenbelt to about 225 feet near Sepulveda, so houses on the west-facing slope look over the beach blocks to the water, while some on the east side look inland. In the Sand Section, the first row of houses sits on the Strand, the public walkway along the beach, and the six listed there in late September 2026 asked about $9.6 million to $25 million.

Not without a permit if it's protected. In Area Districts I and II, the Hill and Tree Sections, a tree whose trunk sits at least partly in the front yard and measures 12 inches or more across at 4.5 feet above the ground is protected, except deciduous fruit trees and Washingtonia palms. Removal takes a city permit and a tree plan, and a project costing more than half of what rebuilding the house would cost has to plant at least one 36-inch box tree.