Van Nuys, Inglewood, and El Sereno: My TOP 3 Entry Level Neighborhoods in la
Today I want to talk about three of my favorite up and coming areas of Los Angeles that are really well suited for first time home buyers on entry level budgets. I’ll be giving you some stats on each neighborhood as well as why I like them in particular, but most importantly, why you might want to consider buying a home in one of these neighborhoods.
For this list, I chose one area from the valley, one area from east Los Angeles, and one area from south LA. In the valley, we have Van Nuys, to the east my pick is El Sereno, and to the south my pick is Inglewood.
Let’s start with the valley, it’s where I live and there is a lot of love about the valley in general. The reason I picked living in the valley where many reasons that are similar to why I like Van Nuys, it has lovely warm weather, a plethora of freeways to get places, and just simply a lot more space.
So Van Nuys is well situated in the valley, it’s right near the 405 and 101 junction, so basically anywhere you need to go you have a great starting point. It’s a little further south in the valley so the weather is warm but not scorching. It’s right next to the Sepulveda Basin which is a lovely walking and hiking area, and they have a lake there where you can either just walk around it, bike, or rent boats, similar to Echo Park but way bigger and quite frankly, much much nicer as well. Plus it has access to hands down the best off leash dog park in LA there in the Sepulveda Basin.
Van Nuys also has just cool little cute pockets of houses. Most of them were built in the 40s and 50s, but they’re neat little bungalows that have lovely residential pockets so that you never feel like you’re too far into the city. Speaking of the residential streets, did you know the street most filmed on in the entire world is in...Van Nuys?
For one block of Orion Ave, the ranch-style homes have uniform lawns, and a middle-class, middle-American look, complete with white picket fences. The homeowners have banded together to create this film friendly area, and have their own organization to help manage the constant filming that happens on the street. So if you’re a film buff...you’ve definitely seen a LOT of Van Nuys.
As for food, it’s quite fantastic up in Van Nuys if you like Street food. Taco shops abound, its home to Cemitas Don Adrian which is famous for its big bad mexican sandwiches and the Van Nuys institution Bill's Burgers where Bill himself sometimes still grills. If you want higher end food experiences, remember you’re right 5 minutes from Ventura Boulevard where Sherman Oaks has Mizlala and Sushi Note, and Studio City has Petit Trois, Boneyard Bistro, Casa Vega, Laurel Tavern, and Asanebo which has a Michelin Star. You can also easily dip into the western portion of Encicno and do the small plates tasting menu experience at Scratch Bar and Kitchen. So yeah, the food is plenty awesome up in the valley.
As for homes, you’re looking at small single family homes starting in the low $700k range, with larger homes in the nicest pockets topping at at the mid $900k. Condos can be had as low as the mid $500k all the way up to the mid $600k, so again, we’re right in that entry level price point for Los Angeles.
Ok let’s head east, cruise up the 110 a little bit and land right in El Sereno. Your main thoroughfare through El Sereno is actually Huntington Drive and access to this road is a great place to start with the reasons as to why I like El Sereno. Huntington Drive basically mirrors the 110 freeway and allows you to get either downtown or head east through South Pasadena and Pasaenda without ever getting on a freeway at all. South Pasadena has all your grocery stores like Trader Joes, Pavilions, and a coveted Bristol Farms.
Huntington Drive also allows you to hit all of the hiking in the Ernest E. Debs Regional Park, know’s as Deb’s Park, a surprisingly large park for being right in the city and there’s even a very small watering hole at the top that is shaded and has turtles and other cool animals to see. Again, right in the middle of the city.
El Sereno is going to land as probably the priciest on this list, and that’s mostly because there’s really no condos available in El Sereno, it’s all these rolling hills dotted with cool old craftsman style single family homes, and other little types of bungalows. Prices start in the mid 600s but you’re probably going to at least need mid 700s to low 800s to get a decent single family home in El Sereno. But, these rolling hills are what I like most about the area for El Sereno. Almost every home has some type of view or is tucked away somehow that makes it private, lots of little winding streets that vary the terrain such that every house has some unique aspect to it. If you’re looking for view homes and are priced out of the other hilly areas of LA, El Sereno is where you go to.
Speaking of being priced out, El Sereno to me has a vibe similar to Highland Park. If you don’t have 900k minimum you’re priced out of Highland Park, it’s become very trendy and desirable, but I think of El Sereno as the little brother to Highland Park. It’s right on the other side of the freeway from it, so if you wanted access to all the cool bars, shops, and restaurants on York Boulevard while being 10 minutes away, El Sereno is a great place for that.
Speaking of food and entertainment, El Sereno is taco central. Whether is La Cocina de El Sereno, Cha Cha Chili or the cantina Hecho en Mexico, you’re covered for sure. Otherwise, pop over to downtown arts district for Bestia, Manuela, Wurskuche, Urth Cafe, and Bavel. Or cruise 10 minutes into Pasadena for Bone Kettle, Ramen Tatsunoya, The Luggage Room, the list goes on.
At the end of the day, anything that has such a proximity to downtown is going to have value, and the winding little streets of El Sereno are a great place to land for a starter home in Los Angeles if you want that funky cool east side vibe.
Last, let’s take em down south! Inglewood, tucked next to the 405 and the 105, there’s lots to like about Inglewood but let’s start with the obvious one that really jump started the area’s revitalization: The Football stadium. That’s right, So-Fi stadium home to both the Ram’s and the Charger’s, the massive project on the south side of Inglewood, opened September 2020, and the eventual site of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. It’s a part of the massive Hollywood Park development which is bringing billions of dollars of investment for new residences, shopping, restaurants, parks and more.
All I can say about Inglewood is get in while you can. This is actually going to land as the cheapest on the list, with most single family houses starting in the high 500k and into the mid 600k on these gorgeous rows and rows and rows and ROWs of treelined streets. It’s known for it’s historic Spanish architecture, so yes, literally right now you can snag a 3/2 bathroom Spanish home completely renovated for $650k, maybe even a little less. That just won't’ last, not as more and more people continue to discover that Inglewood has a ton of charm, excellent weather being the closest to the coast of all of these on the list, and tons great food.
Let’s talk about that food for a second. This area is comfort food central, so you have the likes of Sunday Gravy with old school Italian food, Dulan's Soul Food Kitchen, which is one of the coolest cafeterias you’ll ever go to, and Woody's Bar-B-Que. Yes, LA has BBQ, it’s just that you have to basically go to Inglewood to find it. You’re also 10 minutes from Culver City as well, which is a great food spot with places like Hatchet Hall, Destroyer, Roberta’s, Father’s Office, Mayura, and even N/Naka.
Transportation wise, you’re right off the 405 so you’re set going north or south, and if you want to get into Culver or head to the beach without hitting a freeway, just pop on Jefferson. Heading east, the 105 dumps you literally right at LAX so if you want proximity to the airport, Inglewood is your ticket. You’re a couple minutes away from Baldwin HIlls which has the expansive Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area for hiking, picnics, and there’s even a little lake there as well.
Can you tell I really really like Inglewood? Again though, it won’t last, because View Park is one of South LA’s nicest neighborhoods with million dollar homes just blocks to the north, so inevitably that demand is going to push south into Inglewood. As SoFi stadium continues to ramp up and expand, this is going to only be an entry level price point area for LA for so long, so if you’re thinking about your first home and south LA is where you’d like to be, Inglewood should definitely be on that list.
Ok there you have it! Thank you for reading, I hope you learned something three areas of Los Angeles that I personally love and recommend for first time home buyers. And to be clear, I’ve also sold in each one of these areas, so I’m very intimately familiar with them. If you did like this video, be sure to like and subscribe, and if you found this valuable, I’d incredibly appreciate you sharing this video with someone that could benefit by connecting with me. It’s super simple, and on my website there’s a button to Book A Consultation that connects directly to my calendar. I almost exclusively work with referrals because you all are people I know, trust, and appreciate the service I offer, so thank you so much for referring me! And of course, if you just found this video and you like my energy and personality and think my expertise would benefit you, I’d love to work with you as well!
At Stephens Real Estate, we offer a few value adding programs for both buyers and sellers
that no one else is offering. For buyers, we put together a full marketing plan that paints you as the right buyer for your dream home. We can help recommend local lenders that will fit your financing situation, even if you’re freelance. And don’t worry about the inspections, we’ve got you covered. They’re free, all of them, no questions asked.
And If you’re looking to sell your home, we offer the ability to REMODEL NOW, and PAY WHEN YOU SELL with Zero fees, no interest, no upfront costs. Plus, we pay for all of the aspects of digital marketing from photography, drone footage, videography, 3D walkthrough and virtual open houses, social media campaign, custom website, targeted emails and more.