Sold on the surf

Greg Noll’s Da Cat surfboard, with its trademark black panther, didn’t wash up on Mike and Linda Ester’s Huntington Beach living room wall. The 9 1/2-foot balsawood board, buffed and tooled to perfection by the pioneer big-wave rider, was placed above the room’s sofa arrangement with a reverence that rivals that of an art collector for a Monet.

If the surfboard doesn’t convince visitors that the couple, married 35 years, embrace a beach lifestyle, then perhaps the pristine 1947 Ford Super Deluxe Woodie occupying their garage or Mike’s 60 Hawaiian shirts lining the walk-in bedroom closet will.

“I surf every morning, religiously, and at night I go to sleep to the sound of waves breaking,” said Mike Ester, 55, a general contractor and legendary surfer. “I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”

From the hills of Laguna Beach to the shores of Malibu, surfers, artists and beach lovers of all stripes continue to flock to Southern California’s coastal communities, despite sky-high home prices.

Whether remodeled homes on Venice’s canals, tear-down vacation cottages in Hermosa Beach or cozy condos in Malibu, nearly any piece of property within walking distance of sand sells quickly and sells high.

“Everything’s expensive near the water,” said Laguna Beach Coldwell Banker agent Ferial Sadjadi. “There are no bargains.”

In Huntington Beach, a city of 200,000, fixer bungalows sell for about $450,000, while two- and three-story houses built on deep, narrow lots start at $750,000, said Huntington Beach Realty agent Mairead Kennelly.

These “shoe-box” or “bowling alley” homes are going up on nearly every block near the beach and downtown area -- two to a lot -- on properties that used to hold one traditional house, and they sell for up to $900,000 each. Big lot or small, it’s not uncommon to see oil well pump jacks bobbing up and down in the backyards of Huntington Beach homes or behind shops and restaurants.

Three-story houses on Pacific Coast Highway fetch $2 million, while two-bedroom condos in mixed-use buildings on the revitalized Main Street downtown sell for $600,000.

The eight-mile stretch of sparkling beaches helped turn the city, originally an agricultural area and oil boomtown, into “Surf City U.S.A.” by the 1950s. In the 1960s, biker hangouts, penny arcades and surfer shops vied for the attention of young people, and tiny cottages rented for $75 a month.

About 16 miles down the coast in Laguna Beach, Vanessa Sampson, a South African transplant, walked her dog, Foxy, among the foggy eucalyptus-lined streets of Bluebird Canyon and contemplated her upcoming move to a two-bedroom, two-bath fixer she’s buying there for $600,000.

Attracted to the city’s galleries and art festivals, architecture and restaurants, the teacher said she is thrilled to set up residence in the leafy canyon area, a hilly, rustic neighborhood with an eclectic mix of homes.

“People want the ocean,” said Hoshang Bhadha, a Century 21 agent in Laguna Beach. “Tiny two-bedroom homes go for $900,000 by the beach here but would cost $200,000 in Lake Forest. It’s totally ridiculous.”

But then, Lake Forest doesn’t have seven miles of shimmering coastline or the history of plein-air art that spawned the famous West Coast artists colony and galleries that still thrive there today.

In the community of about 25,000 residents, homes close to the beach run from $950,000 for two bedrooms with a partial ocean view to $21 million for a huge estate with sweeping views, said Prudential California Realty agent Gil Thibault.

On Cliff Drive, a winding one-way street of larger homes with ocean views, condos start at $2 million, and a two-bedroom cottage was listed for $2.5 million, according to agent Sadjadi.

Buyers seeking a little funk with their ocean views need look no farther than Venice, where aging hippies and mega-movie stars are wont to congregate at Abbot’s Habit, a cafe on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, considered the heart of Venice.

Conceived by tobacco magnate Abbot Kinney as a resort and cultural center, the city transformed into an oil boomtown in 1930, then became the site of a popular amusement park in the ‘40s, a bohemian hangout in the early ‘60s and a hippie haven in the late ‘60s.

Today, Venice’s popular boardwalk is jammed with vendors, skaters, tattoo artists and tourists, and homes on the once-decaying canals, which have undergone a renaissance, sell for $800,000 and up, said Tina Hale, a Marina del Rey Coldwell Banker agent.

Venice’s quiet “walk streets” -- Marco Place, Nowita Place and Amoroso Place -- are landscaped, quaint, pedestrian-only neighborhoods with mostly one- and two-bedroom Craftsman-style houses, refurbished wood-sided homes and tidy stucco structures, walking distance to the beach but with no views. A 1,000-square-foot home there recently sold for $1 million, Hale said.

Proximity to the ocean is what drew Sris Sinnathamby to his new three-story, three-bedroom home on Ocean Front Walk. The hotelier, who paid $1.86 million for his rooms with a view, said he got a bargain on a strip where homes often fetch $3 million.

“Venice is unlike any place in Los Angeles,” Sinnathamby said. “My friends reflect the cross-section of different cultures here. It’s got its own little world of artists, creative people and surfers who all feel we belong here.”

Venice lovers who don’t want to deal with the oceanfront crowd can find homes in the Silver Triangle for $800,000 to $1 million. Fixers there, with less than 1,000 square feet, go for $600,000. Lofts near Abbot Kinney sell for just under $2 million, while loft rentals near the beach are $7,500 to $10,000 a month.

Just across Venice’s northern border is Santa Monica, a city known for its three miles of beachfront, 400 restaurants, Third Street Promenade shopping mall, Santa Monica Municipal Pier and high-priced homes.

In mid-July, the lowest-priced home close to the beach -- a one-bedroom house of 582 square feet -- listed for $489,000, and the highest-priced beach home, a four-bedroom house of 4,600 square feet, listed for $4.9 million.

In 2000, about 70% of the city’s households were occupied by renters, according to the California Department of Finance. Two-bedroom rentals at 18th Street and California Avenue currently go for $1,800 a month, said Colette Ching, a Coldwell Banker agent in Santa Monica. Close to the beach, homes start at $800,000 and usually top out at about $3 million.

Condos and houses in the high-density Ocean Park area start at $800,000. The area, a mix of apartments, condos and small homes, has more of an urban feel, attracting younger buyers, said Coldwell Banker agent Barbara Schenk. A two-bedroom bargain there just sold for $700,000.

And then there’s Malibu. Despite its reputation as a wealthy hamlet with private beaches and do-not-disturb signs on gated properties, families without stars on Hollywood Boulevard do manage to live there.

Gina and Peter Burrell bought a home in Malibu West 12 years ago for $671,000 and have raised three children who attend public schools. Their house is worth about $1 million today.

Their neighborhood is known for its cul-de-sacs, kids on bikes and homes that still sell for less than $1 million. Unlike Point Dume, the onetime equestrian haven with private beaches where teardowns sell for $1.3 million, Malibu West boasts its own swim club on Broad Beach, where residents celebrate community events and kids hang out in the play area.

“I was really hesitant to move to Malibu,” said Gina Burrell, who had lived in the San Fernando Valley before heading to the beach. “There is so much money here, but by and large, people are here for the same reasons we are: good schools and clean air.”

Pristine beaches and fresh air attracted the Rindge family to the rural coastal area in 1891, when they bought the 13,330-acre Spanish land grant, dubbed Rancho Malibu, for a reputed $300,000. Malibu today is 45,000 acres, 27 miles long and from 1 to 8 miles wide.

The $300,000 the Rindges paid won’t buy a garage in the city today. First-time buyers might find a condo in Malibu for $400,000, but they’re in short supply. A starter house with three bedrooms and two baths on a small lot goes for at least $700,000 in Corral and Latigo canyons, said Jack Pritchett of Pritchett-Rapf Realtors.

Among the most expensive areas of Malibu are Broad Beach, where beachfront tear-downs on 40-foot lots start at $4 million, and the bluffs above Paradise Cove, where properties are up to 3 acres and the land alone starts at $12 million.

For the best Malibu bargain, Pritchett recommends mobile homes on the beach side of Pacific Coast Highway in Paradise Cove, where owners can buy a manufactured home from $119,000 to $750,000, plus $600 to $1,700 a month for leasing space there.

For sheer charm and small-town beach living, Hermosa Beach ranks high among the 30,000 residents of the town sandwiched between Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach in the South Bay. The 1.3-square-mile haven features the Strand, a 1-mile jogging and strolling path, and a quaint downtown pedestrian plaza by the beach.

Home to surfers, volleyball enthusiasts and several Lakers players, Hermosa Beach also is known for its strong sense of community among residents, who are invited to share a meal and chew over local issues with City Councilman Art Yoon once a week at a local eatery.

A onetime vacation community of 900-square-foot cottages, the town’s entry-level homes on the beach now cost $800,000. The old vacation bungalows, converted into duplexes, sell for $900,000, said Janet McHugh, a Re/Max Beach Cities Realty agent.

Ann and Pete Allegro consider themselves lucky after finding a 1970s two-story, three-bedroom house with an ocean view for $550,000 a year ago.

The couple, who commute to jobs in Century City and Beverly Hills, were East Coast transplants who sought a home near the beach. They faced some serious sticker shock when they began looking, Ann Allegro said, and still take some ribbing from their friends.

“When I send a photo of our house to friends back home and tell them what we paid, they say, ‘Where’s the rest of it?’ ” she said.

Townhomes, starting at $700,000, have become popular among first-time buyers in Hermosa Beach. Oceanfront homes start at $800,000; a 2,500-square-foot home on the water recently sold for $2.8 million.

For those seeking a bigger-city atmosphere along the coast, Long Beach offers a variety of neighborhoods, including Naples, where homes on the water cost $2 million to $3 million, and Belmont Heights, a neighborhood with palm tree-lined streets a mile or less from the water, where homes go for $500,000 to $2 million, said Joe DiTore, a Re/Max Real Estate Specialists agent.

Not known for attractive beaches, the city of about 461,000 residents is, however, a tourist draw for the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Toyota Grand Prix.

The downtown area is undergoing a major renovation, including 3,000 new housing units, and JetBlue Airways has put tiny Long Beach Airport on the map.

No matter which city coastal enthusiasts call home, and regardless how much they pay to live there, one thing is certain: They all seem to love it.

“When I wake up in the morning, I lie in bed and see porpoises and dolphins in the waves, and it has a calming effect,” Venice resident Sinnathamby said. “I barbecue on the deck and enjoy the breezes. I’m a happy guy.”

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Beach towns continue to attract home buyers with their eclectic architecture, good schools and a classic California lifestyle.

Home prices

June median prices of new and existing homes and condominiums near the beach:

Malibu: $950,500

Santa Monica: $549,500

Venice: $582,000

Hermosa Beach: $575,000

Long Beach: $440,000

Huntington Beach: $610,000

Laguna Beach: $879,000

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Schools

2002 Academic Performance Index scores, on a scale of 200 to 1,000 points. Range includes elementary, middle and high schools:

Malibu and Santa Monica: 705 to 910

Venice: 509 to 791

Hermosa Beach*: 706 to 891

Long Beach: 507 to 910

Huntington Beach: 634 to 890

Laguna Beach: 767 to 870

*Note: Hermosa Beach has no high school. The ratings include high schools in Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach that Hermosa Beach residents attend.

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Attractions

Malibu: 21 miles of coast; Malibu Country Mart; surfing; Adamson House/Malibu Lagoon Museum

Santa Monica: Three miles of beaches; Third Street Promenade; the pier; restaurants

Venice: The boardwalk; Abbot Kinney Boulevard; canals; bike path; art scene; beach

Hermosa Beach: Downtown plaza; the Strand; the pier; surfing; volleyball; historic homes

Long Beach: Queen Mary; Aquarium of the Pacific; historic downtown; waterfront shopping

Huntington Beach: Surfing; the pier; Main Street; Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve; volleyball; eight miles of beaches

Laguna Beach: Summer art festivals; art galleries; Laguna Playhouse; parks and beaches

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Sources: DataQuick Information Systems