We will discuss the latest Los Angeles housing market trends & news and find out how they can affect the investors and homebuyers. The shutdown due to coronavirus pandemic had an impact on the California economy and the real estate sector well. Home sales dropped over the past couple of months but prices remain high. In June, we saw a rebound in home sales. In Metro Los Angeles, home prices rose $18,000 or 11.6% to a new level of $553,000. Jump in sales was 48%. All the six counties of southern California saw an increase in sales as compared to May.
In LA county, the jump in the existing home sales was the highest from May, at 37.50%. All these figures are still lagging if we compare them to last year’s June. The rise in home prices and sales have shifted the market conditions to a balanced one. The inventory still remains tight, and with the surge in the Covid-19 cases, sellers may back out again to further decrease the listings.
In Los Angeles County, sales rose 40.8% from May and fell 24.3% from a year earlier. The median price rose 4% from a year earlier to $643,000. In Orange County, sales rose 49% from May and fell 22.1% from a year earlier. The median price rose 4.1% from a year earlier to $765,000. The latest “LOS ANGELES HOUSING MARKET REPORT” is given below.
Let’s talk a bit about Los Angeles the surrounding metro area before we discuss what lies ahead for investors and homebuyers. Los Angeles is home to around four million people. It is the largest city in California and the second-largest in the United States. The L.A. metropolitan area with over 13 million people rivals New York in population as the largest in the country. However, being a huge real estate market is not reason enough to invest here.
The Los Angeles real estate market is considered as one of the premier markets for both investors and homeowners. It is also touted as the nation’s least affordable housing market. If you look at the long-term, it’s always a good investment to buy in Los Angeles. It is said that you will always get your money back or you would make a profit, as Los Angeles has a track record of being a great long term investment.
The real estate appreciation rate in Los Angeles is predicted to remain a bit modest throughout this year. The strong demand and tight inventory keep on pushing the prices higher in LA. According to several real estate experts, the home values in Los Angeles will continue to rise in 2020, but at a significantly slower rate than the nationwide average. According to Realtor.com’s recent housing market report, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim would see a 0.7% rise in home values in 2020.
The real estate sales in the region would drop by -6.0%. The home prices are expected to flatten nationwide, increasing by just 0.8%, and buyers will continue to move to affordability, benefiting mid-sized markets. The real estate appreciation rate in Los Angeles in the latest quarter was around 0.66% which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 2.68%. Again, this is a good sign for buyers and investors as the price forecast shows a modest increase. Let us discuss some more housing market trends which make investing in Los Angeles real estate potentially profitable for new investors in the long term.
Los Angeles Housing Market Prices & Trends 2020
We shall now discuss some of the most recent Los Angeles real estate trends & news, and compare it with the past couple of years. We shall mainly discuss median home prices, inventory, economy, growth, and neighborhoods, which will help you understand the way the local real estate market moves in this region. Los Angeles is also one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation. In the past ten years, the annual real estate appreciation rate has amounted to 6.34%, according to NeighborhoodScout.com. This puts Los Angeles in the top 10% nationally for real estate appreciation.
Los Angeles Housing Market Report Before COVID-19 Hit The Country
Let us discuss some of the statistics of the Los Angeles housing market for the last couple of years. In 2018, the home prices in Los Angeles reached record heights, climbing to levels far above those recorded in the years leading up to the Great Recession. If we check historical data, in Los Angeles and Orange counties, year-over-year price increases peaked at 8.2% in April 2018 and have declined every month since. In October 2018, the home prices in Los Angeles and Orange counties rose 5.5% over the previous year, according to the latest available data from the closely watched S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.
A big factor, according to experts, is that many would-be buyers are increasingly priced out. But real estate agents also say a growing number of people who could buy, like Saavedra, have decided they don’t want to pull the trigger at the top. Home values in Los Angeles are up less than 3 percent since last year. After years of steady escalation, home prices in Los Angeles County are tapering off, according to a new report from CoreLogic. They find that the Los Angeles county’s median home price was $579,500 in January, down slightly from December’s median price of $581,500.
That’s a 2.6 percent increase over the same time last year. By this comparison, prices shot up nearly 8 percent between January 2017 and January 2018. Prices continued to rise through much of 2018 but began to drop heading into Q4 2018. In Q4 2019, home prices were still slightly higher than a year earlier, but the spread has narrowed. 2018’s FRM interest rate increase decreased the principal amount homebuyers can borrow while making the same sustainable mortgage payment.
The National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index has given the title of least affordable housing market to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale region, only 11.3% of homes sold during the fourth quarter of 2019 were affordable to families earning the area’s median income of $73,100.
The median price of a single-family home in Los Angeles County was $650,000 in January, representing a sizable 8.5 percent increase over a year earlier. A median-priced condo cost $515,000, a more modest 1 percent uptick over January 2019. The prices dropped off a bit every month, by nearly 5 percent for condos and 0.5 percent for single-family homes. According to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, the unsold inventory in February was equal to 3.6 months for single-family detached homes, up 12.5% MTM and down -29.4% year-to-year.
The median price of single-family detached homes was $580,690, down 6% MTM, and up 7.3% year-to-year. Low-interest rates and strong employment lead to some stellar sales results in February in most counties of California. Data gathered by the California Association of Realtors suggest that single-family homes, in particular, are fetching far lower prices now than they were during the summer when Los Angeles real estate values reached an all-time high.
Screenshot Courtesy of CAR.org
The association reports that the median sold price of an existing (not newly built) single-family home in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area was $550,000 in February 2020, up 8.9% from last year. From Jan to Feb, the median sold price increased by 2.1 percent. This beginning of 2020 has been good for Los Angeles single-family homes.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Los Angeles Housing Market
Below is the latest monthly report of the Los Angeles Metro Area Housing Market.
Los Angeles is a moderately walkable city in Los Angeles County with a population of approximately 3.7 million people. Los Angeles Metropolitan Area is a 5- region that includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura. The source of this report is the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS.
Southern California home sales fell 26.6% in April compared with a month earlier, while year-over-year sales were down by 31.5%. In April 2020, the median sold price of existing single-family homes in the Los Angeles Metro Area was $550,000, a year-over-year increase of 2.5%.
As compared to March the median sold price decreased by 1.1%. Home sales in the Los Angeles metro housing market decreased by 30.9% as compared to the previous year. As compared to March the home sales decreased by 21.2%. In Los Angeles County, the median sold price of single-family homes rose 3.9% to $565,170, while sales dropped 30.6%.
As compared to March 2o20, the median sold price in Los Angeles County decreased by 0.5%, while sales dropped by 15.5%. In the city of Los Angeles, the median sold price of existing single-family homes rose by 0.5% to $839,000, while sales dropped by 48.1%.
In June 2020, the no. of existing single-family home sales in Los Angeles County equaled 2880, which is a decline of 19.3% from last year’s June. Active listings increased dropped by a whopping 44.9% as compared to last year while the median price increased by 1.8% to $610,000.
If we talk about the city of Los Angeles, the median price of the existing single-family homes has reached $865,000, an increase of 1% from last year. Home sales dropped by 25.9%.
Her is the latest report that compares key housing metrics of the Southern California Housing Market from June 2020 with June 2019. Sales across the six-county Southern California region jumped 43.5% from May, the largest increase ever from May to June in a data set that dates from 1988.
Sales were still at a record low for a June and down 15.2% from a year earlier, but deals had declined 45% year over year in May and fell 31.5% in April. The median home price in Los Angeles County has increased by 11.60% as compared to the previous month and home sales have increased by 37.5%.
Jun-20
Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family Homes
Sales
Southern California
Jun-20
May-20
Jun-19
Price MTM% Chg
Price YTY% Chg
Sales MTM% Chg
Sales YTY% Chg
Los Angeles
$610,260
$546,930
$599,680
11.60%
1.80%
37.50%
-19.00%
Orange
$870,000
$834,550
$842,000
4.20%
3.30%
62.40%
-20.40%
Riverside
$450,000
$434,480
$420,000
3.60%
7.10%
47.00%
-8.80%
San Bernardino
$325,000
$320,000
$310,000
1.60%
4.80%
55.70%
-8.00%
San Diego
$678,000
$655,000
$665,000
3.50%
2.00%
58.10%
1.70%
Ventura
$700,000
$681,250
$647,000
2.80%
8.20%
70.80%
-18.40%
Screenshot Courtesy of CAR.org
Latest Los Angeles Real Estate Market Forecast 2020 – 2021
What are the Los Angeles real estate market predictions for 2020? Let us look at the price trends recorded by Zillow over the past few years. Since 2015, the median home price in Los Angeles has appreciated by roughly 38% from $545,000 to $752,508. The prices rose by 5.8% over the 12 months alone. Last year saw was the seventh consecutive year of home price gains.
The Zillow Buyer-Seller Index (BSI) shows that Los Angeles is currently the balanced real estate market. This is computed monthly. In other words, based on the last month’s key housing market indicators, current supply meets the demand, giving buyers & sellers an equal advantage in price negotiations. There are as many homes for sale as there are active buyers in the marketplace.
The latest Los Angeles real estate market forecast is that the home prices may remain flat or decrease by 0.4% – in the next twelve months. This could be due to the short term impact of the ongoing pandemic which has impeded the real estate sales activity in the entire nation.
Here is the visual representation of historical Los Angeles home prices and the latest forecast until March 2021.
Snapshot Courtesy of Zillow.com
Here is another short and crisp Los Angeles housing market forecast for the 3 years ending with the 3rd Quarter of 2021. The accuracy of this forecast for Los Angeles is 78% and it is predicting a positive trend. LittleBigHomes.com estimates that the probability of rising home prices in Los Angeles is 78% during this period. If this price forecast is correct, the Los Angeles home values will be higher in the 3rd Quarter of 2021 than they were in the 3rd Quarter of 2018.
The historical change in home prices for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA is shown below for the three-time period. The Los Angeles Home Price Index has increased for the last 25 consecutive quarters (data up to 3rd Quarter, 2018). The highest annual change in the value of houses in the Los Angeles Real Estate Market was 32% in the twelve months ended with the 3rd Quarter of 2004.
The worst annual change in home values in the Los Angeles Market was -23% in the twelve months ended with the 4th Quarter of 2008. The historical change in home values has been calculated until the 3rd Quarter of 2018. For the upcoming updates, you can visit LittleBigHomes.com.
Time Period
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Real Estate Appreciation
Last 5 Years
48%
Last 10 Years
46%
Last 20 Years
229%
The question now is what happens moving forward. These numbers can be positive or negative depending on which side of the fence you are — Buyer or Seller? It is quite evident that the ongoing pandemic has had a major impact on home sales. In spring, the stay-at-home orders had completely frozen the market. Many sellers pulled their homes off the market after stay-at-home orders took effect. Los Angeles home sales dropped sharply in April from both the previous month and year as the housing market began to feel the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak and the state’s stay-at-home order.
In fact, for the entire state of California, April 2020 saw the worst month-to-month sales decline in more than four decades. The southern market is now showing signs of heating up after a coronavirus-induced slump but sales are still way below the levels of last year. Compared to May, the home sales in June were up in all the six counties. LA county saw the biggest jump of 11.6% in month-over-month sales of existing single-family homes.
The real estate industry has been adapting to the current environment by conducting business using technologies such as virtual showings and e-signing to help buyers and sellers with their housing needs in the face of these challenges. The bad news is that the COVID-19 cases have surged throughout California as the economy reopened, causing the state to reimpose some restrictions again.
While the full economic activity will resume gradually, the housing market is expected to remain sluggish for the next couple of months until the threat of the pandemic is over.
Do buyers have any advantage? It the right time to buy a house in Los Angles? This is a never-ending question with no definitive answer. Buyers believe it is a very good time to buy a home in Los Angeles. Mortgage applications to purchase a home are increasing with the easing of restrictions. The number of buyers is slightly down, and more housing will soon be listed which may bring the prices down.
A huge number of job losses and unemployment claims are keeping new homebuyers away from the market, so that means there would be less competition for buyers to purchase their ideal home. According to the forecast by CoreLogic, home price drops aren’t expected in Southern California. Prices instead are forecast to rise 3% in Los Angeles County by April 2021, 5% in Orange County, and 6% in the Inland Empire. Therefore, this a relatively good time for homebuyers in Los Angeles before prices start ticking up again.
Last week, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped below 3% for the first time on record and this week stood at 3.01%, down from 3.75% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. Listings have risen since April, but the number of homes for sale last month in Los Angeles and Orange counties was 26% below year-earlier levels, according to Zillow.
We think that in 2020, the Los Angeles housing market would remain neutral. The home sales will drop temporarily without affecting the prices. The pandemic has to last long enough to send home prices down to a large extent. Usually, this region remains skewed to sellers. However, in the current cycle, the home prices may remain flat to favor buyers. Affordability is a big issue in Los Angeles County as nearly three in four residents can’t afford to buy a median-priced home in the area.
According to HousingWire, an index that combined median income and median home prices made Los Angeles the least affordable city in the country, and several younger residents said they were concerned they will never be able to afford a house. According to Zillow, the home shoppers are leaving Los Angeles for cheaper metros, the most popular being Las Vegas.
Their data shows that the Los Angeles housing market is currently a balanced market which means there is a healthy balance between the no. of qualified buyers in the market place and homes for sale. For anyone looking to buy a home in the LA metro area right now, the real good news is the increase in the number of homes to choose from.
The region is already showing signs of softening and could come under further pressure if the economy and job growth weakens. Between March 2020 and April 2020, total nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County decreased by 685,000 to 3,884,400.
The current health crisis had a direct impact on every major industry sector and reduced total nonfarm employment by 15 percent, or 685,000 jobs. This is the largest month-over nonfarm employment downturn in contemporary record-keeping. Before this month, the largest month-over decline was 127,900 jobs in January 2009.
The inventory is still lacking despite a drop in sales. It is expected that there will be some improvement in the inventory crisis due to COVID-19. If buyer demand eases, we could see a positive influence on Los Angeles’ low inventory levels while at the same time seeing a negative impact on sales. Certain areas in the LA metro housing market would see more properties for sale on the market than in other locations.
Nationally, the houisng market has begun to heat up with an increase in home buying despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The real estate sector has been one of the most resilient areas of the economy during the severe economic shutdown. The latest housing market trend to be seen is that the lack of supply is leading to a decline in existing home sales even though new home sales have jumped nearly 13% year over year.
Real estate market forecasts given in this article are just an educated guess and should not be considered financial advice. Real estate prices are deeply cyclical and much of it is dependent on factors you can’t control. Many variables could potentially impact the value of a home in LA in 2020 (or any other market) such as big changes in the distressed, new-construction, or luxury home segments. There are also a wide variety of economic and political factors that can and do impact real estate markets. Most of these variables are difficult to predict in advance.
Los Angeles Real Estate Market: Los Angeles, CA Homes For Sale
If you are a home buyer looking to find homes for sale or rent in LA, we recommend you to do that online or hire a local real estate agent. There are many sites where you can find homes available for sale on the market. Los Angeles has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing units.
According to Neighborhoodscout.com, a real estate data provider, one and two-bedroom large apartment complexes are the most common housing units in Los Angeles. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Los Angeles include single-family detached homes, duplexes, row houses and homes converted to apartments.
Single-family homes account for about 40% of Los Angeles’ housing units. In April 2020, the single-family homes posted their biggest percentage gains of the year so far in the Los Angeles metro area. House prices increased by 4.9% in Los Angeles County, 3.7% in Orange County, and 5% in the Inland Empire.
Currently, there are 3297 homes for sale in Los Angeles on Zillow, an online real estate database company. Additionally, there are 1654 homes for rent. Under potential listings, there are about 29 Foreclosed and 890 Pre-Foreclosure homes. These are the delinquent properties that may be coming to the market soon but are not yet found on a multiple listing service (MLS).
The median list price per square foot in Los Angeles is $551, which is higher than the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro average of $447.
The median price of current listings is $859,000.
The median price of homes that were sold was $760,200.
The median rent price is $3,500, which is higher than the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro median of $3,200.
There are currently 10,683 homes for sale and 8634 homes for rent in Los Angeles, CA on Realtor.com, a real estate listings website. As we write this, the newly listed homes are 952. According to their statistics, in June 2020, Los Angeles was a balanced real estate market, which means there was a healthy balance of buyers and sellers in the market. The low inventory level seemed to have equaled the low buyer turnout keeping the market temperature as neutral.
Ideally, a buyer would prefer a sale to asking price ratio that’s closer to 90%. The sellers in Los Angeles have managed to hold good leverage in these negotiations in the past month. On average, they could sell homes for 99.69% of the asking price. A seller would always prefer scenarios that can yield a ratio of 100% or higher. The median list price of homes in Los Angeles, CA was $940K, trending up 7.3% year-over-year. The median listing price per square foot was $528. The median sale price was $759K.
Graph Credits: Realtor.com
Los Angeles Housing Market: Foreclosure Statistics In 2020
Here are some foreclosure statistics of the Los Angeles housing market. As per the Los Angeles foreclosure data by Zillow, in Los Angeles 0.5 homes are foreclosed (per 10,000). This is greater than the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro value of 0.4 and also lower than the national value of 1.2. The percent of delinquent mortgages in Los Angeles is 0.7%, which is lower than the national value of 1.1%. The percent of Los Angeles homeowners underwater on their mortgage is 4.3%, which is higher than the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro at 4.1%.
There are currently 932 properties in Los Angeles, CA that are in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank-owned) while the number of homes listed for sale on RealtyTrac is 1,734. In June, the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing in Los Angeles, CA was 4% lower than the previous month and 63% lower than the same time last year.
Potential Foreclosures in Los Angeles
932 (RealtyTrac)
Homes for Sale in Los Angeles
1734
Recently Sold
6563
Median List Price
$950,000 (5% drop vs May 2019)
According to RealtyTrac, in Los Angeles, the zip code with the highest foreclosure rate is 90056, where 1 in every 1800 housing units is foreclosed. So, you’d find a lot of distressed sellers in this area and get some discounted off-market deals. 90043 zip code has the lowest foreclosure rate, where 1 in every 4546 housing units becomes delinquent.
Los Angeles Real Estate Market: Is It A Good Place For Investment?
Now that you know where Los Angeles is, you probably want to know why we’re recommending it to real estate investors. Investing in real estate is touted as a great way to become wealthy. Should you consider Los Angeles real estate investment? Many real estate investors have asked themselves if buying a property in Los Angeles is a good investment? You need to drill deeper into local trends if you want to know what the market holds for the real estate investors and buyers in 2020.
If you are looking to make a profit, you don’t want to buy the most expensive property on the Los Angeles real estate market and expect to make a good profit on rents. Perhaps you are looking for a slightly different hold-over, an investment property in Los Angeles that you might move into or sell at retirement in the future. Either way, knowing your profit potential and purpose is the first thing to consider.
Let’s find some factors that make LA a good place to invest for wealthy buyers. You will get a fair amount of knowledge of the fundamentals of this hot real estate market. We’ll address the biggest factor pulling people to the Los Angeles housing market next. In this section, we’re not taking into account the short-term impact of the pandemic on the economy and housing market.
Right Time To Invest in Los Angeles Real Estate
The Los Angeles housing market has been hot for years. It hit record highs in 2019. However, the market is starting to cool. Prices have been declining since the record highs seen in the summer of 2018. Selection is growing, too, because so many buyers think prices remain at the peak. Currently, LA has transitioned into a balanced real estate market. The home prices are predicted to rise by only 0.7% this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Los Angeles Hidden Real Estate Deals
Distressed buyers exist in every real estate market. The 8% decline in the number of homes sold is creating stress for many owners of Los Angeles real estate. They’re starting to ask for less just to get the property sell. This explains why Los Angeles has seen a wide gap form between the listing price of a home and the price that it sells for.
If you do find an ideal property in the Los Angeles housing market, the increased selection of properties means you’re far less likely to end up in a bidding war. If you’re looking for other great deals, check out the Vermont Vista, Hyde Park, and Cypress Park, where the asking prices are below the average Los Angeles rent of $2,524/mo.
Foreclosures can be a great way to snap up Los Angeles real estate at a bargain price. Foreclosure rates, though, vary wildly. Around one out of every six hundred homes in Lake Hughes, Topanga and Santa Fe Springs are in foreclosure. That’s five times the average rate for Los Angeles County.
Note that for every home in foreclosure with the bank, there is probably another that is approaching that point and would be sold at a discount by a distressed seller who wants to avoid foreclosure. In distressed neighborhoods, fix and flip may be an option. So is buying the Los Angeles real estate cheap and renting it out in a market starving for affordable rental units.
Los Angeles Has Relaxed Rent Control on Homes
Rent control applies to many Los Angeles rental properties if they are multi-family units. Single-family detached homes rarely fall under the rent control ordinances. The only exception is when there are two or more units on the property that are rented out; then rent control rules are likely to apply. The simplest solution to this is to only by single-family Los Angeles rental properties, never a property with a separately rented granny flat or upstairs apartment you could rent out, as well.
Los Angeles Rental Market Statistics
Homeownership rates in California have been declining for years. The sea change has been the growth of renting among the middle and upper classes. For example, a third of Los Angeles residents with incomes over $100,000 rent instead of own. Baby Boomers downsizing their homes choose to rent condos and homes that others maintain. Millennials who have a good income often say their parents lose their homes in the Great Recession and choose to rent instead.
This is driving demand for luxury Los Angeles real estate market, whether condos, apartments with concierges, or luxury homes rented instead of purchased so that the resident can easily move if they lose their jobs. Only San Jose and San Francisco have more high-income residents that rent than the Los Angeles real estate market. Although apartment prices are high and rising, they’re lower in Los Angeles than in California.
That’s one bright spot in an otherwise tough rental market for Los Angeles renters. In the Los Angeles real estate market, a one-bedroom apartment rents for around $1400. A two-bedroom apartment is rented out for around $1800. The average rent people pay is around $2400 a month. You would be able to charge much more for a three or four bedrooms Los Angeles rental home.
For comparison, these rental rates are roughly twice the national average. Nor will the economic headwinds affect this much. Whether it is immigrants moving to Los Angeles for the opportunity or young Americans moving to L.A. for the coolness factor, housing demand continues to grow. This explains why rental rates on Los Angeles rental properties are going up 7% a year.
The Military also adds renters to the Los Angeles housing market. Any military base will pump renters into a real estate market. The Los Angeles real estate market is simply notable for having a large military population but a job market so diverse that the closing of a base won’t hurt the area’s home prices overall.
The Los Angeles AirPort Base, Edwards Air Force Base, and smaller facilities dump many renters into the Los Angeles housing market. Those with families often choose to rent Los Angeles rental properties instead of life on base. On top of that are defense contractors like Raytheon in Long Beach and El Segundo who pay people a premium to live here.
Los Angeles Rental Market Statistics: 40% of the households in LA are renter-occupied while 60% are owner-occupied. The average rent for an apartment in Los Angeles is $2,524, a 2% increase compared to the previous year, according to RENTCafé. The average size for a Los Angeles, CA apartment is 792 square feet. Studio apartments are the smallest and most affordable, 1-bedroom apartments are closer to the average, while 2-bedroom apartments and 3-bedroom apartments offer more generous square footage.
According to RentJungle, as of June 2020, the average rent for an apartment in Los Angeles, CA is $2722 which is a 1.95% decrease from last year when the average rent was $2775, and a 0.33% decrease from last month when the average rent was $2731.
One-bedroom apartments in Los Angeles rent for $2408 a month on average (a 0.21% decrease from last year).
Two-bedroom apartment rents average $3127 (a 3.74% decrease from last year).
The average apartment rent over the prior 6 months in Los Angeles has increased by $55 (2.1%).
One-bedroom units have increased by $57 (2.4%).
Two-bedroom apartments have increased by $31 (1%).
More than 60% of the apartments can be rented for $2,000 or more while about 25% fall in the range of $1,500 t0 $2,000. The median rent is close to $2,500 and the majority of the apartments fall in that price range. The most expensive Los Angeles neighborhoods to rent apartments in are Mid City West, Venice, Westwood, Santa Monica ($4,234), Downtown Santa Monica ($4,283), and North of Montana ($4,690).
Some of the most affordable neighborhoods in LA where the average rent is less than or equal to $1,500/mo:
Jefferson Park, where the average rent goes for $1,355/month.
El Sereno, where renters pay $1,396/mo on average.
Vermont Knolls, where the average rent goes for $1,445/mo.
Glassell Park & Cypress Park, where the average rent goes for $1,485/month.
Cypress Park, where renters pay $1,396/mo on average.
North Hills, where renters pay $1,530/mo on average.
Graph Courtesy of RENTCafé
Construction Isn’t Meeting Housing Demand in LA
The Los Angeles housing market has seen a bump in residential construction. This has helped to satisfy some demand from renters. However, due to increasing demand, the new supply hasn’t brought prices down. It simply means that the vacancy rate in Los Angeles remains around 3% instead of falling any lower. This also suggests that any new wave of construction will at most result in rental rates remaining steady instead of causing them to fall.
The geography of this region also limits the supply. The Los Angeles metropolitan area is perched between the ocean and the mountains. You obviously can’t build on water. There’s only so far you can build into the hills when mudslides and earthquakes limit how much you can build there. The Los Angeles real estate market is further constrained by the vast national parks around L.A. like the Angeles National Forest. These areas simply cannot be turned into residential areas.
Los Angeles’ Strong Economic and Job GrowthTwo of the most fundamental economic indicators are employment and income. In terms of home prices, income, and employment indicate whether people can afford current and future increases. Los Angeles had an unemployment rate of around 4.7% (as on Feb 2o20).
What makes Los Angeles unique is the employment market. Want to work in Hollywood? Move to L.A. Want to work for a production company or in fashion? Come to L.A. If rent is too high, share an apartment or single-family home with friends. Note that due to the ongoing pandemic, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Los Angeles County increased over the month to 19.6 percent in April 2020, from a revised 6.7 percent in March 2020, and was above the rate of 4.5 one year ago.
Los Angeles Investment Properties: Where To Invest?
Are you looking for an investment property in the Los Angeles real estate market? Maybe you have done a bit of real estate investing in Los Angeles but want to take things further and make it into more than a hobby on the side. It’s only wise to think about how you can and should be investing your money. In any property investment, cash flow is gold. Should you consider Los Angeles real estate investment?
California has the 6th largest economy in the entire world. This is largely driven by its innovative production, the heavy tech sectors in the state, and more. The Los Angeles real estate market has many points in its favor beyond its sheer size. The strong market fundamentals make the Los Angeles housing market a good place to invest if you’re looking at buying real estate in California.
How good is it to buy a Los Angeles investment property? Not every real estate investor wants to enter the most expensive and competitive Los Angeles real estate market. For buyers, the affordability is dropping and only 30% of LA county residents own a home. Home Prices are so high and out of reach for many buyers – many consider LA homes grossly over-priced.
While Los Angeles home prices may be increasing slightly over the next year, the fact remains that there are many homes available at fair prices. Growing household formations, ongoing job creation, and rising wage growth are fueling housing demand,” said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “But a record-low resale inventory, coupled with underbuilding as builders deal with supply-side constraints, continue to put upward pressure on home prices even as interest rates remain at low levels.”
There’s still a strong opportunity for rental property investment in Los Angeles. There is a strong and continuous demand for apartments for rent in LA. This is fueled by always tight inventory, severe competition from tenants, rising wages, and a good economy. Therefore, for a great opportunity for rental income for investors. Good cash flow from Los Angeles investment properties means the investment is, needless to say, profitable.
A bad cash flow, on the other hand, means you won’t have money on hand to repay your debt. Therefore, finding a good Los Angeles real estate investment opportunity would be key to your success. If you invest wisely in the Los Angeles real estate, you could secure your future. The best investment is now looking for a rental property that will generate good cash flow. Your best tenants would be the retirees who intend to relocate to Los Angeles and want to purchase property to rent out.
The running costs for owning and managing a Los Angeles rental property should not be high. While hiring a property management company you should expect to give up roughly ten percent of the rent for each property they manage. Remember to factor this loss into your calculations when budgeting for a new rental property. The three most important factors when buying a real estate anywhere are location, location, and location. The location creates desirability. Desirability brings demand.
There should be a natural and upcoming high demand for rental properties. Demand would raise the price of your Los Angeles investment property and you should be able to get a good return on your investment over the long term. The neighborhoods in Los Angeles must be safe to live in and should have a low crime rate. The neighborhoods should be close to basic amenities, public services, schools, and shopping malls.
A cheaper neighborhood in Los Angeles might not be the best place to live in. A cheaper neighborhood should be determined by these factors – Overall Cost Of Living, Rent To Income Ratio, and Median Home Value To Income Ratio. Los Angeles real estate prices are well above average cost compared to national prices. It depends on how much you are looking to spend and if you are wanting smaller investment properties or larger deals such as duplex and triplex in Class A neighborhoods. The inventory is low, but opportunities are there.
Even as Los Angeles home prices have reached new heights, the market remains attractive to residential real estate investors. As they continue to compete for potential investment properties at the lower end of the market, the challenges for first-time homebuyers will remain. The homebuyers won’t be able to outbid real estate investors and would end up renting.
Home prices in Los Angeles are well below the national average for all cities and towns in the United States. According to Realtor.com, there are around 83 neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Bel Air has a median listing price of $4.7M, making it the most expensive neighborhood. Sunland-Tujunga is the most affordable neighborhood, with a median listing price of $695K.
Investing in more affordable neighborhoods (at least some of them) can give you a bigger return on investment in a shorter period of time. Here are some of the best neighborhoods in Los Angeles for buying investment properties.
West Hills is a residential and commercial neighborhood in the western San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. The percentage of residents aged 35 and older is among the highest in Los Angeles County. Historic landmarks and many city parks are to be found within the community, as are commercial districts, a business district, and religious establishments. Niche.com ranks it #42 in Best Neighborhoods to Live in Los Angeles.
The median home value in West Hills is $732,929 and home values have gone up 5.3% over the past year. According to Zillow, it is a sizzling hot neighborhood based on three metrics: the list-to-sale price ratio, the prevalence of price cuts on home listings, and time-on-market. All these metrics show that buyer demand is very high in this neighborhood. The median rent price in West Hills is $3,400, which is lower than the Los Angeles median of $3,500. Mashvisor also lists West Hills among the top three neighborhoods to purchase long-term Los Angeles investment property.
Mid City West is quite an appreciating neighborhood. For a prime city location, it’s very safe, and in the residential areas, it’s pretty quiet. This area really is the true LA experience. It’s really diverse and much of it reaches into what people consider part of West Hollywood. Since 2012, the property prices have appreciated every year in this neighborhood. The current median home value in Mid City West is $1,858,057 and home values have gone up a whopping 11.0% over the past year.
The good thing for new buyers is that the market has cooled off. The competition is less (as of now) so you can negotiate the deal down to the standard. Rental properties in Mid City West are high demand right. The median rent price in Mid City West is $5,800, which is higher than the Los Angeles median of $3,500.
Central City is an affordable neighborhood in LA for buying an investment property. Since 2012, the property prices have appreciated every year in this neighborhood. The median home value in Central City is $484,326. Central City home values have gone up 10.4% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 1.5% within the next year. The good thing for new buyers is that the Central City market has cooled off.
The competition is less (as of now) so you can negotiate the deal down to the standard. We think this is the right time to buy a property in this neighborhood. Rental prices are higher than the median rent in LA. According to Mashvisor’s calculations, the Median property price is 576,143 and you can get a traditional rental income of $2,591 with a cash-on-cash return of 2%.
If you think of investing in LA, you have decided on a long-term investment property. Here are the ten neighborhoods in LA having the highest real estate appreciation rates since 2000—List by Neigborhoodscout.com.
Santa Monica Blvd / N Hudson Ave
Highland Park
Nolden St / York Blvd
N Western Ave / W Sunset Blvd
N Ave 54 / Baltimore St
S La Brea Ave / W Washington Blvd
Meridian St / N Figueroa St
Garvanza
W Washington Blvd / Crenshaw Blvd
W Washington Blvd / S Western Ave
As with any real estate purchase, act wisely. Evaluate the specifics of the Los Angeles housing market at the time you intend to purchase. Hiring a local property management company can help in finding tenants for your investment property in Los Angeles.
NORADA REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS has extensive experience investing in turnkey real estate and cash-flow properties. We strive to set the standard for our industry and inspire others by raising the bar on providing exceptional real estate investment opportunities in many other growth markets in the United States. We can help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing the profitability of your investment property in Los Angeles.
Consult with one of the investment counselors who can help build you a custom portfolio of Los Angeles turnkey properties. These are “Cash-Flow Rental Properties” located in some of the best neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Not just limited to Los Angeles or California but you can also invest in some of the best real estate markets in the United States. All you have to do is fill up this form and schedule a consultation at your convenience. We’re standing by to help you take the guesswork out of real estate investing. By researching and structuring complete Los Angeles turnkey real estate investments, we help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing profitability.
Buying or selling real estate, for a majority of investors, is one of the most important decisions they will make. Choosing a real estate professional/counselor continues to be a vital part of this process. They are well-informed about critical factors that affect your specific market areas, such as changes in market conditions, market forecasts, consumer attitudes, best locations, timing, and interest rates.
Is It The Right Time To Invest In Real Estate? – The national homeownership rate is on the decline for the first time since 2017. As demographics change and baby boomers retire, you’re seeing Millennials who may not be ready to buy houses. In 2018, Millennials made up about 22 percent of the population in the United States. They’re choosing to rent over buying a single-family home or an apartment. Rising home prices and shortage of starter homes have not left Millennials many choices but to delay homeownership. Moreover, it’s even harder to take out a mortgage for those who have student loan debt.
Los Angeles | California Real Estate Investment Opportunities
California housing market is the focus of many U.S. and foreign real estate investors. Apart from the Los Angeles real estate market, you can also invest in multiple cities in California. Here are the other two big cities in California where a real estate investor should look into buying investment properties.
San Jose is part of Silicon Valley, a place where $100,000 a year or higher salaries from competing tech firms has driven up the cost of real estate. But what about the San Jose housing market itself? San Jose is the third-largest city in California, home to roughly a million people. It has the highest cost of living in any area in the U.S., and it is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. If you want to invest in the San Jose rental properties, you may not need to buy and renovate. Instead, if you know of industrial or commercial properties near major employers they may need to convert to employee housing, you could buy now and hold until it sells.
If that doesn’t happen, you could still turn it into a co-working space. In January 2018, Redfin ranked the ten hottest neighborhoods in the United States. Nine of the ten were in San Jose. When single home prices fall from 1.2 million to 1 million, homes now sit on the market for several days instead of being snapped up immediately. The median price for a new home or condo was $750,000 in 2018, down from a record of nearly $800,000 a few months prior. If you want to invest in the San Jose housing market, you should do it now while things are – relatively speaking – affordable.
The San Diego real estate market offers an ideal mix of limited supply, high demand, and excellent income potential. If you’re going to invest in California, it needs to be in San Diego. The San Diego real estate market has been ranked among the ten most expensive real estate markets in the country, though it ranks below several other West Coast cities. This creates massive demand for San Diego rental properties by those who simply cannot afford to buy homes. The rental market will continue to grow as the city grows an estimated 500,000 by 2050, adding tens of thousands each year.
San Diego also has many tourist attractions. Balboa Park is home to the San Diego Zoo, the Air and Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Desert Garden, the local youth Symphony, a Japanese garden, and a golf complex. There’s a SeaWorld in San Diego, an MLB stadium, the USS Midway Museum, and the San Diego zoo safari park. On top of this is the mild weather and proximity to the beach. Any San Diego rental properties in easy reach of these attractions command a premium on rental sites like Airbnb. Demand for rentals in the San Diego real estate market soars during Comic-Con, one of the biggest comic conventions in the country.
Let us know which housing markets you consider hot for real estate investing?
Please do not make any real estate or financial decisions based solely on the information found within this article. Some of the information contained in this article was pulled from third party sites mentioned under references. Although the information is believed to be reliable, Norada Real Estate Investments makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees, either express or implied, as to whether the information presented is accurate, reliable, or current. All information presented should be independently verified through the references given below. As a general policy, the Norada Real Estate Investments makes no claims or assertions about the future housing market conditions across the US. This article aimed to educate investors who are keen to invest in LA real estate. Purchasing an investment property requires a lot of studies, planning, and budgeting. Not all deals are solid investments. We always recommend doing your research and take the help of a real estate investment counselor.
REFERENCES:
Market Data, Reports & Forecasts
https://www.car.org/marketdata/data/countysalesactivity
https://www.car.org/en/marketdata/interactive/housingmarketoverview
https://www.zillow.com/losangeles-ca/home-values
https://www.littlebighomes.com/real-estate-los-angeles.html
https://www.redfin.com/city/11203/CA/Los-Angeles/housing-market
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Los-Angeles_CA/overview
Covid-19 Impact/News
https://la.curbed.com/2020/2/28/21157988/home-prices-los-angeles-report
https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2020-07-23/southern-california-home-prices
Best Neighborhoods and Statistics
https://www.zillow.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-angeles/real-estate/
LA demographics
http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/los-angeles-population
Rent control
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-dec-30-re-aptlife30-story.html
Foreclosures
https://www.realtytrac.com/statsandtrends/foreclosuretrends/ca/los-angeles-county
Rental market/Apartments
https://la.curbed.com/2019/2/4/18210857/los-angeles-rental-prices-2019-average
https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ca/los-angeles
https://la.curbed.com/2019/2/26/18241819/rent-vs-buy-los-angeles-high-income
Job & Unemployment Stats
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CALOSA7URN
https://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/la$pds.pdf
Military market
http://www.laalmanac.com/military/mi05.php
Good time to buy/price predictions
https://la.curbed.com/2018/12/7/18128000/los-angeles-real-estate-market-prediction-2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenparis/2019/02/23/buyers-should-revisit-los-angeles-and-san-francisco-housing-markets-for-new-opportunities/#47bd1029428c
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