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By Scott Garner for Los Angeles Times | Read the original article here

Long before the first Europeans set foot on the shores of Santa Monica Bay, it was, from the mouth of Ballona Creek southward, fronted by massive sand dunes.

The Spanish called the area Rancho Sausal Redondo, meaning “round clump of willows,” although there were no willows and precious few trees where the city of Manhattan Beach now stands.

Although it was in a remote region far from the growing city of Los Angeles, in the late 19th century the area began to attract a few hardy pioneers who built cottages atop the windblown dunes, which offered broad, unbroken ocean vistas.

Development of the shore proceeded at a glacial pace until the Santa Fe railroad ran a spur to nearby Redondo Beach, which made travel to the area more convenient.

A few years later, the forerunner of the Pacific Electric Railway would also run a line down the coast, bringing in even more visitors to what was then known as “Manhattan” — so named as a tribute from one of its founders to his home city thousands of miles to the east.

From the beginning, the town struggled with its dunes. Extensive wooden boardwalks were laid out, as traditional sidewalks were quickly buried by the shifting sand. Windstorms would push the stuff against the ocean-facing fronts of the homes and businesses of the town, sometimes piling in drifts high enough to reach the tops of the lampposts lining the Strand.

Finally, contractors were brought in to cart the troublesome silicate away. Much of it was shipped to Hawaii to broaden Waikiki Beach; the floor of the Los Angeles Coliseum and the roadbed of Pacific Coast Highway were also built on Manhattan Beach’s surplus sand.

The taming of the dunes thus complete, Manhattan Beach was free to grow. The oil refineries to its north offered local employment, which increased the number of year-round residents. World War II and the resultant rise of the Westside and South Bay as dominant players in Southern California’s aerospace industry brought even more well-paying jobs to surrounding areas.

That relative affluence has given way to stupendous levels of wealth, with the median home price in Manhattan Beach topping $2.5 million.

Neighborhood highlights
Upscale beachy vibes: With its famous Strand and pier, Manhattan Beach is the quintessential oceanside living experience, for those who can afford it.

Spot a sports star: Lakers Coach Luke Walton, Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and volleyball Olympian Kerri Walsh Jennings are just a few of the pro athletes who call Manhattan Beach home.

Fine dining: The seafood joints are as good as you would expect from a beach town, but the culinary scene goes well beyond the catch of the day.

Neighborhood challenge
Those prices: There are more expensive oceanside communities in the Southland (hello, Malibu!) but Manhattan Beach is still unaffordable to all but the wealthiest among us.

Expert insight
Robb Stroyke of Stroyke Properties has been operating in Manhattan Beach for 30 years and said Interstate 105 has changed the culture of the city.

“Before the freeway, Manhattan Beach was a bedroom community filled with lots of service workers living in small homes built after WWII,” Stroyke said. “But since the 105 made access to downtown so easy, we’ve had an influx of wealthier financial service workers move in.”

The 105 even affects home values, as houses near the highway are generally much more valuable than their counterparts of the same square footage across town.

Whereas its neighbors, such as Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, function as beach towns, Stroyke said, Manhattan Beach is more of a beach city, with commuters from the finance and tech industries mingling with retirees and families.

Market snapshot
In the 90266 ZIP Code, based on 28 sales, the median sales price in August for single-family homes was $2,550,000, according to CoreLogic. That’s a 43.5% increase in median sales price year over year.

Report card
Each of the seven public schools within the Manhattan Beach boundaries scored above 900 in the 2013 Academic Performance Index. Pacific Elementary scored 968, and Grand View Elementary scored 966. Mira Costa High scored 912.

By Scott Garner for Los Angeles Times | Read the original article here

No discussion of the history of West Adams can be complete without drawing a distinction between the district of mansions that make up the heart of Historic West Adams, and the relatively newly designated neighborhood to its west that shares its name.

Whereas Historic West Adams is a close-in suburb dating from the 1880s, the bulk of the “new” West Adams neighborhood was developed in the 1920s, on a wide swath of land between two major east-west streetcar routes: the Los Angeles Railway West Adams Boulevard line and the Pacific Electric Santa Monica Air Line (the Expo Line’s predecessor).

The lines traversed an agricultural no man's land. It wasn’t a destination, just a series of farms and marshes on the way to Culver City or the beach resorts of Santa Monica and Venice of America.

But as the city expanded westward in the 1920s, the lima bean fields were plowed under and the swampland drained to make room for homes. The new arrivals were drawn to the city by plentiful work in the region’s booming manufacturing, petroleum and construction industries.

The dream of homeownership for Angelenos of more modest means was born here in West Adams and the other neighborhoods built across the city in the 1920s. The old model of homeownership — one that depended on enormous wealth, as typified by Historic West Adams and its baroque palaces — was swept away.

Affordable land and the cheaper, more easily replicated design of tract homes made it possible for almost anyone to buy a home and still have enough left over to purchase a car to go in its driveway. The boom of the 1920s became the template for all succeeding booms, save the current explosion in high-rise residential developments.

That template and the dream it represented forever changed L.A. The streetcar lines were ripped up, and entire neighborhoods were bulldozed to make way for freeways as the city expanded further and further out in the pursuit of more cheap land to build more subdivisions.

The housing bust put an end to that era, as the development of the far-flung suburbs of Riverside County was swamped by a wave of foreclosures. Close-in homes are again in demand, and West Adams seems poised to be the next L.A. neighborhood to watch as those horizontal flipper fences go up, and prices follow.

Neighborhood highlights
Culver City-adjacent: West Adams offers relatively reasonable prices right next door to this booming tech hub, and the Expo Line makes commuting a breeze.

Parks and rec: With easy access to Kenneth Hahn Park, the Ballona Creek Bike Path and the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, West Adams is a great choice for outdoors enthusiasts.

Culinary delights: Whether you crave soul food, down-home barbecue, pupusas or tacos, there is a place in West Adams for you.

Neighborhood challenge
A boom for some, a bust for others: The neighborhood seems certain to change as commercial development at its margins increases, making it more attractive to new buyers.

Expert insight
David Raposa of City Living Realty has been working in West Adams for 32 years and said the beautiful architecture brings people in, and the small-town neighborly vibe makes them stay.

“The homes and streets here have context; they’re more than just a box of square footage,” Raposa said. “But at the same time, the people here know each other’s names.”

During the last half decade, new restaurants have been slowly popping up alongside historic neighborhood staples, but Raposa said there’s enough room for all to coexist. He said desirable properties usually net multiple offers, so prospective buyers need to be in a strong financial position to land a home.

“Sometimes, even writing a letter to the seller can be a good idea,” Raposa said. “Prove your dedication to the house and the neighborhood.”

Market snapshot
In the 90016 ZIP Code, based on 21 sales, the median sales price in July for single-family homes was $645,000, according to CoreLogic. That was a 2.4% increase in median sales price year over year.

Report card
Schools inside the West Adams boundary include Marvin Elementary and Cienega Elementary, which scored 794 and 792, respectively, in the 2013 Academic Performance Index.

Bright spots in the area include Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, which scored 897, and Baldwin Hills Elementary, which scored 864. Alta Loma Elementary scored 763.

By Scott Garner for Los Angeles Times | Read the original article here

The massive, 36,000-acre Rancho San Rafael — a gift from the Spanish governor of California to Jose Maria Verdugo in 1784 — can fairly be called the mother of Northeast Los Angeles.

The neighborhoods that were carved from the hilly, scenic expanse of land to the east of the L.A. River include Atwater Village, Highland Park, Eagle Rock and Glassell Park.

Lost by the Verdugo family in foreclosure proceedings and snapped up by Andrew Glassell and Alfred Chapman — two Southern lawyers who had made their way west in the years before the Civil War — the rancho was then split by the men into 31 separate tracts in the Great Partition of 1871.

Glassell and Chapman ended up with fewer than 6,000 acres on the eastern banks of the rio, where the narrow alluvial plains of the Elysian Valley give way to the rolling landscape of the San Rafael Hills. Glassell built a hilltop home for himself and his family on the current site of Washington Irving Middle School and in 1888 founded the agricultural city of Orange.

When Glassell died in 1901, his family began selling off chunks of his holdings (in the 1920s they would sell the land that would become Forest Lawn), and as investors snapped up the acres they began to develop the tract that would bear his name.

Modest Craftsman bungalows began to sprout up along winding streets named after Glassell’s children, and in 1912 the burgeoning hillside community was annexed by the city of Los Angeles.

Because it was served by the Los Angeles Railway’s Eagle Rock line, the neighborhood was a convenient location for commuters who worked downtown or in the rail yards just north of the city. In 1923, the opening of the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Taylor Yard boosted growth in Glassell Park and further reinforced the neighborhood’s ties to the railroad.

Construction of the 2 Freeway, which cut the neighborhood in two in the early 1950s, signaled a shift to the suburbs that was taking place across the city. As many earlier residents followed the freeways out into the valleys (San Fernando and San Gabriel), Glassell Park became a popular destination for newly arrived immigrants from Latin America.

Today, Glassell Park is facing the demographic changes that come in the wake of increased property values and redevelopment of its historic homes and commercial corridors.

Neighborhood highlights
Bungalow heaven: Glassell Park’s charming bungalows and hillside vistas are a big draw for home buyers looking for historic character and classic California living.

Riverside: The old Taylor Yard has been transformed into Rio de Los Angeles State Park, and the city’s river revitalization project aims to reclaim even more land for green space.

Good eats: In keeping with its rustic roots, Glassell Park is home to a number of eateries that serve hearty, unpretentious offerings of everything from tamales to pub fare.

Neighborhood challenge
Managing change: As the Glassell Park real estate market heats up, the neighborhood could become the latest to wrestle with managing the effects of gentrification.

Expert insight
Alyssa Valentine, a listing agent with Courtney + Kurt Real Estate, has been working in Glassell Park for 11 years. She said she has recently noticed excitement brewing in the community.

“Glassell Park lacks some of the big commercial corridors of its neighbors like Highland Park and Mount Washington, so it’s traditionally been a sleepier area with a residential vibe,” Valentine said. “But as of late, there are more and more restaurants and cafes popping up.”

Valentine noted that there’s a wide variety of housing stock in the area. Because the value is a little better than in the surrounding neighborhoods, the market is hot.

“Glassell Park has a few pockets people aren’t as familiar with, so buyers should seek those out and be prepared to make plenty of offers,” she said.

Market snapshot
In the 90065 ZIP Code, based on 26 sales, the median sales price in July for single-family homes was $705,000, according to CoreLogic. That was a 2.8% increase in median sales price year over year.

Report card
Schools inside the boundaries include Fletcher Drive Elementary and Glassell Park Elementary, which scored 746 and 742, respectively, in the 2013 Academic Performance Index.

Bright spots in the area include Delevan Drive Elementary, which scored 915. Mount Washington Elementary scored 915, and Cerritos Elementary scored 874.

By Tiffany Hsu for Los Angeles Times | Read the original article here

Paying for an average home is a rough process — a hefty down payment can wipe out savings, the paperwork feels endless and the mortgage often lasts decades.

In the upper echelons of the Southland residential real estate market, financing isn’t much easier — it just involves more eager-to-please private bankers, vast reserves of cash and massive, multimillion-dollar loans.

Los Angeles is the fifth most important center of wealth in the world, based on the current and projected population of well-heeled residents, the value of property investments and connectivity to other global hubs, according to the most recent wealth report from British consultancy Knight Frank. Only London, New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai rank higher.

Prices in the city’s luxury residential market ballooned 5.3% from 2015 to 2016 — the largest increase in the U.S. behind Seattle’s 9.7% upswing, according to the report.

Nationwide, the median price for a luxury home at the end of July was $1.6 million, according to the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. In Los Angeles, it’s nearly $4.1 million.

Most high-end buyers in Southern California are locally based, although many hail from abroad.

“The buyer of the $10-million-plus property comes from everywhere,” said Stan Smith, managing director of Teles Properties, a Beverly Hills-based luxury real estate brokerage. “Aside from the occasional headline-grabbing uber-celebrity, most purchasers are people you’ve never heard of.”

In this market, cash is king. So far this year in Los Angeles County, excluding Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles, 35% of homes priced $2 million or higher were purchased using all cash, according to Multiple Listing Service data provided by the California Assn. of Realtors. 

But when rich home buyers don’t have the liquidity to purchase their homes outright, many turn to massive mortgages known as jumbo loans.

The average borrower commonly uses a so-called conforming loan, which is backed and capped by the government. For most of the country, the limit is $424,100, but in pricey Los Angeles County, the maximum is $636,150, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Jumbo loans exceed the mortgage amount that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will purchase from lenders. Many experts blame the financing tactic for helping to enable the housing bubble by encouraging extravagant property purchases.

But in recent years, interest rates for jumbo mortgages have bucked expectations, said Lynn Fisher, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Assn.

“Historically, conforming loans are more liquid and are backed by government agencies, so from a supply-side point of view, they’re easier loans to make,” she said. “But since the crisis, we’ve seen a phenomenon where jumbo rates are as low and sometimes lower than conforming.”

Lenders have loosened the spigot for jumbo borrowers. Credit supply for jumbo loans surged 2.7% in July from the previous month, compared with 0.3% for conforming loans, according to a credit availability index from Fisher’s group.

High-net-worth home buyers are attractive to lenders because their substantial income and assets make them appear to be less of a default risk. And many banks offer the loans to entice premium clients.

“There’s a lot of advertising, a lot of competition to provide these loans right now,” Fisher said.

Still, from origination to payout, the jumbo-loan process can be vexing, especially for borrowers whose wealth is spread across different types of income, investments, inheritance and assets. Documentation is often extremely complicated.

“A lot of these borrowers can’t walk into a traditional bank and get a $5-million loan,” said Brandon Boyd, an executive mortgage consultant with Encinitas lender Drop Mortgage. “It’s hard for a bank lender to pull back and understand that income.”

Boyd said his company uses a more specialized approach, considering financial factors that might elude a bank relying on an automated screening system. In addition to common mortgage products, Drop also offers customized jumbo loans of up to $15 million.

Many clients — including entrepreneurs, film producers and athletes — aren’t focused on their day-to-day financials, resulting in less-than-stellar credit scores, Boyd said. Or they’re willing to pay a premium to protect their privacy by closing a sale through a limited liability company, which is prohibited for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgages.

Drop’s loans — most of which fall between $800,000 and $2.5 million — comply with government regulations and have yet to result in a default, Boyd said.

“It’s not irresponsible lending at all — it’s an alternative space, but it’s not the subprime of the past, not by a long shot,” he said.