By Keith Kyle
What makes Redondo Beach such a desirable place to live?……Just about everything. Take a look at our Welcome to Redondo Beach video to see why the saying “if you’re lucky enough to live at the beach…..you’re lucky enough” is certainly true in this wonderful coastal community.
By Keith Kyle
While this post is about realtors in Redondo Beach, it really applies to any city and any market. Simply put there are good realtors, average realtors, and bad realtors. The irony is that the commission is the same for almost all realtors (in Redondo Beach the standard commission is 2.5% to both the buyer’s and seller’s agents)….
So why would anyone hire a listing agent that wasn’t good?
That’s a great question without an easy answer. Buying or selling a home is often the most important financial decision someone will make in their lives, and putting that in the hands of someone for any reason other than them being the best and willing to put in the most effort just doesn’t make sense.
So what is the difference?
As with anything in life or any profession, there are good realtors, bad realtors and most are somewhere in the middle. We’re lucky here in the South Bay as many agents are not only full time professionals, but very good at what they do. A good realtor is a local expert, uses the latest technology for their clients, is a good negotiator and communicator, someone that will go beyond the normal services offered and first and foremost, one that puts the clients needs ahead of their own.
A good realtor…..
A bad realtor…..
By Keith Kyle
It always amazes me the little effort some realtors put into selling their listing and how much money they may be leaving on the table for their clients. One of the biggest differences in what realtor do (or don’t do) is how they present the home. From staging to cleaning, to photography, it all matters.
Staging isn’t something done in most listings but it can make a huge difference. Whether it’s staging a vacant home or adding to or rearranging the sellers own furniture (more often than not its actually decluttering), staging serves many purposes but it always helps present the home in a better light.
The photos above show a recent listing of mine before we staged it and after. This was the same light, both clean and looking good but what a difference staging makes. It was a beautiful condo in Fusion South Bay, and likely would have done just fine without staging but for this home it served several purposes. The most obvious is that it can take a rather cold and sterile feeling room and make it far more warm and inviting. For this particular condo, it was on the smaller side with only 1000 square feet, so the additional purpose is eliminating many buyer perceived concerns. Rooms are often bigger than they appear when empty and buyers often wonder if their furniture will fit, whether the bedroom will even hold a queen bed, where the TV is going to go. All of this can be eliminated by staging properly and the buyer hesitations are eliminated and buyer then tend only to focus on the positives. The sale of this home set the new sales record for an “A” floorplan unit in Fusion.
By Keith Kyle
Brookside Village, located at the corner of Camino Real and Prospect, is the most affordable way of living in the beach close community of South Redondo Beach. At the moment there are a number of homes for sale in the complex and may be one of the best ways of getting out of the world of renting and getting into owning a home. The complex was built around 1970 and features 385 units ranging from one bedrooms to 3 bedrooms. There are also a number of differences between the various buildings and addresses with some buildings feeling more like condos while others feeling more like townhomes. In the two story buildings the 2nd floor units offer vaulted ceilings and even though the square footage may be the same they feel much larger. Contact us for more information on the condos at Brookside Village.
Sometimes spectacular homes don’t sell. That’s usually due to them being
overpriced, but that still doesn’t make the homes any less cool. This weeks spotlight home is located oceanfront in Redondo Beach on at 717 Esplanade. The home is magnificent in just about every way with a higher elevation than anything comparable on the Strand in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach and an oversized lot of over 11,000 feet allowing the home to be very large at over 7000 feet while still having incredible outdoor areas with a patio and a pool (not to mention the beach and ocean are only 40 feet away?) With 4 bedrooms and 6 1/2 baths the spaces are large with tremendous views of course.
Having said all of that the home was originally listed at $14,250,000 in May of 2013! That’s a long time on the market in any circumstances but given that the past two years have possibly been the hottest since 2006 with prices skyrocketing and demand at an all time high, it’s pretty clear that even at the current price of $12,999,999 it’s still sitting. If this home were in Manhattan or Hermosa it likely would have sold prior to it being listed, but the reality is that it’s not in Manhattan or Hermosa. It’s a spectacular house in and even more spectacular location but given the highest previous number was $8.1M and that was for a 21,000 foot lot it’s still a reach, but who knows….with the asking price for the oceanfront condos at 1500 Esplanade being $4,000,000 and up, values are getting more in line with 717 Esplanade all of the time.
By Keith Kyle
Two of the cooler things in Redondo Beach is the very tight community and of course the ocean. What better way to combine the two than the annual boat parade in King Harbor. Come and see this unique tradition with boats decked out in lights, paddleboarders, outrigger canoes, Santa and more. The boat parade is happening on Saturday December 12 with the paddleboard parade at 4:30 and the boat parade beginning at 5:45. They’ll have bleacher seating in Moonstone Park (see map below) and food trucks will be there starting at 3:30. How can you go wrong with boats, sunsets, food, and the holidays!
