A Southern California mom thought she had just scored the real-estate deal of a lifetime — a picturesque home with ocean views listed far below the going price for the area.
But after moving forward with the purchase, she discovered the shocking reason the property was so cheap: The ground beneath it is literally sliding toward the ocean.
Eilen Stewart, a 45-year-old mother of two, was stunned when she first saw the cozy ranch-style home perched on a hillside in Rancho Palos Verdes.
The property had a bright kitchen nook, space for her children to play outside, and sweeping views of the Pacific — yet it was listed for about $1.5 million, far less than many homes in nearby communities, the New York Times reported.
“Honestly, I never thought something like that would even be possible,” Stewart told the outlet.
The explanation soon became clear: The home sits inside the Portuguese Bend landslide complex — a massive, slowly shifting stretch of earth where the ground has been moving at alarming speeds in recent years, The Times reported.
Despite the risk, Stewart and her husband ultimately decided to go through with the purchase, snapping up the property for about $1.3 million in May 2024.
The couple had previously renovated distressed homes and believed they could manage the potential challenges.
The neighborhood itself remains picturesque and quiet, dotted with horses, peacocks and winding coastal roads.
For Stewart, the appeal was strong enough to outweigh the potential danger. The couple was also drawn by the area’s highly rated schools and a close-knit community where their children could roam freely between neighbors’ homes. But the idyllic setting comes with a major geological catch.
The Portuguese Bend area sits atop one of the largest active residential landslide zones of anywhere in the country.
The ground beneath hundreds of houses has been creeping downhill for decades — a problem first triggered in part by a road construction project in the 1950s that reactivated the ancient slide.
“This is probably one of the largest active landslides with homes on it in the entire United States, if not the world,” said Mike Phipps, a contract geologist for the city of Rancho Palos Verdes.
The shifting land has recently accelerated, in some places moving as much as a foot per week. The movement has left cracks in roads and homes, and damaged infrastructure throughout the area.
Around 400 houses sit within the landslide zone, leaving homeowners to weigh the stunning coastal scenery against the constant threat of structural damage.
Some residents have already abandoned their homes as conditions worsen.
Others, like the Stewarts, see opportunity where others see danger.
Because of the risks, homes in the area can sell at steep discounts compared with similar properties along the Southern California coast — a rare chance for buyers to access otherwise unaffordable real estate.
Still, the long-term future of the neighborhood remains uncertain.
Engineers and city officials have explored ways to slow the slide, including drainage efforts to remove underground water that lubricates the clay-rich soil.
But experts warn the problem may ultimately prove impossible to fully stop.
“Common sense would say we just don’t want to build there anymore,” Phipps said.
For now, however, families like the Stewarts continue to take the gamble — living in a beautiful coastal enclave where the scenery is breathtaking, even if the ground beneath their feet refuses to stay still.
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The post Mom’s cheap Rancho Palos Verdes mansion came with ocean views — and a horrifying catch appeared first on New York Post.
