We Buy Houses in Del Rey, CA

Del Rey grew up as farmland, not a suburb. The 1902 Redondo Beach via Playa del Rey streetcar line first opened the area to development, but well into the 1950s the neighborhood was still centered on market gardens, with summer celery as a major crop.

The old streetcar right-of-way was eventually converted into the Culver Boulevard Median Bike Path in the 1990s, and it still cuts through the neighborhood today.

That agricultural, working-class history left Del Rey with a housing stock that skews toward rentals rather than the single-family tracts common elsewhere on the Westside: as of the 2020 census, 70.7 percent of the neighborhood’s housing was rented, up sharply from 55.2 percent in 2008.

Cash Home Buyers CA is based in Woodland Hills, about 25 minutes away on the 405 and 90. We deliver a written cash offer within 24 to 48 hours, buy the property as-is with no repairs, commissions or showings, and close on the date you choose.

Del Rey’s market: a growing renter share reshaping what sells here

We were not able to verify a current, Del Rey-specific median sale price from a named source as of this writing, so we will not put a number on the neighborhood’s market.

What is documented is the shift in the housing stock itself: the 2020 Census recorded 31,992 residents at a density of about 11,850 per square mile across the neighborhood’s 2.7 square miles, and renter-occupied housing has grown from just over half in 2008 to more than two-thirds today.

That shift matters for a seller because it points to a growing share of Del Rey’s inventory being investment property rather than an owner-occupied home, and investment property sales move on rent roll, condition and cash flow rather than curb appeal.

A single-family house that has been owner-occupied and well kept will still draw traditional financed buyers, but a duplex, triplex or small building with tenants in place is increasingly the typical Del Rey transaction, and that is the segment where a cash sale skips the appraisal and financing hurdles a bank-financed buyer would face.

The Los Angeles city rules that apply to a Del Rey sale

• Transfer tax: Del Rey is part of the City of Los Angeles, so a sale carries the city’s $4.50 per $1,000 documentary transfer tax plus the county’s $1.10 per $1,000, for $5.60 per $1,000 combined, customarily paid by the seller.
• The 9A report and retrofits: Before close the seller must deliver the Department of Building and Safety’s Report of Residential Property Records, along with seismic gas shutoff valve, low-flow fixture and detector certifications.
• Rent Stabilization Ordinance: With rental housing now well over two-thirds of the neighborhood’s stock, many Del Rey buildings built on or before October 1, 1978 fall under the city’s RSO, and the Just Cause Ordinance covers most other rentals. Selling with tenants in place is usually the more practical path here.
• Ballona Creek and Centinela Creek floodplain: Del Rey’s southeastern edge runs along Ballona Creek and Centinela Creek, and property near that boundary can fall within mapped flood zones, which is worth checking before you sell or list.

From the Culver Boulevard bike path to the Ballona Creek line: what we buy in Del Rey

Del Rey is bordered by the Culver City line to the northwest and northeast, Ballona Creek and Centinela Creek to the southeast, and Lincoln Boulevard to the southwest, with Marina del Rey to the west, Playa Vista to the southeast, Venice to the northwest, and Playa del Rey to the south.

The neighborhood is one of the more mixed on the Westside in its housing stock, pairing older single-family blocks with newer infill construction.

Housing ranges from older single-family houses left from the neighborhood’s farming era to postwar apartment buildings and newer infill construction near the Ballona Creek Bike Path and Bill Rosendahl Del Rey Park.

We buy houses, duplexes and small apartment buildings across that mix, and the conditions that suit a cash sale here are a rented single-family house that has not been updated in decades, an RSO building with below-market rents, or an inherited property where the family would rather sell as-is than take on a renovation.

Why Del Rey owners call us

• RSO landlords. As Del Rey’s rental share has grown, so has the number of owners looking to exit; we buy houses and buildings with tenants in place across Los Angeles with no vacancy required.
• Inherited houses from the neighborhood’s older stock. A house that has been in the family since the farming era or the early postwar years can be sold as an inherited house in the Los Angeles area without updating it first.
• Pre-foreclosure timelines. When a notice of default has been recorded, we can close before a trustee’s sale on a Los Angeles house in foreclosure.
• Properties that will not pass a 9A report or appraisal. Older, unpermitted additions common in Del Rey’s rental stock can kill a financed deal; selling as-is in Los Angeles avoids that entirely.

We also handle divorce sales in Del Rey, relocations on a set schedule, and any owner who needs to sell a Del Rey property fast.

Escrow, the city report and recording for a Del Rey sale

After acceptance we open escrow, order a preliminary title report, and request the 9A report from Building and Safety right away, since it typically sets the pace on a Los Angeles closing. For property near Ballona Creek or Centinela Creek we confirm flood zone status early.

For RSO buildings we collect estoppels and confirm city registration during escrow. Estates in probate go through the Los Angeles Superior Court’s probate department at the Superior Court for Los Angeles County; trust sales need no court step.

Recording happens at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Norwalk, and proceeds are wired the same day the recorder confirms. A clear-title house records in two to three weeks; RSO buildings and estates typically run three to six weeks, on the date you choose.

Listing in Del Rey versus selling to us

A 5 to 6 percent commission, the roughly $5.60 per $1,000 combined transfer tax, the 9A report, retrofit work and months of carrying costs add up quickly on any Del Rey listing. A well-maintained, owner-occupied single-family house will usually still net more listed to a financed buyer looking for a move-in-ready home.

Our offer competes on the segment that now makes up most of the neighborhood’s transactions: rented houses, RSO buildings, and older properties near the creek boundary where flood-zone questions or deferred maintenance would slow down a conventional sale.

Del Rey seller questions

Is Del Rey part of the City of Los Angeles?

Yes. Del Rey is an unincorporated-feeling but fully City of Los Angeles neighborhood, so the city transfer tax, the 9A report and the Rent Stabilization Ordinance all apply here.

Can I sell my Del Rey rental property without evicting the tenants?

Yes, and given how much of Del Rey's housing is now rented, it is usually the simpler route. We buy with tenants in place and register as the new owner after closing.

Is my property near Ballona Creek in a flood zone?

It can be, depending on exactly where the property sits relative to the creek. We check flood zone status as part of our review and factor it into the offer rather than treating it as a dealbreaker.

Will you buy a Del Rey house with unpermitted additions?

Yes. We buy in as-is condition and take on the permit questions ourselves after closing.

How fast can you close on a Del Rey property?

Two to three weeks for a house with clear title; three to six weeks for RSO buildings and estates. You choose the date.

If you own a house or small building in Del Rey and want a firm cash number, call or text 424-435-2326. We will see the property, account for its condition and rental status, and deliver a written offer within 24 to 48 hours with no obligation. See the full process on our how it works page.

Written and reviewed by the Cash Home Buyers CA team, a Woodland Hills-based cash home buyer serving Los Angeles County. Neighborhood history and demographic data are from Wikipedia, and are updated periodically.

Written and reviewed by the Cash Home Buyers CA team, a Woodland Hills-based cash home buyer serving Los Angeles and Orange County. Market figures are from Wikipedia (Del Rey, Los Angeles), and are updated periodically.

Del Rey is part of the City of Los Angeles. For the citywide picture, see our guide to we buy houses in Los Angeles.