Diamond Bar Real Estate: May 2008

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Diamond Bar House with Walnut School District $948,000

Bed:	5
Bath(F,T,H,Q):	4

Sqft: 3,228
Lot SF: 6,256
YrBuilt: 1996
Elem: Castle Midsch: South Pointe Highsch: Diamond Bar

Description: Diamond Canyon gated community. Former model home with lots of upgrades. 5 bedrooms (2 master suites) + library+ open loft; 4 bathrooms. Newer upgraded carpet. Newer granite counter tops in all bathrooms. Gourmet kitchen with granite counter tops and walk-in pantry. Wood floor in living room. High ceiling in living room. Large master bedroom with walk-in closet. Professional landscaping with white baluster in front yard. Excellent Walnut school district. Central air conditioner. Auto sprinkler system. Largest model in the tract. Easy access to 57 and 60 freeways

Diamond Bar House For Sale $1,080,000

Bed:	4
Bath(F,T,H,Q):	3

Sqft: 2,728
Lot SF: 61,855
YrBuilt: 1978
Elem: castle roc Midsch: chaparral Highsch: dbhs

Description: Sweet family view home in the Country Estate, Catalina Island breeze, great floor plan, high ceilings.3 bedrooms up, 1 bedroom and office room downstairs, remodeled kitchen w/granite counter top, Pergo wood floors and upgraded carpet, designers paint color, good size living/formal dining and family room, 2 fire places, wet bar in the family room. Beautiful parklike yard in front, usable gentle slope back yard with room for pool/tennis ct.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Diamond Bar House with Mountain View $889,900

Bed: 4
Bath(F,T,H,Q): 2
Sqft: 2,577
Lot SF: 9,104
YrBuilt: 1981
SchDist: Walnut Valley Unified

Description: MAGNIFICENT VIEW OF CITY LIGHTS WITH LOTS OF CUSTOM FEATURES: FRONT IRON GATE, GRANITE ENTRY, STAINLESS GLASS DOOR, CHANDELIERS, CROWN MOLDING, INTERCOM, GRANITE COUNTER TOPS, MARBLE FIREPLACE AND WET BAR IN THE FAMILY ROOM. NEWER DOUBLE PANE WINDOWS. CUSTOM HARDWOOD FLOORING. CUSTOM WROUGHT IRON STAIRWAYS. MASTER BEDROOM HAS MARBLE FIREPLACE AND PRIVATE BALCONY. MASTER BATHROOM HAS JET-AIR BATH TUB AND SEPARATE SHOWER AND MARBLE FLOORING, DESIGNER FAUCETS AND CUSTOM LIGHT FIXTURES. 180 DEGREE OF CITY LIGHTS AND MOUNTAIN VIEW. SWIMMING POOL&SPA, BBQ, FRUIT TREES. WALNUT SCHOOL DISTRICT. PROPERTY TO BE SOLD AS IS.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Diamond Bar House with Excellent School District $599,000

Bed:	5
Bath(F,T,H,Q):	2

Sqft: 1,930
Lot SF: 7,500
YrBuilt: 1963

Elem: Evergreen Elementary
Midsch: South Pointe Middle
Highsch: Diamond Bar High

Description: Very Well maintained Walnut School District property. Five bedrooms two bathrooms and very spacious living room. The property features upgraded wood flooring in the living room, newer kitchen cabinets, newer paint. Specially, the owner spent over $10,000 on new double-paned vinyl windows and French doors. The back yard is very private and has beautiful hill views. Perfect location, In a Cul-De-Sac street, 5-minute walking distance to Diamond Bar High school and Evergreen Elementary.

Diamond Bar City

Diamond Bar City History

Diamond Bar as with many Southern California communities, Diamond Bar's recorded history began with a Mexican land grant. On March 30, 1840, Governor Juan Alvarado deeded 4,340 acres, which included Brea Canyon and the eastern Walnut Valley, to Jose de la Luz Linares, who founded Rancho Los Nogales, or Ranch of the Walnut Trees. Linares died in 1847, and his widow sold a choice portion of the ranch to Ricardo Vejar for $100 in merchandise, 100 calves, and the assumption of her late husband's debts. Vejar already owned the Rancho San Jose to the east (now Pomona), and by acquiring the rest of Rancho Los Nogales over the next ten years, became the fifth wealthiest landowner in Los Angeles County, with over 10,000 acres.

A community icon...The Windmill can still be seen at the Diamond Bar Towne Center)

Unfortunately, Vejar's luck did not last. When the United States government took over California and resurveyed the old land grants, he ended up with only 464 acres. Then the great drought of the 1860's forced most of the area ranchers to borrow money to feed their cattle. Vejar had been trading with two Los Angeles merchants, Isaac Schlesinger and Hyman Tischler, and they loaned him $600 for supplies at an interest rate of eight percent per month. When the note, with compounded interest, was finally called in for over $28,000, Vejar couldn't pay, and his property passed to Schlesinger and Tischler in 1864.

The Rancho Los Nogales did not prosper under its new owners, and they were surrounded by hostile neighbors who remained loyal to Vejar. In 1866, they sold the ranch to Louis Phillips for $30,000, bringing his holdings to over 12,000 acres. Phillips sold a portion of the ranch to WiIliam Rubettom, who opened up a tavern and overland stage station for the Butterfield route near where the Orange Freeway (57) now crosses Pomona Boulevard. He called the community "Spadra," after his hometown in Arkansas, and this became the first named settlement in the Diamond Bar area.

In 1873, the Rancho Los Nogales was sold again, this time to Wilson Beach and George Butler. After that, the property became quite fragmented as parcels were sold off to many different owners. But in 1918, Frederich E. Lewis bought up most of the original Rancho Los Nogales again, and he registered the Brand of Diamond Bar with the California Department of Agriculture. Lewis sold the Diamond Bar Ranch to the Bartholome family in 1943, and they continued to raise cattle on it for the next thirteen years.

An aerial view of Diamond Bar in the 1970's ...

In 1956, the Diamond Bar Ranch looked much as it did in 1840, with its golden hills peppered by green stands of oak and walnut trees, and grazed by large herds of cattle. The changes of the previous century were nothing, however, compared to the plans that the Transamerica Corporation had for Diamond Bar. In that year, they paid $10,000,000 for 8,000 acres of Brea Canyon, and they master-planned a community that would eventually become home to some 50,000 people. The first model homes were built at the north end of town in 1960, and a development "boom" had begun that continues today.

Today's Diamond Bar is a young, upscale residential community of about 60,000, situated among the meandering hills and valleys of Brea Canyon. Located at the junction of the Orange (57) and Pomona (60) freeways, Diamond Bar is central to all of the Los Angeles basin. A twenty-five mile radius encompasses Pasadena, downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, Irvine and Riverside. Inside that radius, can be found such attractions as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, Anaheim and Dodger Stadiums, the theaters of Los Angeles' Civic Center, the Rose Bowl and the Coliseum, the Santa Anita and Los Alamitos race tracks, the Mt. Baldy ski slopes and all of the Orange County beaches. The Ontario International Airport is only twenty-five minutes away, giving Diamond Bar residents an attractive alternative to Los Angeles International Airport. A two-hour drive lands you beside the waters of Lake Arrowhead, or in the snowy mountains of Big Bear. Whether you prefer the hills and canyons in the city, the nearby mountains, the sun on the surf, or the desert, Diamond Bar places you at the center of the active Southern California life-style.

All desired services can be conveniently found in Diamond Bar's shopping and business centers. The Diamond Bar Golf Course has 18 beautiful and challenging holes, and the Los Angeles Royal Vista Golf Course is just down the road. Diamond Bar's parks offer residents more than 80 acres of recreational facilities. Mt. San Antonio College and California Polytechnic University, Pomona are located at the north edge of town, while California State University, Fullerton is just ten minutes to the south.

Diamond Bar, CA

Top 100 rank: N/A^C
Population: 59,700

Financial
	City stats	Best places avg.
Median family income (per year)	$84,173	$90,316
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)	$69,051	$82,867
Sales tax	8.30%	6.74%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)	9.30%^I	6.38%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)	1.00%^I	2.74%
Auto insurance premiums (Average for the state)	$2,076	$2,121
Job growth % (2000-2006)	9.57%	13.41%
Housing
	City stats	Best places average
Median home price	$583,825	$359,352
Average property taxes (2006)	$3,730	$3,585


Education
	City stats	Best places average
Colleges, universities and professional schools (within 30 miles)	49	29
Junior colleges and technical institutes (within 30 miles)	55	18
Test scores reading (% above/below state average)	66.7%	20.1%
Test scores math (% above/below average)	52.0%	24.8%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)	97.0/3.0	91.1/8.9
Quality of life
	City stats	Best places average
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)	32.1%	77.3%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)	2	13
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)	15	206
Median commute time (in minutes)	30.7	23.1
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer	31.9%	15.6%
% population walk or bike to work	0.8%	2.7%

Health*
	City stats	Best places average
Has health plan (% of residents)	83.2%	90.5%
Body mass index (avg. for residents)	27	27
Diabetes rates (% of residents diagnosed)	7.3%	9.3%
Hypertension rates (% of residents diagnosed)	28.4%	30.6%
Elder-care facilities^**	263	107
Meet the neighbors
	City stats	Best places average
Median age	37.0	36.8
Completed at least some college (% of residents)	72.9%	72.4%
Married	58.6%	60.8%
Divorced	6.7%	8.0%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)	428.6	59.2
Amount spent on vacations (domestic and foreign, household avg. per year)	$9,056	$8,250

*County data
**Elder-care services refer to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Data from Total Living Choices.
(C) Cities with populations greater than 50,000 were not eligible for this year's Best Places to Live list.

(I) Income tax notes:
17 states have statutory provision for automatic adjustment of tax brackets, personal exemption or standard deductions to the rate of inflation. Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio indexes the personal exemption amounts only.
For joint returns, the taxes are twice the tax imposed on half the income.
Tax credits.
An additional 1% tax is imposed on taxable income over $1 million

Estimated median household income in 2005: $78,800 (it was $68,871 in 2000)

Diamond Bar	$78,800
California:	$53,629

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $564,100 (it was $245,800 in 2000)

Diamond Bar	$564,100
California:	$477,700

Diamond Bar Real Estate