Price of Admission in Atwater Village

A new housing-price comparison show, National Open House, debuted this month on HGTV with an episode comparing prices in Los Angeles, Ann Arbor (MI) and Austin (TX). Guess how it turned out:

$250,000


• Ann Arbor: 15 minutes from campus; two-story colonial; 2,100 sq ft; 4 bedroom; 2.5 bathroom; $625/month interest-only mortgage payment


• Austin: 10 minutes north in Round Rock; 3,000 sq ft; 4 bed; 2.5 bath


• Los Angeles: "not very much" in Canoga Park "45 minutes from Hollywood;" 840 sq ft condo; 2 bed; 2 bath

$500,000


• Ann Arbor: apparently a very cold house in Ann Arbor Hills with $300/month heat bills; they didn't say much else


• Austin: Hyde Park; built in 1938; 1,708 sq ft; 2 bed; 2 bath; plus garage apartment with additional 600 sq ft, 1 bed, 1 bath


• Los Angeles: "admission price into the Los Angeles real-estate market to get anything half decent;" Spanish cottage in Atwater Village; 747 sq ft; 2 bed; 1 bath; "big backyard"

$750,000


• Ann Arbor: "modified Mission" in wooded community of Dexter; 3,460 sq ft; 4 bed; 3.5 bath; 1.5 acres


• Austin: a Texas "super Tuscan" mansion; 3,900 sq ft; 4 bed; walk-out basement


• Los Angeles: Culver City; built in 1951; 954 sq ft; 2 bed; 1 bath; plus one-room guest house/studio

$1,000,000


• Ann Arbor: 6,200 sq ft; 4 bed; 3.5 bath; half acre; $3,750/month mortgage payment


• Austin: "a lot for your money" in West Lake Hills; 4,500 s ft; 3 bed; 3 bath; glass walls; pool


• Los Angeles: "not get what you expect; there will not be a gate; it will not be a mansion;" west LA home with 1,450 sq ft; 3 bed; 2 bath; purchased 10 years ago; $1,900/month mortgage payment

One final factoid from LA Realtor Brock Harris: 20 percent of all LA listings are $1 million or higher.

There's another nearly identical HGTV show, What You Get For the Money, but it compares across only one price range per episode. It often includes LA, but I haven't seen Atwater Village on it yet.

(Watch the last half of this promo video to see an Eagle Rock house, 810 sq ft, 2 bed, 1.5 bath, purchased four years ago for $180,000, now worth $500,000. )