After being inspired by the oceanfront trails at Terrenea, I was on a quest to find other hikes and trails on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  I came across an excellent book compiled by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy entitled, "Best Hikes On The Palos Verdes Peninsula".

The book lists 32 separate trails and specifies the round trip distance, the highest & lowest elevation of the trail, directions to the trail head & where to park, and what amenities (public restrooms, picnic tables, etc) if any.  There are also aerial photos of the trail as well as photos highlighting various points along the way. Click here to continue reading....

Palos Verdes Art Center is open to all, not just owners of Palos Verdes real estate.   Palos Verdes Art Center is a non-profit community arts organization that provides art classes for children and adults of all ability levels.  The next group of classes begin July 6, 2009 and finish August 29, 2009.   Art Center provides classes in drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, photography, digital arts, art history and more.  Terms begin in January, April, July and September.  Click here to continue reading......

As part of my certification as Palos Verdes Specialist, I learned about the history of Palos Verdes Peninsula.  Even though I had lived here over 25 years, some of this was new to me.  In 1846, the Mexican government granted land known as Rancho Palos Verdes to the family of Don Jose Sepulveda.  In 1882, Jotham Bixby acquire 16,000 acres of what is now the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  In 1913 Frank Vanderlip, Sr. led a group of investor that purchased the Palos Verdes Peninsula for development and paid $1,500,000 ($93.75 per acre).  Click here to continue reading.....

Statistics for single family homes for the month of May for Palos Verdes real estate are now available.   May 2009 had 5 less closed sales and 19 less pending sales than April 2009.  Inventory of active listings/homes for sale fell to 281 in May.  The average price for homes that closed in May fell 5.7% and the average days on market also decreased.  Click here to continue reading......

There were 28 homes on the Palos Verdes real estate Broker's Tour.  We currently have 294 active single family homes for sale in Palos Verdes ranging in price from $839,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes to $18,900,000 in Rolling Hills (the ow in Eastview is $585,000).  There are 55 townhomes/condos for sale priced between $209,500 and $950,000.  My favorites were:  Click here to continue reading.....

Today, I was inspired to take a moment to walk a new path and reflect on all that I had to be grateful for.   Try it yourself!  

 Personal thoughts..

After spending last weekend at the new Terranea Resort,  I can say that it is fabulous and I recommend it to all, including Palos Verdes residents.  The views are spectacular.  We took several walks along the trails at the ocean's edge.  We walked down to the beach and sat on the rocks and listened to the surf "chatter" as it rolled back out over the stones.  There is even a cave near the jetty.  We laid on sand and took in the beauty of nature.  Click here to continue reading....

The availability of Jumbo Loans have affected the sale of Palos Verdes real estateover $1,200,000.  It is a little tricky because there are jumbo loans available at rates that match May of 2008 - 6.875%.  However, the number of buyers who can qualify for those loans has been diminished because these loans must be have full income verification and the borrower must have FICO scores of 700 or above.  Click here to continue reading......

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Last week Area Appraisal Management Company spoke at our Palos Verdes real estate office meeting to bring us up to date on the new appraisal rules - HVCC or Home Valuation Code of Conduct that went into affect May 1st.  In the Sunday LA Times, Kenneth R. Harney wrote an article on the very same subject.  They both gave the same information and it is not necessarily good.  Click here to read more....

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified Schools again ranked in the top 10% of schools statewide based on Academic Performance Index scores.  Great schools are one of the reasons that Palos Verdes real estate is so attractive to both buyers and current property owners.

"The top score in all of South Bay, 968, went to Cornerstone at Pedregal Elementary in Rancho Palos Verdes " according to the Daily Breeze.  Click here to read more.....