The SchifferLine
Timely Real Estate News…………………….1 February 2021
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Happy Valentine’s Day
This is a ‘happy holiday’ — meant for lovers and friends to send warm, heartfelt greetings to cheer up their world. …we all need to laugh, smile, and feel-good inside. Chocolates and flowers are order of the day. Have a lovely Valentine’s Day…
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U.S. home sales reach highest level since 2006
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales rose in December, with home sales in 2020 reaching their highest level since 2006,). Activity in the national major regions was mixed on a month-over-month basis, but each of the four areas recorded double-digit year-over-year growth in December for the U.S.
Total existing-home sales completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes including condominiums, and co-ops, increased 0.7% from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.76 million in December. Sales in total rose year-over-year, up 22.2% from a year ago (5.53 million in December 2019).
“Home sales rose in December, and for 2020 as a whole, we saw sales perform at their highest levels since 2006, despite the pandemic,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “What’s even better is that this momentum is likely to carry into the new year, with more buyers expected to enter the market.”
Yun predicts a continuation of the strong activity that’s currently taking place in the housing market and in the overall economy.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in December was $309,800, up 12.9% from December 2019 ($274,500), as prices increased in every region. December’s national price increase marks 106 straight months of year-over-year gains.
Existing-home sales in the West fell 1.4% from the month prior, recording an annual rate of 1,380,000 in December, a 17.9% increase from a year ago. The median price in the West was $467,900, up 14.2% from December 2019. These are national numbers and don’t necessarily reflect our current market conditions on Los Angeles’ Westside. This is good news for the country’s overall housing market.
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Rents are back on the rise….
A new report from CoreLogic shows that national single-family rental prices increased 3.7% year over year in November and are now above the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
“This is in contrast to rents for multifamily properties, which have decreased as tenant preferences shifted away from high-density apartment buildings to low-density, single-family homes,” said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic.
Meanwhile, single-family homes for rent are becoming more of a draw due to their extra space. Single-family rental inventories, however, have fallen across price tiers. Lower-priced rentals are seeing some of the most vacancies and rent growth in that area has lagged the most behind other price tiers, CoreLogic said. Here are two pricing areas:
- Higher-middle priced (100% to 125% of the regional median): 4%, up from 2.7% in November 2019
- Higher-priced (125% or more than the regional median): 3.7%, up from 2.5% in November 2019
Employment rates continue to fluctuate across the U.S, with some regions and metros experiencing higher job losses than others. But Core Logic stated that as employment stabilizes rents will, too.
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What is Happening in Our “Neck of the Woods?
There is a house for sale in the Rancho Park area of West Los Angeles that is on the market for approximately $3,000,000 and earlier in the week we had 19 showings! It is going to be interesting to see where the final sales price ends up. The price point between $1,500,000 and $3,500,000 is ON FIRE RIGHT NOW! Who are these buyers? Generally, they are first time buyers taking advantage of the interest rates and the fact that we are seeing the “possible light at the end of the tunnel” as far as COVID-19 is concerned. Come join the party!
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High-end sales on Westside have never been better
It is, indeed, strange to witness a robust housing market during a pandemic, although we have never experienced a pandemic before like we are now. But high-end sales on LA’s beautiful Westside have never been better. According to the latest Coldwell Banker survey of the $5 million-plus market, 2020 was the best year ever.
There were 725 closed sales of $5 million-plus in 2020, versus 560 in 2019, up 30%. Of these, 219 were $10 million-plus versus 162 in 2019, up 35% Sixty-one (61) of these were $20 million-plus versus 43 in 2019, up 42%.
We ended the year slightly down in the $30 million-plus and $40 million-plus sales category. There were 19 closed sales of $30 million-plus in 2020 and 21 closed sales of $30 million-plus in 2019. Of these, eight were $40 million-plus in 2020 and there were 10 closed sales of $40 million-plus in 2019.
Americans were the predominant buyers (89%). Most of the sales were in Beverly Hills (15), Malibu (12), Bel-Air (10). Brentwood (8), and Beverly Hills Post Office (5). Others were in Holmby Hills, Sunset Strip, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica.
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Pandemic expanding divide between haves, have-nots.
Homeowners, in particular, have benefited from the pandemic. Homeowners with mortgages gained about $17,000 in equity in just the third quarter of 2020 alone. That is the largest equity gain since 2014, according to data from CoreLogic, a real estate research firm.
“There is robust home price appreciation and that builds wealth for those who own a home,” stated Laurie Goodman, vice president at the Urban Institute. However, a shortage of homes for sale is prompting home prices to rise fast and that is shutting out many buyers. The national median existing-home price in December was $309,800, up nearly 13% compared to a year earlier according to the National Association of Realtors.
“Housing affordability, which had greatly benefited from falling mortgage rates, is now being challenged due to record-high home prices,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, told CNN. “That could place strain on some potential consumers, particularly first-time buyers.”
The homeownership divide has been growing since the Great Recession in 2007. Between 2007 and 2016, wealth among U.S. households grew increasingly unequal, according to a study from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Research Institute for Housing America. Real household net worth has improved between 2016 and 2019 due to rising home prices and increases in the stock market but only among a portion of already wealthy households.
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A shot in the arm!
Finally got my first vaccine the other day, and I must tell you that getting that appointment was an exercise in frustration. Those of you who are in the approved categories know what I am referring to. After searching online for a bit to find an appointment, you begin the registration process only to have it all go away while you are in the process of registering and then finding another opening, securing the appointment, and then having it cancelled because they have run out of product. So far, so good no problems.. Hope it stays that way, and soon everyone will be able to their vaccines.
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Happy Chinese New Year — Year of the Ox
Traditionally referred to as the Spring Festival, Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the spring season and end of winter. This year, the first day of Chinese New Year will be Friday, February 12, which will kick off many celebrations throughout Southern California, which has a large Asian community. This is the Year of the Metal Ox, which will end on January 31, 2022.
Food offerings are a prayer or a wish and can be addressed to ancestors and other beings such as the Jade Emperor and The Kitchen God. The offering of food serves to bring ancestors and other beings in the other world closer to oneself. There are many foods to be eaten during the celebration, including long life noodles. Here are some facts about some of the symbolic foods:
Presenting a ‘whole’ chicken with its head, tail and feet symbolizes completeness.
Fresh bean curd / tofu is not included as it is white and unlucky for New Year as the color signifies death and misfortune. Fresh fruits symbolize life and new beginnings.
Sugared fruits are supposed to sweeten one’s upcoming year. Sweets and fruits are served on a round tray, the form resembling togetherness, hence the tray is called the ‘Tray of Togetherness’. Sweets offered on the tray add up to the number 8, because eight is a lucky number and symbolizes fortune. A coin might be hidden in one dumpling, and the person who will find it is supposed to be showered with good fortune and wealth.
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This and that
Please check out my Valentine’s day promotion. For every tag I receive with at least 2 referrals for either a sale or purchase, those individuals’ names will be put into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate from Nordstrom’s. The drawing will be held on the 7th of Feb. Just go to facebook@caroleschifferrealtor.com.
Also, lately I have been doing a few videos that you can find on my YouTube channel. Caroleschiffer@youtube.com.. They are on a number of different subjects including getting emotionally qualified to either buy or sell a house!
With the New Year, there are a number of new regulations mostly pertaining to those of us who live in “high fire zones”. Some of them pertain to the clearance of brush from our properties, the installation of the fire guards for our homes to prevent embers from entering into our homes, (please get in touch with me for some information about the company I used, who did a great job on my home).
Looking forward to watching the Super Bowl next Sunday. It should be an exciting game. Who are you rooting for? I hope your team wins!
In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from you for all of your real estate needs, or just to say “Hello”! 310 471-2007 or carole@caroleschiffer.com
Stay safe, wear that mask, and stay home
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