South LA is getting love from flippers, investors

The South L.A. neighborhoods of Jefferson Park and adjacent West Adams have become a draw for commercial investment, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The median sales price for single-family homes in these two neighborhoods reached $550,000 in the second quarter of 2016, marking a 17.6 percent year-to-year increase, CoreLogic data shows. Flip rates are among the highest in the county, with 15 percent homes selling twice in 12 months last year.

“It’s one of the best neighborhoods left,” developer David Pourbaba told the Times.

Pourbaba is planning a mixed-used complex on Adams Boulevard, where land prices are more than six times cheaper than Downtown.

Andrea Dunlop of Sotheby’s told the Times that at least 60 people attended one of her recent viewings of a $849,000 listing that sold for $360,000 just last year. Her homes south of Adams can go for more than $700,000 if they’re remodeled.

But South L.A. natives say the gentrification has left some longtime residents displaced.

“The people that have lived here the longest can’t afford to live here,” Sandra Pruitt, who represents Jefferson Park on the neighborhood council, told the paper. “It’s interesting, once the color of the people changes, [the developers] want to start investing.”

Among one of South L.A.’s most controversial projects is Carmel Partners’ 1,218-unit, multi-structural Cumulus Transit Oriented Project. The San Francisco developer recently bought the site for $111 million, The Real Deal reported last week. [LAT] — Cathaleen Chen