What You Get for the Median Price
When Kathy Cully bought her handsome, two-bedroom condominium in West Los Angeles a few months ago, she had no idea that she had just become the “typical” buyer of a “typical” home on her side of town.
Cully, an executive with a Century City advertising firm, simply fell in love with the complex’s well-landscaped grounds and the way the afternoon sun filters through the large windows that look out over the quiet street below.
And although Cully could have bought a large, single-family house in other parts of Los Angeles County for the same amount of money, her new condo is just a few minutes away from her office and a short bike ride from the beach.
“I bought the place because it’s just perfect for me,” Cully said. “I didn’t know that I became ‘Miss Average’ when I closed escrow.”
Yet, she’s a near-perfect statistic. At $220,000, the purchase price was nearly identical to the median price of all the homes sold in Los Angeles County for that month, according to the California Assn. of Realtors.
Half of all homes sell for more than the median price and half sell for less. Statisticians for the realty trade group issue price reports for different counties and regions of California on a monthly basis.
It’s no surprise that median prices vary widely from one county to the next. It’s about $221,000 in Los Angeles County, where the figure is lowered by a huge number of condominiums and low-priced houses in poorer parts of town. But in newer Orange County--where there are fewer low-end markets and condos--the median is $30,000 higher.
Conversely, in the first-time-buyer meccas of Riverside and San Bernardino--where both homes and raw land are relatively inexpensive--the median is a modest $130,036.
Still, cold statistics don’t tell the whole story: A home buyer’s money will go much further in one neighborhood than it will in another, even if the two sites are in the same county.
Buyers looking for a median-priced home of $221,000 on the Westside of Los Angeles will, like Kathy Cully, probably have to settle for a condominium or townhouse. If they move east, to the San Gabriel Valley, they can find a nice three-bedroom and possibly even four-bedroom house with two bathrooms in a good neighborhood.
And if they don’t mind long drives and sweltering summer days, they can spend $221,000 in the northern Los Angeles County communities of Palmdale and Lancaster for a brand-new, two-story home chock-full of built-in appliances and other amenities.
Here, then, are the median prices for each of six Southland areas tracked by the realtors and a guide to what the money will buy in various parts of each region:
Los Angeles County
The sheer size of the county makes its median price virtually meaningless: $221,954 will buy a huge house in the far east or northern corners of the county; however, it will barely be enough to purchase a modest condominium on Los Angeles’ pricey Westside.
“You’ll get a lot of house for that kind of money out here,” says Realty World/Carousel’s Carol Hinds, a broker who works in Duarte, La Verne and other parts of the San Gabriel Valley.
“I’ve got a home for sale right now for $220,000 that has a huge family room with a massive fireplace, a formal living room that also has a fireplace, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small pool. And, we’ve got a lot of homes like it in the same price range.”
Money can go even further in Palmdale, Lancaster and other communities in the northeast corner of Los Angeles County. The trade-off: Buyers are faced with a 120-mile round-trip commute each day if their jobs are in downtown Los Angeles or the Westside.
Some nice three-bedroom houses in the $220,000-range are also available in several parts of the San Fernando Valley, Long Beach and the South Bay. Condo buyers in that price range can settle in some of those areas’ most exclusive neighborhoods. Buyers who insist on living on the Westside--the county’s most expensive area--have no choice but to purchase a condo or townhouse if they’re in the $220,000-price range.
“You can pretty much forget about buying a single-family home on this side of town unless you can pay $300,000 or more,” said Elaine Golden-Gealer of Jon Douglas Co.’s Santa Monica office.
“But if you’ve got $220,000, you can find a two-bedroom condo in Santa Monica, West L.A or Brentwood, or a three-bedroom condo in Culver City. There are some nice complexes in that price range, and you’d be close to everything--the ocean, the freeways, shopping and downtown.”
Orange County
Orange County has the dubious distinction of being the most expensive region in the Southland, according to the realtors’ statistics. In fact, its median price of $250,885 makes it the second-most expensive market in the entire state, trailing only San Francisco.
Still, $251,000 can go a long way in many parts of the county, including Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Midway City, Stanton, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, said Dean Cunningham of Tarbell Realty in Anaheim.
“There’s a three-bedroom, 1 3/4-bath home with a family room, fireplace, air conditioning and pool listed for $249,900 in a good part of Anaheim,” Cunningham said. “And the lot is over 6,500 square feet, bigger than most residential lots.”
Buyers who want to live in the tonier areas of Costa Mesa, Irvine and other parts of southern Orange County often must settle for a townhouse or condo if they want to spend $250,000 or less, although smaller single-family homes in that price range can also be found.
Some of the best buys in the southern part of the county can be found in San Clemente, an oceanside town of about 35,000 that’s the last stop before entering the northern tip of San Diego County.
“There are a number of very good areas down here where you can get a real nice single-family home for $251,000,” said Paul Yoder, an executive in the San Clemente office of Grubb & Ellis. “There’s a home on the market now for $252,900 that’s 3-years-old, has a two-car garage, three bedrooms and two baths. Plus, it’s only three minutes to the beach.”
And then there’s Newport Beach, Orange County’s answer to Beverly Hills. “You can forget about getting a single-family home here for $251,000, but you can find a condo in that price range,” said Tom McQueen, a district manager for Grubb & Ellis in Newport Beach.
“There’s a two-bedroom, 1 3/4-bath condo for sale for $249,000 near Hoag Hospital. It’s not in the most prestigious part of Newport Beach, but the unit has a nice ocean view, the complex is gate-guarded and the grounds are very nice.”
Ventura County
Up until a few years ago, home prices in Ventura County were lower than those of comparable houses in Los Angeles. But Ventura’s median now stands at $245,454--nearly $25,000 more than its neighbor to the south--in part because so many Angelenos have fled the city for the less-congested, slower-paced life that this coastal county offers.
The majority of homes for sale in Ventura County are in two areas: Oxnard and the city of Ventura. “You generally get more for your money in Oxnard,” said Harriet Clune, assistant manager in the Jon Douglas Co. office in Ventura.
“There’s a home on the market now for $245,700 that has four bedrooms, 1 3/4 baths, a family room and fireplace. It’s got 1,750 square feet, and is in northern Oxnard--a real solid area with a lot of well-kept homes.”
Several good-sized condos either on the beach or with ocean views can also be purchased in Oxnard and neighboring Port Hueneme for $245,000.
It’s much harder to get beach-area property in the city of Ventura for the county’s median price of $245,000. “But there are a lot of well-built homes in good neighborhoods on the east side of the Ventura Highway in that price range,” Clune said. “You’ll get three bedrooms and two baths, with 1,600 to 1,800 square feet of space.
“If you move even farther east, toward Santa Paula, you can find newer homes with a little more square footage for the same price,” Clune said. “You won’t be as close to mid-town Ventura, but you’ll get a little more house for your money.”
Riverside County
For reporting purposes, the California Assn. of Realtors lumps home sales in Riverside and San Bernardino counties together and issues a median price for the entire region. Although the median for the area is $130,036, prices in Riverside are generally $15,000 to $20,000 higher than those for comparable properties in San Bernardino.
“For $129,000, I can sell you a starter home that’s in prime condition, with a new roof, central air conditioning, three bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and 1,643 square feet,” said Sandy Sandison of Betty Landes Realty in Riverside. “It’s on the north side of the city of Riverside, a good area with excellent schools and good access to the 60 and 91 freeways.”
Home buyers can get even more space for their money if they’re willing to move to Moreno Valley--a boom town about 20 miles farther east--or to Perris, Rancho California and other towns to the south. “They have lots of new homes that are a little bigger than what you’d get for $130,000 in Riverside, but you’d spend more time on the freeway if you have to commute to Los Angeles everyday,” Sandison said.
S. Bernardino County
If Riverside is a first-time buyer’s paradise, then San Bernardino is nothing less than nirvana. Several new developments in the sprawling county still feature starter homes for less than $100,000, while buyers looking for the region’s median-priced house of $130,000 can find huge houses with lots of amenities.
For example, a 2-year-old home in the desirable north end of San Bernardino is on the market for $129,500: It has three bedrooms, 1 3/4 baths, a pool, big deck and fireplace.
There are even good bargains in Lake Arrowhead, the charming mountain resort town that is becoming a bedroom community for people who work in San Bernardino and neighboring cities.
“I’ve got a two-story home with tongue-and-groove paneling in the living room, a used-brick fireplace and cathedral ceilings in the two master bedrooms for $129,500,” said Deon Faust of Lake Arrowhead Realty.
“It’s only 21 miles down the hill to San Bernardino, which is about a half-hour drive. That’s less time than most of the people who live in Los Angeles spend on the freeway every morning when they’re going to work.”
San Diego County
Most of the homes that can be purchased for the San Diego median price of $176,852 are in the central part of the city of San Diego, and in established communities such as Allied Gardens and San Carlos.
“For $177,000, you’ll get about 1,500 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths and maybe a small den,” said Jack Forness, a local broker and president of the 90-outlet Century 21 San Diego Brokers Council. “The home will be about 20 years old, and you’ll be close to everything.
“You’ll get a little more house for your money if you move toward the eastern part of the county--places like Santee, Jamul and El Cajon. There you can get maybe four bedrooms and a couple of hundred extra square feet for $177,000.”
