6045 Montemalaga Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes: a 4,200 square foot view house against parkland, sold at $2,380,000

Sold

On the Peninsula the view is the price, and the view at 6045 Montemalaga Drive is an unusual one: not the ocean but the hills and the city lights beyond a band of parkland, from a house that backs onto open space with nothing built behind it. The house is 4,200 square feet on a 7,177 square foot lot, built in 1979 and remodeled, with the living floor up top opening to a continuous view deck and all the bedrooms grouped below, including two primary suites. We listed it at $2,499,000 in the late fall of 2025 and closed at $2,380,000 on February 11, 2026, after 42 days on the market, at $567 per square foot. At that price per foot it is one of the more efficient purchases of finished space on the hill this year, and the reason is worth explaining.

What was the house?

A two level house entered at the top, with an entry that opens into the view. The main level holds the living, dining and kitchen in one connected space along the deck, floored in wide-plank white oak, with the kitchen built around Thermador appliances, two dishwashers, under-counter wine refrigeration, a walk-in pantry, Shaker cabinetry and natural stone counters, and a modern fireplace in the living area. Downstairs, the four bedrooms sit apart from the living space, two of them primary suites; the main suite had dual mirrored closets, a walk-in closet, motorized blackout shades and a bath with a soaking tub and an oversized shower. A large family room with a second fireplace and a wet bar opened to a low maintenance yard; an office and the laundry were framed by barn doors. The three car garage with a workshop had direct access to the kitchen, with parking for six. Below all of that was a partially finished bonus area, used as a gym, with its own access and the dimensions to become an expanded living space, a studio or an accessory dwelling unit. Smart home features included dual zone Nest controls and a Ring doorbell.

What was the goal?

To sell a large, remodeled house on a modest lot at a price that reflected the space, in a market where Peninsula buyers price by view and lot first. The stakes were specific: a house of 4,200 square feet on 7,177 square feet of land has a low land share of its value, so its price depends on a buyer who wants the house rather than the dirt, and that buyer has to be found rather than waited for. The strategy was to sell the layout, which is built for extended family, the parkland behind the house, which cannot be built on, and the bonus level, which is the rare Peninsula house with room to grow inside its own footprint. The list price of $2,499,000 was set against the larger houses on the hill with city views, not against the ocean-view comparables, which would have set an expectation the house could not meet.

The buyer came in the first six weeks and the sale closed at $2,380,000, 4.8 percent below the list price, on February 11, 2026. That is a negotiated result rather than a bidding one, and it was the right result for a house whose value was in its space: the seller sold 4,200 finished square feet at $567 each, a number the same buyer could not have matched anywhere on the hill with a view.

What does the sale say about Rancho Palos Verdes?

That the city-lights side of the hill is where finished square footage is cheapest, and that a house with the layout a multigenerational household needs, two suites, separated bedroom and living levels, a bonus level with its own entrance, finds its buyer even without an ocean view. On the ocean side of the hill price per square foot is the wrong number, because the buyer is paying for the view; this sale is the case where it is exactly the right one. See Rancho Palos Verdes for the neighborhoods and the Peninsula hub for how the four cities differ. Our Homes by Type page covers houses with suites on the main level and accessory units.

Update: sold

If you own a large house on a small Peninsula lot and want to know whether the market will pay for the space, send Neil the address; the answer depends on the layout and the buyer, and we will tell you which buyer. The Sellers page describes how we find them.

Sources

• California Regional MLS listing record, SB25251983; closing figures as reported to the MLS
• Rancho Palos Verdes; The Palos Verdes Peninsula

Written December 2025; updated February 11, 2026. Property facts, list price and days on market are from the California Regional MLS listing record (SB25251983); the sale price and closing date are public record. Represented by Neil Chhabria, Chhabria Real Estate Company. This article is general real estate information about one sale, not tax, legal, lending or investment advice, and not a statement about the value of any other property.

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