Area Guides

The Neighborhoods

Guides written from walking the streets, not from a listing feed. The Palos Verdes Peninsula is covered area by area, and the markets I work across Los Angeles and Orange County are being added as I work them. Everything here ties back to the interactive map.

Full Guides

Palos Verdes Estates · LA · Area 163

Malaga Cove

Malaga Cove is the oldest corner of Palos Verdes Estates and the one that feels most like a village. The arcaded plaza, the library gardens, and the 1926 school building sit at the top, and the streets below wind down toward the bluffs with the whole curve of Santa Monica Bay in front of them. Homes are mostly Mediterranean or Spanish in spirit, the lots are irregular and often terraced, and the view people pay for here is the Queen's Necklace, the string of coastline lights that runs from Redondo to Malibu after dark.

Read the Guide →

Palos Verdes Estates · LA · Area 160

Lunada Bay and Margate

Lunada Bay is the bluff top stretch of Palos Verdes Estates between Malaga Cove and the Rancho Palos Verdes line, and Margate is the inland half of the same MLS area. Together they are the largest single neighborhood in the city, a little over two thousand homes, and the one where a family can walk to the elementary school, the intermediate school, and the high school. The bay itself is a rocky cove with a big winter surf break below the cliffs, and the streets above it hold everything from original 1950s ranch houses to rebuilt estates on half acre lots.

Read the Guide →

Palos Verdes Estates · LA · Area 164

Valmonte

Valmonte is the neighborhood people mean when they say Palos Verdes Estates feels like a small town. It sits on the north face of the hill above Torrance, wrapped around the Palos Verdes Golf Club, under a canopy of old eucalyptus trees. The houses are mostly traditional and ranch style from the late 1940s and 1950s, many of them remodeled top to bottom, on deep lots with real front lawns. It is the easiest part of the city to get on and off the hill from, and its sheltered position gives it warmer, clearer weather than the bluff neighborhoods a mile west.

Read the Guide →

Rancho Palos Verdes · LA · Area 169

PV Drive South and Portuguese Bend

Palos Verdes Drive South is the open, wild side of the Peninsula, the coast road that runs from Terranea past Abalone Cove and Portuguese Bend to Trump National Golf Club and the San Pedro line. It has the biggest views on the hill, unobstructed Catalina and Pacific from most of its length, and it also has the Portuguese Bend landslide, a slow moving section of hillside that has shaped this stretch since 1956 and became national news when it sped up in 2023 and 2024. Buying here means understanding exactly where a property sits relative to that movement. Outside the active zone you get some of the most dramatic estate settings in Southern California. Inside it you are buying a very different thing.

Read the Guide →

Rolling Hills · LA · Area 166

Rolling Hills

Rolling Hills is a city and a gated community at the same time. About 690 homes sit behind three staffed gates on the crest of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, every one of them on at least an acre, almost all of them single story, and by rule painted white with earth tone trim. There are no sidewalks, no streetlights, and no commercial buildings. There are roughly thirty miles of bridle trails, two riding rings, and views that run from the ocean to the harbor to the city lights depending on which side of the ridge you sit. It is one of the most private places to live in Los Angeles County, and it comes with the most specific set of rules.

Read the Guide →

Cypress · OC

Fairway Park, Cypress

Fairway Park is the quiet grid of 1960s single story homes on the north side of Cypress, bordered by the Navy Golf Course, where Tiger Woods learned the game as a kid. It is the kind of neighborhood where the streets are wide, the lots are around six thousand square feet, the schools are a few blocks away, and a backyard pool is common. Cypress is a small city of about fifty thousand people wedged between Los Angeles and Orange County job centers, and Fairway Park is its most settled, most consistent tract. I sold a home here in the summer of 2026 that went into escrow in seven days with multiple offers, so the demand is not theoretical.

Read the Guide →

La Mirada · LA

La Mirada

La Mirada is a city of about forty seven thousand people at the southeast edge of Los Angeles County, right where it meets Orange County. It is an established, mostly single family town built in the 1950s and 1960s around a very large park system, more than two hundred acres for a city its size, with a regional park, an aquatics center, a county golf course, and a performing arts theater. Biola University sits in the middle of it. Most streets are single story ranch tracts with no homeowners association, which makes it one of the more affordable ways to own a house with a yard between Los Angeles and Orange County jobs. I work this market and walk the comps regularly.

Read the Guide →

The Four Peninsula Cities

Palos Verdes Estates

The Peninsula's original master planned city, laid out by the Olmsted brothers with parklands, bridle paths, and strict architectural review that has protected its character for a century. Home to Malaga Cove, Lunada Bay, Valmonte, and Montemalaga.

Rancho Palos Verdes

The largest of the four Peninsula cities, wrapping the coastline from the bluffs above Trump National to Terranea Resort and the Point Vicente lighthouse. Ocean view neighborhoods at nearly every price point on the hill.

Rolling Hills Estates

Equestrian minded and family oriented, with white three rail fences, horse trails, and the Peninsula's main shopping corridors along Silver Spur and Deep Valley. Convenient, central, and quietly upscale.

Rolling Hills

A private, guard gated city of ranch estates on large lots, one of the most exclusive zip codes in California. Single story ranch architecture, big skies, and total privacy behind the gates.

The Palos Verdes MLS Areas, 160 to 186

Every Peninsula listing carries one of these area numbers. Locals use them like street names. Each one is drawn as a polygon on the map. Areas with a full guide link through to it.

160

Lunada Bay / Margate

Palos Verdes Estates

Blufftop streets above one of the coast's most famous surf breaks, with a small commercial pocket and some of the Peninsula's most dramatic ocean view homes.

Full Guide →

162

Monte Malaga

Palos Verdes Estates

Elevated estates above Malaga Cove with sweeping Queen's Necklace views, larger lots, and a commanding position over the coastline toward Santa Monica Bay.

163

Malaga Cove

Palos Verdes Estates

The historic heart of PVE, with the Mediterranean plaza, the Neptune fountain, the library gardens, and winding streets dropping toward the bluffs. Coveted for architecture and coastline views.

Full Guide →

164

Valmonte

Palos Verdes Estates

Eucalyptus lined streets bordering the Palos Verdes Golf Club. A warm, neighborly enclave known for its canopy, its greenbelt, and quick access down the hill.

Full Guide →

165

PV Drive North

Rolling Hills Estates

The Peninsula's northern gateway, with equestrian properties and family neighborhoods along the bridle trail network.

166

Rolling Hills

Behind the gates are ranch estates on acreage, riding rings, and canyon to ocean views in one of Southern California's most private communities.

Full Guide →

167

PV Drive East

Rancho Palos Verdes

The east slope's switchbacks hold view homes looking across the LA Harbor toward the San Gabriels. Sunrise views and more house per dollar than the west side.

168

Mira Catalina

Rancho Palos Verdes

Upper east side neighborhoods with Catalina and harbor views and a well loved namesake elementary school.

169

PV Drive South / Portuguese Bend

Rancho Palos Verdes

The wild, open stretch of the Peninsula. Coastal bluffs, the nature preserve, Wayfarers Chapel, and estates above Trump National with unobstructed Catalina views.

Full Guide →

170

West Palos Verdes

Rancho Palos Verdes

The sunset side, with neighborhoods above Terranea and Point Vicente where whale watching from the living room is a legitimate amenity.

171

Country Club

Rolling Hills Estates

Wrapped around Rolling Hills Country Club and its Rees Jones redesigned course, with newer construction and fairway frontage.

172

La Cresta

Rancho Palos Verdes

Ridgeline living at the top of the hill. Panoramic views that sweep from the ocean to the city lights in a single turn of the head.

173

Los Verdes

Rancho Palos Verdes

Home of the Los Verdes public golf course and west facing neighborhoods with big ocean horizons at approachable price points.

174

Crest

Rancho Palos Verdes

The Peninsula's rooftop. Top of hill neighborhoods off Crest Road with harbor to ocean panoramas and quick access to both slopes.

175

Peninsula Center

Rolling Hills Estates

The hill's everyday hub, with shopping, dining, the Promenade, and central neighborhoods minutes from every school on the Peninsula.

176

Silver Spur

Rolling Hills Estates

Convenient neighborhoods around the Silver Spur corridor. Walkable to shops and cafes, popular with families optimizing for schools and commutes.

177

Eastview / RPV

Rancho Palos Verdes

The Peninsula's approachable east entry, bordering San Pedro with parks and quick freeway access. A favorite first step onto the hill.

179

South Shores / San Pedro

San Pedro (LA)

Coastal bluff neighborhoods between White Point and the Peninsula line, with ocean views and a strong local identity.

186

Miraleste Pines

Rancho Palos Verdes

Pine shaded streets around the Miraleste Plaza on the east slope. Mediterranean planning, harbor views, and one of the hill's most distinctive small communities.

Contact

Which Area Fits You?

Schools, views, commutes, horses, surf, a yard for the boat. Every priority points to a different corner of the map. Tell me yours and I will point you to the right streets.

Get in Touch 424-254-9186