By Keith Kyle

I get a number of inquiries from my site SouthBayOceanFront.com from buyers looking for a beach front home on The Strand in Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.  Many of these buyers are extremely qualified and have the ability to comfortably purchase multi-million dollar homes.  The problem in today’s market is that values along the beach in Hermosa and Manhattan have gone up considerably in the past 18 months.  There are currently 9 oceanfront single family homes on The Strand and 8 of them are priced over $10,000,000.  That was a relatively unheard price point just 2 years ago and now there are several over $15,000,000.

So what is a $5,000,000 buyer to do?

Unfortunately homes becoming available in that range are probably a thing of the past, but there is an option not far and it may even offer attributes that The Strand can’t offer.  The area is the Hollywood Rivera (about 10-15 minutes south) and there is a fantastic bluff top street called Paseo De La Playa that offers oceanfront homes, large lots that extend all the way to the beach (some fortunate homes have paths that access the beach directly from the home), and views not only of the beach, but Palos Verdes, the ocean, King Harbor, and coastline views that extend all the way to Malibu.

As of this post, there are 2 oceanfront homes for sale on Paseo De La Playa.  The first is currently in escrow located at 605 Paseo De La Playa and is listed for $4,295,000.  The second is an off market sale in which the owner is trying to sell it themselves at 617 Paseo De La Playa and the owner is asking $4,350,000.

The homes on Paseo were all originally on leased land with many of the former owners buying out the leases in the past and are now owned free and clear.  Built in the 60’s and 70’s some of the homes are fairly original while many have been extensively remodeled.