Torrance is one of the more diverse cities in the South Bay when it comes to housing options. Some of the least expensive homes can be found in Torrance as well as some of the most expensive. The highest prices are almost always found along the beachfront street known as Paseo De La Playa. 425 Paseo De La Playa has a Redondo mailing address but is actually serviced by the city of Torrance. While it’s hard to imagine a home can be a bit of a project at $12,000,000 the eventual buyer is likely to spend a healthy amount truly making this one of the more spectacular homes in the South Bay.
425 Paseo De La Playa is one of those rare legacy type homes. Perched on the bluffs above Torrance Beach in the Hollywood Riviera, the home offers incredible and unblockable ocean views. The 28,000+ sq foot lot is unheard of in the South Bay and as with all of the homes along the west side of Paseo, the lots extend all the way to the beach, but this home has an enormous amount of land in front of the home as well. The gated entry and true estate feel make for endless possibilities.While this home is in need of some updating to truly make it a legacy home, the basics are all here.
Listing provided by John Tran and Martin Le of NextGen Team Realty
Beachfront homes in the Hollywood Riviera don’t come along all that often. If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, 505 Paseo De La Playa might be the home and location for you. The home is listed at $5,500,000 this is a 4 bedroom (one bedroom downstairs and 3 upstairs), 3 bath home with just under 3,200 square feet. Offering really large (by South Bay standards) lots that extend all the way from Paseo De La Playa to the sands of Torrance Beach they are very unlike the beachfront homes of the Manhattan Beach Strand and Hermosa Strand, It’s rare to see one of these incredible oceanfront homes hit the market and this is no exception. Built in 1962 it’s an older home that feels pretty dated and will likely get/need quite a bit of work to become a luxury home, but as they say in real estate, “location, location, location”.
This is an unbelievable location as the lots/homes are not only oceanfront but the lots are huge and extend all the way down to the beach. As 425 Paseo De La Playa is one of the lower homes the slopes is a bit more mild and they’ve been able to build a path down to the beach (which is a VERY challenging step for homes without a path as it require California Coastal approval….which they don’t do). The home at 425 is on a 28,000+ foot lot! Pretty unheard of in the South Bay and certainly unheard of for a beachfront home.
The Hollywood Riviera in Torrance had a fairly typical month for October 2019. There were 9 home sales during the month and all were single family homes. The median list price for the closed sales was $1,200,000 with the median sales price of $1,177,500 indicating that it is still a solid seller’s market. That does seem to be shifting somewhat with the playing field leveling just a bit. The least expensive home sale during October was $820,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath single family home at 4414 Highgrove and the most expenseive sale of the month was a Louis Tomaro designed home at 340 Via Colusa. This home was of particular interest to us as we were the listing agents when the sellers purchased the home.
Click on any neighborhood below to see the current homes for sale in that area of Torrance. Explore North Torrance, Old Torrance, Plaza Del Amo, Southwood, Hollywood Riviera and more.
Home with “flags” marking outline of proposed addition
A few of the many benefits of living near the beach are the wonderful ocean views and ocean breezes that make life here so unique. These ocean views have immeasurable value from both a quality of life aspect as well as a significant monetary impact. In many of the South Bay cities these views are unprotected and it’s not rare for a home’s stunning ocean views to disappear when the one story home next door gets torn down and new and much larger home replaces it.
Certain areas of Torrance are the exception. Primarily found in the Hollywood Riviera and Seaside Ranchos neighborhoods the city has incorporated much stricter building guidelines known as the “Hillside Overlay” area. (see map below)
In 1977, the Hillside Overlay Area was established in Torrance, CA in order to address issues concerning building, remodeling, and protecting views and privacy. All new construction (meaning both new homes and expansions on current structures) are subject to review and input by neighbors including “flagging” where a mock up of the future structure are marked with plastic flags to approximate the outlines of any proposed addition to the structure prior to permit approval so that neighborhood input may be obtained.
The basics of the hillside overlay are as follows: Upon receipt of the complete application, the Community Development Director shall set a date, time and place for a public hearing thereon as soon as practicable and shall send notice thereof to the owners of land included within a three hundred (300) foot radius of the exterior boundaries of the land for which the permit is sought
No construction and no remodeling or enlargement of a building or structure shall be permitted unless the Planning Commission (or the City Council on appeal) shall find that the location and size of the building or structure, or the location and size of the remodeled or enlarged portions of the building or structure, have been planned and designed in such a manner as to comply with the following provisions:
a) The proposed development will not have an adverse impact upon the view, light, air and privacy of other properties in the vicinity;
b) The development has been located, planned and designed so as to cause the least intrusion on the views, light, air and privacy of other properties in the vicinity;
c) The design provides an orderly and attractive development in harmony with other properties in the vicinity;
d) The design will not have a harmful impact upon the land values and investment of other properties in the vicinity;
e) Granting such application would not be materially detrimental to the public welfare and to other properties in the vicinity;
f) The proposed development will not cause or result in an adverse cumulative impact on other properties in the vicinity.
found in Torrance as well as some of the most expensive. The highest prices are almost always found along the beachfront street known as Paseo De La Playa. 425 Paseo De La Playa has a Redondo mailing address but is actually serviced by the city of Torrance. While it’s hard to imagine a home can be a bit of a project at $12,000,000 the eventual buyer is likely to spend a healthy amount truly making this one of the more spectacular homes in the South Bay.
