32 Small Towns with Big Bucks (and I Don’t Mean Deer)
By: Alison Paoli, Zillow PR Specialist | December 2, 2008
Recently, Zillow was featured as the key source of real estate data in a BusinessWeek article titled, “Small Towns with Big Money.” The story featured 32 towns around the U.S. that have the highest home values. Many of these communities with less than 10,000 residents have waterfront locales while others are inland, but play host to exclusive activities such as polo matches, skiing, and country club-ish events.
For each of these towns there is a something special that helps them fetch a pretty penny for a dwelling. It may be the perfect coastal retreat, an outdoorsman’s paradise, a sleepy town just minutes from the city center or it’s centered on a hilltop with views that go on for miles.
With the median home value of nearly $2.5 million dollars, Hidden Hills, CA is at the top of the list. Not surprisingly, this town of about 2,000 residents in Los Angeles County is home to many celebrities, including Tae Bo extraordinaire Billy Blanks (his place is for sale for a cool $11.5 million), Melissa Etheridge, Angie Harmon, Ozzy Osbourne, Lisa Marie Presley, Denise Richards (whose home is also for sale if you can spare $4 million), Nicollette Sheridan and the Keeping up with the Kardashians’ home. Is it just me or are there a lot of reality TV homes in this tiny town?
Denise Richards’ Home — 23726 Long Valley Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302
For Sale: $3,999,999
Billy Blanks’ Home – 25200 Walker Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302
For Sale: $11,500,000
See more Hidden Hills real estate
On the lower end of the scale, but still more than double the national Zillow Home Value Index of $202,966 is Olympic Valley, CA with a median home value of $545,888. Olympic Valley, home to the 1960 Winter Olympics (Hmm, I wonder if that is how the city got it’s name?) is just northwest of Lake Tahoe. The population of this tiny town is under a 1,000, but like many college towns, I bet its population more than doubles in the winter.
Here are all 32 towns that made the list:
East Coast
Chilmark, MA
Water Mill, NY
Block Island, RI
Sands Point, NY
Far Hills, NJ
Stone Harbor, NJ
Wrightsville Beach, NC
Cabin John, MD
Old Greenwich, CT
Waban, MA
North Chatham, MA
Isle of Palms, SC
Sullivan’s Island, SC
Davidsonville, MD
Gladwyne, PA
Midwest
Kenilworth, IL
West Coast
Stinson Beach, CA
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Monte Sereno, CA
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Bodega Bay, CA
Cayucos, CA
Olympic Valley, CA
Saint Helena, CA
Santa Ynez, CA
Somis, CA
Indian Wells, CA
Hidden Hills, CA
Clyde Hill, WA
Incline Village, NV
Vail, CO
Halwiwa, HI
- Stumble it!
- Categories: Celebrity Real Estate, Real Estate
Comments
6 Comments so far
Enjoy this post? Subscribe to the Zillow Blog feed or get updates via e-mail
Jeff in Hawaii on December 2, 2008 10:16 pm
Interesting stats. Hawaii has many other towns that should have beat Haleiwa. Haleiwa is on the northshore and has many nice beachfront homes, but there are areas like Diamond Head, Kahal and Kailua that have nicer and more expensive homes.
Shawn on December 4, 2008 7:58 am
This is a nice list to have if you’re looking for a quiet community on the higher end of living. Beachfront property will never go out of style. I’ll be checking out each one of these spots.
http://www.inexpensiveinvestinginflorida.com
Thanks
Brandon Green on December 4, 2008 9:38 am
Interesting there’s only one city not on the coast. I would’ve expected at least one ski resort city in the Rockies.
Christopher Rich on December 10, 2008 9:27 am
I am rather surprised that only one town in lower Fairfield County made this list. I would have thought that New Canaan would have competed.
Christopher Rich
William Raveis Real Estate
http://www.fairfieldcountyrealestate.com
Housing Markets 2008: The Best and the Worst | Zillow® Blog on December 15, 2008 11:47 am
[...] Take a look at BusinessWeek’s slideshow for a nice visual of the full list. And, in case you missed it, check out our earlier collaboration with BusinessWeek titled, “32 Small Towns with Big Bucks.” [...]
Lexi Cerretti on December 28, 2008 1:54 pm
I checked my seb stats today, and noticed a jum right before Christmas and again this weekend, mostly on my “listings search” page. Buyers are looking, we’ll have to see how long prices keep falling and when buyers began to snatch up some deals.
In the past week, 4 new listings came onto the Incline Village and Crystal Bay market, including 3 homes and 1 condo, ranging in price from $229,900 to $4.6M. There were 5 price changesincluding 4 homes (2 out of area) and 1 PUD (townhome). 620 Martis Peak (corner of Lakeshore) is now a short-sale at $3.795M and 7,145 sq ft living area with lake views. Let me work with you to make an offer on this home- I have shown it many times and know it well. This is the prime opportunity in Incline’s luxury end of the market, especially if you can get in for about $500 per sq ft and have the powerline in front buried (this can be done but has been a big issue for many). This is a short walk to Burnt Cedar Beach and would be a fantastic vacation home and/or rental with 6 bedroom suites. One listing at 600 Villageis new under contract and 6 homes are in contractcurrently, along with 4 PUD’s in contract and 4 Condos in contract. Keep an eye on 527 Sugarpineand 121 Rubiconsales prices, and let me know if you want to make a back-up offer on either, as the sales are not yet final! This past week, 4 listings sold- 2 homes, a condo and a PUD, go to Incline Village Real Estate Blog for links to all listings, escrows and sales.