Torrance real estate and homes for sale
Search for homes in Torrance CA
We’re proud to announce the launch of our Plaza Del Amo website dedicated to the gated communities in this charming pocket of Torrance. You can learn about each of the communities to see current homes for sale, recent home sales, home sizes, amenities and more.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
By Keith Kyle
2018 was a banner year for real estate in Torrance CA. Demand was extremely high and prices continued to rise throughout the year with a slight drop towards the winter months which is not unusual. The number of homes for sale really ramped up after spring from a low of 76 homes on the market in January to a high of 167 homes for sale in July. There were 1,195 residential “on market” home sales in Torrance for the year. These statistics do not include the homes in the Hollywood Riviera with Redondo mailing address but actually in Torrance.
One extremely impressive indicator of just how strong the market remained through the year was the % difference between list price and sold price (how close the sellers were to full asking price). In seven of the months the average home sold at, or above the average list price and in the remaining 5 months they were within a percent or 2 of full list price. That’s a sign of an extremely seller friendly market.
See the current homes for sale in Torrance
Another solid indicator was the average days on market with only topped 30 days once….in January of 2018. Median prices for the year generally overed between $700,000 and $800,000.
| Date | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| For Sale | 76 | 78 | 88 | 111 | 144 | 149 | 167 | 165 | 149 | 164 | 165 | 119 |
| New Listing | 94 | 104 | 121 | 147 | 147 | 163 | 162 | 146 | 110 | 136 | 103 | 59 |
| Sold | 59 | 52 | 97 | 95 | 110 | 115 | 131 | 135 | 112 | 112 | 97 | 74 |
| Pended | 72 | 86 | 104 | 107 | 113 | 135 | 124 | 136 | 95 | 101 | 85 | 85 |
| Avg. Active Price | $757.000 | $749.000 | $815.000 | $820.000 | $814.000 | $780.000 | $819.000 | $809.000 | $ 803.000 | $771.000 | $727.000 | $724.000 |
| Avg. Sold Price | $714.000 | $739.000 | $709.000 | $739.000 | $806.000 | $747.000 | $715.000 | $721.000 | $765.000 | $744.000 | $735.000 | $766.000 |
| Avg. Sq. Ft. Price (Sold) | 488 | 484 | 484 | 483 | 503 | 504 | 482 | 495 | 497 | 469 | 495 | 494 |
| Sold/List Diff. % | 100 | 101 | 102 | 102 | 102 | 101 | 101 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 99 | 100 |
| Sold/Orig LP Diff. % | 99 | 100 | 101 | 101 | 102 | 101 | 100 | 99 | 100 | 98 | 98 | 98 |
| Avg Days on Market | 34 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 25 | 30 | 27 | 29 |
| Median Sold Price | 700,000 | 705,000 | 690,000 | 740,000 | 800,000 | 732,000 | 695,000 | 735,000 | 743,000 | 716,000 | 710,000 | 758,000 |
**See updated information on 2020 real estate in Torrance
Torrance is far more than one uniform real estate market. With neighborhoods that range from sub $500,000 to homes in the multi millions, each area has it’s own localized market.
Visit Torrance Real Estate for more information on the community and market in Torrance CA
In general the real estate market seems to be slowing down heading into 2019. Demand is cooling with higher interest rates and a fairly regular slow down this time of year when people are busy with the holidays.
According to Torrance realtor Keith Kyle, “It’s clear that the market is cooling off as there has been an increase in new listings coupled with fewer sales and homes going into escrow since summer.” The chart above shows that the number of active listings has held pretty steady between 150 and 170 since summer, but the number of sold homes as well as new escrows has continued to decrease. If this trend continues the market will shift more in favor of buyers and less in favor of sellers. It’s clearly been a sellers market over the past few years.
The chart below shows the upward trend over the past few months with avarage “months of inventory” of unsold homes on the rise.
It’s no real secret that good schools help drive real estate values in certain neighborhoods and communities. Buyers with kids want to be in
areas with good schools and that higher demand helps keep values up. Even those without kids greatly benefit from a strong school system. The stronger the schools the more insulated a market is from any downturns. That was very evident in Redondo Beach that saw home prices drop during the recession and housing crisis, but only a very small amount compared with other local areas that do not have as strong a school system.
A recent CAR study showed that 47% of home buyers said good schools were very importan, 23% said that they were somewhat important, 11% said not very important and 19% said that it was not important at all.
The 19% may not realize just how much of an influence schools play on values and demand. Good elementary schools are often part of a good community and without question most buyers would like to live in a good community.
The Torrance Unified School District is highly ranked and that creates a very high demand, especially for families thinking of living in this coastal community.
The study also conclued that 43% of consumers age 34 or under believe highly rated schools are very important. 58% of consumers earning more than $100,000 a year think that highly rated schools are very important.
Many Torrance CA buyers are concerned with interest rates rising with the Fed making it clear that rates will slowly increats. That’s certainly a valid concern for potential Torrance homebuyers as a higher interest rate means a higher monthly payment which most often means a lower priced home. Taken in historical standpoint the current rates are dramatically lower than at just about any other time. The chart below shows the interest rate on conventional and conforming 30 year fixed rate mortgages. As we’ll see we’ve basically seen rates drop consistently since the high water mark of 16.3% in 1981. It certainly makes todays current rate in the mid 4% range seem pretty enticing.
Click any link below to see the homes that sold in that city for the month of February 2018. Visit our Torrance MLS page to see the current active listings and homes for sale.
El Segundo
Gardena
Hawthorne
Hermosa Beach
Hollyglen/Del Aire
Hollywood Riviera
Lawndale
Manhattan Beach
Palos Verdes Estates
Rancho Palos Verdes
Redondo Beach
Torrance