North Redondo vs. South Redondo Beach: What Buyers Should Know in 2026
What Is the Short Answer on North vs. South Redondo Beach?
North Redondo Beach and South Redondo Beach are two halves of one city that behave like two different markets. South Redondo, the 90277 ZIP code, holds the waterfront: King Harbor, the Esplanade and Riviera Village, and the city's Coastal Zone permitting rules run along that shoreline. North Redondo, the 90278 ZIP code, sits inland between Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale and Torrance, and it generally trades ocean proximity for a larger supply of newer attached homes. The Redondo Beach Unified School District serves both halves. On September 15, 2026, the Redondo Beach City Council voted to move the long delayed Seaside Lagoon rehabilitation toward a Coastal Development Permit, which starts the permitting clock on a South Redondo waterfront amenity that has been closed all year.
What Did the Redondo Beach City Council Just Decide About Seaside Lagoon?
Seaside Lagoon sits at 200 Portofino Way in South Redondo, inside King Harbor. The City of Redondo Beach has the facility closed for the entire 2026 season and tells the public to check back for updates on renovations during the 2027 season.
On September 15, 2026, the City Council directed staff to file a Coastal Development Permit application for the lagoon's rehabilitation and approved the project's environmental exemption, as reported by Patch on September 16, 2026. The council's action authorizes an application, not a project. Under the California Coastal Act, the California Coastal Commission holds permitting authority over this site, and no construction can begin until it issues the Coastal Development Permit.
For buyers, the practical read is simple. A closed lagoon is a closed amenity today. A permitted and rebuilt lagoon is a reopened one, and it sits inside the walking radius of the harbor side blocks of 90277, not of 90278.
What Is the Difference Between North and South Redondo Beach?
North Redondo Beach (90278) | South Redondo Beach (90277) | |
|---|---|---|
CRMLS market areas | 151 Villas North, 152 Villas South, 153 El Nido, 154 Golden Hills | 155 north of Torrance Blvd, 156 south of Torrance Blvd, 157 west of PCH |
Borders | Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Lawndale, Torrance | Hermosa Beach, Torrance, the Pacific Ocean |
Coastal Zone permitting | Largely outside the Coastal Zone | Waterfront and harbor blocks sit inside the Coastal Zone, where many projects need a Coastal Development Permit |
What anchors it | The Aviation Boulevard corridor, Dominguez Park, access to the 405 and the aerospace employment base | King Harbor, Seaside Lagoon, Riviera Village, the Esplanade |
School district | Redondo Beach Unified School District | Redondo Beach Unified School District |
Usual trade-off | More square footage and newer attached construction per dollar | Ocean access and a walkable village, with a permitting layer on top |
Redondo Beach is divided into seven CRMLS market areas. North Redondo Beach covers areas 151 Villas North, 152 Villas South, 153 El Nido and 154 Golden Hills. South Redondo Beach covers areas 155 north of Torrance Boulevard, 156 south of Torrance Boulevard and 157 west of Pacific Coast Highway. One caution for anyone running their own search: the Hollywood Riviera straddles the Torrance and Redondo Beach line and carries its own CRMLS area, 128, so a search that stops at 157 can miss homes a block from the South Redondo boundary.
If you want the city-level picture rather than the two halves, the Redondo Beach neighborhood page carries it, and the rest of the Beach Cities sit alongside it.
What Do LA County Home Prices and Mortgage Rates Look Like Right Now?
The figures below are county and state figures, not Redondo Beach figures, and they come from agencies other than the MLS. Read them as backdrop.
The Los Angeles County median sale price was $946,950 in August 2026, up 1.7 percent from August 2025 and up 6.6 percent from July 2026, per the California Association of Realtors August 2026 Home Sales and Price Report released September 16, 2026. The California statewide median was $901,420 in August 2026, up 0.1 percent year over year. California's Unsold Inventory Index rose to 3.7 months in August 2026, its highest reading in six months, which means the state is carrying more unsold inventory than at any point since the spring.
On financing, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.76 percent in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey released September 10, 2026, up from 6.71 percent the week before. The 15-year fixed averaged 6.09 percent in the same release.
Is North Redondo a Better Value Than South Redondo?
Neither half of Redondo Beach is uniformly the better value, because North Redondo Beach and South Redondo Beach are not substitutes for each other. North Redondo generally delivers more interior square footage per dollar and a deeper pool of newer attached homes. South Redondo prices in ocean proximity and the Riviera Village walkability, and it adds a permitting step for work inside the Coastal Zone that a North Redondo project usually does not face. A buyer who plans to renovate should price that permitting timeline into the offer, not discover it after closing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is North Redondo Beach in the same school district as South Redondo Beach?
Yes. The Redondo Beach Unified School District serves the entire city of Redondo Beach, so both the 90278 and 90277 ZIP codes fall inside the same district. Individual school assignment still depends on the attendance boundary for the specific address, so confirm the boundary for any property before you write an offer.
Is a Coastal Development Permit required for projects near the Redondo Beach waterfront?
Yes, many projects inside the city's Coastal Zone require a Coastal Development Permit under Redondo Beach Municipal Code Article 10, and the Seaside Lagoon rehabilitation is the current high-profile example. The Redondo Beach City Council voted on September 15, 2026, to file a Coastal Development Permit application for that project, and that permit must come from the California Coastal Commission, which holds permitting authority over the site.
Will Seaside Lagoon reopen in 2027?
The City of Redondo Beach has not announced a reopening date for Seaside Lagoon. The facility is closed for the entire 2026 season, and the city's published notice refers to updates on renovations during the 2027 season rather than to a 2027 reopening. Any reopening depends on the California Coastal Commission issuing the Coastal Development Permit the City Council authorized staff to pursue on September 15, 2026.
How Do I Decide Between 90277 and 90278?
The deciding factors are usually three: what you want to walk to, whether your remodel plans touch the Coastal Zone, and how much attached square footage you are willing to trade for ocean proximity. I will pull a side-by-side of closed sales in the specific Redondo Beach market areas you are considering, 151 through 154 for the north and 155 through 157 for the south, plus area 128 where the Hollywood Riviera is in play, and walk you through what the permitting step does to a renovation timeline. Call or text Michael Majid at 310-592-1243, or start with the South Bay property search.
Before you Buy or Sell, Get the Intel.
Sources: City of Redondo Beach, Seaside Lagoon facility page, accessed September 17, 2026. Patch, "Redondo Moves Forward With Seaside Lagoon Overhaul," September 16, 2026. California Association of Realtors, August 2026 Home Sales and Price Report, released September 16, 2026. Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released September 10, 2026. Redondo Beach Municipal Code Article 10, Coastal Development Permits. CRMLS market area designations for Redondo Beach. No MLS listing data is reproduced in this post.
