The SchifferLine
Timely Real Estate News……………………………1 May 2022
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Existing home sales fell in March
March marked the second consecutive month of existing home sales declines according to the National Association of Realtors. Month-over-month, sales in March waned in three of the four major U.S. regions while holding steady in the West. Sales were down across each region year-over-year.
Total existing-home sales which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes,
condominiums and co-ops, dipped 2.7% from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million in March. Year-over-year, sales fell 4.5% (6.04 million in March 2021).
Existing-home sales in the West held steady compared to the previous month, posting an annual rate of 1,210,000 in March, down 4.7% from one year ago. The median price in the West was $519,900, up 5.4% from March 2021.
“The housing market is starting to feel the impact of sharply rising mortgage rates and higher inflation taking a hit on purchasing power,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Still, homes are selling rapidly, and home price gains remain in the double-digits.â
With mortgage rates expected to rise further, Yun predicts transactions to contract by 10% this year, for home prices to readjust, and for gains to grow around 5%.
The median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $375,300, up 15.0% from March 2021 ($326,300), as prices rose in each region. This marks 121 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record.
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The reality: Multiple offers remain prevalent this Spring
Home sellers are still fetching multiple offers on their properties and buyers continue to face competition, even as the housing market has shown some signs of slowing. Realtors reported an average of nearly five offers on each home that sold in March.
On average, half of buyers made two offers before being successful in their purchase by the third try, the survey shows. And buyers are paying more than list price, too. Fifty-seven (57%) percent of buyers offered above the list price, which is up from 48% in February.
âMulti-offers on a home are still prevalent because even if buyer traffic is weakening it is still outpacing supply,â Gay Cororaton, research economist at the NAR, writes at the associationâs Economistsâ Outlook blog. âWith homebuying demand still outpacing supply, properties typically stayed on the market for a shorter time compared to one year ago, at 17 days on the market.â Eighty-seven percent (87%) of listings were on the market for less than one month.
Cash buyers still continue to hold the upper hand in bidding wars, accounting for 28% of sales in March. Buyers who
offered an all-cash transaction were four times more likely to win in a competitive offer situation than those who didnât in 2021
âMulti-offers on a home are still prevalent because even if buyer traffic is weakening it is still outpacing supply,â Gay Cororaton, research economist at the NAR, writes at the associationâs Economistsâ Outlook blog. âWith homebuying demand still outpacing supply, properties typically stayed on the market for a shorter time compared to one year ago, at 17 days on the market.â Eighty-seven percent (87%) of listings were on the market for less than one month.
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So, think youâll get multiple offers? Well, youâre not alone.
Homeowners who are thinking of selling now believe that âthey shouldâ get top dollar â and beyond â for their home. About 43% of sellers recently surveyed say they expect their home to sell over the asking price, according to a new survey of 1,000 homeowners.
More than a quarter of sellersâ28%âexpect to receive an offer on the first day the home is listed. Fifty-three percent
(53%) anticipate an offer within a month. Thirty-six percent (36%) said they would be able to negotiate a better price, 31% said their appraisal would come back at a higher price, 30% fee that buyers will start a bidding war over their home, but 25% said they will sell for less than the asking price.
In a separate survey conducted recently by a real estate referral site homeowners also showed great expectations for the sale of their homes. About half of home sellers surveyed said they expected to retain 30% or more of the sale price of their homes. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of sellers surveyed also expected to receive more than one offer on their home. Fifty-two (52%) percent expect to receive four or more offers.
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Some other thoughts on the market and buying now
About two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published an excellent article by Laurence Kotilkoff entitled A Home i=is your Castle Against Rising Inflation. I will not repeat the entire article, but I do however encourage you to read it. Here are some snippets.
âIf youâre holding back from buying a house now because of the rise in rates, consider that inflation is up even more.â âA year ago, it was running at 2.6% on a year over year basis (March 2020-March 2021).â: Today, this retrospective annual inflation measure is 8.5%â. âWe havenât seen inflation this high since the early 1980sââ If inflation continues at this rate, youâre better off borrowing money today at 5% and paying back a year from now with dollars that have depreciated by 8.5%â.
âBut the story is more complicated. Retrospective inflation isnât the same as prospective inflationâ âprices rose by 1.2% last month alone.â âThatâs an annualized inflation rate of 15.4%.â In that case, the current 5% rate is even more of a bargain in the short termâ.
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Outdoor watering restrictions take effect June 1
Californiaâs continuing drought is causing Southern California officials to take unprecedented steps of declaring a water shortage emergency and ordering outdoor usage be restricted to just one day a week for about 6 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.
The outdoor watering restrictions will take effect June 1 under the decision by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and will apply to areas that depend on water from the drought-ravaged State Water Project. âWe are seeing conditions unlike anything we have seen before,â said Adel Hagekhalil, the districtâs general manager. âWe need serious demand reductions.â
The MWDâs board has never before taken such a step and the resolution by the water wholesaler will bring the first widespread water restrictions imposed in Southern California during the current extreme drought.
Californiaâs drought, now in a third year, has become the driest on record and has been intensified by hotter temperatures unleashed by climate change. With the stateâs major reservoirs at low levels, the MWD has been left without enough water in parts of Southern California. Large parts of the City of Los Angeles, San Gabriel Valley and Ventura County rely heavily on MWD water.
âThese areas rely on extremely limited supplies from Northern California, and there is not enough supply available to meet the normal demands in these areas for the remainder of the year,â Hagekhalil said. So please heed these new limitations on watering outside. It is a hardship to be shared by all
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Buyers and sellers like green…as in “sustainability greenâ
Green features are the âhottestâ new features for both buyers and sellers according to the NAR. The number of realtors involved with buying or selling a property with green features has significantly increased in the past year, according to a recent study from the National Association of Realtors. In their MLS, the top ways they were used were to promote green features (35%), energy information (24%) and green certifications (13%).
Sustainability continues to play a growing role in consumers’ purchasing decisions, and this is becoming even more prevalent in the real estate market,” said NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith. “With the residential property market, in particular, home buyers have expressed increased interest in eco-friendly factors like solar panels and energy efficiency
Half of agents and brokers surveyed said they helped a client buy or sell a property with green features during the past 12 months, a notable jump compared to 32% in 2021.
Nearly two out of three respondents â 63% â said that energy efficiency promotion in listings was very or somewhat valuable. Over half of agents and brokers â 51% â found that their clients were somewhat or very interested in sustainability. And 35% reported that their multiple listing service features green data fields. Among those with green data fields.
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What should a homeowner or purchaser/seller look at to make their home âgreener
There are four primary categories one should consider making their home green
The first category is Energy Efficient Equipment
This includes Smart Power Strips, Charging Stations, LED lights, Smart Thermostats, Energy Saving Apps, Smart refrigerators, ovens. Cooktops, and dishwashers, energy efficient plumbing, and high efficiency laundry machines.
The Second Category is Energy Efficient
Solar panels, energy efficient glass windows,
Smart Landscaping
Choosing water tolerant plant materials, replacing grass with other water tolerant products, keeping your soil healthy, using mulch
Sustainable materials
Composite roof shingles, bamboo floors, solar panels, Eco-friendly insulation.
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Travels around LA with Patt MorrisonâŚ.
Pulitzer-award winning LA Times writer Patt Morrison offered a wonderful review of often overlooked historical landmarks that have served as our cityâs most important cultural foundations.
Among the many rare gems, she covered in her April 17 story, is the famous Lummis House in Highland Park, designed and built by Charles Lummis in 1897. The home was built of boulders dragged up from the Arroyo Seco, the 
sometimes-waterway of which Teddy Roosevelt told Angelenos: âThis arroyo would make one of the greatest parks in the world.â Naturally, we turned it into the Pasadena Freeway. Located at 200 East Avenue 43âŚopens at 10 am on Saturdays and Sunday only.
Bradbury Building. The man who envisioned and paid for it was the silver-mine and real estate tycoon Lewis L. Bradbury, whose name adorns a town in San Gabriel Valley. A dazzled critic called the building âa fairy tale of mathematics.â The interior is what Patt Morrison would call âVictorian futuristâ: glazed brick and tracery wrought-iron staircases and balustrades. Scenes from âBlade Runnerâ were filmed here. The building is located at 304 South Broadway, Los Angeles, and closes at 6 pm.
In future issues of the Schiffer Line, we will highlight other iconic edifices in Los Angeles. This is our heritage, of which we should and are most proud.
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My HOT new listing.
In the amazing community of Westwood Hills is the charming, home located at 521 Veteran Ave. Being offered at $1,699,000 this lovely 3 1/34 bath has been polished, shined for all to see. There is a brand-new roof including gutters and drain spouts, gleaming solid oak floors, freshly painted interior, completely landscaped, two fireplaces, an amazing upstairs family room with desk and steps leading to a lovely garden.
For an appointment to see the house, please give me a call at 310-442-1384.
                          Happy Mother’s Day
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