Boarded Up And Fire-Damaged, This South Bay House Still Sold For Over $1M

TORRANCE, CA — A small, run-down, fire-damaged house in Torrance sold last year for well over $1 million, real estate records show.

Built in 1955, the home in the 4600 block of Lenore Street has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and comes in at just over 1,100 square feet, according to a listing on the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices website.

“This property has Fire Damage,” the listing reads. “BOARDED UP! Unsafe Notice posted by Torrance Building And Safety. Do Not Enter or Occupy Property. No Interior Showings!”

The house sold last summer for $1.08 million, according to the listing.

Since then, it’s been sold again, this time for $1 million as of earlier this month, according to real estate records published by Zillow. That's not far below the average Torrance home value for April of $1.13 million, according to Zillow.

Before the fire — which occurred in the early morning of Feb. 1, 2024, and saw the disabled elderly occupant survive by climbing out a window — the home had last sold for $74,000 nearly 50 years ago, in 1977, the Los Angeles Times reported in its Essential California newsletter.