The Palos Verdes Drive North section of Palos Verdes Peninsula covers an unusually shaped and diverse area. This is where the South Coast Park and Botanic Garden, Rolling Hills Country Club, and Chadwick High School are located. The borders of this area are difficult to describe though the south border is partially Palos Verdes Dr. North. Both Hawthorne Blvd. and Crenshaw Blvd. run through this area. Homes tend to average having between 2,500 to 2,800 sq ft of living space. Lot sizes range, on average, between 18,000 sq ft to 23,000 sq ft. Like most areas in the greater South Bay, the peak number of homes sold was reached in 2002 while the high point for average sales price occurred in 2007.
South Coast Botanic Garden
Homes here averaged selling for $760 K back in 2001. Prices rose steadily through 2007, but dipped only modestly in 2008. As a point of reference, the majority of areas in the South Bay experienced significant reductions in 2008. This year-to-date there had been a 20 percent decline in average sales prices through September; however, there are currently 16 homes pending with an average sales price of $1.42 M. Though I generally caution anyone from placing too much emphasis on sales averages for this area given the diversity of the neighborhoods within it, one can still get a sense of sales trends. Prices here have more or less remained flat from 2005 through this year with the exception of the early part of 2009.
The number of homes sold hit 85 in both 2002 and 2003, but has dropped every year since. In 2008, there were 34 home sales. This year-to-date there have already been 27 sales with another 16 pending. From 2001 through 2003, homes averaged staying on the market for three to four weeks before being sold. This dropped to one week in 2004 and was a couple of weeks in 2005. From 2006 through 2008, the average days on market was between 45 to 65 days. This year-to-date the number has passed 100 days.
The current inventory of unsold homes stands at about nine to ten months. It’s worth noting that half of the homes for sale have been on the market for at least six months. The average days on market for the 31 homes being sold is over 170 days. This is a bit of a paradox in that there is significant sales activity here at this time, but many homes are being listed well above recent average sales prices and, therefore, are sitting on the market for long periods of time.
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