Quarterly Update 1 October 2016 | SchifferLine

The sweet smell of Fall

There is something I love about Fall…leaves turning to golden browns, yellows and orange. A chill begins when the sun goes down, and while we have had our share of hot days, we endure. Living in Southern California is always magical this time of year.

We have seen our real estate market chugging along since January — there has been no acceleration in pricing or sales, in fact, sales have been somewhat tepid compared to last year We have had some spectacular sales in the Holmby Hills area these past two months, one for $100,000,000 and the other for $90,000,000. Sales like these tend as always to skew the numbers. We’re still trailing last year’s sales volume by about 5%, and perhaps we’ll crawl back to even before the end of the year. The Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates in September…that’s good news. But it could when the Fed meets again in November. No rate hike means continued low mortgage rates, which are attracting buyers, but the dearth of inventory helps to keep prices higher, blunting Millennials’ desire to become home owners. We are also seeing a chasm between the Millennials that are in the highly paid positions and those that are in the lower paid positions. This has caused a separation in where they are looking to purchase homes. Silicon Beach is still a hot market for those with higher incomes, and the others are looking east in areas like Angelino Heights, Highland Park, etc.

The election makes a lot of news — economists weigh in with predictions of the market going up or going down, depending on the winning Presidential candidate. However, with all of the talk about the local ballot initiatives, such as the future growth and development of the city, as well as building restrictions, it makes no sense to project the future here. I can only remind you to have your voice heard and to vote on the 2nd of November and be glad that we all live where we do and have that freedom and right to do so!

Please let me know how I can assist you with any and all of your real estate needs. Please visit my web site, caroleschiffer.com, and friend me and like at my Facebook page, caroleschiffer/realtor@facebook.com, and linked in.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you around and hearing from you.

Cordially.

Carole