Palos Verdes is BIG. With four cities and unincorporated county areas, there is a lot of ground to cover on The Hill. In this week’s blog, I will attempt to give you a summary of what is happening on the PV Peninsula.
Singly-Family Homes Under $1.5 Million are Hot
The PV home market under $1.5 million continues to be very hot. With entry-level homes scarce and Millennials coming of age, many buyers are looking to The Hill to get an affordable home with a nice backyard and fantastic schools (and parking!).
From January 2017 to January 2018, there were 380 single-family home sales under $1.5 million in all of Palos Verdes. That is almost 32 home sales per month! Unfortunately for buyers, the current inventory under $1.5 million is only 27 homes. So we have less than a months’ worth of inventory in the affordable, entry-level price point.
Furthermore, 23 of those homes are in Rancho Palos Verdes (RPV). So if you are looking to buy in Rolling Hills Estates (RHE) or Palos Verdes Estates (PVE), best of luck to you. And obviously, this price point does not exist Behind the Gates (Rolling Hills) unless you are willing to buy in the risky Flying Triangle landslide area.
Rolling Hills is Off Life Support
Last October I wrote about the market Behind the Gates being a buyer’s market (Rolling Hills is a Buyer’s Market for High-End Homes). This exclusive city has been struggling over the last year or two to sell its high-end inventory and the market has had very few buyers.
The highest priced properties in Rolling Hills (on the MLS) are still lacking buyers, but I am pleased to say that this market is picking up since my last blog. From January 2017 to the end of September 2017 (nine months) there were only 13 home sales in this area. From October 2017 to today (only four months), there have been nine home sales which is a much more brisk sales pace especially considering it was during the traditionally slow holiday season.
It was nice to see 6 Middleridge Lane sell after 484 days on the market. The original asking price was $5.95 million and it finally closed with 16% haircut at $5 million. This was similar to 10 Johns Canyon in the last blog starting at $6.5 million taking a 24% reduction closing at $4.95 million. Hopefully, these buyers have drawn a line in the sand and created a floor in the higher part of the Rolling Hills market.
Perhaps the best deal recently was 5 Packsaddle Road East which looks like it was done quietly for $4,750,000. Packsaddle is an amazing street of about a dozen or so homes with incredible views of Catalina and Terrenea. 1 Packsaddle Road E sold for $8 million off-market with an 8,600 sq. ft. home in great condition. For $4.75 million at 5 Packsaddle Road East, the buyer has a $400 per sq. ft. new construction budget for a brand new 8,000 sq. ft. home. With that budget, they will be all-in for $8 million. Not bad!
Ranchview Sub-Area in Rolling Hills Estates is on Fire
The Ranchview sub-area of MLS area 165 (section of RHE between Hawthorne and Academy Hill off PV Dirve North) has been steadily pushing higher over the past 12 months. Two notable neighboring properties 19 Ranchview Road and 21 Ranchview Road both had deferred maintenance and sold very quickly showing demand to be strong in this area.
With 27 Shady Vista selling close to a record price for a 2,700 sq. ft. home at $1.679 million and the flipped 58 Ranchview Road selling for a major premium for only a 2,000 sq. ft. home at $1.65 million, this area is primed to explode higher if larger/turnkey inventory comes to market (which it rarely does).
Currently, 35 Silver Saddle Lane fell out of escrow but immediately went back under contract for over-asking and the recently listed 23 Santa Bella Road will garner multiple offers and go over asking almost assuredly.
Watch for this cute, affordable area to stay cute but get less and less affordable.
Recent Luxury Sales are a Healthy Sign
A recent splash in the high-end luxury market was the prestigious “New York Hill” sale at 959 Paseo La Cresta in Monte Malaga. The 9,017 sq. ft. home built in 2007 came to market asking $8,999,000 and sold in only five days for over-asking at $9,250,000. This is a welcomed shot in the arm to luxury sales on The Hill and a giant home selling for over $1,000 per sq. ft. Bravo!
Other notable sales in the last six months would be…
42 Sea Cove Drive in RPV, a beautiful 7,954 sq. ft. home on the PV Drive South bluffs grabbed a $6.4 million sale price in less than four months.
Two additional bluff sales in Lunada Bay closed, 2801 Via Segovia at $5.9 million after falling out of escrow earlier in the year and 2101 Paseo Del Mar, a off-market tear down opportunity at $6 million.
Lastly, it was nice to see a solid Oceanfront Estates sale in Golden Cove close at $5.5 million after being on the market for 10 months. There are more Oceanfront Estate listings that are happy to see this comparable.
All in all, the recent luxury market has shown some good activity and hopefully that continues!