Torrance Homes & Real Estate

Torrance Neighborhood

The median price for a single-family home of about 1,800 square feet in Torrance is in the mid-700s, while median home prices for town homes and condos, with a median size of about 1,200 square feet, are in the low 500s. Total inventory is about 20 percent lower than last year, while the average list price has increased by about 8 percent. Homes spend a median 39 days on the market.

Single-family real estate starts in the mid-300s for about 900 square feet in neighborhoods such as Pueblo, Harbor Gateway South, and Olde Torrance. In the 600 to 800 price range, the typical home has three bedrooms, two baths, and an attached garage in neighborhoods like Northeast Torrance. New construction and custom homes by Brandywine Homes is available in the community of Brighton from the mid-700s. Homes for sale on spacious lots of an acre or larger start in the upper 500s in West Carson, and are also available in Palo del Amo and Walteria. High-end real estate starting at one million can be found throughout the city in neighborhoods such as Southeast Torrance, Seaside, and Riviera.

One-bedroom condos start in the mid-200s. Prices for condos and townhomes top out in the upper 900s for four bedrooms in neighborhoods like Walteria, Northwest Torrance, and Southwood Riviera.

The most common architectural style in Torrance is Spanish colonial, but there are Mid-Century Modern, ranch, contemporary, and cottage styles as well. Among neighborhoods, Pacific Colony offers homeowners a gated community, while several subdivisions, including Riviera, Seaside, and Southwood provide easy beach access.

Torrance Community Amenities

Torrance has a lot to offer prospective homebuyers. It contains 40 large employers, defined as those that employ more than 200 workers, including Toyota, Honda, Honeywell, and Alcoa. The median household income for the city is about $76,000. Though the cost of living is about 22 percent higher than the state average, it is relatively low compared with the rest of Southern California.

The City of Torrance maintains 30 public parks, including the Madrona Marsh Wildlife Preserve and Nature Center, the 44 acre Wilson Park which houses the Torrance Farmers Market, and a Smart Gardening Center. Public beach access is available at “RAT” Beach, a reference to Redondo and Torrance, adjacent to Miramar Park. Malaga Cove is a popular destination for scuba divers, yet tends to be less crowded than other South Bay beach areas. Haggerty’s is considered Torrance’s prime surfing location.

The Torrance Art Museum houses a rotating collection of exhibitions celebrating local and global visual arts. The Torrance Cultural Arts Center hosts opera, cabaret, workshops, and special events in the performing arts.

Retail shops and boutiques abound in Torrance. The Del Amo Fashion Center, billed as the largest mall in the western US, contains more than 300 department stores, specialty retailers, and restaurants. Other shopping centers in Torrance include Rolling Hills Plaza, which features a 20-screen cinema; Torrance Crossroads; Torrance Promenade; and Torrance Town Center. For local specialty and gift shops, there’s the Alpine Village, featuring more than 20 shops in an open-air market style, and the Downtown Historic Shopping District.

Torrance Neighborhood Schools

Children of Torrance residents attend schools in the Torrance Unified School District, which encompasses 17 elementary schools, eight middle schools, and five high schools. Most of its schools receive excellent ratings of eight or more out of 10 from the school ranking website GreatSchools.org, and several achieve a perfect score, including Anza, Joseph Arnold, Hickory, and Riviera Elementary Schools; Edward J. Richardson and Bert M. Lynn Middle Schools; and West High School.

There are several private and parochial schools in Torrance as well, including Pacific Lutheran High School and South Bay Junior Academy. Other educational institutes in the city include a campus of El Camino Community College and Asahi Gakuen, a Japanese-language school.

Torrance Information Resources

• City of Torrance
• Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce
• Torrance Visitors Bureau
• Torrance Wikipedia
• Torrance City-Data.com