Dear Westwood Hills Neighbor:

First of all, please accept my condolences for any loss you might have sustained in the horrible mudslides in Montecito earlier this month. I also want to apologize for the tardiness in my getting this report earlier.  Unfortunately, a myriad of events prevented me from doing so.

A whirlwind of December real estate and tax news swept us into the new year as we continue to face some of the same challenges we started with 12 months ago — rising home prices, low inventories, and a market that is woefully in need of housing — at all levels.  Added to all of this, of course, is the impact of the new tax bill and its effect on real estate.  

Let me first recap the year in simpler terms — it was a banner year for home value appreciation as median sales prices in Los Angeles area finally exceeded pre-2007 price levels, although when inflation is considered, we’re still down about 11% in real value.  Median sales prices in all of the areas I report were up through the end of November, another positive sign and total sales through first 11 months were up over 10%.  Inventories slightly improved, but not near enough.  

The vote is out as to how the just passed tax bill will impact our real estate values. We do know that for any home purchased after 15 December, 2017 the maximum amount of the mortgage is $750,000. For all others there will be no change.  This most likely could impact the market as pertains to new purchases.  The change in the state, city, and local taxes deductions could also impact the market. As always there are two sides to each story, and some seem to feel that with the increase income the deduction we will not feel the impact that much. Obviously, we will need to see what the future brings.  Prices are predicted to continue their upward climb.  

High-end sales on the Westside had its best record home sales were sent to their highest level in 11 years. All in all, the real estate market is positioned to remain healthy from a seller’s point of view — buyers will continue to scramble for homes, not only here, but everywhere.  

2017 was a whirl wind year for real estate activity in Westwood Hills, and it continued in the last quarter of the year.  How did it stack up against 2016?  Currently there are 6 homes available for sale vs. 4 in ’16.  There is 1 home in escrow, vs. 2 in ’16. In 2016 there were 4 closed escrows this quarter vs. 3 this year, and currently there is 1 home available for lease and none leased, vs. 2 for lease and 3 leased in 2016.  I want to thank Linda G and Vivian D for their contributions to my One Warm Coat Campaign, they both have been most generous.  It definitely is not too late for me to come and collect any items you might have, so if you have any items such as coats, sweaters, etc. that can be used by those in need, please contact me – Carole Schiffer, at 310-442-1384. 

Please let me know how I can assist you with your real estate needs.

Cordially,

 

Carole Schiffer

Carole Schiffer, Realtor Coldwell-Banker Residential Brokerage/Brentwood Office
310-442-1384 (office) or e-mail me at carole@caroleschiffer.com  www.caroleschiffer.com CalBRE  00677619©©2017 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.  Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC 234567An Equal Opportunity Company.  Equal Housing Opportunity.  Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.  Coldwell Banker does not guarantee the accuracy of square footage, lot size or other information concerning the condition or features of property provided by the seller or obtained from public records or other sources, and the buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information through personal inspection and with appropriate professionals

 

Dear Westwood Hills neighbor:

The lovely and gracious community of Westwood Hills, continues to be quite active as pertains to real estate activity. I am hoping to once again be a sponsor of your annual meeting so that I can meet more of you and see some familiar faces from last year. What are we looking at a sales activity from this past quarter vs. the 3rd quarter of last year? Currently there are 4 homes available for sale, and there were 6 last year. You will also notice that the Days on Market is a little longer this year than last. There is 1 home in escrow, vs. 2 last year, and as for closed escrows, there were 9 sales, 2 of which were private sales, and last year we had 9 sales also. As for leases, there are 2 homes available for lease, and last year there were 3, and 1 home has recently been leased., vs. 2 last year.
Please let me know how I might assist you with all of your real estate needs.

I am here to help you. Looking forward to hearing from you. Again, hope to see you at the annual meeting.

I am very proud to announce that, for the 20th year in a row, NRT , (Coldwell Banker’s parent company) has been ranked the #1 residential real estate brokerage in the nation in both closed sales volume and closed transaction sides by REAL Trends 500. NRT closed 337,780 transaction sides and had more than $166 billion in closed sales volume in 2016 – more than the next four largest competitors combined. It pays to work with a winner, call me!

The real estate activity in Westwood Hills has been very strong. Properties that come on the market are selling very quickly, which is great considering the impact the construction on the 405 had on the community. Currently, there is only 1 home available for sale vs. 5 for the first quarter of last year. Five homes are in escrow, again vs. only 3 last year. There were 5 happy new home owners this past quarter, vs. 3 last year, and currently there are 3 homes available for lease, and 2 that have been recently leased, vs. only 2 available for lease last year, and no homes leased.

I look forward to assisting you with any of your real estate needs.

It was great to be able to be a sponsor of your annual meeting and have the opportunity to meet several you!

There have been a number of changes that have taken place in the last year, among them they include: 1) The Neighborhood Block party as well as the Disaster Preparedness Pair, 2) the installation of the 11 Neighborhood Watch Signs, and 3) the planting of the new street trees that replaced a number of the trees that were lost due to the 405 construction. From a real estate perspective, there has been a good amount of activity this past year, but let’s look to see how it compares, particularly year over to year to 2015. In 2015 there were 17 listings, of which 16 closed escrow, and 5 homes were leased. In comparison, in 2016 there were 16 homes listed for sale, of which there 23 closed escrows (WOW!) and 4 homes were leased. In looking at the information from previous years as well, there is a carryover from one year to the next, which will be the same next year as well.

Please remember that I am here for any and all of your real estate needs.

The hills of Westwood Hills have been alive with the sound of real estate activity this past quarter.

It is much more than it was for the same quarter last year. Currently, there are 6 homes available for sale, vs. 5 last year. There are 2 homes in escrow, vs. 3 last year, but the BIG difference is in the number of closed escrows, with 9 this past quarter, vs. 4 last year! Currently there are 3 homes available for lease vs one last year, and two homes were leased this past quarter, with only one last year. Truly an excellent year for the community. I will be coming around the community hoping to meet all of your, so please be on the lookout for me. If I miss you, I would love to have the opportunity to meet you and get to know you and have you know me a little better, so please do not hesitate to let me know how I can assist you with any and all of your real estate needs. In the interim, please visit my web site, caroleschiffer.com, or friend me on caroleschiffer/realtor@facebook.com or caroleschiffer@linkedin.com

Looking forward to meeting you.