Living a few blocks from the sand on the Los Angeles coast comes at a price, and Hermosa Beach is no exception. "There's no way to find anything cheap," Jason Lanzarini sums up in the episode. But the city's average hides a wide range — and that range is what matters to anyone starting to plan.

The reference numbers from the recording

At the recording, in May 2026, Dina Silveira presented the previous month's metrics. In April, there were 63 properties available in Hermosa Beach and 17 were sold, with an average price of around $3 million, calculated over the previous 13 months.

The average, however, lumps together very different things. According to Dina, the properties for sale ranged from about $600,000 — a two-bedroom, two-bath condo with a community pool on the east side of the city — to more than $14 million, for a modern corner house facing one of the pedestrian streets that lead to the beach. In between, she showed a beachfront house, remodeled but not fully modern, of about 4,000 square feet (roughly 370 m²), listed at nearly $9 million.

These listings were a snapshot of that week and serve to show what each price range buys, not as a price list. Asking prices are not sale prices either: Dina points out that even on the most expensive properties, the price is negotiable.

How to read "63 available, 17 sold"

American realtors usually turn those two numbers into a single metric, months of supply: active listings divided by one month's sales. With the April data, that works out to about 3.7 months — in other words, with no new listings, inventory would run out in under four months. As a general benchmark used by the market, below 4 to 6 months the situation tends to favor sellers.

That's what Dina describes in practice. Even in a cooler phase of the California market, she says she doesn't notice a slowdown in the South Bay beach cities: with little supply and strong demand, a well-located, correctly priced house gets multiple offers.

Two caveats when using the metric: in a small city, a few more or fewer sales swing the result a lot from one month to the next; and it mixes condos and houses in very different price ranges. Ask your realtor for the numbers for the type of property and price range you are looking for.

Cheaper than Malibu — which doesn't mean cheap

Jason makes a comparison that helps put the city in context: the same $14 million house in Hermosa would cost considerably more in Malibu, because of the area's fame. For people looking for high-end property on the Los Angeles coast, Hermosa ends up being an alternative with a beach, highly rated schools and safety, without the price of the more famous beaches to the north.

At the other end, the entry-level condo is, in Dina's words, "a way to get into the market, get into the game." It isn't beachfront, but it's close to the beach.

Dina's choice: a little farther from the sand

Jason asks where she would buy to live if she had the city's average price. Dina makes it clear that it's a personal preference and picks the east side of Hermosa.

"I'd get a house a bit more toward the east side, which is a bit farther from the beach, but still very close, because it's a small city. Then I'd get more space, and I'd probably buy a more modern, newer house." — Dina Silveira, in the episode

She has two reasons. The first is space: for the same money, away from the shore the property tends to be bigger and more up to date, and the lifestyle stays the same — you just ride a little longer to the sand, 5 to 10 minutes by bike. The second is privacy: on the beachfront, people walk past the house all day long, residents, visitors and tourists from all over the world. For someone who, like her, prefers a closed-off home, that's a drawback.

What about financing?

A multimillion-dollar property doesn't mean an all-cash purchase. Dina notes that the traditional down payment is 20%, but some programs, depending on the buyer's credit, accept as little as 3%. And people with income in Brazil can also get financing, with a larger down payment — she mentions something between 35% and 50%. Each path has its own rules, costs and requirements, explained in detail in this newspaper's financing articles. For high-priced homes, keep in mind that amounts above the conforming loan limit (jumbo loans) usually come with stricter income and reserve requirements.

Before you run the numbers

• Ask for updated numbers. Average price, price per square foot, days on market and months of supply for the type of property you want — not for the whole city.
• Add up the monthly cost, not just the mortgage payment. Property tax (in California, the base is around 1% of the purchase price, plus local assessments), insurance and, in a condo, the HOA fee.
• Budget for beach-house maintenance. Salt air, humidity and termites require more frequent care.
• Compare sides of the city. As Dina's choice shows, a few more blocks can mean a bigger house for the same price.

This article describes the market at the time of recording and is not investment advice. Prices, inventory and interest rates change quickly; confirm current numbers with a licensed realtor before deciding.

Sources and verification

• Metrics presented by Dina Silveira in the episode (May 2026): 63 properties available and 17 sold in April 2026 in Hermosa Beach; average price of around $3 million over the previous 13 months.
• Listings shown in the episode (May 2026), cited only by price range and without addresses.
• Months of supply concept: standard metric of the National Association of REALTORS® and the California Association of REALTORS®.
• Proposition 13 (California Constitution, article XIII A): property tax based on 1% of the assessed value at purchase, plus local assessments.
• Transcript and chapters of episode 12 of the Cadê Moradia podcast (May 2026), with Dina Silveira and Jason Lanzarini.

Watch this part of the episode:

Prices: From $600K condos to $14M mansions. — starting at 16:16 · CADÊ BRAZIL