| For the last five years, owners of California real estate | | | | than a month, you won't even notice them. |
| have been hitting the ball out of the appreciation | | | | Beaches, Sun and Culture |
| ballpark. Yes, a real estate market on steroids. | | | | There are serious benefits to living in California. |
| California | | | | Foremost, of course, are the beaches. If the thought of |
| California is heavily populated from north to south along | | | | spending weekends and evenings on the beach |
| the coastline, but they state offers significantly different | | | | appeals to you, this is the place. You'll pay a premium |
| ecologies. In Northern California, one is much more likely | | | | for it, but there is nothing like it. For example, the |
| to see signs of the four seasons, get cold | | | | temperature in San Diego on October 5, 2005, the day |
| temperatures and more historic feel in locations such | | | | I am writing this, is 79 degrees! |
| as San Francisco. Southern California, on the other | | | | California Real Estate |
| hand, has an extremely moderate climate with | | | | California is an incredible place to live and real estate |
| temperatures rarely dipping below 60 degrees even in | | | | prices reflect it. Single-family home prices average as |
| the winter. Rainfall is also scant with San Diego | | | | follows for the three major metropolitan areas - |
| receiving roughly 11 inches a year. If you are | | | | $620,000 for San Diego, $1,300,000 for central San |
| considering moving to California, there are two | | | | Francisco and $750,000 for central Los Angeles. As a |
| constants throughout the state. | | | | general rule, the closer the home is to the ocean, the |
| Traffic | | | | more it will cost. |
| So many people have moved to the state that traffic | | | | As shocking as the prices are, the rate of appreciation |
| can be a real issue even on weekends. Los Angles | | | | is downright impossible to believe. In the last 12 months, |
| traffic is legendary, but San Francisco and San Diego | | | | California real estate has appreciated over 25 percent. |
| have their own congestion problems. | | | | For a 500,000 home, that is a gain of $125,000 in 12 |
| Earthquakes | | | | months. Steroids indeed! |
| Earthquakes are a constant throughout the state as | | | | Real estate is all about location, location, location. While |
| the San Andres Fault bisects much of the state. | | | | this is certainly a cliché, there is no doubt it is |
| Earthquakes happen all of the time, but they are | | | | true in California. |
| typically very small. If you live in California for more | | | | |