Where are all the new homes in LA? (Los Angeles, Riverside: for sale, apartments)

[LP560]

Hey guys,

Great forum you guys got here. My family and I are looking to move to LA sometime next year. We actually just came back from LA last month after going for two weeks. It wasn't our first time there so we know the area but don't know it as well as the locals of course.

We come from an Asian background so normally we looked at the Monterey Park area for homes. From what we saw when we were there, there were really no new homes for sale. It seemed the a lot of old homes were just torn down then rebuilt with new homes. We weren't a huge fan of old/new homes mixed together. Ideally we would like to be close to the Asian shops but not a big deal.

We looked on Realtor.com and Zillow.com with some success but I'm sure there's more inventory out there not listed.

I did a search on this forum and seems South Pasadena was highly recommended. Are there any new homes there?


To sum it up we prefer:
- Single family home
- Near Asian stores/restaurants but not a must
- Really prefer a new house among other newer homes in a community
- 3 bedroom
- 2.5 bath
- 2 car garage at least
- All adults so schools not a factor
- Relatively close to downtown LA (30 minutes no traffic)
- Willing to spend up to a $1 mil

Am I asking too much? If worst comes to worst, any new homes near LA would do. Also please mention if you know any up and coming developments.

Thanks

[osuzana]

I could be wrong here, but with so much of L.A. overdeveloped, a lot of new homes were going up in San Bernadino area or Riverside...not the most desirable area. Then you have Kern County or Santa Clarita. Other than that people are doing what you said...find the area they like, tear down and build which usually does not end up blending in with the existing neighborhood. I'm sure someone more familiar with Asian areas will have more info. Good luck.

[matt345]

There's no room left to build new homes in LA. The basin and valleys have been pretty much completely built out for decades now.

[missionhome]

Downtown Los Angeles is the historic heart of the city, going back to before the 1920's. You want an area within 30 minutes of that which is maybe a radius of a few miles. The city started in downtown and hence many of the oldest communities surround downtown. Most of the suburbs that surround downtown to the east are the original suburbs like Monterey Park, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, etc... These are long established communites and you won't find new homes. South Pasadena that you asked about is mainly older charming homes built before 1960. The oldest house in South Pasadena was built in 1846!

If you want a massive development of 1990 or newer homes, you are going to be looking in Orange County, the far weastern San Gabriel Valley (Walnut, Diamond Bar, etc...), the northern San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Ventura County, and the Inland Empire. None of those are really thirty minutes to downtown. The city of Los Angeles and areas surrounding downtown have been built out for a few decades now and development now is mainly just infill. The main stuff going on is contruction of apartments and large scale condo developments to fit more onto a lot because of how built out the area is.

[EscapeCalifornia]

There haven't been any big tracts of buildable land within 30 minutes of downtown LA for a long time. As previously noted, you'll have to drive to the fringe of the region for that, and that's going to be a heck of a lot more than 30 minutes away. All the new construction you'll find in the LA basin is either condo high rises, single lot teardowns, or small infill projects where you have half a dozen mcmansions on tiny lots surrounded by ghetto on at least 3 sides.

[LP560]

Hmm that's what I was afraid of. All the land being already developed surrounding LA.

We did find everything we wanted in Buena Park but it was just too far...

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by LP560

We did find everything we wanted in Buena Park but it was just too far...

If you liked Buena Park and don't want to put up with the horrendous traffic on I-5 between Buena Park and downtown, you could consider Metrolink.

Metrolink from Buena Park station to Union Station in downtown L.A. is about 30 minutes and you get to kick back and relax on the ride there.

How new are you looking by the way???? Buena Park isn't really the newest area of Orange County.

[UB50]

I can only chime in as everyone else has said what I would have said: All the new housing developments are out of town.

Did you check Arcadia and San Marino?

[osuzana]

May I add that the construction of older homes is usually of much better quality than the newer tract homes that are pounded out and ready in no time. My parent's home was built in 1947 and has gone through all the major earthquakes with nothing more than a crack in a wall. Not sure you can say the same for homes built in recent years. Something to consider.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by LP560

H

To sum it up we prefer:
- Single family home
- Near Asian stores/restaurants but not a must
- Really prefer a new house among other newer homes in a community
- 3 bedroom
- 2.5 bath
- 2 car garage at least
- All adults so schools not a factor
- Relatively close to downtown LA (30 minutes no traffic)
- Willing to spend up to a $1 mil

If worst comes to worst, any new homes near LA would do.

Thanks

If you can compromise on commuting then I think Irvine and vicinity meets all your requirements - it is just so far, over 40 miles though. If you can work the train from there...not sure. Very Asian, excellent schools (which are important even if you don't have kids), SFR, price range. Check the train possibilities.