The Oaks in Los Angeles is the country’s most popular neighborhood, according to a new ranking from Zillow.
The online real estate technology giant looked at neighborhoods with the highest number of page views per listing over the first three months of 2018 to calculate the most popular — and perhaps most aspirational — neighborhoods. Data showed 15 of the top 20 are along the West Coast, in either California or Washington, while the remaining five were in Georgia, Washington D.C., and New York.
Buyers tend to look at areas where the median home value soared above $1 million, the study found. Only two that made the list had median home values under $1 million.
In The Oaks — an affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles where the median home is listed for $3.7 million — the typical for-sale listing received nearly 13,000 page views over the first quarter of the year. The typical home receives 365 page views, according to Zillow.
One surprise on the list came in New York, where buyers seem more keen on looking at homes in Yonkers — located just north of New York City — versus trendy and more expensive areas in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
“Real estate shoppers are usually very aspirational, so it’s no surprise we have a lot of shoppers looking outside of where they can likely afford and instead, looking at beautiful homes in desirable areas,” said Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas.
“We see these more posh neighborhoods drawing shoppers in, but ultimately, these probably aren’t the neighborhoods most will end up in — the typical price of entry in the majority of neighborhoods on this list is generally much higher than their city as a whole,” he added. “But it’s hard to blame these buyers, because really, who hasn’t dreamed big when homeshopping? Oohing and ahhing over beautiful homes has become one of America’s favorite pastimes.”
