Post by red on Jul 16, 2006 9:26:12 GMT -8
www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_4058876
City sees 18% rise in home values
Azusa No. 3 in price growth countywide
By Marianne Love Staff Writer
AZUSA - This foothill city of 44,712 residents saw an 18 percent rise in real estate values in 2006, ranking it third in increased property values countywide.
According to the Los Angeles County Assessors Office report released Tuesday, Lancaster and Palmdale were the only two other cities where property values grew faster and that was by 29.2 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively.
"This doesn't include major, significant development that is in the works, and we are already at No. 3," said Assistant City Manager Robert Person.
City officials predict property values will continue to climb based on housing and retail projects in the works.
On Thursday officials attended the groundbreaking of Azusa Court Homes on Azusa Avenue and Newburgh Street, where 87 condominiums are planned.
Rosedale, a new-home neighborhood of 1,250, is under way along with several mixed-used projects with living and office space over ground-floor retail stores in and around downtown Azusa.
Rosedale homes are expected to sell between $600,000 and $1.3 million and will change the dynamics of real estate prices elsewhere in the city.
The average price of a home in the county is $560,400, according to the county report.
In Azusa, the median price of a home in May was $447,000, and in Glendora it was $490,000 in 91740 ZIP code and $625,000 in 91741 ZIP code, according to DataQuick Real Estate News.
Person said Azusa is at the tipping point after years of working aggressively to push development and redevelopment and attract developers who weren't interested a few years ago.
"Developers who weren't knocking on our door three years ago are now trying to get in. It's about private money coming in versus using city money," Person said.
Several factors go into land valuation changes, including new construction.
In Azusa, mixed-used residential and retail projects will add about 300,000 square feet of new retail and 500 residents in the core Azusa Avenue and Foothill Boulevard area.
A few new restaurants are also planned.
To the east, the 23-acre Foothill Shopping Center is due for a renovation that will include 102 homes.
City officials started in the late '90s to cast off a second-class image among the foothill cities.
Glendora is known as a bedroom community, Bradbury a gated one and Monrovia's redevelopment of Huntington Drive and Myrtle Avenue has sparked admiration and growth.
Now it's Azusa's turn.
"We've been here all along," Person said.
And while new residents are coming to Azusa, Mayor Diane Chagnon said it's the ones who stayed generation after generation who will benefit most financially.
Multi-generational families have always known it was a good place to live, Chagnon said.
"We are seeing people, who have lived here for 10 to 20 to 40 years, their property values are increasing. They have equity in their homes, and that's a good thing," Chagnon said. "It's time for them to benefit from the fruits of their labor."
City sees 18% rise in home values
Azusa No. 3 in price growth countywide
By Marianne Love Staff Writer
AZUSA - This foothill city of 44,712 residents saw an 18 percent rise in real estate values in 2006, ranking it third in increased property values countywide.
According to the Los Angeles County Assessors Office report released Tuesday, Lancaster and Palmdale were the only two other cities where property values grew faster and that was by 29.2 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively.
"This doesn't include major, significant development that is in the works, and we are already at No. 3," said Assistant City Manager Robert Person.
City officials predict property values will continue to climb based on housing and retail projects in the works.
On Thursday officials attended the groundbreaking of Azusa Court Homes on Azusa Avenue and Newburgh Street, where 87 condominiums are planned.
Rosedale, a new-home neighborhood of 1,250, is under way along with several mixed-used projects with living and office space over ground-floor retail stores in and around downtown Azusa.
Rosedale homes are expected to sell between $600,000 and $1.3 million and will change the dynamics of real estate prices elsewhere in the city.
The average price of a home in the county is $560,400, according to the county report.
In Azusa, the median price of a home in May was $447,000, and in Glendora it was $490,000 in 91740 ZIP code and $625,000 in 91741 ZIP code, according to DataQuick Real Estate News.
Person said Azusa is at the tipping point after years of working aggressively to push development and redevelopment and attract developers who weren't interested a few years ago.
"Developers who weren't knocking on our door three years ago are now trying to get in. It's about private money coming in versus using city money," Person said.
Several factors go into land valuation changes, including new construction.
In Azusa, mixed-used residential and retail projects will add about 300,000 square feet of new retail and 500 residents in the core Azusa Avenue and Foothill Boulevard area.
A few new restaurants are also planned.
To the east, the 23-acre Foothill Shopping Center is due for a renovation that will include 102 homes.
City officials started in the late '90s to cast off a second-class image among the foothill cities.
Glendora is known as a bedroom community, Bradbury a gated one and Monrovia's redevelopment of Huntington Drive and Myrtle Avenue has sparked admiration and growth.
Now it's Azusa's turn.
"We've been here all along," Person said.
And while new residents are coming to Azusa, Mayor Diane Chagnon said it's the ones who stayed generation after generation who will benefit most financially.
Multi-generational families have always known it was a good place to live, Chagnon said.
"We are seeing people, who have lived here for 10 to 20 to 40 years, their property values are increasing. They have equity in their homes, and that's a good thing," Chagnon said. "It's time for them to benefit from the fruits of their labor."