Bel Air Crest 3rd Quarterly Report 2021
Dear Bel Air Crest Neighbor:
Happy Fall, my favorite time of yearā¦.
The long, hot summer is behind us. Or is it? We have drifted into a draught again, and as the leaves turn brown and gold, we look skyward for just a drop of rain. But no luck. Perhaps we should all do a rain dance to see if that will help. It never rains in Southern Californiaā¦as the song goes. Not true, it just feels that way.
As we enter our 19th month of the global pandemic, we continue to see record sales being posted in our Westside real estate market, especially in the high-end market where we outpaced previous years by as much as 75% increase in homes selling for more than $5 million, year over year. Locally, we are 72% ahead in sales volumes through August compared to 2020. On a national basis, existing home sales fell by 2.0% in August, which has been running counter to rising home prices. You might ask, āWhat does the future bring?ā At this writing we are all looking to and hoping that Congress will be able to find a way to avoid a government shutdown and avoid a financial disaster for the country. That being said, the forecast for the real estate market, especially in āour neck of the woodsā will stay strong, we are and will continue to see an increase in prices, just not as much as we have seen recently, and there still will be multiple offers again not as many.
According to Case-Shiller, U.S. home prices rose 19.7% in August for the fourth consecutive month of record price appreciation, but the market could be starting to cool as there are signs the market frenzy might be starting to ease. Price growth is starting to decline in some major markets. A word to the wise ā the Fed has indicated that rates will most likely increase in 2022, so it is a good time to look at getting your finances in order if youāre thinking of buying soon. We all must remember that even with the forecast of increasing interest rates, that increase will be somewhat slow in developing and in looking at interest rates historically, even if they go to 4%, they are still low.
What has happened in Bel Air Crest this past quarter? Our community has become even more desirable as a place to live this past quarter, particularly with regard to Canyon Homes. They are selling as quickly as they come on the market. We are not seeing the same activity in the Custom Home portion of the community. A big concern for all homeowners is the fire insurance issue, which has been playing out in some of our surrounding communities. Currently there are no Canyon hones on the market. This is the same as the 2nd quarter, yet we had three Canyon home sales this past quarter, with one home selling for $400,000 over asking price, and another that sold in the 2nd quarter and then again in the 3rd quarter again with a gain of $400,00. The 3rd sale was a private sale that actually took place in the 2nd quarter, but the price has been buried. As for the Custom homes, we have the same 3 homes available for sale in the past quarter as the last one. One of the homes that closed escrow in the 2nd quarter was leased by the new owner this past quarter. There was 1 Custom home that closed escrow in this past quarter. As for leases, I had a lovely Canyon home for lease that was leased for $500.00 over asking in 13 days! All of this goes to show that we are lucky to be living in such an amazing community and that the talk about the ādeath knollā for the real estate market is not based on fact.Ā Please let me know how I can assist you with any and all of your real estate needs. I am here for youā¦ Call me 310-442-384.
