Dear Brentwood Neighbor:
It’s Fall, my favorite time of year, and hopefully, the hottest days are behind us.
While the real estate market continues to face the uncertainties of the tariff wars and the international scene, the real estate market on the Westside has seen a turn-around in sales volume, now more than 8% ahead of last year at this time. Median sales prices are awkwardly stuck in the middle — some areas are up over last year’s benchmark but others are down.
This fluctuation in home prices is a constant all over. However, the luxury home market — those homes over $5 million — are still substantially behind in number of sales versus 2018. Even when you look at median sales prices in Los Angeles County that are topping median sales prices in the pre-recession period, we’re still down in real dollars when inflation is factored in.
While the Fed stimulated the market last month with another rate cut, mortgage rates jumped 10% last week because the uncertainties of what’s going on in the nation’s capital. Even with all the turmoil, we still have low mortgage rates, and sales are being made.
From the real estate perspective, what is happening in your fabulous community and how does it compare to the 3rd quarter of 2018. Please remember that I am only reporting on the portion of Brentwood west of Sepulveda, and north of Sunset to and including Bundy Drive. There is a slight difference in the number of active listings on the market for the two years: This year there are (5), and last year for the 3rd quarter the number was (9). The days on market are also interesting to look at: it is (116) for this year, and (62) in 2018. Currently there no homes in escrow, with (2) last year. As for closed escrows, this past quarter there were (6) and for last year there were (5). Two homes are available for lease, whereas there were (5) this year (4) were leased and (3) were leased in the 3rd quarter last year.
I look forward to seeing and meeting you and learning from you how I can assist you with any and all of your real estate needs. Please get in touch with me, Carole@caroleschiffer.com or 310 442-1384. If you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful, safe, happy, & prosperous New Year!
Cordially,
Carole Schiffer
Notable increases came in Beverly Hills, which saw a jump of $200 million in sales volume over this time last year, and Bel-Air/Holmby Hills came in with $190 million more than a year ago. The other areas were either down or had no real change in sales volume — BHPO was down $40 million in total sales compared to 2018, Westwood/Century City was down $20 million, and Brentwood was off $30 million. But we all know; a month doesn’t make a year or a trend. What is good news is the buyers are “out there”, and they’re picking up quality homes at competitive prices.
another way to break into ownership. New technologies are making it easier for them to search and find properties that appeal to their budgets now but offer longer-term investment returns than if they looked locally. These younger real estate players are tech savvy, searchers on steroids and willing to break away from the traditional model of buying where they live. The apple is falling farther away from the tree these days.
A FICO spokesman attributed the new high average scores to “increased consumer awareness around FICO Scores and credit education.” The company also pointed out that consumers have managed to purge from their files negative credit information that they accumulated during the recession, thus boosting their scores.
The most important task you need to do: Set a budget. A couple of small fixes can increase the value of a home and come at a low cost, but a full rebuild can prove much more costly. You should always allocate additional money for overages. “If you’re sure you’ve got enough, that’s great,” Montagne wrote. “But remember – if you run out of money during a rebuild, your partially-built house could turn into a massive money pit.”
One last thing – September 16th is the celebration for Mexican independence – El Grito (the shout). Perhaps you might have enjoyed a celebration or two.
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