IF a man's home is his castle, gates are the modern equivalent of living behind the moat.
Gated communities, in fact, are the fastest-growing form of housing in the U.S., according to census data. Why? Those who opt for gates point to reduced crime and traffic, a safer environment for children and the prestige of living somewhere that's exclusive. But not everyone likes being sealed off from the world. Some people view gates as elitist or don't want the bother of calling the guards each time a visitor is expected.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday March 04, 2007 Home Edition Real Estate Part K Page 3 Features Desk 0 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction
Malibu builder: In an article about gated communities in the Feb. 25 Real Estate section, Roger Wolk, an orthodontist who has developed nine beachfront homes in Malibu, was referred to as Richard.
Whether new or old, suburban or urban, surrounded by affluence or a gritty neighborhood, a secured perimeter with controlled access generally makes a home more expensive.
"Gated communities command a higher price when they enter the market," said Setha Low, an anti-gates anthropologist who wrote "Behind the Gates: Life, Security and the Pursuit of Happiness in Fortress America." "Their advantage diminishes as the development ages and their maintenance costs increase."
The view on the ground in Southern California comes from John Karevoll, chief analyst for DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based real estate research firm. "There is initially a bit more value to those properties. In general, 5% to 7%.
"Say a home in one of those communities costs $500,000 to get into, and a corresponding home costs $475,000" outside the gates, he said. "Five years later, the corresponding appreciation is going to be the same."
In expensive markets such as Malibu, the home-price difference on gated and non-gated streets can be substantial.
"The gates could be worth another million dollars," said Richard Wolk, an orthodontist who has developed nine beachfront properties in Malibu -- none within the gated Malibu Colony, due to a lack of opportunity. That would work out to 5% on a beachfront property priced at $20 million.
For some homeowners, however, the advantages of living behind gates are priceless.
"There are a lot of celebrities and regular people who would not live in Malibu Colony if it was not behind the gates.... These are very wealthy people who want privacy, and price is no object to many of them," said Chad Rogers, an agent with Hilton & Hyland Real Estate Inc. He grew up in the Colony and sells properties along the mile-long stretch of 120 homes, which has been gated since its origins in the late 1920s.
It's one of the factors that attracted Richard and Diane Fisher to their oceanfront home.
