California · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area

Buying a home in Downey, California

In Downey, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $796,600, Los Angeles County's effective property tax rate is 0.68%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $11,266 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,937 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Downey home costs, fact by fact

About Downey

Downey, an incorporated city, is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, home to 12,927,614 residents.

Reading the Downey figures

Downey offers a clean test case, because its home value is almost the same as the California-wide figure. Owners estimate $796,600, and the state reads $770,700. Concord comes in at $797,600, then Inglewood near $792,800; Santa Clarita is estimated lower, at $784,700, followed by West Covina at roughly $779,800, then Oceanside at $770,300. Above Downey, Long Beach comes to $806,600, then Garden Grove to $814,100, while Simi Valley reaches $823,800, and then Ventura and Anaheim reach $827,300 and $831,200. Below, Chula Vista comes to $758,700, then Rancho Cucamonga to $740,200.

What differs among these cities is how much of the housing is rented. In Downey, 51.1% of households own, which is near Garden Grove (53.1%), then Ventura (55.9%), and above Anaheim at 46.2% along with Long Beach at 41.2%. Inglewood, with 36.2%, then Los Angeles, with 36%, are far lower. By contrast, Simi Valley stands at 72.9%, then Santa Clarita at 71.8%. So Downey is roughly balanced between owners and renters, a profile you do not see in the most owner-heavy suburbs. For a buyer, that means competing in a city where renters remain a large presence and where rents stay below those of nearby suburbs such as Santa Clarita or Simi Valley.

Rent comes in lower than the value would suggest. The median is $1,937, near Los Angeles ($1,933), then Garden Grove ($2,012), and not far above Inglewood's $1,787; Long Beach sits at $1,871. Santa Clarita, at $2,544, then Simi Valley, at $2,579, are much higher. Meanwhile, the HUD data for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area shows a pair of marks, $2,964 and $3,760, depending on unit size. HUD's rent figure is a reference level, not a market median, which explains part of the gap with the observed median.

Los Angeles County provides the tax and lending context. The county's median tax bill is $5,675 across a year, producing an effective rate of 0.68%, a figure linked to a typical county home value of $834,200. Since that county value is a little higher than Downey's own estimate, the bill for a home priced at the city median would sit somewhat under the county figure. For 2025, Los Angeles County counted 32,309 HMDA loans, settling at a middle total of $11,266 and a mid-distribution span from $7,619 to $18,640. That is a large sample and a wide spread, a reminder that the same county can hold very different mortgage experiences, so quotes can differ substantially from one lender to the next.

For scale, Downey has 109,368 residents and belongs to the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area, ranked 2nd in the country at 12,927,614. All home values are owners' estimates, not recorded sale prices, and the cities named here are only those closest in value.

Calculate for California

If you buy

California state transfer tax

California has no state transfer tax; counties and cities may charge one.

Price$770,700
State transfer taxnot computed
Who paysSet by the purchase contract

Default price: the California median value of owner-occupied homes, $770,700 (Census ACS 2025). Not computed: No state tax. The tax is set by county and city, so it cannot be computed from the state alone. Who pays: Neither the state statute nor the City of Los Angeles FAQ assigns the tax; the purchase contract and escrow instructions decide. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. California transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: California state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Downey

How much is property tax in Downey?

Homeowners in Los Angeles County pay a median $5,675 a year in property tax, 0.68% of the county median home value of $834,200 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Downey?

Home-purchase mortgages in Los Angeles County carried median total loan costs of $11,266 in 2025; half of the 32,309 loans fell between $7,619 and $18,640 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Downey?

California has no state transfer tax. Counties may charge $0.55 per $500 of value under the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, and cities such as Los Angeles add their own, with Measure ULA adding 4% or 5.5% on very high-priced sales.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Downey?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Downey ($796,600) equals 34.3 years of the median gross rent ($1,937 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Downey?

Across California, the main hazards for home insurance are earthquake, wildfire, flood and landslide, and the insurer of last resort is California FAIR Plan. A standard California homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage; insurers must offer earthquake coverage (Insurance Code 10081), and the FAIR Plan sells limited fire coverage up to $3 million for residential policyholders.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

California rules that apply in Downey

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides