Happy Fall. My favorite time of yearā¦there is no question that weāre absolutely blessed to
Be living where we do, in beautiful, sunny Southern California, especially this time of year.
We are blessed also that we are not enduring the terrible pain and suffering of those in the
Carolinas, still reeling from the damaging floods. Our hearts and prayers go out to them in
the South East.
As we enter the final quarter of 2018, we continue to see a strong economy, with unemployment at
record lows and while interest rates were hiked by .025% by the Federal Reserve last week, it was expected and economists (and the market) are not panicking, saying the economy is in good shape. So much so, the new Fed position is that the economy can āforge ahead on its own with less help from the monetary side.ā The Fed rate increased for the third time this year, and the eighth in the current hiking cycle, which began in 2015, and it is expected to be increased again. While the rate has been increased we all need to remember that rates are still quite low.
On the real estate front, we are also continuing to see price increases with inventory increasing as well. The numbers for sales from July, show an increase also. The activity at open houses has increased with the major difference I can see is that buyers are a little more cautious perhaps taking time to make those all-important offers. There is still a great deal of all cash transactions being made, as well as that ever-popular bankā¦. Bank of Mom & Dad.
Westwood Hills Real Estate ā Always a Hub of Activity. This has been an exceptional year for the community, and the past quarter is certainly no exception. Currently there are 6 homes are available for sale, vs. 4 last year, there are 3 homes in escrow and last year there was only 1, this year brought 6 closed escrow and last year there were 9, plus 2 private sales. I am not sure if you know about and/or are planning on attending the community hearing scheduled for Tues the 9th of Oct at 7:00 pm at Skirball regarding the potential construction of a park in Mission Canyon, which if you donāt know where that is, is just a little bit, very little bit north of Mountaingate Road. This would be two projects including the Berggruen Institute into the already slammed Sepulveda Pass. I am planning on attending, and hope to see you there, but will keep you in the loop as to what is happening.
Also, please check out my app.. carole schiffer, just go to your friendly app store, and type in my name, and voila, there you are!
