[Koblenz]

Zoning laws prohibiting additional construction to preserve open space is a big reason people are moving further from the core in many cities. Is this also the case in LA?

[BurbankKarl]

Its just too expensive....most of the building now is UP, people adding second and third floors to their 1200 sq ft houses, which really looks strange in the neighborhoods when they finish ...also, the county has embraced more dense residential as in multistory condos, etc...such as in North Hollywood around the subway station.

[BurbankKarl]

$510,000 2 Bed, 1 Bath

964 Sq. Ft

Single Family Property, Area: Burbank West, County: Los Angeles, Lot is 6000 sq. ft., Year Built: 1939, Single story, Garage, Fireplace(s), Dining room, Hardwood floors

[Arthalion]

Zoning laws prohibiting additional construction to preserve open space is a big reason people are moving further from the core in many cities. Is this also the case in LA?

Green belts? In LA? That's funny. The problem with LA is that it's simply out of room. They built over the entire basin, they built over the nearby surrounding valleys, they built up every canyon and on every ridge they could get a road to the top of.

The only places for them to build now are out in the Mojave desert and across the Grapevine into the southern Central Valley. If you go with the Mojave developments, you're paying $500K+ for an 1000 square foot cookie cutter with no yards (literally...they aren't allowed enough water for yards) in an area where 120 degree summer days are NORMAL. If you go with the Central Valley developments, you get a grueling two plus hour commute over a winding pass that regularly gets shut down due to weather...and that just gets you to the LA city limits. It may take another hour to get across town to your job.

There's just nowhere left to grow in LA, so the prices are skyrocketing as a result. The limitations are geographic (pesky mountain ranges), not political. The SF Bay Area has the same issue, by the way, which is why their market is so expensive as well.

[television is just wrong]

I'm not sure about that, but I do know that there are a heck of a lot of illegal garage conversions going on in Los Angeles, and the building department doesn't do a heck of a lot to enforce that sort of thing.

Two families or more living on one property.

My experience, is sometimes one family per bedroom with an additional family in the garage. Makes for quite a crowded domicile.