It came as no surprise to those of us living and working on Los Angeles' Eastside every day, but here’s a story you can send to your family and friends after they visit LA and say they “just don’t get why you would want to live here!”. I, too, have been in the unfortunate position of having to defend my neighborhood to out-of-town guests who just could not see the beauty and charm of the steep hillsides, ethnic mom-and-pop stores, and original 1920s bungalows dotting the landscape.
Yesterday, national real estate site Redfin released its list of the 10 US neighborhoods that will be most “up-and-coming” in 2013. They “dove into the data to narrow down their suggestions, looking at “how each area’s market was trending at the end of 2012 in four categories: on-market listings, sales volume, median price per square foot, and sale-to-list ratio … The hottest neighborhoods are all seeing shrinking selection, increasing sales, and increasing prices– often at rates far above the metro areas that contain them.”
I would argue that Highland Park has “up and come” a long time ago, but it seems the media and national real estate sites are just catching on to the Eastside influx. I see El Sereno, Cypress Park, Tujunga, and Altadena getting some well-deserved action and predict that these relatively unexploited areas will soon have their day in the spotlight. First-time buyers can still snag a great house in any of these neighborhoods for $350K or so, which was about the median sales price for Highland Park way back in 2003. Stay tuned for 2014's picks!
