Dear Bel Air Crest Neighbor:
Traditionally, our Spring selling season is in full bloom ā and we are coming off a very strong early 2019 with existing home sales rebounding across the entire country, with the largest month-over-month gain in February since December 2015. Three of the four major U.S. regions saw healthy sales gains according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales in the West rocketed 16.0% to an annual rate of 1.16 million in February. The median price in the West was $379,300, up 3.0% from February 2018. In Southern California, home prices prices barely rose in February from a year earlier, as buyers continue to struggle with the high cost of housing. We all have to remember that the sales reports we are looking at are reflective of sales when we were experiencing a partial government shutdown, and interest rates also went up as a result.
The six-county regionās median price ā the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less ā increased just 1.2% to $512,500 last month, real estate firm CoreLogic said. Sales plunged nearly 12%. The pullback comes after years of steady price increases put home ownership out of reach for many families. Interest rates are down again, and every lender I know is being very aggressive in coming out with new programs all the time, thus making it easier for buyers including those of us who are self-employed such as myself to apply and qualify for loans.
The market remains strong. In the past week, I personally was involved in a multiple offer situation with 12 offers on a charming 2/2.5 home in Santa Monica north of Montana listed over $3,250,000 and since my client was not the lucky buyer, I really do not know what the ultimate sales price is, but I imagine it will be close to $3.5. One of my mentees is currently involved in an offer for a condo in Brentwood with 6 offers. It is listed at $1,075,000 and every offer is all cash. I recently sold a condo in Westwood in 2 weeks, again, all cash.
We all moan & groan about the traffic on the Westside. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse rather than better. The construction on the Metro line continues to proceed as scheduled. Currently there are a number of studies and proposals in the mill that are also dealing with rapid transit between the Valley and the Westside, with the ultimate goal of them reaching LAX. These proposals include an underground tunnel, or some type of over head system, or closing or adding lanes to Sepulveda. I donāt know how many of you saw the recent article in the LA Times dealing with another proposal to charge $4.00 for driversā in rush hour. The boundaries are from west of the 405 and north of the 10 which includes a 4.3 square mile area. Obviously are all of the projects being a work in progress and most likely will be worked on for a while. Hopefully some relief will come in our lifetimes!
What is happening in Bel Air Crest? We seem to be doing well. I recently closed escrow on a Canyon home where the tenant was the buyer. We had some issues with repairs as the house had sustained some damage as a result of the rains we have experienced lately, so making the separation of selling a house āas-isā and the Lessor needing to make repairs to their rental property was gnarly at times, but we got through it. When you compare the status of our real estate market this year to last for the 1st quarter, it is not that different. Currently, we have 6 homes listed for sale, 3 Canyon and 3 Custom, and 1 lot. Last year there were 7, 4 Canyon and 3 Custom. We have the same number in escrow both years, 1 each of Canyon & Custom. As for closed escrows this past quarter, there was only 1 and that was the Canyon I mentioned earlier that the tenant purchased. We do have a few leases available, 2 Canyon and 4 Custom homes, and 1 Canyon was leased. For those of you who receive this information electronically and are planning on joining us for the Spring Fling event next Sunday the 7th which will include an Emergency Preparedness Fair for you to purchase any items you need to assure your preparedness please RSVP to the BAC managers office by Monday the 1st. We need a count to order our bagels, etc.!
I look forward to seeing all of you at the Spring Fling and around our lovely community. I also want to thank you for your support in our recent board elections. I very much appreciate the support.
Cordially,
Carole
