Buying a house (Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills: for sale, how much, construction)

[jsc0787]

Is it possible to buy a house within commuting distance to say downtown L.A. that actually has say 1/4 acre of land? How much combined household income would one need to own an upscale property?

[motoman]

The answer to your first question is probably no. I am sure there are properties in LA with lots that large, but those would most likely be multi-million dollar properties, and most likely in places like Beverly Hills. I don't know all of the areas around downtown though, so there might be something closer. I just know from what I have seen that lots are usually 1/8 of an acre or smaller, typically smaller.

It depends on what you consider upscale. The median home price in Southern California is about $500,000. What most people would consider upscale will very easily cost you a million or more. Last year I remember seeing a tear-down in Santa Monica for $1.5 million. That was lot value. No more than 1/8 of an acre.

To be able to afford a $1 million house, assuming you put 20% down (that's $200,000) and abide by typical lending ratios where you don't spend more than 1/3 of your income on housing, you'd need to make about $250,000 per year. However, I don't think it is prudent to spend 1/3 of your income on housing, so realistically you'd need to make something more than that.

Here is a property near downtown being sold for land value for $549,000. It doesn't say how big it is.

I just re-read your message. What do you mean when you say "within commuting distance"? How much time are you willing to commit to commuting one-way?

Going east of downtown you can find things "cheaper", but you'll have to go way out to find anything even remotely approaching what most areas in the country would consider even reasonably affordable.

[greggd]

One may be better off buying two lots and having a home built. Home Construction Costs, labor, have recently gone down.

There are two lots for sale at 1325 silver lake blvd for about $495,000. About 9,000 sq ft which is close to 1/4 acre.

[dbaMommy]

My husband and father-in-law have commuted for years from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to downtown LA. As said previously upscale is subjective

The Palos Verdes Peninsula is one of the only areas south of LA (in Los Angeles County) where acreage (and horse property) is available. Homes here have a wide range of property values from $1mil to $10+ mil depending on location/amenities.

A quick search on realtor.com shows many properties with acreage in LA county however most are not located in what I would define as upscale which is clearly just IMHO.

[DawnW]

One area that we looked at because the properties were larger (lot sizes) and you could get more for your money, was Tujunga. It is not a bad commute at all to downtown and up in the mountain area it was very nice.

Now, it is LAUSD if you have kids in school, but it is a great place to look.

Dawn

[JTGJR]

Hmmm, was that you jsc0787? I got a letter (not a form letter) from a Realtor yesterday stating that they had a client relocating who wanted to know if I would consider selling my house. I've got an 8Ksqft lot. Not on the market tho.