It is obvious that South Bay homes are expensive.
It is even more obvious that South Bay homes with ocean views are outrageously expensive.
View Homes and Price Per Square Foot
If you want a view in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, or a home on Redondo Beach’s famous Esplanade, be prepared to pay well over $1,000 a square foot for these coveted properties.
As you head up into the Palos Verdes Peninsula, you start to find view homes where the price per square foot (PPSF) starts to ease.
For example, lower Malaga Cove has had some offerings that feel like a bargain compared to the Beach Cities. Take a look at some recent sales for instance…
- 1612 Via Montemar
- 3 bed, 2 bath, 2,505 sq. ft., 7,362 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $2,000,000 ($798 PPSF)
This home on Via Montemar was a nice turnkey home with peak-a-boo views situated on a large lot well under $1,000 per square foot.
Another lower Malaga Cove sale…
- 517 Via Almar
- 3 bed, 4 bath, 3,030 sq. ft., 6,453 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $2,542,000 ($838 PPSF)
This home was a fixer with big views. However, after repair costs, the price per square foot may be closer to $1,000, which may not be the best deal.
Or, what about the two sales below on Via Media and Via Almar?
- 564 Via Media
- 3 bed, 4 bath, 3,054 sq. ft., 6,707 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $2,775,000 ($909 PPSF)
- 420 Via Almar
- 4 bed, 3 bath, 3,165 sq. ft., 10,150 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $2,695,000 ($851 PPSF)
Both of the properties above are not new homes, but they are in very clean condition offering gorgeous views that only Palos Verdes can showcase atop its perch in the South Bay.
These sub-$1,000 price per square foot sales are intriguing if you are used to hunting for expensive view homes in the Beach Cities. These above examples are only plucked from the prestigious Malaga Cove area in Palos Verdes Estates.
What’s more is that other areas in Palos Verdes can offer amazing views like these at an even better price per square foot.
West Palos Verdes View Homes at a Discount
What if I were to tell you to drive a bit further into Palos Verdes?
Drive past Malaga Cove Plaza, past Bluff Cove into Lunada Bay, and to the edge of Lunada Bay where Palos Verdes Estates turns into Rancho Palos Verdes.
If you know Palos Verdes (P.V.), then you know the area I am describing. If you don’t know P.V., then think about right when you exit Lunada Bay on P.V. Drive and look to the west at the gorgeous ocean views and the huge luxury homes of the Ocean Front Development.
This part of the Drive is the spot where your radio starts to crackle as you head into Golden Cove on your way to Terrenea.
Rather than looking right at the Pacific Ocean, instead, look left up the hill to the older, view homes of the West Palos Verdes sub-market.
The West Palos Verdes home market on the other side of the Drive tends to offer amazing ocean views for under $2 million with significantly lower price per square foot sales.
If you want a fixer, take a look at this amazing blank slate with absolutely stunning ocean views.
- 30605 Rue Langlois
- 4 bed, 2 bath, 1,859 sq. ft., 13,504 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $1,450,000 ($779 PPSF)
It is hard to find a home that offers a 13,000 square foot lot, four bedrooms, and those types of views for only $779 a square foot.
However, for those looking for a home in better condition and in a superior location, then this property below may be even more intriguing…
- 30229 Via Victoria
- 3 bed, 2 bath, 2,126 sq. ft., 9,994 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $1,555,000 ($731 PPSF)
Again, this home offers a big lot, big views, and a nicely-sized footprint.
Fixers not your style? Then go with this turnkey interior home…
- 30921 Via Rivera
- 4 bed, 2 bath, 2,113 sq. ft., 10,799 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $1,620,000 ($766 PPSF)
How can you not love those views?
Now, here is when West Palos Verdes east of the Drive can get really appealing…
If you are fine with having peak-a-boo views, then Via Borica may spark your interest…
- 30005 Via Borica
- 6 bed, 3 bath, 3,429 sq. ft., 11,491 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $1,825,000 ($532 PPSF)
This home offers a huge lot/backyard space, has a clean interior, and ultimately is a large home with great views at an amazingly low $532 price per square foot. This, to me, is a steal.
Another great home purchase in West Palos Verdes that had a low price per square foot sold just a few months ago.
- 30011 Via Victoria
- 3 bed, 4 bath, 2,875 sq. ft., 10,390 sq. ft. lot
- Sold Price: $1,840,000 ($640 PPSF)
This home was built in the 90s with almost 3,000 square feet of living space, and again, big views. A home like this under $2 million is a great bang for your buck relative to the rest of the South Bay market.
Conclusion
Sure, other areas of The Hill can be argued to be more desirable (i.e. Montemalaga, Malaga Cove, etc.) and thus, demand a higher price per square foot.
Even though the West Palos Verdes commute is a bit more challenging, it is not nearly as bad as some areas deeper into Palos Verdes or on top of the Hill.
In between local shopping and restaurants like Yarmouth Road in Lunada Bay and Golden Cove Center, West Palos Verdes has great commercial options. There is hiking near Point Vicente lighthouse and along the Palos Verdes Estate bluffs, golfing a stone’s throw away at Los Verdes, and of course, Terrenea and Trump Golf Course right down the road.
For homes under $2 million and pushing as low as $500 and $600 a square foot, the West Palos Verdes market offers one of the best options for amazing Pacific Ocean views at an incredible discount to other home markets in the South Bay.
And, you might be surprised at how often these homes come on the market.