Dizzying diversity
Location, location, location drives the wide disparities in regional home prices
By Joanna Beresford 04/30/2009
The average price for a single home in Pasadena runs two or three times that of the nation’s average-priced home. This isn’t exactly breaking news, but it’s worth remembering sometimes, that a house you buy here for half a million dollars, you might buy somewhere in the Midwest for about 150 grand.
Some of us have to live here — in Pasadena, the San Gabriel Valley, LA and Southern California in general — because of work or family obligations. Some of us just love the climate, the energy or the proximity to mountains, ocean, deserts and cities. The point is we pay a premium price to reside in this golden paradise. Recently I wondered, besides the accessibility of various necessities, what exactly are we paying for when we plunk down money for a house in Pasadena?
That also depends, naturally, on where and what you buy.
Trulia, an online real estate search engine, currently lists 1,090 homes for sale in Pasadena. List prices range from less than $300,000 to more than $8 million, a pretty dramatic spread for one city. Curious about the realities behind the numbers, I spent a few days winging through the dizzyingly diverse neighborhoods of Pasadena this week, ogling the variety.
Out on the fringes of a neighborhood in East Central Pasadena there’s a house you can buy for $250,000. Towers and power lines loom just across the street and beyond a chain-link fence. Dogs bark, children play and you can hear the surf-sound of the 210 from there — in fact, you can see the freeway from the front yard. The house itself is old and dilapidated but peaceful. When I was there one late afternoon, a single small bulb was lit over a weary side door to the house and an old Town Car was parked out front. The neighbors were having a party; their driveway was full of cars.
In the Garfield Heights Landmark District there’s an old boarding house that’s available for less than $400,000. The house is presently zoned only for residential use by a single family. Surrounding residences include some sad-sack apartments, but also some nicely renovated Craftsman-style bungalows. The former boarding house features crooked awnings, dingy siding, broken blinds, boarded windows and shopping carts strewn around the yard. It’s uninhabited, but not uninhabitable. A resourceful contractor or designer, or just an average person with vision, patience and a little bit of cash, could convert the place into a beautiful home.
Trulia lists 271 homes for sale between $350,000 and $450,000. A lovely home near the Bungalow Heaven district recently sold for just over 400 grand. It’s shrouded by foliage, surrounded by a picket fence with a welcoming gate, and a huge oak tree hangs over the front yard. There’s some traffic, some music to be heard in the neighborhood, but mostly it’s serene, and there’s a tiny new lemon tree planted along the front walk.
Then there’s a place on Holliston Avenue, a lovely tree-shaded street that lists for $755K. Built in the 1920s, the home has been meticulously preserved and renewed, from gleaming hardwood floors to multi-paned picture windows, deep-red paved front patio and generous backyard. The home is modestly but tastefully staged on the inside, and the neighbors boast abundant rose bushes.
For over a million dollars you can buy privacy and real tranquility, no noise unless you count the bird choir in the trees. You can overlook canyons spilling over with bright flowers, trees and ground cover that have grown free for generations. You can watch city lights twinkle at night. A home I visited near the Rose Bowl was offered at about $1.3 million. Built in 1942, the house features fireplaces, a wine closet, a pool, spa, waterfall, etc. It’s lovely and modest compared to more luxurious places I viewed on my recent home tour.
Many agents don’t disclose the addresses of homes listed for more than $5 million, but they’re there. I’ve seen them, they’re beautiful, and maybe you live in one. Wherever you are, I hope you have a home, and loved ones to fill it, and plenty of time to savor both.
Contact Joanna at truewrite@yahoo.com.
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