Redondo Beach, California

Things to Do in the Beach Cities

The Beach Cities give a great place to run & raise money for worthy causes at the same time. Thanks to Jackie Balestra, we don't have to miss a thing!

This Sunday, February 12th marks the return - after a two year hiatus - of the 58th Annual John Hales Sand & Strand Run in Hermosa Beach. Proceeds will benefit Project Touch, a non-profit organization working with at-risk teens in the South Bay. There are four separate races scheduled with the event getting under way at 8:00 am at the Hermosa Beach Pier. Event registration is available on-line at www.active.com.

Also this Sunday, Adia Cares hosts the symposium, Beginning the Conversation. This is a free community event where you will learn how to begin the discussion about planning for the care of an older loved one. Join industry experts to discover effective tools, techniques and the variety of resources available within your community. The symposium takes place at the Journey of Faith Church located at 1243 Artesia Boulevard in Manhattan Beach from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. For more information, call 310-370-0555.

Don’t forget, Triton Mixed Martial Arts Center offers a free Women’s Self Defense Class every Monday morning at their training facility in Gold’s Gym on Harbor Drive. This very valuable service is available free for women of every age and you don’t have to be a member of Gold’s or Triton to participate. Just check in at the front desk.

As always, check the calendar links and ‘Things to Do’ page on my website, www.southbaybyjackie.com, for details on these and other events throughout the South Bay.

On the show this morning, we discussed how to take advantage of the many different recreational opportunities in the South Bay while supporting local businesses. Don’t worry, if you missed it, you can listen to it here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joeterry/2012/02/09/the-south-bay-small-business-hour.

This weekend will be a little cooler, but today is AWESOME! Hope you can get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Beth

Real Estate Market off to a Great 2012

We are only one month into 2012 and the activity in the Hermosa Beach real estate market is already heating up. Since the beginning of the year there have been 24 new properties to come on the market of which only six were relists from the previous year and nine of them are already pending sales.

Of the 18 brand new properties to hit the market, the homes range from a two-bedroom townhome in the Moorings Complex on Herondo Avenue for $669,000 to a six-bedroom single family home on Hermosa Avenue with big ocean views for $2,899,000.

There are also several three or four-bedroom townhomes ranging from $969,000 - $1,245,000 in price. This new inventory has given a spark to the beach city market that usually doesn’t receive this much increase in inventory until after Super Bowl weekend.

Currently there are 49 active properties on the market ranging from a remodeled one-bedroom condo in the Appletree Condominium complex for $379,000 to the seven-bedroom/10-bathroom double lot strand home at 2909 The Strand for $14,950,000. The median asking sales price is $1,149,500 and there are also 19 homes in escrow or pending sale in January.

As for closed sales in January 2012, there have been 11 homes sold including 2444 The Strand that closed at $5,850,000, a 6,198 square foot lot with two separate homes with at total of nine bedrooms. There were also two 2-bedroom townhomes that sold for $622,500 and $650,000. Of these 11 sales, only four of them were either a short sale or a bank owned sale. The average sales price was $1,465,045 and average price per square foot is $530.03 and 91 days on market.

The early movement of new listings on the market and the closed sales for the first month of 2012 are great indicators that this will be a strong year for the local real estate market as we steadily climb back up from the "bottom of the market."

All of us at Hoffman Murphy love to bring you events, workshops and fundraisers happening throughout our area. We’ve found a great one coming this weekend; come out and learn everything you need to know if you are thinking of adopting a puppy!

Just look at how cute they are – but can you handle what will happen if you adopt one? It doesn’t matter how old you are; puppies can be a handful. Having a puppy in your house means taking walks every two hours, purchasing many toys so they don’t eat your furniture, and teaching them to be good dogs when they get older. The rewards however can be endless – a dog is a companion that will never leave your side.

A free workshop offered at the Hermosa Beach Community Center on Saturday January 26 from 7:00-8:30 pm will cover all the puppy basics, and will help you to make those very important decisions. Pre-register now – this free workshop will help you decide if this is the right time to bring that extra bundle of furry joy into your lives!

Please bookmark this page so you can follow our blog posts! Please contact the Hoffman Murphy Team for all your real estate needs at 310-939-9393.

Palos Verdes Local Entertainment- Hermosa Beach Playhouse

The Hermosa Beach Playhouse is a part of the Civic Light Opera created for the South Bay and offers plays and musicals. The theatre seats 474 people, giving a more intimate feeling to theatre.

The Playhouse features an art deco design and is widely used for theatrical productions, recitals, films, community theatre, and seminars. It received the Los Angeles Conservancy's award for restoration.

The theatre was featured on ABC's "Eye on LA" and has put on productions such as Merman's Broadway, Around the World in a Bad Mood, and The Wonder Bread Years.

The theatre is located on Pacific Coast Highway and Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach.