Exciting and stressful, that’s how Bridgette Saccoccia describes the past year that she has spent looking for a home.

• Culver City real estate market among hottest on LA's West Side
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• A local realtor has seen the value of properties in Culver City skyrocket

“We feel like we can’t own a home unless we move to the Valley or outside of our comfortability,” said Saccoccia.

But today she’s touring something rather unique, a 1,109 sq. ft. condo in Fox Hills, Culver City. The second floor property built in 1967 is listed at $579,900, with a $325 a month HOA fee. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

And although it’s not the three-bedroom home she imagined; as a professional and a mother of a young child she has other priorities.

“Quality of life is easy commute, no worries about where our daughter will go to school. I think the lottery system in LAUSD is pretty scary, so we don’t want to buy in a bad school district area,” she said.

That’s why she is looking in Culver City.

Public safety is also important for her, as is the neighborhood. The apartment is walking distance to the mall and a 10-minute drive from the beach.

Fran Liebowitz, one of the listing agents, says that the property is one of the few listings in Culver City for under a million dollars.  

“It’s amazing how the values have gone up and it’s now the hottest area in the West Side” said Liebowitz about Culver City.

As a realtor for more than 30 years, Liebowitz says she has lived through those changes.

“I remember selling a property for $28,000, somebody took a $300 loan to move in, and that $30,000 property is [now] going for $600,000.”

According to 2013 census data, a quarter of Culver City residents spend more than half of their paychecks on rent.

Saccoccia says that’s not sustainable.

“I think L.A. has been unaffordable for a very long time and I think it’s very discouraging for people of my generation,” she said.

She decides not to put an offer on the condo, once again postponing her dream of owning a home.

The same day she toured the property a person attended the open house, fell in love with the condo and put an offer on it. Within less than 30 days of being on the market, the condo was in escrow.