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Business & Tech

The Price of Living in a Beautiful Beach Town

Redondo Beach ranks high on the list of high-priced housing in the US, and there's a history behind that.

We're Number 12! We're Number 12!

That's right. After gathering information on 800 American cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000, CNNMoney has put Redondo Beach at number 12 on the list.

Not the famous annual list of the Best Places to Live. Rather, drawing on the same database, CNNMoney placed Redondo Beach 12th on the list of cities with the priciest housing.

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On that list, the 1 and 2 slots went to Palo Alto and Newport Beach. In fact, 21 of the top 25 cities with the most expensive housing were right here in California.

So how do we compare with Eden Prairie, MN, CNNMoney's number one choice for the Best Place to Live? We definitely have a better climate, but that may be our sole advantage.

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The median home price in Eden Prairie is $239,391, compared to $630,000 in Redondo Beach. The Eden Prairie residents have higher average incomes to boot.

And all that snow.

The good news in Redondo Beach: Homes have retained their value and the market is recovering faster than the rest of the country, according to realtor John Parsons.

"Sometimes we're the leader in the cycle, and sometimes we're a follower," said Parsons, who has sold properties in the city for twenty-three years as well as serving on the City Council and as Past Chair of Redondo Beach's Chamber of Commerce.

Because Redondo Beach's economy is more diversified than it was twenty years ago, Parsons said, "we haven't been hit nearly as hard as the rest of the country, especially on foreclosures or even price drops. I think the bottom wasn't as bad and I think our turnaround—our comeback—is probably happening a little bit sooner than most of the country."

Median prices of homes don't tell the whole story, of course. Median does not mean average. Instead, it's the center point of the price range. Half the homes sold in Redondo went for more than $630,000, and exactly half of them sold for less than that amount.

In early 2008, the previous year's median was reported as $800,100— but that number was skewed by a low number of sales, mostly of high-end homes. Ten years ago, the figure was $348,300. Only fifteen years ago, after a slump in the early 1990s, the median home price in Redondo Beach was $261,000. In 1993 dollars, that was still pretty pricey.

Affordable housing does exist in Redondo Beach— there's just not a lot of it. As in all cities, the federal Housing and Urban Development Department offers rental assistance through the program known as Section 8.

Currently, the $5.5 million allotted to Redondo Beach renters is stretched so thin that the Fair Housing Office had to close the waiting list to new applicants. Staff Liaison Wendy Walchenbach explained that since the budget is not increasing, her efforts are aimed at covering those already in the program. And while Redondo Beach residents can express their opinions at annual public hearings, the funding for Section 8 is determined solely by HUD.

As a great place to live and play, Redondo Beach is no stranger to popularity. In 1905—the date of this alluring brochure—Redondo Beach was the only port in Los Angeles County. Back in those days, the Hotel Redondo, with 225 luxurious rooms, tennis courts, and an 18-hole golf course, played host to hundreds of tourist who disembarked four times a week from steamships at Redondo Beach's three piers.

Veterans Park now fills the site where the Hotel Redondo sat. Railroads and the Big Red Cars brought more visitors daily. Ladies visited the 12-acre carnation farm while men fished, and everyone enjoyed the beach—you could scoop up moonstones on the northern edge. By 1909, the world's largest, heated salt-water plunge was added to the attractions.

Back in 1905, folks who wanted to live in Redondo Beach could pick up a lot for as little as $450, according to ads in the Los Angeles Times. With one-third down, you could own a 50 by 160-foot lot on a crest facing the ocean, then have your home built to order. One hundred men and 300 horses worked daily, grading roads and building homes.

So it's clear: Prices in Redondo Beach always go up, up, up…if you can afford to wait until your grandkids are grown.

Later in the week Patch will have the second part of this story: Redondo Beach is a popular place to live for wealthy singles.

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