Palos Verdes Source

What are the names of the Bays and Coves in Palos Verdes?  That questions was asked of me a couple of weeks ago.  And as a 30 plus year resident, I could not name them all.  How lucky are we here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula that we have so many that we can’t count or name them all!  Our coastline is truly magnificent!

Matt Waters at Rancho Palos Verdes Parks and Recreation Department did some research for me and came up with the map below taken from Don Gales book, “Wildflowers, weeds…”   I realize it may be challenging to read so I am listing the Coves and Bays starting from RAT (Right At Torrance) beach which is the northern border of the Palos Verdes coastline (and the Points are in parenthesis).

In Palos Verdes Estates there is Malaga Cove, Bluff Cove, (Rocky Point) Lunada Bay (Resort Point) and Christmas Tree Cove (which is shared with Rancho Palos Verdes).  The shoreline begins in Rancho Palos Verdes with Christmas Tree Cove and continues with Golden Cove, (Point Vicente) Fisherman’s Cove (Long Point), Abalone Cove - photo above, (Portuguese Point) Smuggler’s Cove/Sacred Cove (Inspiration Point) and Portuguese Bend Cove (Halfway Point).

Recently, I answered a question on Trulia Voices regarding property taxes for Palos Verdes real estate and thought it was worth a mention here also.  When a property is purchased, it is reassessed by the Los Angels County Tax Assessor using the sales price as the base.  The new property tax will be 1% of the purchase price plus any local bonds and assessments (usually averages another .0025 of the sales price).

On the Palos Verdes Peninsula (which includes Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates), we have an additional Palos Verdes Unified School District assessment of approximately $209 per year. 

Homeowners in the city of Palos Verdes Estates pay an additional Fire/Police assessment of approximately $261 per parcel plus $.15 per square foot of structure (a total of $648 for a 2,600 square foot house).

The city of Rancho Palos Verdes has a new storm drain user fee until 2016.  Homeowners in Rancho Palos Verdes pay an additional fee based on a “unique calculation” - size of lot, impervious coverage (hard-scape), etc. which averages $105 (but can be a little as $25 for a condo to several hundred dollars for larger parcels).

The city of Rolling Hills has an additional Community Association assessment which is $.20 per $100 of assessed value and is billed twice a year directly from the Rolling Hills Community Association (as opposed to appearing on your LA County Property Tax bill).

Today, there were 19 homes on the Palos Verdes Real Estate Broker’s Tour.  We currently have 276 active single family homes for sale in Palos Verdes ranging in price from $825,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes ($619,000 in Eastview) to $23,000,000 in Rolling Hills.  There are 56 townhome for sale priced between $279,900 and $2,000,000.  My favorites today are:

Gary Myer’s 505 Via Almar, Palos Verdes Estates, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 2 3/4 bath, 2,538 square foot home for $1,795,000.  This Malaga Cove home has fantastic coastline/ocean views, a remodeled kitchen and is within walking distance to the bluffs/beach.  Gary Fortune and Larry Herman’s 27610 Eastvale, Rancho Palos Verdes, (above right) is a 5 bedroom, 4 bath, 4,049 square foot home for $2,199,000.  This unique Westfield home has a gourmet entertainer’s kitchen and a 850 square foot guest house on a 28,890 square foot equestrian lot.

Steve & Ceci Watts’ 9 Pinto Lane, Rolling Hills Estates, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,795 square foot home for $1,649,000.  This beautiful Rolling Ranchos Cape Cod style home has a sunroom, pool, and barn and paddock area.

Photos courtesy of MRMLS

Statistics for the month of August for Palos Verdes Real Estate are now available.  There were 29 closed escrows, 26 pending sales in August and 51 closed escrows and 26 pending sales in July.  The number of closed escrows are down compared to the last 5 months.

Average price for homes that closed escrow in August was nearly the same at $1,480,000 compared to July at $1,496,000.  Average days on market for properties that closed escrow in August rose to 89 days from 52 days in July.  Sold prices compared to list prices was 96% which was slightly increased from 95% in July.  The most significant increase was 9.3 Months of Inventory (how many months it would take to sell existing inventory at the current rate of sale) for August; July had dipped down to 5.4 months.  Entire charts can be accessed by clicking here or on the “Statistics” tab above.

Currently, there are 285 single family homes for sale on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  Additionally, 28 homes have pending sales, 24 homes are in escrow accepting backup offers and 11 homes have sold/closed escrow in the first 12 days of September.

The Los Angeles Business Journal article, ”Median Home Prices Persist in Steady Decline” on September 8, 2008, indicates that Palos Verdes Estates (zip code 90274) showed a 9%  increase in median price for August 2008 compared to August 2007.  Rancho Palos Verdes (zip code 90275) showed a 2%  increase in median price for August 2008 compared to August 2007. 

Today, there were 15 homes on the Palos Verdes Real Estate Broker’s Tour including several interesting and unusual properties.   We currently have 261 active single family homes for sale in Palos Verdes ranging in price from $875,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes ($579,000 in Eastview) to $23,000,000 in Rolling Hills.  There are 48 townhomes for sale priced between $372,000 and $2,000,000.   My favorites today are:

Rick Edler’s 317 Rocky Point Road, Palos Verdes Estates, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,945 square foot home for $3,999,999.  This Lunada Bay home is a rare bluff property,  has unobstructed ocean views and a remodeled kitchen.  Cheryle Ushkow’s 12 Hillcrest Manor, Rolling Hills Estates, (above right) is a 5 bedroom, 5 bath, 4,647 square foot home for $2,400,000.  This Hillcrest Manor home has a pool w/pool house, an office/library and cathedral ceilings with floor to ceiling windows.

David Dashiell’s 2508-2512 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates, (above left) are 3 townhomes each with 3 bedrooms and 3.5 baths 2,850-3,050 square feet for $1,975,000 to $2,000,000.  These new Malaga Cove townhomes have private elevators, vaulted coved ceilings and are within walking distance of Malaga Cove shopping center.   Patricia Arturo’s 27966 Beechgate Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, (above right) is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 1,896 square foot home for $1,075,000.  This Peninsula Center home has a city light view, updated kitchen and is within walking distance to the shops on Silver Spur.

Photos courtesy of MRMLS

Here is another great spot which was submitted by Mary McPherson.  This is the Ocean Estates Trail in Rancho Palos Verdes.  This is an easy walk along the bluff of our beautiful Palos Verdes coast looking out at the ocean and several coves.   It is quiet and peaceful.  There are benches to sit and take it all in. 

The Trail is located on the ocean side of Oceanfront Estates.   At the end of Hawthorne Boulevard, cross Palos Verdes Drive West and the street turns into Via Vicente.  Bear right onto Calle Entradero.  There are parking areas on the street.  You can also stop at Golden Cove Center (just across Hawthorne Boulevard) and pick up lunch or a snack for your walk. 

This is the first in a series of special places on the Palos Verdes Peninsula which many owners of Palos Verdes real estate are not aware of.  You might say these are ”secret” places.   The Gazebo at Roessler Pointis located in Palos Verdes Estates.   The entrance is at the northwest end of the parking lot for Malaga Cove School (Paseo Del Mar and Via Arroyo).

The Gazebo ia a great spot for contemplation and the view is spectacular.  It is very quiet and you are usually the only one there.  You can see the coastline Queen’s Necklace view all the way around to Malibu.  The sunsets are also fabulous.  If you want to walk down on the beach, the path is just to the right.

The Lunada Bay neighborhood is located in Palos Verdes Estates.   My favorite things about this neighborhood are the ocean views and the coastline bluff trails for walking.  My son would say it was when the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie was being filmed (photo above) two summers ago and the cliffs were lined with people (including us) with binoculars watching.

The Lunada Bay area is .7 square miles and has approximately 2,778 residents.  This area is also home to 3 schools (Lunada Bay Elementary, Palos Verdes Intermediate and Palos Verdes High School) and is a favorite area for families.  Lunada Bay has its own fountain (photo below)  and shopping area (Palos Verdes Drive West and Yarmouth) with a market, restaurants, gas station, banks and other shops.  Some Lower Lunada Bay homes (on the ocean side of Palos Drive West) have ocean views; this area is fairly flat which is perfect for biking and walking.  As Upper Lunada Bay homes are located higher on our hill, many have panoramic ocean views.

Nearly eighty seven percent of the housing in Lunada Bay is single family homes.  There are also apartments and townhomes.  There are currently 26 single family homes ranging in price from $1,079,000 (1572 sq ft) to $3,295,000 (3859 sq ft).  Currenty, there are no active townhomes for sale.  There are 2 townhomes in escrow with a list price of $599,000 (1142 sq ft) and $629,000 (1184 sq ft). 

Yesterday, there were 25  homes on the Palos Verdes Real Estate Broker’s Tour.  I have selected both high and low priced homes.  We currently have 281 active single family homes for sale in Palos Verdes ranging in price from $849,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes ($579,000 in Eastview) to $23,000,000 in Rolling Hills.  There are 50 townhomes for sale priced between $305,000 and $2,288,000. 

Cheryle Ushkow’s 57 Paseo Del La Luz, Rancho Palos Verdes, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 6 bath, 7,012 square foot home for $5,395,000.  This  luxurious Oceanfront home has unobstructed ocean views, an office/library and the largest home pool I have ever seen.  Steve Watt’s 2635 Via Carrillo, Palos Verdes Estates (above right) is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,993 square foot home for $1,250,000.  This remodeled Lunada Bay home has large bedrooms, ocean views and a formal dining room.

Shawn Nejad’s 28035 Braidwood Drive, Rancho Palos Drive, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,262 square foot home for $1,299,000.  This well-priced home includes ocean views from nearly every room, a remodeled kitchen and pool with spa.  Kelly Evans and Laura Medina’s 30221 Kingsridge Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, (above right) is a 3 bedroom 2 bath, 1,750 square foot home for $875,000.  This home near the Miraleste Hiking Trails has city/ocean/harbor views, a remodeled kitchen and an attractive open floor plan.

Photos courtesy of MRMLS

Chris Ayres loves his house.  In his refreshing and thoughtful opinion piece in the LA Times, he challenges us to remember why we should love ours too.  He actually purchased his home one year ago and instead of bemoaning the fact that his home may be worth less today, he tells us why he is lucky.

First, the price - Ayres concludes a $1,200,000 purchase price, a loan of $1,000,000 at a fixed rate of 6%, and $200,000 of your own money for the down payment.  Next he factors a hefty devaluation of the property to $800,000 (and that is a big hit).  He moves on to inflation - ”At its current unbowdlerized rate of 5%, inflation alone will devalue your million dollar loan over the next decade to the “real money” equivalent of about $600,000, while at the same time causing your home to appreciate to $1.3 million..”  Ayres then factors in mortgage deduction and property tax deduction; in the 33% bracket over the decade, you would save $230,000.  He adds another $200,000 for the theoretical savings over the same period if you had waited to buy and paid a higher 8% fixed rate; “and the $700,000 of equity you’ll potentially end up with after inflation’s gone to work on both your loan and the value of your home.”   End result is a $1.1 million gain.

Palos Verdes real estate owners have been fortunate.  Our property values have reamained fairly steady this last year.  As perception can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, this article reminds us that we are really okay.