This question peaked my interest to look through zillow at homes in California to check out the prices and wow. They are indeed expensive out there.
I saw a house on zillow that was built in 1905 and recently remodeled. It's price is $799,000.00 That might give someone a heart attack.
I thought I was paying too much for my house that was built in 1906 making it 111 years old. I got my 1906 house for $30,000.00 and it needed to be gutted completely before moving in.
I haven't got it quite finished just yet but for the price of the home in Los Angeles California I can completely redo this old house and make it like brand new and still have money left over to build a brand new home where I live.
I guess they're expensive because the place is really sought out by people out there. That's just a guess. I've never been out there but would like to visit one day. But I'll stay in my small town if it means I'd have to pay nearly a million dollars for an old remodeled house.
https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Los-Angeles-CA/pmf,pf_pt/20603064_zpid/12447_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/34.623037,-117.541352,33.416541,-119.282685_rect/8_zm/