As a short sale specialist I have tracked the short sale market for years and as Torrance is the largest city in the South
Bay, it has been a very good indicator of how much of a factor short sales and bank owned homes have been on the local market. Short sales first became a factor in mid 2007 with a high point in 2010. In August of 2010 there were 159 active short sale homes for sale in Torrance. Those numbers started to decline in April of 2011 and have continued downward to the current level which has seen an average of 4 homes for sale for the past few months. What was a source of the “deals” sought by buyers is no longer putting downward pressure on the market and has basically ceased to be a factor. View short sale homes for sale on our distressed home site for Torrance and all of the South Bay
Torrance Foreclosures Continue to Dwindle
By Keith Kyle
Torrace continues to see a decline in distressed home sales with only 5 actve short sales and no current bank owned homes or REO listings. With property values continuing to rise and now that we’re beyond peak prices, the ability for distressed homeowners to sell for a profit (or not at a loss) has limited the foreclosure market to a trickle. View the current distressed home sales in Torrance CA. Contact realtor and Torrance specialist Keith Kyle for information on the market or any of the homes below. To see foreclosures in other South Bay cities, visit our South Bay and Beach cities foreclosures page.
| SB14227234 | SFR/D | 22925 | Alexandria AV | SPAY | $ 360,000 | 3/1,0,0,0 | 1955/ASR | 867/A |
| PV15199285 | CONDO/A | 3120 | Sepulveda BL #211 | FOR, NOD, SPAY | $ 299,000 | 2/2,0,0,0 | 2002/EST | 727/E |
| SR15258736 | TWNHS/A | 4325 W | 182nd ST #18 | SPAY | $ 449,999 | 2/2,0,1,0 | 1980/ASR | 1398/A |
| 15933447 | TWNHS | 18239 | VAN NESS AV #301 | SPAY | $ 414,000 | 3/1,1,1,0 | 1964 | 1321 |
| SB15017245 | SFR/D | 1951 W | 235th ST | SPAY | $ 620,000 | 3/1,1,0,0 | 1964/ASR | 1575/A |
Current Torrance CA Foreclosures and Short Sales
Updated January 20th, 2015
While the number of distressed home sales in Torrance has dropped considerably in the past 2 years there are still a number of homes for sale at some stage of the foreclosure process. Although these homes are not quite the bargains they were there are some homes that are still priced below market value due to the extra work and patience required by the home buyers. The process has certainly gotten streamlined by the banks but they are still not as straightforward as traditional sales.
Current Torrance short sales
| PW14096768 | CONDO/A | 22334 | Harbor Ridge LN #2 | FOR, NOD | $340,000 | 3/2,0,1,0 | 1980/ASR | 1553/A |
| CV14230210 | SFR/D | 1157 W | 225th ST #A | FOR, NOD | $639,000 | 5/3,0,0,0 | 2007/ASR | 3068/A |
| PV14142427 | TWNHS/A | 3090 | Newton ST | NOD, SPA | $629,000 | 2/3,0,0,0 | 2003/ASR | 1852/A |
| OC14157232 | SFR/D | 2693 | Hillside DR | FOR, NOD | $899,900 | 4/3,0,0,0 | 1983/ASR | 2698/A |
| 14811725 | SFR/D | 3227 W | 188TH ST | SPAY | $549,000 | 4/3,0,0,0 | 1950 | 1854 |
| 14797349 | SFR/D | 2701 W | 182ND ST | SPAY | $450,000 | 2/1,0,0,0 | 1946 | 961 |
| PW14211431 | SFR/D | 2756 | Border AV | SPAY | $565,000 | 3/2,0,1,0 | 2003/ASR | 2020/A |
Current Bank Owned Homes and Foreclosures
| SB14231286 | SFR/D | 1323 W | 227th ST | REO | $369,900 | 4/2,0,0,0 | 1956/ASR | 1377/A |
| DW15005743 | SFR/D | 2119 W | 187th ST | REO | $508,300 | 3/2,0,0,0 | 1959/ASR | 1420/A |
Oh How Torrance Home Values Have Changed
By Keith Kyle
I received an odd phone call yesterday from a potential buyer that said she had been given a real estate flyer for a listing at 16808 Delia in North Torrance. She said it was a well priced short sale and it was. The only problem was that I sold this house at the beginning of 2012. It had been a while since I thought of this house and upon pulling up the old listing I struck me just how dramatically the market has changed since then. It was a very nice home, with a great yard and pool but unfortunately the owners were struggling and had to do a short sale. We listed the home at $520,000 and it closed at $502,000.
What would it sell for now?
It would be just about impossible to find any single family home in that neighborhood, regardless of condition and size for that price in the 
current market. That home that sold only 2 years ago would now sell for at least $750,000 which is simply incredible. The speed with which the real estate market in Torrance and the South Bay was stunning and the changes to value equally unbelievable.
How Quickly we forget?
Another aspect of all this that struck me was just how short our memories can be. Just 2 years ago there were so many homes with great prices and most buyers thought it would continue and go even lower. These days the poor buyers that didn’t buy are priced completely out of neighborhoods that would have been very affordable. The thought now is that it of course can only continue going up, but is that really the reality and has that much changed? It’s certainly a great time to be a home seller, but not necessarily a great time to be a buyer.
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Median home prices near $600,000 for August 2014
By Keith Kyle
August was yet another big month for home prices in Torrance and the South Bay with average home prices continuing to rise and the busy summer season continuing at a fairly torrid pace. Home sales were down from July due to the continuing lack of homes for sale. Click any city and month below to see the full list of homes sold. Contact us for more information on any of the homes.
August saw a total of 117 homes sold, down from 142 in July. Of the 117 homes sold, 82 were single family homes, 16 were townhomes, and 17 were condos. In addition there were 9 income properties (duplex, triplex, etc.) sold as well as. Of the 117 4 were short sales or foreclosures showing that the foreclosure market continues to dwindle and is a non factor in the current housing market. The median home price was $600,000 up from $540,000 the prior month.
Be Wary of Low Quality Home Flips
With the South Bay housing market in a frenzy and so many “flipped” homes for sale, buyers need to be very cautious rushing into the purchase of a home based on the beautiful cosmetic updates. Flipped homes are often originally bank owned or distressed sales in very poor condition and it is usually purchased by investors looking to do the least amount of work to get the greatest return. Updates are often primarily cosmetic and it is absolutely in the buyers best interest to have a home inspection. The picture below was a recent home that I saw and in my eyes if they can’t even properly paint the outside this is a pretty good indication that this was done quickly and cheaply. Buyer beware!
This doesn’t mean that many flips were not done very well but heed the warning signs.