South Bay Echo for Nov 25
King Harbor plan reboot, Torrance motel conversion, investor home buying, Santa stroll on the Strand
Hello friends… Welcome to the 13th edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.
On this Thanksgiving, I just wanted to offer my special thanks and gratitude for each of you reading this right now. This year has brought many changes and vast improvements to my life. I am thankful to live in a country where anything is possible.
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King Harbor amenities plan rebooted
With a sense of deja vu all over again, Redondo Beach officials began soliciting this week ideas to improve King Harbor, marking the first steps toward a renewed waterfront project since the last one fell apart four years ago.
The first public meeting to hear from the architects and share ideas will be held virtually 6:30 p.m. Dec. 15. To sign up click here.
It was in 2017 when the city scuttled a deal with CenterCal Properties for a $400 million makeover. The project was essentially torpedoed by public opinion and the Coastal Commission while the whole thing wound up in court in the end.
The latest iteration envisions a more scaled-down approach that would include improvements to Moonstone Park, Seaside Lagoon and the International Boardwalk, replacement of the sportfishing pier and adding a small boat launch and a dinghy dock.
For more on the plan so far and to participate in the process visit KHAmenitiesPlan.com.
Torrance motel will be apartments
An El Segundo-based real estate development firm is converting the Days Inn on PCH in Torrance into a 108-unit apartment complex. Vivo Living, which has real estate holdings throughout the country, purchased the hotel property at 4111 Pacific Coast Highway for $15.1 million earlier this year, according LA County Assessor records.
The company specializes in converting low-demand hotels into affordable housing typically offered around 10% to 20% below market rents. By converting rather than building from the ground up, the company also boasts a low carbon footprint.
“Adaptive reuse is the most environmentally friendly way of developing; we are basically a building recycling company,” Dan Norville, founder and chief executive of Vivo Living, said in a statement issued to the LA Business Journal earlier this month.
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Investors drove SoCal’s homebuying surge
With home prices in Southern California reaching record levels, and prices increasing by 30% on average in two years, many have wondered just how much of this surge is due to investors.
Orange County Register columnist Jonathan Lansner shed some light on the situation in a recent piece. Lansner dissects home buying figures this summer using Redfin data to sniff out just how much investor buying led to the surge in prices. Redfin defines investor purchases as those made by corporate-sounding names or descriptions.
Lansner’s analysis of the four-county region (LA, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside) found investors bought 8,900 homes in the summer of 2021 or 17.7% of all purchases. That’s a jump of 32% compared to last year. Among the 4,228 overall sales increase in 2021’s third quarter, investors made up more than half of them or 2,142 homes.
While the Southern California region is a prime draw for investors, in other metro areas the influence was far greater. Among 40 metro areas examined by Lasner, investor purchases were up 80% from a year earlier, equaling roughly 72% of the surge in homebuying over the summer.
So how much do investors influence the market? The answer is a lot.
If you or a friend has a home to sell or you are looking to buy, please call me today at 310-529-8790.
Santa stroll on the Strand
Looking for a fun holiday event? Join hundreds of Santas in the California Great Santa Stroll from Hermosa Beach pier to Manhattan Beach pier along the Strand on Saturday, Dec. 11 from 9 a.m. to noon. All proceeds benefit Mychal's Learning Place.
Family and friends are welcome to kick off the holiday season with this fun event that’s also for a great cause. Plus, the first 1,000 people to register will receive a free Santa suit. To register and make a donation visit SantaStroll21.funraise.org
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with love and laughs.