Timely Real Estate News……………………………………………….. March 4, 2008
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And the hits just keep on coming….Westside is its own story
Every month, I review the latest Multiple Listing statistics for the neighborhoods I specialize in — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Brentwood and Bel-Air. . After all, keeping track of trends in real estate, especially in these crazy times, is important when it concerns one of your largest personal investments.
So, when I see wild swings in some months, which we have witnessed over the past several years during this bumpy real estate market, I have learned to “…take a deep breath, maybe take a walk, and then come back to see what is really going on.”
What is really going on is that while we had some wild swings in sales volumes between January 2008 and February 2008, median sales prices for three out of the four areas I specialize in are up over last year, and that’s good news.
Median sales prices through 2008 (first two months) vs. 2007 (same period) show that Beverly Hills is up 10% in price, Beverly Hills Post Office is up 36%, and Brentwood, which has enjoyed a recent renaissance, is up an impressive 70%. Bel-Air is down 30% for the year compared to 2007, but as I have said in the past, this could be an anomaly, too. Bel-Air is tracking behind the other three areas I cover. Overall, January sales were very strong for Beverly Hills Post Office and Brentwood, and the median price — always a key indicator — remains firm in all areas except in Bel-Air. Overall the number of sales is decent with 8 closed escrows in Beverly Hills in Feb. 08 vs. 10 in January, 2 in Beverly Hills Post Office vs. 5 in Jan, 6 in Bel-Air vs. 7, and 8 in Brentwood vs. 13 in January. We must remember that for the majority most of the January closed escrows are sales that actually took place in December or perhaps even November.
One of my neighbors, who also happens to be real estate a broker came into one of my open houses recently and we were discussing the most recent stats for Bel- Air and why they are down when everything else on the Westside is not ( you would not believe what is going on in Westwood!). It was and is something of a puzzlement. We decided perhaps it is because Bel -Air real estate is so varied.. we have a number of hillside communities, as well as properties in the “flats” where as all of the other three areas are more commodious … i.e. Beverly Hills is all flat., Brentwood is generally the same and BHPO is all hillside…
Buy, Sell, — Oh, my, what should we do?
A popular subject these days….every family, every home, and every neighborhood is different. Motivation to buy or sell seem to cross through our minds, especially in real estate markets of the past when prices were shooting through the roof…when multiple offers were throwing buyers (and sellers) in a frenzied state….and now, with the market in a more normal condition, we ponder ‘what to do’. There are currently multiple offers on a number of properties that have been on the market for a while.. the buyers are out there….
On a recent Today show (NBC), noted NY real estate guru, Barbara Corcoran, talked about this — when to buy or sell. She had some good advice, and from my perspective as a 15-year Bel-Air resident and lifelong member of the Westside community here is what I tell my clients:
If you want to buy — There are many compelling reasons to buy now, one of the most important of which is the fact that real estate is good investment, and we all have to remember that at the end of the day, we are buying a property that is going to be our home, and not just an investment.. Yes, prices are still steady in our neighborhoods, but interest rates are dropping to ‘good-ol’days-levels’ (less than 6%), and some sellers are anxious to sell and have priced their homes accordingly. Over-priced homes still abound in every area, so you need a sharp Realtor (me) to help you avoid these money pits. So now is a good time to buy — right.
If you want to sell — Again, pricing is the key. There are many, many buyers out there — more than sellers. As I have said many .many times, presentation and location, in addition to price, will continue to be the critical factors in how well you do at Sales Time. A knowledgeable Realtor (Me) is requisite in this process.
Community News of Note
I haven’t fully digested the latest EIR on the 405 Widening project, which just came out. Nothing is settled yet on this latest bit information on this very critical development, but they appear to be moving forward. We still have no new news on the reverse lane project on Sepulveda.
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My Green tip – UCLA is sponsoring a Hi-Tech Dump program — you can bring your printers, computers, fax machines and television sets to the UCLA campus every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The address is 552 Charles Young Drive, which is right off of Sunset Boulevard. I am still collecting all of your old cell phones and printer ink cartridges.. just give me a call and I will be more than happy to swing by and pick them up.. Also please don’t forget that the money from the items I pick up support programs for public schools throughout the state of California…
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Thank you again for all of your wonderful comments about the SchifferLine. Please let me know if there are any questions you might have that I am not covering.
