US Real Estate: Find Out the Hottest Zip Codes in L.A.

Last year, Southern California was a good housing market, if you are a seller, that is.

The market has already cooled down a bit, according to LA Times, due to price hike and seasonality of home sales. A better picture is expected, however, during the spring buying season. However, economists are predicting that the market will improve.

Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Assn. of Realtors said, "Affordability is dulling demand." She projected the state's median home price to increase 3.2% this year, approximately half the pace of the 6.2% gain in 2015.

For now, however, many of Los Angeles County's hottest burbs fall into two categories: Westside areas in the midst of a tech-industry boom and communities near downtown coveted for their older homes and accessibility to the town's city center, LA Times continues.

To determine L.A. County's hottest neighborhoods, LA Times adds, citing Core Logic as the source, "The Times ranked them by the change in the median price per square foot for a single-family home. The median is the point at which half the homes are sold for more and half for less. The per-square-foot metric was chosen to best account for changes in the sizes of homes selling, such as older smaller houses that are desirable but have relatively lower price tags.

Sales and median prices reflect transactions involving existing single-family houses. The comparison is for the 11 months ended November 2015 with the same period a year earlier. All neighborhoods had at least 30 sales."

If you want the best zip codes in LA, take your pick below.

Santa Monica | 90402

North of Montana
Median price per square foot: $1,420, +37.5%
Median price: $3,237,500, -1.7%
Sales: 100, unchanged

Hermosa Beach | 90254
Median price per square foot: $967, +28.6%
Median price: $1,693,500, + 30.9%
Sales: 123, +7%

Lincoln Heights | Montecito Heights | Elysian Valley | 90031
Median price per square foot: $419, +28.3%
Median price: $458,500, +14.6%
Sales: 78, -18.8%

City Terrace | East L.A. | 90063
Median price per square foot: $307, +23.2%
Median price: $320,000, +18.5%
Sales: 144, +0.7%

Marina del Rey | 90292
Median price per square foot: $737, +23.1%
Median price: $2,157,500, +6.5%
Sales: 38, unchanged

Manhattan Beach | 90266
Median price per square foot: $1,021, +21.4%
Median price: $2,100,000, +10.1%
Sales: 288, -18.9%

Compton | 90220
Median price per square foot: $257, +20.9%
Median price: $285,000, +9.8%
Sales: 279, +16.3%

Compton | 90222
Median price per square foot: $264, + 20.6%
Median price: $274,000, +14.2%
Sales: 182, -11.2%

Playa del Rey | 90293
Median price per square foot: $636, +20.1%
Median price: $1,517,500, +26.5%
Sales: 40, -21.6%

Toluca Lake | Studio City | 91602
Median price per square foot: $570, +19.6%
Median price: $1,022,500, +3.2%
Sales: 111, +3.7%