Los Angeles Real Estate Guide 2021: Neighborhood by Neighborhood

Hello and welcome to another episode of “You Can Live Anywhere”! I’m your host, Alexis Rhiannon, a 30-something freelance writer who was reminded by the 2020 pandemic that she could do her job from literally anywhere with an internet connection.

Last time, I explored the absurdity that is the 2021 Portland housing market. This time, I’m putting together a home-buying guide for moving to Los Angeles.

As you may be aware, I already live in LA, but I currently rent a West Hollywood one-bedroom I’ve lived in with my boyfriend for just two-and-a-half years. During that time, we’ve already paid $53,400 in rent, a number that’s breaking my brain as efficiently as it’s pushing me toward the goal of homeownership. I figured I’d see what the real estate landscape is like right here where I’m already living, and where plenty of people are looking right now.

An Overview of the Los Angeles Real Estate Market in 2021

I reached out to Jeffrey Saad, a real estate agent with two decades of experience, a professional chef and host of The Cooking Channel’s “United Tastes of America”, and an extremely generous resource.

He was kind enough to (virtually) walk me through LA’s hottest neighborhoods, including the always-popular classics and some surprising up-and-coming neighborhoods. I also got a snapshot of pricing for Summer 2021, and beyond.

Some facts about the 2021 LA real-estate market:

• The Los Angeles area covers a whopping 490 square miles of real estate, which is a huge chunk of property to try to get your brain around—Saad has been at it for twenty years and says he’s still learning new things about it
• Los Angeles has about a month and a half of inventory right now, which means that if properties stopped hitting the market today, there’d be nothing to sell in about six weeks. (As a reminder, six months of inventory is considered a balance between a buyer’s and seller’s market, so the LA market remains strongly tilted toward sellers)
• That number is still slightly better than Portland’s jaw-dropping .45 months of inventory, as LA properties are spending a bit more time on the market; Los Angeles properties spend 65 days on the market, on average
• We’re likely to be living in this dip for a while, as there’s very little new construction right now; Saad tells us it’s hard for builders to even turn a profit these days

But don’t let those facts and figures get you down! Saad also notes that for as expensive and competitive as the LA market may seem right now, it’s still a great value among the titan cities.

The average cost per square foot in the San Francisco and New York areas is right around $2,000, which leaves LA sitting pretty at about $1,000 per square foot.

 

“Los Angeles properties spend 65 days on the market, on average.”

 

Sure, that sounds incredibly high, but again, this is a sprawling tract of land we’re talking about. High-end stuff skews the numbers big time, which means there might be a spot for you in the LA sun. 

To help you out, I’ll break the numbers down for you in some of the best areas.

Where People Want to Live in Los Angeles in 2021

When I examined the prices of Portland homes in 2021, I listed neighborhoods by the average amount of days on the market per town, as well as the average buy and sell price in 2021. That made sense for Portland because, well, it’s basically three times as hectic as the LA market.

Because homes are sitting on the LA market for longer, and because the sprawl of LA is so large it strongly impacts averages (with the higher-market stuff frequently seeing price drops before selling, which isn’t often reflected in the data), we decided to break down the list price per square foot, which is more useful of a metric for Los Angeles.

Pacific Palisades

Median List Price: $5,787,500

Price Per Square Foot: $1,230

Nestled between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Pacific Ocean is what Saad calls the “crown jewel” of the LA market.

You’ve got your beach access, you’ve got your picturesque hiking and biking trails, you’ve got your breathtaking views in every direction, and you’ve got your multi-million-dollar homes to match. Almost entirely residential, the Pacific Palisades features large private homes popular with wealthy families and outdoorsy folks alike. And while it’s not an area I see in my future, it’s been at the top of a lot of lists for a while now. It seems destined to stay there.

Brentwood

Median List Price: $5,675,000

Per Square Foot: $1,221

A quick journey east and slightly north from the coastline brings you to Brentwood, another affluent enclave and sought-after ZIP Code.

Prices are very similar to Pacific Palisades, but the texture of the neighborhood is slightly different. Brentwood is still a quiet community, with tree-lined streets stretching up into the hills, but it also features some restaurants and boutiques where you might just spot one of the area’s many celebrity residents.

Mar Vista

Median List Price: $1,599,500

Per Square Foot: $1,021

Southeast from Brentwood, but still solidly on the westside, is Mar Vista—the first of these neighborhoods I could actually imagine a working millennial like myself living in (were I absolutely stacked with cash, that is). Saad referred to it as “the new Venice,” noting that the area just west of the 405 is “on fire” right now.

Of late in 2021, the community has become popular with 30-somethings like myself, drawn there by the nearby beaches, an excellent park, and trendy cocktail and dessert establishments. 

West Hollywood / Hollywood Hills

Median List Price: $2,608,125

Per Square Foot: $1,045

Saad warned me when I started this project that LA is one of the most dynamic and difficult-to-define markets out there, and the West Hollywood/Hollywood Hills area is the perfect example.

This area stretches across four separate ZIP Codes (!) and contains everything from the coveted Bird Streets, to my own humble one-bedroom in the rapidly-shrinking Little Odessa area. Clearly, it’s hard to make generalizations. But West Hollywood is generally pretty popular with young industry professionals and artists, and it features progressive politics, popular restaurants and shopping, and an intimidatingly hot nightlife.

Studio City

Median List Price: $2,547,499

Per Square Foot: $833

We’re going to continue marching eastward, but first, we’re jaunting further north to Studio City in the San Fernando Valley—basically just across Laurel Canyon, from where we just were above.

Saad said this neighborhood is hot now, has always been hot, and is going to stay hot. It roughly offers a 50% discount on regular LA rates, if you’re willing to add an extra 20 to 30 minutes to your commute. Not a bad deal, when you consider all it has to offer: suburban quiet with gorgeous views, surprisingly varied eateries, and the lowest price per square foot we’ve seen yet (but as these things go, probably not for long).

Sherman Oaks / Encino / Tarzana

Median List Price: $2,512,000

Per Square Foot: $691

No, your eyes don’t deceive you! This is three whole neighborhoods; a huge swath of land just east of Studio City. But Saad lumped them together for our conversation to prove a point. When you’re predicting the movement of the market through Los Angeles, there are only two ways you can realistically go at this point: east or north.

As prices rise literally everywhere, further out neighborhoods are going to start rising with the tide, and Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana are certainly a part of this trend. Saad is even seeing prices rising in Valley Village, an area bordered by freeways that had previously stayed below the radar. (This might be a good place to buy right now, if you have a chunk of change lying around.)

Silver Lake

Median List Price: $1,369,500

Per Square Foot: $784

Skip back across the hills and continue east, and you’ll hit Silver Lake, an exceedingly cool-kid neighborhood that’s really having a moment right now. (I feel like people ask about LA neighborhoods as compared with New York City neighborhoods all the time, and this is basically your Williamsburg.) Young, hip celebrities get spotted here all the time, and there are funky coffee shops, chic thrift stores, and restaurants I follow on Instagram as far as the eye can see.

Echo Park

Median List Price: $1,319,000

Per Square Foot: $693

Nudged up against Silver Lake, Echo Park is architecturally and scenically quite similar to its slightly bougier cousin to the west. (This is a fact you see reflected in the price per square foot.) The area has a great nightlife, with popular wine bars and music venues, and it basically has the vibe of being a great place to bring a date—or to bring yourself every day, because you own a house there.

Lincoln Heights

Median List Price: $862,500

Per Square Foot: $746

Okay here’s where I really want you taking notes, because this feels like one of those realtor scoops everyone’s always chasing. In the same way that Echo Park is the new Silver Lake, Saad says that Lincoln Heights is the new Echo Park (in the good ways and the bad).

As one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, the area is steeped in history, with lovely old buildings and tight-knit neighborhoods. But while populations currently skew young and diverse, those statistics are likely to shift again as the area gains popularity and the long-time residents get priced out.

El Sereno

Median List Price: $798,000

Per Square Foot: $623

Right next to Lincoln Heights is another up-and-comer, coming in at the lowest price per square foot on this entire list. El Sereno is currently a largely Latinx neighborhood with a long and storied history and a quick commute to downtown Los Angeles—which you should shorten to “DTLA” if you want to Blend In™. El Sereno also has many affordable (and delicious) restaurants.

Wilshire Park

Median List Price: $2,795,000

Per Square Foot: $888

We’re jumping elsewhere on the map now, letting DTLA slingshot us back west to a compact little neighborhood in Central Los Angeles known as Wilshire Park.

It’s an area inhabited mostly by renters, but its high walkability score makes it an appealing destination for buyers as well. Saad spoke of the area’s cool, old architecture—specifically colonial revival—and emphasized the size of the houses in particular: “It’s a lot of home for the money,” he told me. “Big homes on big lots.”

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Los Angeles is—in a nutshell—a pricey place with a lot of options that have a lot of personality.

My personal takeaway from this list is that Los Angeles is probably not where I’m ultimately going to buy—at least not now. But it does hold some pretty undeniable opportunities and amenities for those who are super-wealthy (I mean, let’s be honest), or for those looking for a new investment property. I wish you all the best as I continue my personal search.