why is it so expensive to buy a house in Los Angeles?
101000
as long as people are still moving here, prices will not drop.
127348
the two factors are rising interest rates and housing oversaturation.\n\nnew home construction skyrocketed due to the low interest rates from the last few years.  this slowed or even killed the recent 90's movement of people going to live back into the large cities.  now more pepole are likely to live in suburbs.  see urban crawl above.  the main affect of this is the city's loss of tax revenue.  big cities had to adjust thier budgets dramatically.\n\nnow that the interest rates are going up the housing market is slowing.  so now more people tend to stay where they are and don't spend money.  or are forced to save longer for thier homes.  slowing the economy a little.\n\nbut the real mess is moments away.  the answer above states interest only loans.  this should be a huge american concern.  67% off all home loans in california are interest only loans and it's becoming more popular throughout the country.  essentially, your mortgage only covers the interest on your home loan to a pre determined time (maybe 15 years)  people are doing this because they can purchase a larger home for the same amount of money.  people in california are doing this just to get a home.  average price for a 2 bedroom in san francisco is $1 million.\n\nthey are banking on the appreciation of the house accumulating faster than the interest on the loan.  if the housing market slows further you are going to see thousands of foreclosures.  this will have a trickle effect and destroy our ecconomy.
22735
Depends on how long you plan on being here and if you can afford it.  In the bay area, houses are still SO expensive...we pay 700,000 for small 2 bedroom homes here!  Southern CA isn't as bad though and out in the middle, it's still reasonable.  \n\nIf you're only here a couple years, renting might be best, but if you're here long term, it's a good investment.
596084
I would check the value on www.zillow.com.  This site will tell you roughly how much your house is worth at a minimum.  Don't let other people tell you how much you home is worth.  California Real Estate is the most expensive in the country, and commercial real estate is more expensive than residential. So I would suggest getting a Realtor that only does commercial.  the other suggestion would be to develop the property yourself so that it is purely a commercial property without any residential qualities.  Further, I would not sell if I didn't have a plan to move somewhere else.  If it is money that you need, you can get a home equity line of credit.  That way you get the money you need and keep your house.  It is a means to lock in the value of the property.
688028
been in l.a. all of my life, it is really not that expensive, it depends on your level of education, and if you dont make costly mistakes.  DID'NT YOU SAY USA
368855
Upwards of $800 for anything liveable. Depends on the part of the city you want to live in as well. Good luck finding something!
338629
if you aint from new york, there is absolutely no reason to live in new york. the people who are there cant help it.\n\neverybody knows los angeles has the weather, the weed, the women, the coast, hollywood etc..\n\nit also has smog and crime but thats better than cold weather,trashy streets,smog, and crime..
505125
Santa Monica is probably the most expensive, followed by San Diego. L.A is probably your best choice as the population is quite diverse and the cost of living is not as bad.
221256
At this point, buying a house in Orange County may not be the best purchase you could make.  Housing prices are at an all time high right now but they look to be heading back down.  That could put you upside down on your loan (i.e. you would owe more on the loan than the house is worth).  The prices are so high here that some of the people I work with are selling their houses for a large sum and moving into rentals until the prices move down.  Then they will buy another house and have made a profit on their old one.
26733
California is among the most overheated markets in real estate so buying now MAY get you into a financial mess by overpaying. Renting is always a waste of money. If you can get LAND at a reasonable price then building a home will avoid the profit you would pay a homeowner for an existing home. That's just my opinion.\n\nImran
458471
I live and was born here some 40 years ago the place u describe exists only in the DESERT in the far outlying areas that, in case ur not familiar are desolate and in the middle of the desert. Los Angeles on one side has the beaches on the other mountains and then... u guesssed it desert.\n\nMost metro areas are either A. expensive because the crime rate is low or B. not expensive because the crime rate is HIGH\n\nGood Luck try these commmunities out\nhancock park - mid wilshire - adams - silverlake - echo park\nhighland park - canoga park -
1173499
It's a question everyone would like to have answered :)\n\nUnderstand that in any real estate market there is a wide range of prices. The questions that you should be asking yourself is, what is the most important feature you need in a house? For example, if you have a family, is it a school? neighborhood? If you don't have a family, would your commute to work be a huge factor? Prices will be lower in "less desireable" locations. Case in point, houses by the beach will sell far more than comparable houses further inland. Size of the house of course matters as well, do you want a 4 bedroom 3 bathroom house? or a smaller 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house?\n\nI agree that a foreclosure purchase is a good idea. As interest rates rise, previous buyers who are on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) or Interest Only Mortgages will be dropping like flies. And with the increasing supply of housing, it would be a good time to shop foreclosures as market prices fall and lower foreclosure prices even more. However, keep in mind, purchasing a foreclosure house does have it's restrictions. If I recall correctly, you must live in it for a number of years and it can't be used as income property. You need to be pre-APPROVED not pre-qualified for a loan in order to participate in the bidding proccess.\n\nI hope this helps. I recommend getting a book or two on buying real estate or talk to a licensed real estate agent before making your move.
290926
The cost-of-living tends to increase the closer one gets to the oceans, and in urban areas. Cities bordering the ocean tend to be particularly high. New York or California would likely be at the top of such a list. \n\nYou may want to check out the cost-of-living wizard at salary.com
1041082
A comparison of Seattle to Los Angeles is easy to do with facts and data (albeit a bit dated), I was born in Seattle, my husband grew up in LA and our son goes to university there now, my husband and I have lived in Seattle for about 30 years. My opinion is that Seattle is more culturally endowed, more marine, cleaner, has better transit and the area as a whole is thriving. Los Angeles is far more ethnically diverse (though Seattle is far from white bread) is more spread out, has enormous possibilities in the entertainment industry, but there’s a real spread between the ends of the fiscal spectrum. I’ve included links below that you can use to compare schools, hospitals, crime, weather, etc.\n\nThe median age is lower in Los Angeles (31 vs. 35) while the marital rate is much higher than in Seattle (46% vs. 40%). The median income in Seattle is $45k as opposed to Los Angeles’ $36k, and the median house values in Seattle are about $40k more. Housing cost isn’t the only indicator to look at though. Electricity, food and gasoline are cheaper in Seattle. Homes have to be heated in Seattle, cooled in Los Angeles. The tap water in Seattle is actually drinkable and though many people buy bottles of water, Seattle houses don’t all have big water dispensing units like in LA. In Seattle people have to pay for tans if they want them. The education level is much higher at the high school level and significantly higher for college degrees in Seattle than LA (twice the percentage).\n\nI believe California has an income tax and a sales tax while Washington has only an enormous sales tax on all but food (candy, pop, beer, etc. are taxed). The crime rate in both Seattle and Los Angeles is about twice the national average crime rate, though the burglary, stolen vehicle, and larceny rate in Seattle is about twice that of LA while assaults, murders, and robberies were twice as prevalent in Los Angeles than Seattle. Average temperatures in Los Angeles are much higher than the national average, where Seattle is lower. The precipitation level in Seattle is much higher than LA.
11257
Your question asks if the state of the housing market is one extreme (bubble) or the other (media hype), but I think the answer lies somewhere in between and also depends on your personal circumstances.\nThe general market appears to moderating and by "moderating" I mean the rate of housing price growth is slowing.  This doesn't mean that prices are falling.  The media often misses this subtle, yet important distinction.  Slowing price increases are a good thing because it means that the market is starting to act more rationally.  We all know that prices can't continue to increase at the same rate they have for the past 3-5 years (+10 to +30% a year).  So, the moderation of these increases are not a sign of trouble.  They're a sign of a return to rationality.\nWhat would be a sign of trouble?  A few things come to mind:\n- A substantial increase in job losses and unemployment on a national and, more importantly, a local level.  Think about how business is doing in the L.A. area and where it is likely to go in the future.\n- A substantial increase in the long-term interest rates would be worrisome because fewer people will be able to afford to buy your house for a high price.  Notice I said "substantial".  Everyone knows that rates will go up slightly over the next year or two.  But that's natural as our financial markets try to get to a normal interest rate level.  Our current rates are abnormally low and returning to 7% ish isn't such a bad thing.\n- We restrict immigration substantially.  Immigration trends are driving the demand for first-time home buyers in the U.S.  If we restrict the number of people who can enter our country, become productive citizens and eventually buy a home, we'll lower demand for housing.  Especially in Los Angeles!\nI don't trust the media to give me a balanced view of the housing (or any other) market because that's not their objective.  Media's goal is to get you to watch and they wouldn't get very many viewers if they said that the market would likely just moderate going forward with only slight increases for the future.  They get much more attention when they find data that will allow them to make dire predictions and predict doom and gloom.\nCurrently, the prices of houses are being driven by people's ability to afford the monthly payment and the supply of people looking to purchase houses.  I think that increasing rates will lower the prices a little bit, but I don't think prices will fall significantly causing many people to lose many and file bankruptcy.  I personally don't know anyone who is overleveraged and would be devastated by a decline in housing prices.  They would just continue paying their mortgages and living in the house.  However, when I talk to people about the market, they all think there is a significant population of people who are going bankrupt.  I'm not sure there is much real data to support this paranoia, however.\nNow, to address the second part of my answer -- your personal situation.  If you buy a house for the right personal reasons, then you won't have to worry about future housing prices as much.  If you're committed to staying the local area and you have professional job stability, then you will have more security to ride out any short-term price fluctuations.  Additionally, you should consider the value of owning versus renting along other lines than pure investments.  What is the value of owning your own residence and being able to upgrade various amenities when and how you please?  (Hey - new jet tub! Granite countertops!)  What is the value of being able to demonstrate security to your family and friends?  (Honey, I really am committed to building a family!)  What is the value of not having to deal with landlords and other renting hassles?\nI'm not saying there are concrete answers to those questions, but you should consider them and if they have high value to you, then
40130
I have been mulling over the same question. I have decided that the bubble is more hyped up then it should be and that if anything prices will drop a bit or rmain the same over the next year or two. I'm just going to bite the bullet and buy a half million dollar property, i'm probably going to buy in Glendale in the next two months.\n\nGood Luck finding the right house!
1111842
If homes in Mendocino were selling for $75,000 each, then there would be no slump.\n\nSlumps happen when there are no sellers selling at the price that buyers can afford, or wish to pay.  So one of two things must happen for a sale to take place - either the seller must drop the price, or the situation in Mendocino must somehow improve such that buyers want to pay more to live there.