How Do You Fairly Compare a Playa Vista Condo's Price per Square Foot With a Marina del Rey Condo?

You compare them fairly by making sure both numbers describe the same thing before you set them side by side. On paper, price per square foot is just the price divided by the size. In practice, a Playa Vista condo and a Marina del Rey condo can differ in what the price actually buys, in how the size was measured, and in what the home costs to own each month. Any one of those can make a lower number the more expensive home, or a higher number the better value.

So the honest comparison happens in three steps. First, confirm what you would own. Second, confirm where the square footage came from. Third, turn each home into an all-in monthly cost and compare that alongside the price per foot. Once those three line up, the two numbers start to mean something.

At First Key Pacific, I run this side by side for buyers torn between Playa Vista and Marina del Rey, because the two places look close on a map and very different on paper.

This is the biggest reason the two numbers do not match, and it is the one most buyers have never heard of.

Leasehold and fee simple

The land in the Marina del Rey harbor area is owned by the County of Los Angeles and leased to private parties on long-term ground leases. Where a condo sits on that leased land, it is a leasehold. You buy the home and the years left on the lease, not the land under it. A fee simple condo includes the land.

A leasehold condo and a fee simple condo of the same size are not the same purchase. The remaining years on the lease affect what a lender will do and what the next buyer will pay. So a leasehold condo with a lower price per square foot is not automatically a bargain. Part of that gap may simply be the price of not owning the land.

Before comparing anything, confirm which kind of ownership each home has, in writing, from the title report and the listing documents. If one is leasehold, ask how many years remain and what lease costs owners carry each month. I cover the lease side in more detail in what a Marina del Rey ground lease means for buyers.

What else comes with the unit

Parking, storage and outdoor space are part of what the price buys, and none of them show up in the square footage. Two spaces against one, a private patio against a shared deck, a storage cage against none: these change the value of a home without changing its size. Note what each home includes before you divide anything. If parking matters to you, how parking conveys with a Playa Vista condo walks through what to check.

The bottom half of the math is less solid than it looks. A square footage number on a listing can come from the county assessor's record, from the builder's original floor plan, from the HOA's documents, from a past appraisal, or from the seller's own estimate. Those sources do not always agree, and a small difference in size moves the price per foot more than most people expect.

Why building style matters

Appraisers follow different measuring rules depending on how a building is designed. For loans sold to Fannie Mae, the ANSI Z765 measuring standard applies to detached homes and attached designs such as townhouses, whatever the ownership type.

That matters if you are comparing a townhome-style condo against a unit in a larger building, because the two sizes may not have been measured under the same rules. Treat a close match in square feet with some care.

What to do about it

Ask each listing agent where the square footage came from and get it in writing. If the size matters to your decision, have it confirmed during your inspection period. Balconies, patios and shared hallways generally are not living area, so a listing that seems to count them deserves a second look. If you have ever seen a size on a listing that did not match the county record, the same issue comes up in this article on square footage mismatches.

Price per square foot tells you what the home costs to buy. It says nothing about what it costs to hold. Two condos with the same price per foot can have very different monthly costs, and that difference is a real part of the price.

Costs that differ between the two

• HOA dues. Dues vary by building, by age and by what the association covers. Some include water, insurance or amenities that another building leaves to the owner.
• Special taxes on the tax bill. Much of Playa Vista sits in a City of Los Angeles Community Facilities District, which adds a yearly special tax set for each parcel. The amount varies from one home to the next, and this article explains why.
• Lease costs. On a leasehold condo, ask what lease costs owners carry and how they are billed.
• Special assessments. A building facing a large repair can charge owners on top of regular dues. Read the HOA's recent minutes and budget for any planned project.

Build one number for each home

For each condo, add up the mortgage payment at the same loan terms, the property tax, any special tax, HOA dues, any lease costs, and insurance. That gives you one all-in monthly cost per home. Then divide that monthly cost by each home's confirmed square footage. Now you have a second number to set beside price per foot, and it is often the one that changes the decision.

The cleanest way to use price per square foot is inside one community before you use it across two. Compare Playa Vista condos with other Playa Vista condos of a similar style, age and size. Do the same in Marina del Rey, and keep leasehold and fee simple homes in separate groups. That tells you whether each home is priced fairly where it sits.

Only then compare the two homes against each other. At that point, you are no longer asking which number is lower. You are asking which home gives you the space, ownership, monthly cost and daily life you want for the price. Floor level, view, light, noise and the condition of the building all belong in that last step, because none of them appear in the math.

If you are still deciding between the two places themselves, the Marina del Rey and Playa Vista comparison covers the day-to-day differences. This article is about the numbers once you are serious about a specific home in each.

1. Confirm fee simple or leasehold for each home, and the years left on any lease.
2. Get the source of each square footage number in writing.
3. Note the building style, since it affects how size is measured.
4. List what comes with each unit: parking, storage, outdoor space.
5. Build an all-in monthly cost for each home at the same loan terms.
6. Read the HOA budget and recent minutes for planned projects.
7. Compare each home within its own community before comparing across.

Doing this takes some patience, but it turns two numbers that only look alike into a real choice. When you are ready to line up specific homes, I can pull the documents and walk through them with you. Let's talk through the homes you are looking at. I'm here when you're ready.