Like many cities, Palos Verdes Estates is made up of a few different sub-areas in the world of real estate. I covered the beautiful Malaga Cove area a few weeks ago and today will be looking at an adjacent area, Monte Malaga. This area is “up the hill” and offers spectacular views of what is often referred to as the Queen’s Necklace. This includes the coastline, beach cities, LAX, Century City, Los Angeles, and the Hollywood Hills. As a point of reference, the popular wedding or event facility of La Venta is located just before this area when driving up the hill. Homes are typically 3,500 to 4,500 sq ft in size. Lot sizes range from 16,000 sq ft to over 19,000 sq ft. The sales of homes here have followed a pattern common for the South Bay.
Back in 2001, the average selling price for a home here was just under $1.4 M. This average rose steadily until it had doubled to $2.8 M in 2006. In 2007, the average home sold for about $2.3 M and dropped again to just over $2 M last year. This year-to-date has seen a further decline. If one were to use the sales average data at face value, one would conclude that values have dropped up to 28 percent from their peak. I would caution against using just the sales average numbers, but they may illustrate actual trends just fine.
Sales volume hit a peak here in 2002 as it had in most South Bay areas. There were 50 single family homes sold that year and like the other areas the number of homes sold dropped each year to a low point last year of 17 homes. This is one reason why focusing on average sales data can be misleading.
From 2001 through 2003, the average days on market here was just over one month. In 2004 and 2005, homes were on the market for only a couple of weeks on average. Since then, homes have been lingering on the market longer and went from 47 days in 2006 up to three months for homes sold this year-to-date. At this writing, the homes currently on the market have been so for an average of four months. Inventory stands at about nine months.
There are a couple of homes that have been on the market for over 690 and 940 days, respectively, and may be throwing off the current days on market average. One on Via Coronel is currently listed at $7.25 M, down from an original list price of $7.5 M. It has 10,000 sq ft of living space. The other is located on Via Cerritos and has over 18,000 sq ft of living space, including two indoor bowling lanes. It was originally listed at just under $13 M and can now be purchased for under $10 M.
Tony Cordi is the owner of Beachtime Realty, serving the South Bay since 2007. He specializes in beach properties across the South Bay and Palos Verdes. Tony has helped several clients identify properties where they can add value by remodeling or developing the property.
