Across Los Angeles, the prices for single-family houses have been steadily trucking upward, especially in the Richie Rich parts of town. Sotheby's International Realty's newly-released LA market update singles out fancy Santa Monica houses as a big winner this summer. The real estate firm's July 2015 update (which factors in May through July numbers) shows that sales of $3-million-plus estates in SaMo rose 107 percent from 2014 sales for the same period. In three months, 31 houses costing more than $3 million sold in Santa Monica. (The area north of Montana was the most expensive market in Los Angeles for all of 2014.)
Santa Monica saw the biggest increase in high-end single-family house sales (sales over $3 million) across the top 33 markets, way beyond other fancy neighborhoods. Shining a light on the increased demand for real estate here, the regional rep for Sotheby's says in a press release that it's a combo of the heightened summertime appeal of "its relaxing beach culture" and the Expo Line's forthcoming expansion into SaMo.
Beachfront desirability might partly explain another standout in the luxury sector, Pacific Palisades, which, despite sales being down six percent, "remained the top market for the most single-family luxury home sales in 2015." The most expensive neighborhood was Bel Air, where the average super-$3-million mansion sold for $8,563,649.
· July 2015 Greater Los Angeles Market Update [Sotheby's]
· Los Angeles Housing Prices Hit Highest Point Since Start of the Great Recession [Curbed LA]
· The Housing Market in Most of Los Angeles is Setting All Kinds of Record Highs [Curbed LA]
· The 10 Most Expensive Places to Buy a House in Los Angeles [Curbed LA]