Comments on: Arcadia vs San Marino – $1MM

By: Jon B

Jon B — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:05:37 +0000

I guess at this point with a very small number of mortgages being approved and sales dropping to 0, that the list price is skewed. The numbers I see on Zillow and Trulia is that sales prices are 30% below list prices on homes. I would start negotiating at at least 25% below list.

By: Cato

Cato — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 22:33:44 +0000

This house was recently reduced to 800K. That puts it in Arcadia territory as far as pricing. I wonder if San Marino home owners are more resonable than Arcadia. I dont see much price reduction in Arcadia at all. If these sellers don’t seriously reduce their prices, they will never sell their homes. Most of them have doubled their initial investments depending on when they bought their homes. If they just dropped their prices 25% they might sell their homes and walk away with a good profit. Since most won’t, they will have to suffer the headache of listing their homes and reducing the price 4% every six months for the next ten years. Of course they could rent it out, if they can afford that. That’s bad for the overall community.

By: TheArcadian

TheArcadian — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:22:10 +0000

Wow! 1,217sf, built in 1940 and doesn’t seem to be updated.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:59:04 +0000

One small house in a nice street found in zillow:
405 winthrop Rd, San Marino, Ca 91108
Asking for $889K

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:38:11 +0000

If you think it is just a matter of packing and moving to another state, then you are delirious. People live where they can make the most money in order for them to afford the things that they want. Aside from a person’s career choice, there are many others factors in deciding where someone want to establish their roots and take care of their families. Why don’t you think about this before judging people to be insane and making decisions you are unable to make yourself.

By: San-Marino » San Marino Home Values

San-Marino » San Marino Home Values — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:42:59 +0000

[...] Arcadia vs San Marino – $1MMSan Marino. A city known for its large lots, strict zoning laws, specific architectural design standards and the intent on keeping things the way they are. This is the city that people always compare South Pasadena to, but never the … [...]

By: Diddi

Diddi — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:57:34 +0000

San Marino is another one of those communities where people lose all common sense. Those 2 “baja” SM homes is proof of desperation. It exists in all ‘desirable’ areas. Why on earth pay over a million dollars and nearly $1k/mo in property tax to live in a fixer with less than 2k sf?

People this is insane! There are top and better rated schools in Texas, Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, Illinois, etc. where $500k gets you a real mansion with 20,000sf lots if that’s you game.

I just hope this stupidity continues long enough so I can sell my place to the next kool aid drinker. I have already spotted my homes. Yes homes as in more than one. I figure I can unload my place and buy a place in the mountains near Julian for summers and in Cabo for winters. I’ll still have over $400k left over.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:14:39 +0000

Donkey,

Thanks for the insight. You’ve touched upon really important points that many people forget to consider; myself included!

By: donkey

donkey — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:09:18 +0000

The houses in the unincorporated County areas with San Marino schools are not much lower in terms of price per square feet. The only benefit is that in the unincorporated areas you will be able to find a smaller home on a smaller lot, and hence lower price. As one can see from the featured listings here, even a <2000 sq. ft. house on a very busy street in San Marino is going for $1M. From what I see in MRMLS, I think these houses should be able to fetch at least in the $900’s. On the other hand, I saw a couple listings recently in the unincorporated areas sell in the high $700’s to low 800’s, but they were smaller homes.

There are some drawbacks being in an unincorporated area, however. For example, no sidewalks (I love the extra wide sidewalks in SM), LA County Sheriff for police service, code enforcement and planning not as strict (you see a lot of McMansions interspersed with older homes like in Arcadia), reliance on the County for street maintenance, repairs, etc., etc. Schools are important, for sure, but there are other important considerations. Basically, other than the schools, the unincorporated areas do not feel like San Marino at all. The premium on unincorporated areas with San Marino schools has gotten so large in the past 4 or 5 years that IMO you’re better off buying in San Marino if you could afford it.

If schools is the primary consideration, I would look at Cerritos. Some of the areas in Cerritos have elementary schools in the mid 900s like San Marino. I believe Carmenita Jr. High is almost 900 and of course there’s Whitney High if your kid is smart enough to get in. And you’d save a lot of $.

By: phantom600rr

phantom600rr — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:08:05 +0000

Thank you for your comments. We have been looking out for San Gabriel and Pasadena zip codes within San Marino schools. Prices are pretty much the same, so we might as well purchase in official San Marino address if we do decide to live in the city.