CA Real Estate Study Guide

This article discusses many of the things you will need to know for your real estate exam.  It includes real estate definitions, real life examples and the Real Estate math you will need to know before taking the exam.  I will assume you have your California Real Estate Principals Book handy.

Also a great place to take your Real Estate Courses online is Easy 2 Pass .  I will be using some of their wonderful examples in this Study Guide.

South Torrance Home Prices

South Torrance is where home prices are highest in the city.  We are not talking multimillion dollar homes but some can reach that million dollar mark.

Surprisingly, there are 134 homes for sale in the South Torrance area.  This number does include foreclosures which I will not list any of those here.

The High - $1,699,900 - Wow, I guess they are approaching that $2 million dollar range, but this home is sure a beauty.  It includes 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths and 2 partial baths and has over 5,500 square feet of living space on a 14,000 sq. foot lot.  The home is located in Torrance but it is borderline to the Palos Verdes area.

Take a look at a couple pictures below.  The kitchen is immaculate.

Learning Real Estate and Studying for Your Exam

This series of blog entries will discuss various aspects of Real Estate and tips and tricks to passing your California Real Estate exam.  The requirements have changed over the years, but if you are interested in a real estate career in California, then this should be useful in finding the right brokerage company to go with, the process in taking the tests and the most important aspects to study.

Overall Trends in the Market

This entry will discuss current real estate trends in the Los Angeles area, while focusing on the beach cities, Torrance, Palos Verdes and bordering cities such as Lomita and Gardena which still have a large demand for middle class families.

South Bay Real Estate Companies

West Torrance Homes for Sale

West Torrance tends to demand some of the highest home prices in the city with the exception of South Torrance.  West Torrance borders Redondo Beach and puts you at a maximum of 2.5 miles from the sand and the pier of Redondo Beach.  Along with this luxury, the schools in the area are regarded very highly.  Close to Del Amo Mall as well as many beach city shopping centers.  You will however have to drive a bit further for your 405 and 91 freeway on ramps, who minds when driving from their wonderful community.

Here is where Torrance starts to become more pricey.  There are currently only 25 homes for sell in West Torrance.  However, nearly 15 of them are in some form of foreclosure.

• High - $849,000 - Includes 3 bedrooms and 3 bath with 1963 total square feet of living space.  This property is located at 849,000 5413 Towers St, Torrance CA.  The home is also set on a 7,715 square foot lot which is above the Torrance average of approximately 5500.
• My Comments - The home doesn't stand out to me on curb appeal but makes up for it on the inside with spacious bedrooms and living rooms.  The kitchen and bathrooms appear to be upgraded with granite counter tops and nice fixtures.

•  Low - $439,900 - Includes 3 Bedrooms and 1 Bath in only 1098 square feet.  The lot size is available upon request with the realtor.  This property is located at 4512 Cadison St, Torrance CA
• My Comments - The only way this property can pull this type of price is due to the area it is in, and I don't think that is enough.  It seems to be lacking so much unless the lot is big enough for additions, I don't believe this property should sell for this price.  Take a look at the picture which is the only one they offered and you might agree, there is something better out there for you.

Note:  In my experience, if they don't provide pictures of the inside, this might be as good as it gets.

Here is a breakdown of median home sale prices for West Torrance.  As you can you, the uptrend in prices is higher when compared to the rest of Torrance reflecting the more prestigious area.  Median prices are approximately $100,000 higher.  Neighborhoods, Schools and properties themselves are notably better in this area.

Homes for Sale in Torrance

There are roughly 464 homes for sale in Torrance, California.  The Torrance community ranges from middle to upper class in terms of income per household.  Torrance is divided into nearly four sections from South Torrance, West Torrance, North Torrance and what is considered as Central Torrance which runs the furthest east and borders several cities including Gardena, and Lomita.

For ease of reading, I will be breaking down the 4 sections of Torrance with respect to properties listed.  This will make it easier to understand where the high and low end properties of the city are located and the price you might be looking at when buying or selling a home in this area.

North Torrance Housing Price Range $399,900 - $715,000

• High $715,000 - Includes 4 Bedroom and 2 1/2 Bath with a total living space of 2,554 square feet.  It is located on  W. 179th Street. The property is clearly a standout on the street and is close to schools, shopping centers and freeways.

• My Comments - 2500 square feet is nothing to sneeze at and provides more than enough living space for your average family.  However, the price is probably $100k over any other property on the block and is in a good neighborhood, however you could probably find something slightly smaller for the same price in one of the better neighborhoods in West or South Torrance. 

• Low (Please note, I did not include foreclosures) - $399,900  - Includes 3 bedrooms, 2 bath in 1304 square feet.  This home is located at 16707 Cerise Ave, Torrance CA.  As most homes in North Torrance, schools and freeway access is not a problem.

• My Comments - The home has great curb appeal and while I believe $400k for a 1300 square foot home is on the high side, it is not going to get any cheaper as prices are gradually increasing.  This home has hardwood floors, a lovely fireplace.  The one benefit of having the lower square footage is the wonderful front and backyard.

Here are the median sales prices of single family homes in North Torrance in the zip code 90504.  As you can see, it looked like it bottomed in January of 2011 and is in a current uptrend.   Currently the Median sale price is roughly $450,000 in this area/zip code.