Future Duplex

A collapsed house is another future duplex Martinez said he could resell for more than $500,000 after a $250,000 investment to buy and rebuild the structure. 

Median resale home prices in South Central’s 90003 ZIP code jumped 25 percent to $250,000 in the year through February, compared with a Los Angeles County-wide increase of 12.4 percent to a median of $489,000, CoreLogic DataQuick reported this week.

Police welcome investors like Martinez, who help reduce violence, gang activity and drug-related crime by bringing in homebuyers with a stake in the community, said Adam Moore, senior lead sergeant of South Central’s 77th Street Division.

“This is the busiest division in the City of L.A., with more homicides than anywhere,” said Moore, whose district had 50 murders last year, down from more than 150 in the 1990s. “We believe in crime reduction through economic development.”

Economic development goes hand-in-hand with crime reduction in Anacostia, too, where the median price for a home is still the second-lowest of any neighborhood in the city at $242,000, RBI data show. Murders are down in the area. There were 35 homicides in Ward 8 last year compared with 96 in 1991, D.C. Police Department crime statistics and government homicide reports show. The area still leads the city.

Limited Inventory

“People are moving in because they are starting to hear whispers about the uptick in the neighborhood and the potential of it,” said Charles Wilson, president of the River East Emerging Leaders and Historic Anacostia Block Association. “New and more established residents are working hard to make sure the community feels as safe as possible. Crime and the prevention of it is always a hot topic in our neighborhood.”

Young buyers in Anacostia are competing for a limited inventory of row houses and large single-family homes, many of them colorful Victorians with steep roofs, front porches, and scalloped wood shingles.

“The housing market in Anacostia was more competitive than I thought, but you get more for your money,” Gunnels said. “I love the convenience.”

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