$2.5 Million Homes in California
Los Angeles | $2.495 Million
A Spanish-style house built in 1935, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, on a 0.2-acre lot
This house is in the Sunset Square Historic Protection Overlay Zone, designated by the City Council in 2017 to protect a well-kept collection of early 20th-century homes. It is less than a block south of Hollywood Boulevard; a few blocks north of Sunset Boulevard; and a couple of miles from the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood.
The hiking trails in Runyon Canyon Park, which offer sweeping views of the city, are about a mile away. The Grove, an outdoor shopping mall, is a 10-minute drive. Century City and downtown Los Angeles are about a half-hour away.
Size: 2,317 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,077
Indoors: Tall hedges shield this house from the street. The front door is off a stone patio, framed by mature trees.
The foyer inside has a staircase to the second level. To the left is a living room with an original fireplace in the corner and a large picture window facing the front patio. To the right of the foyer is a dining room with a crystal chandelier and French doors that open to the patio.
The dining room connects to a kitchen with green lower cabinets, white upper cabinets and striking green quartzite counters. Off one end of the kitchen is a cozy breakfast room that has original built-in cabinetry with scalloped detailing; off the other is a laundry room.
Two bedrooms and a full bathroom are on this level, off the foyer. One of the bedrooms, currently used as a study, has access to a courtyard surrounded by fruit-bearing trees.
Two more bedrooms are on the second floor. The expansive primary suite has a balcony overlooking the swimming pool in the backyard and custom-made, leaded-glass doors that lead to the en suite bathroom, which has a walk-in shower and separate tub. The other bedroom has a long balcony facing the front yard.
Outdoor space: In addition to the front and side patios, the property includes a backyard with two sitting areas facing the swimming pool — one paved and the other on a wood deck — surrounded by olive and citrus trees. The detached garage has room for two cars.
Taxes: $31,188 (estimated)
Contact: Patrick Martin, Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills Brokerage, 323-353-7200; sothebysrealty.com
La Jolla | $2.495 Million
A 1966 ranch house with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, on a 0.5-acre lot
This house is less than 10 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, with easy access to La Jolla Shores Beach, known for its gentle surf, and Children’s Pool, a small, protected cove popular with families and nature-lovers who come to watch the seals. It is also within 10 minutes of the University of California San Diego campus and the School of Medicine hospital complex.
Downtown San Diego is about a 20-minute drive. Irvine is a little over an hour away, on the I-5 highway.
Size: 2,332 square feet
Price per square foot: $1,070
Indoors: A paved path leads from the driveway to the front door. Beyond is a foyer that flows into an open living-and-cooking area with wide-plank wood floors and high, beamed ceilings.
The kitchen has sage-green cabinetry, glossy white stone countertops, stainless steel appliances and a long center island with a waterfall counter. Next to the island is a dining area. On the other side of the room is a seating area with a white-brick fireplace.
A hallway off the center of this space extends to the bedroom wing. The primary suite, at the far end, has a spacious bedroom with glass doors that open to the backyard; the bathroom has a vanity that matches the kitchen cabinets and a walk-in shower finished in taupe-colored tile. The second bedroom also has an en suite bathroom. The other two guest rooms share a bathroom off the hallway, with a combined tub and shower; one of the bedrooms, currently used as a home office, has backyard access.
Outdoor space: The backyard includes a patio and a lawn, separated from the sloping hillside behind the house by a low wall. The attached garage has two parking spots.
Taxes: $31,188 (estimated)
Contact: Morgan Baiton, Douglas Elliman Real Estate, 619-363-4038; elliman.com
Palm Springs | $2.495 Million
A four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom Mediterranean-style house built in 1979, on a 0.5-acre lot
This house is in the Mesa, a quiet neighborhood in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains, close to popular hiking trails. It is less than 10 minutes from downtown Palm Springs, offering easy access to the quirky shops and nightlife of Palm Canyon Drive, one of the city’s main thoroughfares.
Other desert cities, including Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, are within a half-hour drive. Los Angeles is less than three hours away.
Size: 2,950 square feet
Price per square foot: $846
Indoors: From the street, a gate opens to a driveway leading to the front of the house.
Exterior stairs continue up to the entrance. Behind the front door is a bright living area with white walls, high ceilings, concrete-tile floors and a stone fireplace with a raised hearth and built-in benches. On one side of the space is a dining area.
The adjacent kitchen has gray cabinetry, white appliances, a black-and-white-tile backsplash, French doors that open to the front terrace and enough room for a dining table.
A hallway near the kitchen leads to three bedrooms. The primary suite, at the far end, has French doors opening to a private balcony, a stone niche for the bed, and a bathroom with more custom stonework and a large soaking tub. The bedroom next door has an en suite bathroom with a walk-in shower and a separate stone tub. A powder room is across the hall. A third bedroom, closer to the living area, is used as a library.
The fourth bedroom and another full bathroom are off the other side of the living room.
Outdoor space: Exterior stairs lead down from the front terrace, used by the sellers for outdoor dining, to a blue-tile swimming pool surrounded by stone. The property also includes a stone fire pit next to a built-in bench. The attached garage holds two cars.
Taxes: $31,188 (estimated)
Contact: Dan Valentino and Debi Valentino, Valentino & Valentino Real Estate, 760-218-6033; valentinorealestatepalmsprings.com
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