Top Trends Driving Luxury Real Estate in Los Angeles

Luxury and Los Angeles go hand in hand, as people from around the world travel to this sprawling city to launch their careers. These cultural upstarts and locals alike begin in Los Angeles as renters but eventually accumulate enough wealth to gain access to an expansive palate of real estate. 

The shift to work from home has shifted the trends motivating wealthy buyers seeking luxury homes, pushing them outside of city centers. But the iconic geography of Los Angeles offers buyers a variety of options that other luxury destinations like New York and San Francisco can not match. 

Buyers can choose from beachside compounds designed to use every square foot of sand or spacious mansions situated in the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains. But 2020 has been a record year, and aspiring buyers should keep aware of trends driving the market. 

Below we will highlight what buyers should consider when purchasing luxury properties in Los Angeles.

Digitization of homebuying in LA

Los Angeles residents can purchase food, clothes, and cars from their phone, and the wealthier residents of LA expect the same level of effortless service when seeking luxury homes. This push towards digitization has shifted the way luxury buyers approach deals, as aspirational homeowners desire tools to simplify the homebuying process. 

For example, Prevu’s digital home buying platform enables wealthy buyers to enter their housing preferences, and the platform generates a list of properties that fit their given needs. Once the search parameters are set, Prevu sends users curated weekly open house alerts, giving buyers inside access to check out luxury properties across Los Angeles. 

Plus, since Prevu agents are salaried, they are partners, not pests, in your search for an adventurous property near the ocean or hills of Los Angeles. And since Prevu agents aren’t vying for the broker’s commission, luxury buyers using Prevu can receive up to 1% of the purchase price back via a commission rebate when closing on the home of their dreams. 

Getting in touch with the great outdoors in LA

The shift to work from home has influenced the Los Angeles luxury real estate market, pushing aspiring homeowners to seek out homes closer to outdoor pastimes. But luxury buyers don’t have to search in Barstow or Topanga Beach, as the Greater Los Angeles region offers aspiring homeowners a variety of luxury escapes within city limits. 

Shoppers are finding oceanside abodes in Pacific Palisades, Venice, Santa Monica, and Playa Del Rey, as buyers want beachside escapes close to Downtown LA. Equally, these work from home buyers are finding hillside living opportunities in Brentwood, Holmby Hills, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Beverly Park, and the most famous of them all, Bel-Air. 

While buyers in these neighborhoods lose the beach, they make up for it in square footage, access to a multitude of hikes, and breathtaking views of the Los Angeles cityscape. 

Small town living within city limits 

While a desire to be closer to nature is motivating many wealthy buyers in the Los Angeles real estate market, buyers wanting small town or suburban life is driving competition in the Greater LA region. Wealthy buyers want to become members of smaller communities in the outer lying towns, neighborhoods, and suburbs that existed on the periphery of their city life. 

But preferences differ depending on the age of the buyer, according to the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury report titled A Look at Wealth: New Affluent Trailblazers. Older buyers want to permanently reside in the second home resort towns they’ve come to know and love, and younger buyers with wealth are traveling to suburbs in droves. 

But millennial buyers don’t have to search for homes out in Simi Valley or Santa Clarita. There are plenty of luxury suburban living options across LA in Sherman Oaks, Rolling Hills, Tarzana, and Torrence Beach. These neighborhoods and towns are outside of the crowded cityscape of Downtown Los Angeles, but close enough to go out for a day of shopping on Rodeo Drive or get some laps in at Venice Beach. 

Making the most of your LA real estate

Space was another driving force behind luxury home buying trends in 2020. As more people work from home, dedicated office space, gym space, and personal space are critical needs for affluent buyers. But luckily, considering the wealth that Los Angeles draws, many existing luxury properties come pre-equipped with offices and gyms. 

The type of property is another consideration, as Los Angeles offers buyers oceanfront compounds making as well as secluded hillside mansions. Additionally, buyers must consider their family planning and how that affects their home buying needs. Buyers planning for a future with children will want spacious yards ensuring a safe space for kids to play in. But a single-family home in the foothills might not suit a bachelor or bachelorette wanting a beachside escape close to Downtown Los Angeles. 

There are a plethora of options out there, and buyers should seek out a broker’s agent and leverage their neighborhood knowledge. This way, they will find homes complete with a gym and office, in settings suiting their life plans and immediate needs. 

Prevu Real Estate, Inc. is a licensed real estate broker in California, license number 02134758.