BREA

Expectations of a finished downtown area are contributing to Brea’s largest rise in housing costs since the late 1980s, local real estate experts said Thursday.

The city’s plan to redevelop downtown has helped boost Brea’s home prices past prerecession levels, local agents said. Starting home prices in Brea are around $200,000. Condominiums and apartments have been affected as well. Wanda Warner, an agent with Century 21 Realty, said demand for new loft apartments on the promenade has created waiting lists. Construction on the downtown promenade and the future Old Navy and Tower Records stores resumed in late December after a few months of stagnation.