South Bay Homes and Real Estate

Real estate agents in the Palos Verdes Peninsulacan always spot a new listing by Sheila-Ann. She always has a custom portrait of the home created, such as this portrait of her new listing on Via La Selva in Palos Verdes Estates.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula is an area of the South Bayof Los Angeles made up of four cities and some unincorporated areas simply known as Palos Verdes. The cities that make up the Palos Verdes Peninsula are Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates.

Long time home owners and home buyers in any of these Palos Verdes cities probably recognize these distinctive portraits by now as Sheila-Ann has been around the area for many years.

Here is her description of the Palos Verdes Estatereal estate she is selling on Via La Selva taken from an email she sent me:

Nestled in tall trees in the desirable “Grove” in PVE, this home is the ultimate escape yet is only a few minutes walk to a sandy beach & bike path, to shopping, restaurants, post office, library, tree-lined nature path. Plus it’s only minutes drive to award winning schools, abundant recreation of PV Country Clubsfor golf, tennis & swimming & to 25 mi of equestrian trails & just 1/2 hr to LAX. Walk thu pro lndscpd front yd to a lovely enclosed front courtyrd w/bubbling fountain. Relax in the spacious, skylit living rm w/ gleaming hardwd flrs & brick fiplc or gather in a big dining area in the delightful family kitchen w/storage & built-in display hutch. Bask in the 3rd bedrm/den w/ lg skylite & wall of glass overlooking a woodsy backyd or relax in 2 more big bedrms w/ lots of closet space/storage. 2 tree veiled rear patios provide lots of space for entertaining. With ample room to expand, this wonderful home is a comfortable haven now with future flexibility.

My question: Is this portrait thing simply a gimmick or do folks really see value here?

My take:

PRO: It’s not a bad marketing gimmick. On one hand I would bet it helps the Palos Verdes real estate agent to get a listing or two. Sellers may perceive the portrait to be an indication of the attention to detail this agent promises to devote to their own property. Also, anything that causes a buyer to do a double take when looking at a page of South Bay home listings is probably a good thing.

CON: For me, this style of painting is a bit of turn off. It makes homes look really old fashioned, in my humble opinion. These paintings always make me think of my grandparent’s home in Minnesota – old fashioned, dark, shag carpet, dank basement, midwest, dark old fashioned kitchens and bathrooms, a huge furniture like television playing videos of black and white classic movies or golf tournaments. Now, this isn’t a bad association at all. My grandparent’s was a wonderful place to visit. But when looking for a Palos Verdes Home for my own family today this just isn’t what I’m looking for. Folks scrolling through home listings in Palos Verdes Estates, and elsewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, are looking to eliminate homes ASAP – there is just too many to see. So while these paintings are certainly distinctive they wouldn’t cause me (as a PV home shopper) to pursue the listing for a showing.

What do you think? Please let me know by submitting a comment on this post. It’s easy, just click on “Comment” near the top right of this post. And if you would like more information on this home for sale in Palos Verdes Estates on Via La Selva please contact me right away by clicking on the CONTACT ME navigation button.

Resources:

Palos Verdes on Wikipedia

Palos Verdes on the Net

Rancho Palos Verdes