Day in and day out we profile properties in Arcadia and constantly remind ourselves how much money people would spend for good schools, good location and a generally a safe and welcoming neighborhood. Sometimes we forget that there are cities surrounding Arcadia that may offer more, or even less, home for the same price. I can see how empty nesters may not require the best school districts or young professionals choosing to pass on the maintenance that comes large lots.
Let’s pick a random value, say $759,000, and see what you can buy in Arcadia, Sierra Madre and Temple City.
#1 Arcadia – 3bed/3bath attached townhouse 2,340 sqft. Built in 2005.
209 S. Third Ave. #A
While this property lacks in lot size, it is made up by offering more living area square footage and a new construction.
#2 Sierra Madre – 3bed/2bath SFR 1,567 sqft. Built in 1967.
290 W. Laurel Ave.
To the North of Arcadia is Sierra Madre. For $744,900 you get a 40 year old home that’s greatly in need of remodeling. But it’s generally in livable condition and you’re just a few minutes drive from the Santa Anita Mall.
#3 Temple City – 4bed/3bath SFR 2,447 sqft. Built in 1924.
6019 Agnes Ave.
To the South is the small town of Temple City. TC has its fair share of new McMansions sitting next to traditional homes. For $759,000 you can buy an 84 year old property that’s been very well maintained and tastefully upgraded.
Don’t want to be chicken little or anything, but what will a record # of foreclosures and record oil prices do to the RE market.
I think that when you are considering affordability, the massive rise in Oil prices has to be factored in.
I think the combination of those items will force new home buyers to actually consider the price of their home and mortgage payment before purchasing.
Over the last several years, I’ve met people who bought or wanted to buy a home because real estate was a “good investment”. I guess spending 80% of your monthly income on your mortgage payment was ok when property values were appreciating at phenomenal rates.
Now that a tank of gas is going to cost $80 to fill up, buyers are in no rush to jump back into this housing market. We will see 2-3 years of depreciation and a few more years of stagnant growth as your average buyer will look to real estate as a place to live rather than an investment.
If anything, I think the high oil prices will help cities like Arcadia that are more centrally located. With gas prices so high, it makes less sense to commute 40 miles each way from the IE and more sense to live closer to your job. More than anything the rise in gas prices is psychological. Let’s say you buy 15 gallons of gas each week and prices go up another $0.50. Am I going to loose sleep over shelling out another $7.50 a week? I’ll just stop going to Starbucks in the morning to make up the difference.
I saw the third street townhouse when it was first came on the market in 2005. It is nice but nothing unique, built based on the same cookie cutter plans that many small builders in SGV relied on-no yard, big rooms, and typical, unimaginative, bland designs through and through. Back in 05′ I thought it was crazy to pay around $750K for a 2000 sq. ft. townhouse in Arcadia, no matter how nice it is. To my chagrin, other buyers were willing to fork out the $$$ to support these astronomical prices, thereby further inflating the property prices to levels out of my reach. Now that the economy is tanking, this former buyer/current seller is still trying to unload the properties at the same inflated price. It’ll be interesting to see how long it will take for the seller for the 3rd street townhouse to find a knife-catcher to take away this hot potato, if they can find one at all. Yeah, Arcadia has a decent high school, the mall, and central location in SGV, but I am not sure if all that is worth $324 per sq. ft. plus $127 association dues every month w/no yard for my kids to run around.
If people used that logic Compton and Watts would be a great deal do there close proximity to Downtown LA. Hurry buy now before all the good locations in that up and coming neighborhood are gone.
a lot of condos and houses went to for rent because they cannot sell. Just like this one. To me, I would rather rent than buy.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/apa/692456724.html
$2950 IMMACULATE CONDITION (ARCADIA) (map)
Reply to: hous-692456724@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-05-23, 1:12PM PDT
Front Unit… 3BEDROOMS, 3 BATHS, 2,340 LIVING SQUARE FOOTAGE. 2 LEVEL. Adorable Front Lawn…Fabulous Pebble Stone Walk Way with Wrought Iron Gate and Colorful Rose Garden…Living Room with Beautiful Accented Marble Tile Floor, Wainscot Walls, Gorgeous Imported Marble Fireplace with Granite Mantel, Built-In Book Case and Triple Crown Moulding, Spectacular Family Room with Wood Floors, Sitting French Window and Recessed Lighting…Dining Area with Crown Ceiling and Sliding Door Access to Private Covered Patio…Perfect for Entertaining… Covered Patio has Built-In Bar-B-Q… Kitchen with Built-Ins, Granite Counter Tops, Tile Floor and Beautiful Cabinetries… Maple Staircase with Complementing Mirror Walls Leading to Upstairs Family Room with Wood Floors and Wonderful View of Front Door Entrance… All Bedrooms are Bright and Airy…Master Bedroom with Lush Carpeting and Walk-In Closet.…Double Car Garage…Recessed Lighting, Triple Crown Moulding, and Elaborate Custom Drapery Found Throughout…Close to Everything..Arcadia Schools.
209 at THIRD AVENUE #A google map yahoo map
* Location: ARCADIA
* it’s NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 692456724
hey, excellent find. I will refer to this rental in tomorrow’s post. Thanks!