The mid- to late 1940s saw a large increase in the numbers of single-family dwellings and the loss of numerous acres of agriculture, and the addition of First Class Postal Service. Reseda was one of the early suburbs in the San Fernando Valley. The large ranches were subdivided, and the area was developed by realtors just as World War II veterans were returning home. The familiar orange groves were successively plowed under in favor of housing. At the time, most jobs were in the Los Angeles Basin and to the south, over the Santa Monica mountains. By 1950, Reseda had over 16,000 residents, and in the early 1950s a population explosion took place, making Reseda one of the most popular and populated Valley communities. Because of this, Reseda's merchants provided bus service to transport shoppers throughout the busy downtown Reseda areas. In the early 1950s, the Valley's population reached 400,000. The average new Valley home, in 1949, cost $9,000. By 1955, that same house could go for nearly $15,000. Even at that price, though, a household income was about $6,000 per year, making Valley incomes higher than the national average. By 1960, the average market value of a Valley home reached $18,850. During the 1970s, the above-average residential real estate values and income patterns began to decline. Land and housing costs shot upward, while most incomes only crept. By the beginning of the 1980s, the average price of a home in the Valley reached $110,000. According to a 2004 study by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, it has tripled that of the early 1980s. Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake struck at 4:31 a.m. on January 17 and measured 6.7 on the moment magnitude scale. It remains the only large earthquake to originate directly under a major U.S. city in modern times as well as the most damaging earthquake to strike the U.S. since the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Its epicenter was between Arminta Street and Ingomar Street, just west of Reseda Boulevard. This was the second time in 23 years the area had been affected by a strong earthquake. On February 9, 1971, the San Fernando earthquake (also known as the Sylmar earthquake) struck the area with a magnitude of 6.5. Geography Reseda is flanked on the north by Northridge, on the east by Lake Balboa, on the south by Tarzana and Encino, on the southwest by