By Mike Levine, licensed general contractor (CSLB B-985034) and real estate broker (DRE 01928630). Data pulled from the City of Manhattan Beach permit portal on September 2, 2026.
The numbers
| Manhattan Beach, permit issued to final inspection | Months |
|---|
| Average, 93 homes (8 outliers removed) | 27.2 |
| Median, 93 homes | 26.9 |
| Average, all 101 homes | 37.3 |
| Median, all 101 homes | 28.4 |
| 25th percentile, 93 homes | 19.6 |
| 75th percentile, 93 homes | 33.2 |
| Homes finished in under 18 months | 18 of 93 (19%) |
| Homes that took 24 months or more | 58 of 93 (62%) |
How Levine Homes compares in Manhattan Beach
| Months |
|---|
| City average, 93 homes | 27.2 |
| Levine Homes, 3 Manhattan Beach homes | 19.4 |
| Range of the three Levine homes | 12.2 to 25.6 |
| Difference | about 7.8 faster |
Three homes is a small sample. Treat the comparison as a guide, not a guarantee for your project.
What we measured
- Measure: permit issued to permit finaled, which is the city’s final inspection. It does not include design, engineering or the wait for the city to issue the permit.
- Source: City of Manhattan Beach EnerGov permit portal, pulled September 2, 2026.
- Sample: 150 permits were filed as new residential and finaled in the last five years. 49 were not new single-family homes: 26 revisions, 8 multi-unit or condo projects, 6 accessory structures, 5 additions or site work, 3 revisions to accessory or remodel permits, and 1 commercial job. That left 101 homes.
- Outliers: 8 of the 101 were far slower than the rest by the standard 1.5 times IQR rule and were removed from the headline average. Three of them were issued in 1996 and 2000 and closed out 21 to 26 years later. Both versions are in the table above.
- Window: permits finaled in the last five years. The 93 homes in the headline were all issued between 2018 and 2022.
What happens before the permit
The measured period starts when the city issues the permit. These steps come first. The times are my averages from experience, not from the city data.
- Survey and soils report, started during escrow: about 1 to 1.5 months.
- Architect design: about 4 to 6 months.
- Engineering, after the architect finishes.
- City permit processing: about 15 months on average now, with a range of about 9 months to 2 years.
Why Levine Homes builds faster
- We build 2 to 3 homes at a time, so each job gets attention to timing and sequence.
- We have electricians and plumbers on staff, so underground plumbing and electrical go in while the foundation is being formed.
- We finish the design package before construction starts, which avoids removing and reinstalling work.
- We order lighting and plumbing fixtures early and store them in our Torrance warehouse, because lights can take 4 to 6 months to arrive.
What the faster timeline can be worth: an illustration
These dollar figures are assumptions, not measured costs. They show how a shorter build changes carrying cost. Your numbers will differ.
- Assumption 1: the owner carries a $2,000,000 purchase at 5% interest, about $8,333 per month.
- Assumption 2: the owner rents a home during the build at about $10,000 per month.
- Assumed carrying cost: about $18,333 per month.
- Time difference used: 7.8 months (27.2 city average minus 19.4 Levine Homes average).
7.8 months at $18,333 is roughly $143,000. A cheaper lot, lower rent or free housing shrinks the figure. A larger loan grows it.
What the data does not tell you
- It covers every builder and every size of home, including homes with basements.
- It measures the permit, not move-in. Move-in can come a little earlier or later.
- It does not include the design and permit stages that come first.
- Levine Homes is in the data set it is compared with, and I pulled the numbers myself.
Related: New construction in Manhattan Beach, How long to build a custom home in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach build time data, Custom home building FAQ.
