May was another huge month in terms of home prices in the South Bay with Hermosa Beach highest on the wow factor with a median price in May of $,1450,00, almost 32% higher than the year before. Redondo Beach saw major gains as well with 106 homes selling in May with a median home price of over $844,000
One of the more common types of houses in both north and south Redondo Beach is what we call a two on a lot. At some point there was either a small home or small duplex on a larger lot. While the city of Redondo will not allow these lots to be split, they can, depending on zoning, be the sites for multiple unit townhome buildings. In general the zoning either allows a 3 on a lot townhome or a 2 on a lot townhome. The appeal to the two on a lot is that it often feels more like a single family than what most think of when they hear townhome or townhouse. The 2 on a lot can either be attached (usually the shared wall is the garage downstairs and either the master or a patio wall upstairs) or detached with no shared walls and usually a yard separating the two. Both types of 2 on a lot can be a great alternative to a single family home. They are usually larger, newer and in better locations than an SFR in the same price range. In some cases these detached two on a lot have the even better fortune of being on a corner lot giving the two separate townhomes different street addresses and a look and feel of two completely different homes. Values for 2 on a lot Redondo Beach townhomes have skyrocketed in the past 2 years with new construction detached two on a lots nearing $2.4M.
If you’re in the market for a home in Redondo Beach or just curious to see what some homes look like, there are an abundance of open houses for this coming weekend. If you’re seeing this after June 6th or 7th visit our updated South Bay open houses page. There are plenty of homes to see in both North Redondo Beach and South Redondo Beach ranging from Brookside Village condos to oceanfront homes along the Esplanade.
Days
Hours
Address
Details
Price
Sat/ Sun
1-4pm
645 S. Prospect #204
3 BD, 1.75 BA, Corner, End Unit
$579,000
Sun
1-4pm
2503 Vanderbilt Ln. #1
3 BD, 2 BA, 1,290 SF, Detached 3-On-Lot
$585,000
Sun
1-4pm
2510 Voorhees Ave. #7
2 BD, 2 BA townhomes
$599,000
Sat/ Sun
1-4pm
250 The Village #213
1 BD, 1 BA, 910 SF Condo near the beach
$619,000
Sat
1-4pm
1611 Lomax Ln.
2 BD, 1 BA, Beach Home with city views
$719,000
Sun
1-4pm
2307 Rindge Ln.
4 BD, 2.5 BA, 2,300 SF, New Listing
$799,000
Sat/ Sun
1-4pm
307 S. Prospect
3 BD, 1.5 BA, New Listing
$849,000
Sat/ Sun
1-4pm
1714 Stanford Ave.
4 BD, 2 BA, recently remodeled
$850,000
Sat/ Sun
1-4pm
1733 Spreckels Ln.
3 BD, 2.5 BA, Yard & Spa
$969,500
Sat
12-2pm
2411 Gates Ave.
Duplex! 2- 2 BD + 1 BA Units, 1,586 SF, 7,499
SF Lot, Grass Space
As a Redondo Beach realtor who has been doing this a while, I’ve come to expect a nice increase in houses for sale in mid to late January. As the holidays wrap up, football season ends, and everyone gets back to work, we generally see a nice increase in homes that hit the market. It can often set the tone for much of the year as and abundance of homes early in the year often seems to stabilize the market one way or another. Unfortunately 2015 hasn’t seen that increase as the number of active homes for sale continues to go down at a time when the homes for sale should be going up. It’s still early enough that sellers may yet be holding off for a week or two to put their homes on the market and it would be welcome relief for the home buyers sitting and waiting.
The chart below shows the number of homes for sale represented by the light green bar. As of January 29th there are only 88 homes for sale in all of Redondo Beach.
See the Positives and Negatives of Homes in the Golden Hills
Homes in the Golden Hills of Redondo Beach
As many of my clients are from out of the area or out of state, they seem to have a notion that the South Bay is simply one big city and there aren’t all that many differences between Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach. The reality is that even within these cities the individual neighborhoods vary quite a bit. Due to the sheer size of the city, Redondo Beach is one of the more varied communities in the South Bay in terms of types of housing, size and age, and price.
The area just east of Hermosa and just South of Manhattan (see Golden Hills Map)is a hilly section of Redondo Beach known as the Golden Hills. Knowing the areas pros and cons is an important step in determining whether the Golden Hills is the right area for you. The homes in the area have a not entirely flattering nickname and are called “tall and skinnies”. Drive down any street in the area and you’ll see why. When the homes were originally built the area was subdivided into 25×100 foot lots. With no alleys in the rear, this means that the frontage of the home required a 2 car garage and as you’ll notice, the homes look somewhat similar. So here’s the pros and cons of the area.
Pros of Life in the Golden Hills:
You get a bigger house for a lower price. Many of the homes in the area are in the 1700+ square foot range with spacious living rooms, open kitchens and good sized bedrooms.
Prices for either smalller square foot houses or fixers generally start in the high $1,000,000k range and newer, larger homes can sell for over $1,600,000.
Location is excellent. Being just east of Hermosa Beach, means that the Golden Hills is very close to the beach. Saying it’s a walk or bike ride is a bit of a reach, but it’s not far off. Being this close to the beach means cooler summers and warmer winters……and who doesn’t like that.
Upgrades. Many of the homes in the area have been very nicely upgraded and well taken care of. Those that haven’t can be purchased for an even greater discount.
Price. Look just west in Hermosa and the price jumps considerably. Try to find a home this size in other parts of Redondo and expect to pay $100k more.
Cons for the homes in the Golden Hills:
The biggest complaint that I get to the area is the bedroom configuration. With a 25 foot wide lot there’s only so many options the original builders had. The general layout is living room (often with vaulted ceilings), kitchen and master bedroom upstairs, and garage and 2 bedrooms downstairs. The master on one level with the other bedrooms downstairs is often an obstacle with families with small kids or expectant parents.
Proximity to your neighbors. Again with lots 25 feet wide, and front doors usually needing to be on the side of the house due to the garage, don’t generally mean much room between you and your neighbor.
Lack of street parking. With 2 car wide driveways in front of every 25 foot wide lot, it doesn’t leave much room for curbs. On the other hand a two car garage plus 2 driveway spaces may make that a non factor.
Small yards. Generally these homes have a small yard in the rear without a front yard to speak of. Again this can be a positive or a negative, depending on your situation.
This is an absolutely ideal property for the investor or owner user, with 2 detached homes in a great North Redondo Beach neighborhood. Let your tenants help pay your mortgage! Each home has been lovingly maintained and updated with gleaming hardwood floors, recessed lights, updated kitchens and baths and so much more. The front home enjoys a very large fenced grassy front yard, rear patio, spacious kitchen, private laundry room, 2 bright bedrooms and a very bright and inviting living room. Rear home features 2 bedrooms plus a spacious bonus room that can be used as an office or 3rd bedroom.
