Commute to Santa Monica from Woodland hills. Anyone? (Calabasas, Fortuna: buying a house, neighborhood)

[adr3naline]

I am looking at buying a house in Woodland Hills near Topanga Canyon Blvd and Mulholland, and commuting to my office in Santa Monica via Topanga Canyon Blvd & the PCH (not the 405 route).

Does anyone do this currently, or recently? I'm interested in your thoughts on both the length and reliability of this route. I'm okay with a 50min commute...but I'm curious about the frequency of accidents that extend that timeline given Topanga's 2-lanes could quickly become a bottleneck.

Thanks in advance.

[highlanderfil]

I have a friend who does exactly this. Every so often I will see a pretty sunset photo she'll post from the PCH as she is stuck in traffic and I have done that drive myself in rush hour. It can be way more than 50 minutes if you keep regular hours. The PCH is more of a problem than Topanga, although with one lane in every direction and a rock slide-prone environment will do you no favors, either. Fun drive, though.

[TravelingBoat]

Sometimes PCH is like the 405. That drive and that hot weather in the summer would wear on me.

[jm1982]

Not sure if commute would be 50 mins consistently but I think that Woodland Hills is probably the neighborhood with the best value for the price in the L.A area . Lots of new development planned and under construction in the area so I imagine it will become more desirable too .

The Westfield Village is nice and offers some nice restaurants and shops .

[movinon]

Depends on the time that you're commuting, too. If you can travel off-peak it would help. My dad did this for years, although it was a number of years ago. As mentioned, rock slides can be an issue occasionally. Plus he found that summer traffic on PCH could be a problem. There might be days when the 405 would actually be a better option. So plan to be flexible. For the record, we were in Calabasas near Old Topanga and Mulholland Highway so the intersection you're talking about is the same starting point, for all intents and purposes.

[adr3naline]

Thanks for the feedback thus far, guys. I plan to keep regular hours, driving in 8-9a, and leaving ~6p.

Would love to hear from someone who does the drive currently...

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Not sure if commute would be 50 mins consistently but I think that Woodland Hills is probably the neighborhood with the best value for the price in the L.A area . Lots of new development planned and under construction in the area so I imagine it will become more desirable too .

The value is there although it's changing fast. Most of these homes are ~1800-2500sqft and come with a pool, selling for ~$850k. Once these 60's homes undergo their inevitable interior renovations I can see the area asking $1M entry. Fortunately, the wife and I are doing alright...but man it's a circus out there.

[adr3naline]

For reference, the commute in question...

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

The value is there although it's changing fast. Most of these homes are ~1800-2500sqft and come with a pool, selling for ~$850k. Once these 60's homes undergo their inevitable interior renovations I can see the area asking $1M entry. Fortunately, the wife and I are doing alright...but man it's a circus out there.

Yeah I hear you , $850,000 isn't really cheap necessarily. I see some lower priced homes but probably smaller than 1800-2500 .

Not sure if you looked at west hills or not prices are lower but of course a little bit further from PCH .

I noticed a lot of stuff sitting on market not sure if it might be time of year and don't know if that means sellers would actually be up to negotiation or if everyone thinks their home is worth full price even if it hasn't been updated since the mid 1970s.. . Will be interesting to see how the market does this year .

I do see it attracting a younger /hipper crowd in the future. Right now doesnt seem like the type of Area that is hot for flip homes like in some other parts of L.A

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Not sure if you looked at west hills or not prices are lower but of course a little bit further from PCH .

I was mostly focused on homes south of the Blvd...but for no other reason than it seems to cut another 10min from the commute? Looks to be a healthy stock in my price range ($600-750k). Thanks!

Originally Posted by jm1982

I noticed a lot of stuff sitting on market not sure if it might be time of year and don't know if that means sellers would actually be up to negotiation or if everyone thinks their home is worth full price even if it hasn't been updated since the mid 1970s.. . Will be interesting to see how the market does this year .

Things were stagnant before the holidays, but after attending two open houses yesterday, it's definitely hot again.

Originally Posted by jm1982

I do see it attracting a younger /hipper crowd in the future. Right now doesnt seem like the type of Area that is hot for flip homes like in some other parts of L.A

I'm doing my best.