Mountaingate 1st Quarterly Updates 1 April 2022

Dear Mountaingate Neighbor:

March came in like a pussy cat with little rain fall, and we are limping forward, hoping April “showers” really do arrive We do need the rain as drought has again gripped our state, with water reserves dwindling to dangerous levels. Rationing is most likely on the way.

As the war in Ukraine continues to overwhelm the world, on the home front, we are continuing to see rising inflation, gas prices, and now interest rates. The Federal Reserve recently increased interest rates, and we are now seeing mortgage rates nearing 5% level, which causes concern especially with first-time buyers. However, the share of millennial home buyers has significantly increased over the past year, with 43% of buyers in the age range (21 to 41 years), which is up from 37%. But overall, existing home sales feel in February 7.2%, continuing a pattern of ups/downs over the past few months.

According to the National Association of Realtors, housing affordability continues to be the major challenge. But in our market, the lack of inventory is really challenging buyers as home owners are reluctant to move during these high inflation times, compounded by the unknowns brought about the war in Ukraine.

With us now entering the 2nd quarter, I continued a strong sales year that I experienced in 2021, and yes, inventory also remains a challenge for all buyers. We are continuing to see multiple offers on all price points. I recently assisted one of my mentees with writing his first buyer offer on a condo in Playa del Rey which was listed in the lower sevens, and ended up with 9 offers, probably selling over $800,000!

In looking at the comparison in real estate activity between this past quarter, and that of last year, the numbers bear out what everyone is saying about the lack of inventory. Currently, there is one (1) home available for least vs three(3) last year. We have two (2) homes in escrow now and five (5) last year including one (1) private sale.
This reinforces all of the conversation about no inventory. We need more inventory! If you are at all considering selling your home, please do let me know, I have a long list of buyers for a number of different properties in Mountaingate.
carole@caroleschiffer.com, 310 442-1384 or ceschiffer@gmail.com

Looking forward to speaking with you soon.

Carole

Mountaingate 4th Quarterly Updates 1 January 2022

Dear Mountaingate Neighbor:

Welcome 2022 & Happy New Year!

Welcome and hail and farewell to 2021. It has been an interesting year to say the least. We are looking forward to another interesting year, particularly as we are about to enter our third year of this pandemic. Yet, through all of this, real estate continues to amaze us on the Westside.

During this past year we have seen median prices in the five communities, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel Air, Brentwood, Westwood I report on continue to surge upward. Sales volumes are setting records every month, and mortgage rates continue to be the lowest in decades, and buyers are taking advantage of that. However, competition remans fierce for quality homes fairly priced — there just aren’t enough of them to satisfy demand.

Inventory continues to stay low, to low actually ,and while interest rates are going to climb a little, they are still quite a bit lower than we had seen in the past.

2022, however, could be different — the Fed promises to raise rates at least three times this year…but that doesn’t necessarily mean mortgage rates are going to escalate out of reach. The last time the Feds raised rates in 2019, mortgage rates actually went down. But affordability remains a challenge for many, and while we are seeing our equity grow, buyers are scampering to get in line for the home of their dreams, only to find many qualified buyers — with cash — in front of them. There are many interesting programs out there, including one from my lender which will enable a non-cash buyer to qualify and present themselves to the seller as an all-cash buyer. Please contact me for more information – carole@caroleschiffer.com.

If one were to make a wish for the New Year, top of my list would be that we end this pandemic which has brought so much damage and heartache to our world, our communities, to our families. As winter and the rainy season descends upon us, we can only pray and strive to stay safe, healthy, and hopeful for a great 2022!

From a real estate perspective, what is happening in Mountaingate, and how does it compare to the same quarter as well as last year in the community. Last year at this time there were six (6) homes listed for sale, currently there are four (4). We had one (1) home in escrow for the last quarter of 2020 vs. four (4) currently, and the same number of closed escrows five (5) each year. It has been an interesting year for the community given the “hit” that the Ridge in particular took re their homeowners insurance and the dues. Fortunately, the problem was resolved with the CC & R’s being changed so that now each homeowner has their own homeowners and fire insurance policies rather than having it covered through their HOA dues. I know I had a listing in the Ridge, and it was somewhat dicey working through it, but we did, and the escrow has closed escrow and the new owners are busy doing some work in the house.
Please let me know how I can assist you with your real estate needs. I am here for you so please let me hear from you. I can be reached at carole@caroleschiffer.com, ceschiffer@gmail.com, 310 442-1384.
Looking forward to hearing from you.

Cordially,

Carole

Happy New Year & Stay Safe!

Mountaingate 3rd Quarterly Report 2021

Dear Mountaingate Neighbor:

Happy Fall, my favorite time of year
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 California…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, “What does the future bring?”  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 “our neck of the woods” 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 — 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 you’re 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.

Real estate perspective what has happened in Mountaingate this past quarter? There has been a marked difference in real estate performance/activity between the 2^nd quarter of this year and this past quarter.  Currently there are 4 homes available for sale vs. 2 in quarter #2.  Each quarter brought 1 home in escrow.  The big difference is in the number of closed escrows.  There were 2, and actually the house on Sunrise Hill closed in quarter #2 but was not noted.  That gets added to the 8 other escrows in quarter #2.  As I am sure most of you know, there has been a lot of activity pertaining to the fire & homeowners insurance policies in the Ridge.  From what I have been told, it appears that for the most part

it has been partially resolved and hopefully all of the necessary pieces will be put together very quickly.

Please know that you can reach out to me with any questions and for all of your real estate needs.  I am here for you… Call me  310-442-1384

Mountaingate 2nd Quarterly Report 2021

1 July 2021

Dear Mountaingate Neighbor:

First of all, Happy Fourth of July. We have much to be thankful for — California has ‘re-opened’…we’re getting out, shopping, and dining, and seeing our friends again! Yes, while we still face some Covid-19 challenges, we hopefully have gotten through the worst of it and have all done a great job in helping our communities be safer. Hopefully we don’t back slide with the variants that are out there now. Be safe!

On the real estate front — we have seen a dramatic improvement in pending home sales across the country — experts expected a 1% drop, instead there was an 8% increase in transactions for existing homes, the highest level of sales activity for May since 2005. We too, continue to see increased marketing activity in our communities with median sales price still hovering above 5% compared to 2020

The good news is that the Fed is committed to keeping interest rates low, meaning mortgage rates will remain near record lows as well. This bodes well for those of you thinking of selling or buying. Mortgage rates remain in the low 3% range, which makes financing or getting a re-fi on your home much easier.

On the mortgage, financing front in one my recent sales meetings we were discussing the fact that a lot of transactions are falling out of escrow. The primary cause is that buyers are bidding up the purchase price only to find out that they cannot qualify for the property, and if there is a “back up offer” in place, which I always encourage, if possible, many times that buyer will become the prevailing buyer and end up with the property. Please give me a call at 310 442-1384 and I will be more than happy to explain the process.

The record breaking heat we are experiencing all over is a major cause for concern given the drought we are experiencing. so once again, I remind you to please be fire safe and clear the brush around your property. In the last week or so, I am received a number of emails from clients telling me they have been cited by the Fire Dept. They are out there inspecting our properties, so please make sure you are in compliance. There is a new mandatory statewide disclosure that goes into effect today, 1 July 2021 where in every property sold in a high fire risk area will need to comply with the brush clearance guidelines. You might want to check out..http:www.readyforwildfire.org for more information.

What does the real estate activity look like for the second quarter in Mountaingate? At the moment there are only two (2) homes available for sale, we have one (1) home in escrow, and there were eight (8) closed escrows. This is pretty typical for the community. Unfortunately, I cannot compare the activity for the second quarter 2020 but will be able to do so moving forward to the third quarter. The low activity for leases is the same as there are none available nor have any homes been leased recently.

Please know I am here to assist you with any and all real estate needs and questions. I am here for you!

Cordially,

Carole