PV Drive South and Portuguese Bend

The landslide, plainly

The Portuguese Bend landslide complex has been moving since a road cut reactivated it in 1956. For decades that meant a bumpy road and an unpaved equestrian community. After the heavy rains of 2023 and 2024 the movement accelerated to several inches a week in places, roughly 650 homes were affected, Southern California Edison and the gas company cut service to parts of the area for safety, and the Wayfarers Chapel was taken apart in July 2024 to be rebuilt at a new site near City Hall.

The trend since then has been toward slowing. The city's survey data for early August 2026 put the average rate in the still moving areas below one inch per week, the first time since October 2023. Gas service has been restored to some streets and the city has been in talks with Edison about restoring power as the numbers hold. Drainage work along the road is meant to cut the storm closures that happen when the low sections flood.

What that means for a buyer is simple. Every parcel on this corridor is either inside the landslide moratorium area or outside it, and the city publishes the map. Inside, expect limits on building, difficulty with insurance and financing, and utilities that may still be off. Outside, the neighborhoods toward Trump National and San Pedro on the east and toward Terranea on the west are stable ground that happens to share a road with the slide, and they are priced accordingly.

What you get for the trouble

Nowhere else on the Peninsula gives you this much open space. The Palos Verdes Nature Preserve covers the hillsides above Portuguese Bend with miles of trails. Abalone Cove has tide pools and a real beach. Trump National Golf Club sits on the bluff at the east end with a public trail along its edge, and the homes on the slope above it look over the fairways to Catalina with nothing in the way. Ladera Linda, at the east end, got a new park and community center in 2023. The night sky is darker here than anywhere else in Los Angeles County you can drive to in an hour.

Who lives here

Three kinds of people. Long time Portuguese Bend residents who keep horses and have made their peace with the road. Families in the tract neighborhoods like Seaview and Ladera Linda who wanted a bigger lot and an ocean horizon at a Rancho Palos Verdes price. And estate buyers above Trump National who want the biggest view on the hill and have the budget for a custom house to go with it. I have sold on this corridor, including a 1.3 acre lot above the golf course with approved plans and a custom estate listed there now, so I know the questions the stable ground buyers ask and the answers the city gives.