Del Rey · Move-Up Buyers
Trading Up in Del Rey
Moving out of a starter home, with the buy-and-sell sequencing worked out before anything is listed.
Photo: Jengod, CC BY-SA 4.0
Two directions from here
People trading up out of Del Rey generally go one of two ways. Within the neighborhood, from an apartment court or a smaller post-war house into one of the larger properties or newer infill. Or north into Mar Vista, where the lots are bigger and the prices follow.
Both are reasonable. The second one costs more than people expect, because in Mar Vista part of the buyer pool prices the land rather than the house, and you're competing with them.
There's a third option worth naming: staying. Del Rey is one of the few Westside neighborhoods where you can walk to the Ballona Creek path and bike to the beach in about twenty minutes while paying materially less than two blocks north. If the reason for moving is space rather than location, a larger property here may serve better than the same money spent elsewhere.
Establish your real number first
This matters more in Del Rey than almost anywhere, because the neighborhood is misidentified constantly.
Addresses carry mail city names that aren't Del Rey, and portions sit in 90230 and 90291 rather than the dominant 90066. Pricing tools working from a ZIP pull comparables from Culver City or the Marina, which are different markets, and the number that comes out can be materially wrong.
If you're budgeting a move up from a figure built that way, the whole plan rests on a bad foundation. A properly built valuation is the first move, not the last.
Sequence
Sell first and you know your number and buy without a contingency, which is worth real money if you're heading into Mar Vista. Buy first and you move once but carry both. Equity and financing decide which is realistic, and we settle it before anything is listed or toured.
If what you own is a small apartment court rather than a house, it's valued on different logic and sells to a different buyer, and that needs to be established early rather than assumed.
The general version is on trading up, and here's how selling in Del Rey works. Call 310.708.7717 or get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I move to Mar Vista or buy bigger in Del Rey?
It depends whether you want space or a different neighborhood. Mar Vista costs more because larger lots draw buyers pricing the land. If space is the actual goal, the same money often buys more of it here, and you keep the Ballona Creek path and the ride to the beach.
Why do valuations on my Del Rey house vary so much?
Because the mailing address and ZIP lead pricing tools to pull comparables from Culver City or the Marina, which are different markets. Budgeting a move up from a number built that way is the mistake worth avoiding.
I own a small apartment court. Does that change things?
Yes. It's valued on different logic, sells to a different buyer, and may carry tenancy considerations. Establish all of that early rather than treating it as a house with extra doors.
Del Rey
What move-up buyers looks like in Del Rey
One of the more affordable pockets of the Westside, inland of the Marina, with the Ballona Creek bike path along its southern edge.
Del Rey is the Westside neighborhood most people can't place on a map, which is exactly why it still represents value.
- The homes
- A 2.7-square-mile pocket of post-war single-story homes, low apartment courts, light industrial blocks, and newer infill. The historic grid around Glencoe, Alla, Inglewood, and McConnell is what locals mean when they say Del Rey. North of Washington the stock is original 1940s and 50s single-family with more remodels.
- Why people choose it
- Buyers who want Westside access without Mar Vista or Marina pricing.
- Schools people ask about
- LAUSD assignments apply throughout, including in the northeast quadrant that feels close to Culver City. Buyers regularly assume Culver schools and are wrong. Worth checking the assignment before writing an offer.
- Getting around
- Lincoln Blvd runs the western edge; Washington, Culver, and Jefferson are the main arterials. The Ballona Creek bike path puts the beach about 20 minutes away by bike.
- Nearby
- Bill Rosendahl Del Rey Park at 4601 Alla, the Ballona Creek bike path, downtown Culver City just over the eastern line, and the Marina two blocks west of Lincoln.
- The trade-off
- You give up the walkable retail of Mar Vista and the water frontage of the Marina. You get materially lower pricing for a location between both. USPS often addresses Del Rey homes as Marina del Rey 90292, which confuses buyers constantly.
Move-Up Buyers: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with First Key Pacific?