About Torrance's Hollywood Riviera

Everyone knows some neighborhoods are more popular than others.  They have the wow factor working for them in obvious ways such as superior schools and locations.  On the other hand, sometimes a neighborhood's popularity is judged in less tangible ways.  The hip and cool factor is more difficult to measure, but buyers pick up on it right away. 

Maybe it is the Prius lined driveways, high tech baby strollers or the evolution of the 1950s ranch home into the green abodes of the 21st century that makes young home buyers say, "This is the where we want to live."  Whatever it is it is working well.

Perhaps it is simply "Popular Personality Syndrome" the it factor that makes others want to join the in crowd.  Maybe it is the sense of belonging or a good match.  Whether we can define it or not, it exists, and buyers are willing to pay a premium for homes in such a neighborhood. 

On such home came on the market a week ago today.  There are currently three offers and counters are due back today.  Three buyers, one home.  Being popular pays dividends.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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Colorado River Front Property

One of the most charming neighborhoods in all of the South Bay is the hillside community of the Hollywood Riviera. Part of both Redondo Beach and Torrance, Hollywod Riviera is a community primarily of one story original homes often offering incredible ocean views, the lush greenery and the Mediterranean atmosphere.

The area lies in a "hillside overlay" district meaning approval from the city and neighbors must be granted to build up and obstruct the views. It is this approval process that generally keeps the area from experiencing the "mansionization" often found in other parts of the South Bay. Much of the architecture in the community is Mediterranean in style, especially the original homes, which were built in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The original developer of the Hollywood Riviera was entranced by the movie business and felt that the seaside properties would be a natural location for the Hollywood "set" to buy and build. A few movies were made in the thirties and few smart producers bought properties, but the Hollywood scene never materialized. What did materialize are delightful cluster of shops, restaurants, café bistros and galleries known as the "Riviera Village".

If you're considering moving into this wonderful neighborhood, call or email me. I'll be glad to help!

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The economy is looking relatively stable in South Torrance in Hollywood Rivera. Homes for sale is currently 22. The inventory has gone down considerably since 2007 which is encouraging for the Sellers in the Rivera... Prices are up and have not been this high since March of 2008. SEe the chart below..This chart takes in all of the Homes in the Hollywood Rivera and all sizes, views and styles..If you would like a chart tailored to your specific home just ask me for one..I would be happy to help you with all your real estate needs. See the chart below, courtesy of Trendgraphics and Remax Palos Verdes for more information and the market charts from 2007 to 2008.

This shows how stablile our local economy is and how great a time to buy or sell and take advantage of the low interest rates now.

Pictures courtesy of money.com and south bay real estate google.com images

Here is the link to a great article that verifies what we have all been saying...The Buyers are back and we are seeing a great activity with mulitiple offers on many properties. I noticed that last week a Walteria property came on the market as a short sale and was bid up with 5 offers from High $300 to low $500K....Unbelievable but true.

What I am seeing is prices that are priced low and thus attracting multiple offers. I have seen some incredible deals from the Banks on Short Sales that are coming in with the Banks knocking off over $200,000 to $300,000.00 from the original loans owing... THe jump in interest rate last week has started the buyers who were hesitiating to jump and make a move and who could blame them...A 1% increase in a loan amount of $500,000.00 will cost a homeowner approimately $250,000.00 in extra interest if they keep the loan for the 25 year period.

Here's the article per fox news.com sent to me by one of my wonderful clients:

LOS ANGELES — Southern California home sales jumped 65 percent in September from a year ago, as plummeting prices fueled by foreclosures lured more buyers, a real estate tracking firm said Monday.

Last month's median home price in the six-county region fell 33.2 percent to $308,500, compared to $462,000 in September 2007, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.

The September median price was 38.9 percent below the peak $505,000 median posted in spring and summer of last year.

John Husing, an economist with Economics & Politics Inc., a consulting firm, said the ample supply of discounted, foreclosed homes has kept downward pressure on prices.

Once foreclosures start drying up, prices will stabilize, but that could take another year, he said.

"The flow of foreclosures is enough to meet demand," he said.

Foreclosure resales amounted to half of all transactions last month, easily pushing sales beyond the dismal, record lows of a year ago, when a credit crunch began slamming the brakes on home financing.

"The pitifully low September 2007 sales numbers weren't tough to beat," said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.

Andrew LePage, an analyst with MDA DataQuick, said it's hard to estimate how many mortgage defaults were still in the pipeline. Some lenders are simply jammed with a backlog of paperwork, and the number of defaults by prime mortgage holders is increasing, he said.

.A total of 20,497 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the region last month, up 5.8 percent from 19,366 in August and up 64.6 percent from 12,455 in September 2007.

Last month's sales were the highest for any month since December 2006, and the year-over-year gain was the highest for any month in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988.

Hollywood Riviera is perhaps the most prestigious area of Torrance. Homes are more expensive, but if you can afford it, this is the place to be. The main reasons are as follows:

Close proximity to Riviera Village, a smallish area where you can walk to a diverse assortment of shops, including restaurants, coffee shops, salons, galleries, and more. Very hip.

Best schools in Torrance. While all Torrance schools score well, this area is at the top of the list.

Partly located on a hill, many of the homes have spectacular views of either the ocean or the city below. Beautiful!

If you'd like to view properties in Hollywood Riviera, please call me at (310) 508-8507 for prompt and professional service. I can set you up to receive automated property listings sent directly to your email!