When you move to a zip code in Los Angeles, you are moving to the second largest city in the United States. That means you can expect a few things in the real estate market within the city. The first is that real estate does not come cheap, or even at middle class prices. If you are looking for a house that is equivalent to the piece of Brampton real estate you owned up north, expect to pay an additional $200,000 (at least) to get it. L.A. is a big city, and that means big city prices.

While there is no neighborhood in or around Los Angeles that is what might be considered affordable by many standards, it is not the same as the Puerto Vallarta real estate market. Each area and neighborhood is defined by certain styles of houses and prices. Among the most expensive areas to live in is the very center of downtown Los Angeles.

Until a decade ago, downtown Los Angeles was a bit of a scary place to live. The exit of companies had left many high rises vacant. However, efforts at urban renewal have paid off greatly in the area, with developments such as the Staples Center attracting many businesses as well as foot traffic in the last decade. The formerly empty skyrises have been renovated to house luxury condominiums similar to what one would find in Yorkville Toronto, though of course with higher prices. On average, a home in the downtown core will cost above $560,000.

These prices, and higher, hold as one goes west from the downtown core. Here you start to find neighborhoods such as famed Santa Monica, where many of the elite in the world make their homes. It's a far cry from what you will see in the Kitchener Waterloo real estate listings, with beach front mansions common and prices to match.

South Los Angeles is where you will find real estate comparable to the prices on a home for sale in Paris Ontario. Neighborhoods such as Vermont Knolls and Watts may have lower priced housing, but there is a reason for that in these neighborhoods, which have dangerous reputations. On the other hand, Baldwin Hills Estates is one of the most well to do and safest neighborhoods in the whole country.

The story of Los Angeles real estate is one of great diversity. Prospective buyers should keep in mind that while listing prices may seem prohibitively high, many houses in the LA area actually sell for much less.