There is nothing worse than buying your dream home and finding out, after you move in, that there are problems with the neighborhood. As more and more people do research on line I am seeing more examples of “buyers remorse”, not because of the house but because of the neighborhood in which the house was located. The good news is that this is a preventable problem.
Location, location, location
The adage originally refers to the fact that a home’s value is dependent on it’s location. But it also refers to the fact that people don’t just look for a house to live in they look for a neighborhood where they will feel comfortable…and at home.
According to Trulia the median home price in Los Angeles is $802,750, that’s an awful lot of money to spend if you are not going to be delighted with the neighborhood you are living in.
An area’s “personality”
There are plenty of on-line resources like the MLS which will tell you about the square footage, the amenities and the pricing of a house but if you are searching for a home on-line it’s harder to get an idea of the neighborhood in which that house is situated.
Of course this is where having a native Angeleno as your realtor comes in handy but we have another useful resource that you can access.
We call it our Market Insider: click here to have a look
It provides an assessment of the “personality” of a neighborhood. Simply enter the zip code you are looking at and you’ll see several pages of useful information. You can access everything from home ownership rates and educational background. Here are some of the things that I find particularly useful;
Housing Market Trends – Sold vs. Listed
It’s useful to understand the difference between “listing prices” (what sellers are asking for) and “sold prices” (what buyers are willing to pay).
By comparing these price trends, you’ll have a good idea of where the market is heading. The median listing and sold property prices are calculated based on the market activity each month.
Property Ownership
This parameter gives you a snapshot of property ownership in the area and indicates whether it is high or low compared to the national average. It can often be an indicator of the stability of an area and the median age and income.
Community Info
One of the most valuable pages in this section is the Community Info page where you can find information about the people living in that neighborhood. Everything from Average Income by household to the highest level of education attained in that area. One particularly meaningful statistic is the The Crime Risk Index which compares the likelihood of different crimes happening within this community against the national average. Happily most of the areas I represent are well below the red line.
You can also find useful information on;
- Median Age in that zip code
- Percentage of people who are married
- The total number of homes in the zip code
- How many of those homes have children
- Median Listing Price
- Median Days on Market
- Active Listings
- Distressed Listings
Local Schools
Often one of the most important factors in a home buying decision is the quality of the schools in the area. This page shows a map with the locations of every school in that zip code, what type they are (Catholic, Private etc) what grades they span and what kind of rating they have earned.
Human Intelligence
As you can see our Market Insider is chock full of useful information that will help you narrow down your search. However please don’t hesitate to contact me directly with any questions you might have. I Have lived in Southern California all my life and can give you an understanding that numbers cannot provide. What’s the worst time of day for traffic? Is there a shortcut from here to the city? What’s the friendliest coffee shop?
