Sherman Oaks Home Prices Remain Above Valley, City Averages

Although Sherman Oaks home prices have dropped, along with those throughout California and the nation, the neighborhood’s stability has buffered it from the more severe price declines and foreclosures seen in other areas.

“The price drop hasn’t been quite as dramatic, because we do have location,” said Kathy Gardener, a 27-year real estate veteran who works with Rodeo Realty on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. “But there certainly has been a drop. Our million-dollar homes are now $700,000.”

Still, within the four ZIP codes that comprise Sherman Oaks—91401, 91403, 91411 and 91423—the median home value averaged $511,425 in July, according to figures compiled by Zillow, an online real estate information website. Zillow’s Los Angeles citywide median home value was $375,400 for the same month.

Meanwhile, of the more than 73,000 San Fernando Valley foreclosures that two California nonprofits estimate will have occurred citywide between 2008 and 2012, the four ZIP codes comprising Sherman Oaks will total only a little over 4,000. And the 91411 Sherman Oaks/Van Nuys ZIP code will have one of the lowest foreclosure numbers, 766, compared to hard-hit Sylmar, with more than 7,000, Pacoima, with 6,000, or even Woodland Hills or Porter Ranch, anticipated to tally more than 1,600 each.

Compiled by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and the California Reinvestment Coalition, the statistics are contained in the Wall Street Wrecking Ball, online at calorganize.org/wreckingball.

Part of Sherman Oaks' stability comes from the fact that it lacks broad swaths of lower-priced and newly built entry-level homes, housing that played a large role in the real estate downturn, Gardener said. Although some neighboring areas have entry-level homes at $300,000 to $400,000, those prices are not easy to find in Sherman Oaks, where prices range in the high $400,000s to $500,000s on up to more than $1 million.

Another stabilizing factor is Sherman Oaks' accessibility to other areas, which enables residents to work in outlying locales or change their work sites, yet remain in the neighborhood, said Cynthia Sparagna, a real estate agent with Ewing & Associates/Sotheby’s International Realty.

“Sherman Oaks is accessible to everything: the canyons, the freeways, the boulevards, the Westside,” Sparagna said. “As opposed to other areas, you don’t have to travel for miles and miles down city streets to get to a freeway.

“In fact, it used to be called the ’20-minute city’ because you could get to downtown or the Westside in that time,” Sparagna added.

Sherman Oaks is further distinguished by a number of attractive pockets, both north and south of Ventura Boulevard, she said. Sparagna recently profiled “pocket” prices from January to June this year. Her list included:

North of Ventura Boulevard:

• Magnolia Woods: Roughly bounded by Sepulveda, Burbank and Magnolia boulevards and Kester Avenue, these ranch-style homes, built in the 1940s and 1950s, have been remodeled over the years. Sparagna tallied an average $550,250 for 781 homes sold in the first half of 2011.
• Chandler Estates: Named for Los Angeles Times newspaper publisher Otis Chandler, the original “rustic homes,” many replaced or remodeled, were built by the Mellenthin Co. on the 12½-acre Buck Jones estate. The 798 homes, bounded by Chandler and Magnolia boulevards and Hazeltine and Leghorn avenues, sold for an average $608,893 during the first half of the year.
• Fashion Square: From Van Nuys Boulevard east to Woodman Avenue and in an irregular pattern between Magnolia Boulevard and Riverside Drive, this area contains contemporary and Mediterranean homes north of Westfield’s Fashion Square. The 782 homes sold this year for an average $690,000.
• Library Square: South of the 101 Freeway and bounded by Van Nuys Boulevard, Moorpark Street and Hazeltine Avenue, these 1940s- and '50s-built homes are within walking distance of movies, restaurants and shops. The 310 homes here sold for an average of $597,857.
• Hidden Woods: In the Sherman Oaks area bounded by Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Magnolia Boulevard, Fulton Avenue and Riverside Drive, this area has many remaining Mellenthin homes from the early 1950s that still bear the characteristic birdhouse over the garage. Sale prices averaged $631,577 this year.

 South of Ventura Boulevard:

• Royal Woods: Roughly following Sepulveda Boulevard to Mulholland Drive parallel to the 405 Freeway, homes here could are dubbed “estate-style” with large lots and lush mature landscaping. The 73 homes sold here average a little more than $1 million each.
• Longridge Estates: At the opposite end of Sherman Oaks on the east side, many homes here have Valley views and border Dixie Canyon Park, a deeply shaded, 20-acre open-space preserve. The 354 homes sold during the first half of 2011 averaged sale prices of $1.2 million. 

Both Sparagna and Gardener said the real estate market, despite stringent bank lending requirements, does seem to be picking up. Gardener said prices seem to be rising, while Sparagna said low interest rates are motivating both buyers and sellers.