What a great place to live – the Hollywood Riviera! Just south of Redondo Beach and just north of Palos Verdes Estates – we are sandwiched in between two gorgeous areas. The beaches here are magnificent (and much quieter than those in Hermosa Beach or Manhattan Beach) and must easier to get to than the cliffs of Palos Verdes Estates.
Currently there are 30 properties for sale here in the Hollywood Riviera. 4 Condos ranging in price from $529,000 to $599,000. All very close to the beach. 3 Townhouses ranging in price from $630,000 ( a great buy. It’s a short sale in the Palos Verdes Village Townhome Complex. The unit itself has 2 bedrooms – each like a master w/ its own bathroom and one w/ a great view of the ocean and harbor.) Plus the unit has a “bonus room” w/ laundry, an attached two car garage and updated baths and kitchen. the view is very pretty as well – this is a great deal and won’t last long in my opinion. There are two more townhouses that are right by the beach down on lower Calle Miramar – they are new construction and currenlty listed for $1,399,000. Detached units w/ 3 bedrooms and their own garage.
23 single family residences round out the inventory. These range in price from $625,000 to $3,750,000 (a large price range no doubt.) The least expensive home is located on Pacific Coast Highway’s service street and the home is located in the Torrance 90505 side of the Riviera vs. the Redondo Beach 90277 side of the neighborhood – typically perceived as the “tonier” side of town. 
The $3,750,000 house is brand new, contemporary-upscale and right across the street from one of the most gorgeous beaches in town! What a view! 
For those more middle of the road customers – one might like a house here in the Riviera for $1,499,000 – a remodeled home w/ a beautiful view and 4 bedrooms! For those of you desiring a “I’m going to make this one my own” you might be interested in a home for $895,000 w/ a pool and not in the City of Torrance Overlay (which means a much easier road to a large remodel.)
Feel free to call me if you have any questions about any of this. I’d sure love to help you make a move into this wonderful neighborhood!
It is of utmost importance to hire a Realtor and of even more utmost importance to make it a local realtor! Why you say? Why can’t I just hire my brother-in-law up in Northern California to represent me? There are so many reasons:
If you are a buyer, your buyer’s agent needs to be a true expert in the communities you are interested in purchasing. Your agent should be completely versed in the schools, school districts, boundary lines, commuting, type of local building restrictions, etc. Living in the area is really the only way someone could be a true expert in an area. Knowing the neighbors, having dealt with the city building department themself…this is priceless knowledge that can be delivered only by someone who really knows the area. This can save you thousands of dollars in mistakes – the mistake of buying on a “bad street.” The mistake of not knowing that house is in a special “building restrictions” zone.
Also, as a buyer, you will benefit from a local realtor who has insider knowledge that the “lady down the street had her house on the market last year and is still thinking of selling” and maybe that is the perfect house for you. It’s not on the market today, so you wouldn’t have known about it unless a “local realtor” had that special insider knowledge.
Another important reason to hire a local realtor is that they are familiar with the nuances of the specific neighborhood, ordinances etc. This is important if you are a seller as well. In doing a little research on ZipRealty.com’s website I thought I’d check out their comps you could pull up as a “seller.” This is to save some money of course as Zip Realty typically discounts their commission. Here is their comp for an address of a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom updated home with nice ocean views from the kitchen and the family room as well as a deck in front of the property. The house was built in 1954 but was updated extensively in 1995. The price range that ZipRealty’s website offers is between $495K – $1.9 million dollars. Now there is a “range” for you.
What are you supposed to do with this comp? This must be a joke you ask yourself. Now a local Hollywood Riviera realtor would of course not even considered comparing this single family home to a condo that sold for $495K. And certainly would have thrown out the $1.9 million dollar sale on the Esplanade. Only a local realtor dedicated to the neighborhood that they service would know each and every property inside and out (these agents have been inside most of the houses in the neighborhood at one time or another.) This is valuable knowledge that you can gleen and it’s priceless.
The last benefit I am going to address in hiring a local realtor in purchasing a home is that they may be aware of the best homes before they even hit the market. As I mentioned above, local realtors know the people that live in the neighborhood that they specialize in. They know whose home is most likely to go for sale before anyone else would know. When there is limited inventory this is valuable information – priceless!
These days you can’t just work off of Average Prices or Average Dollar Per Square Foot to come up w/ Pricing. When comparing property, it takes someone who can back out certan aspects of a home that another home may not have. (Or add in – in the case of a view for instance.) Each home is unique – especially here in the Hollywood Riviera – some have views, some have great floor plans, some don’t, some have been remodeled (some more than others) and it is this specific information that adds or subtracts from the value of a home. You can’t just go by averages these days to price a home. And this goes for both buyers and sellers. It is just as important for a seller to price a home for sale correctly as it is for a buyer’s agent to know the comps when coming up with a realistic offer price for a home. Local Realtors can save a buyers and sellers thousands of dollars.
