LA Westside BlogPOINT

Craig Whitlock

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Displaying blog entries 1-10 of 30

Lead-Safe Remodeling

Sunday, February 28, 2010
by Craig Whitlock

The EPA has new rules that take effect April 22nd that require remodeling work on homes built before 1978 to be undertaken only by contractors certified by the agency in lead-safe practices.  (An EPA-certified contractor isn't necessary if the work doesn't disturb the paint, but that can be hard to know up front.)

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry recommends that home owners assume lead is present if their home was built prior to 1978 unless they're tested  and found it lead-free.  Certified remodelers will be required to display their EPA-certified training certificate to homeowners.

 

Southern CA Homebuyer's Fair Here in March!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
by Craig Whitlock

 

2010 HOME BUYER'S FAIR

Saturday, Sunday - March 13 & 14

Los Angeles Convention Center


Whether you're a first-time home buyer, or hoping to invest in foreclosures, the Southern California Home Buyer's Fair, sponsored by the Los Angeles Times and the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, offers a free, two-day primer on the home-buying process.  This must-attend event is packed with more than 50 educational "how-to" seminars and a large exhibit hall, designed to help you navigate today's real estate market with confidence and peace of mind.  Read more about it here.

Magnet School Registration Deadline Approaching

Monday, November 16, 2009
by Craig Whitlock

The magnet school program (now totaling 173) of the Los Angeles Unified School District has moved up their application deadline this year by three weeks to December 18th.  Last year, the deadline was January 9th and the advanced deadline means parents can find out as soon as April whether their applicaton for a particular magnet school has been accepted.

Current enrollment stands at nearly 57,000 students and only 1 in 4 applications are accepted each year from the 65,000 applications submitted.  Thus, right now is a great time to take action if this program is one you might be considering.  For more information, you can log on to: http://eChoices.lausd.net.

LA Westside Sales Highlights - September '09

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
by Craig Whitlock
The momentum in Westside sales activity that's evolved over the summer continues through September.   We're continuing to see multiple-offers on reasonably priced properties and most notably, a sharp increase in pending activity (when buyer and seller reach a deal and an escrow has opened) and inventory (Month's Supply of Inventory or MSI) reduction.
September highlights include:
 
 
Bel Air SFR - Median sales price up 19% over 9/08 and pendings up 56% over 9/08.
 
Beverly Hills SFR - Median sales price up 19% over 8/09, pendings up 143% over 9/08, 55% over 8/09 and 7 MSI versus 13 in 8/09 and 18 in 9/08.
 
Brentwood SFR - Sellers cut prices 27% over same period last year resulting in a pending sales increase of 420% over 9/08 reducing inventory from 34 MSI in 9/08 to 5 MSI for 9/09.
 
Brentwood Condo - Median sales price up 8% over 9/08, pendings up 30% over 9/08 and MSI reduced from 24 in 1/09 to just 6 in 9/09.       
                                       
Pacific Palisades SFR - Median sales price down 23% over 9/08, which bumped pendings up 91% over the same period.  MSI reduced from 30 in 12/08 to 8 in 9/09.                                                                                                                              
Pacific Palisades Condo - Median sales price up 20% over9/08.  
                          
Santa Monica SFR - Pendings up 109% over 9/08 reducing MSI from 20 in January to 5 in September.            
                                                                                  
Santa Monica Condo - Pendings up 28% over same time last year and MSI drops to 5 in September from 20 in January. 
                                                                                          
Westwood SFR - Median sales price up 6% over 9/08, pendings up 109% over same period last year reducing MSI from 12 in January to just 2 in September!  
   
A combination of factors has contributed to the continued surge of activity - pent-up buyer demand, sellers adjusting their pricing to more realistic price points, first-time buyers seeking to capture the $8K tax credit and historically low interest rates.  For the last 3 weeks, the interest rate dipped as low as 4.87% and is now at 5.0% as of this writing. You may not recall that last year, interest rates were above 6%!

I expect we'll begin to see a tapering off in mid-to-late October as we move towards the seasonal Holiday slumber and beyond the deadline to open escrow and capture the $8K first-time homebuyers credit.  For many buyers however, this could be a great opportunity to find a deal on a new home without having to endure the pains of competing with other buyers at the negotiating table.  If you think that might possibly be you, we should talk sooner rather than later.


 Source:  CLAW/MLS

  Information not guaranteed. © 2008 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors
                          (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

LA Westside Sales Highlights - August '09

Monday, September 07, 2009
by Craig Whitlock

August continues to show validation of upward trends (I can use that term now after 4 months of increases) in market activity.  Open House traffic continues to be strong while multiple-offers seem commonplace on listings that are reasonably priced from the start.

Highlights for the month include:

Beverly Hills SFR - Pending sales up 300% over 8/08 and 71% over 6/09

Beverly Hills Condo - Pending sales up 50% over 8/08 and Sold Pricing up 81% over 8/08

Brentwood SFR - Pending sales up 92% over 8/08 and Sold Pricing up 30% over 8/08

Pacific Palisades Condo - Pending sales up 167% over 8/08

Santa Monica SFR - Pending sales up 50% over 8/08 and Sold Pricing up 15% over 6/09 and 8% over 7/09

Santa Monica Condo - Pending sales up 27% over 8/08 and 36% over 7/09

Westwood Condo - Pending sales up 25% over 8/08

I'm noticing on a much broader scale that inventories are shrinking considerably - escpecially when compared to the first part of the year.  Consider these August stats on Months Supply of Inventory:

Brentwood SFR - 6 MSI versus 32 in 12/08

Brentwood Condo - 3.7 MSI versus 9.6 in in 8/08 (61% decline)

Pacific Palisades Condo - 4 MSI versus 20 in 12/08

Santa Monica SFR - 4 MSI versus 18 in 12/08

Santa Monica Condo - 3 MSI versus 12 in 12/08

Westwood Condo - 8 MSI versus 20 in 12/08

As a reminder, inventories with 5 MSI and less translate to a seller's market.  As inventory is reduced, upward pressure on pricing could easily take place.  For a look at how the other micro-markets performed, click the Market Sales Data tab on the Menu Bar.

 Source:  CLAW/MLS

  Information not guaranteed. © 2008 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors
                          (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

Why Homes Are Selling On The Westside

Saturday, August 01, 2009
by Craig Whitlock
Before I get to answering why homes are selling, I'd like to give you a sense of just how much homes are selling relative to the beginning of the year.
 
The below chart presents what we call Pending Sales activity or, Under Contract Properties. These are simply the number of properties wherein the seller has accepted the buyer's offer and an escrow has opened.  Many Realtors (myself included) consider this data to be a more telling and immediate indicator of sales activity rather than 'homes sold' data, whereby the escrow closes successfully. This data reflects the aggregate of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Westwood/Century City for SFR homes.  
 
 
There's no question that some of this growth (in 2nd Quarter) is seasonal and is thus a constant.  Just how much though is a matter of opinion.  I believe a significant part of this growth signals an increase of sales activity in the upper-end of the market, which corresponds to an increase in Median Sales Price.  The trend represented here for the Westside is also evident for Southern California as a whole.  
 
Now for 'why' and the answer's fairly simple . . . . 1.)  Sellers of upper-end properties are finally adjusting their prices to the point where buyers are stepping up and making deals as more sellers are realizing that the market will not support the inflated pricepoints of the past 2.5 years and it's time to get realistic and 2.)  non-conforming ($417K to $729,750K) and jumbo ($729,750K+) financing is becoming more available (again, finally!).  
 
What's important to note here is that sellers are adjusting their pricing to significant pricepoints that generate a deal far more through negotiation rather than sporadic or arbitrary asking price reductions.  This is why I believe the best strategy to get a great deal is not to wait (correction, hope) for wholesale price reductions - go out and negotiate one!  To embrace a 'wait and see' policy is to increase your exposure to the possibility of competing with multiple offers.  If you can read about a great price reduction on a property, chances are you're already too late.
 
Sure, market pricing may continue to soften in some areas and by how much is a matter of conjecture.  To be sure however, there are opposing market dynamics such as inventory supply that can moderate that.  As sales increase, supply decreases.  The Months Supply of Inventory factor in a number of Westside sectors has already shifted towards equilibrium and in a few instances even a seller's market (defined as less than 5 months of inventory).  That action in turn, can lead to an increase of multiple offers.
 
By the way, you can drill down further on Westside sales stats by visiting the Market Sales Data section to see for yourself the data on which I base my presentations.  The chart above is available and accompanied by 6 others with sales stats for both SFR and Condo homes in each of the 6 micro-markets.

 Source:  CLAW/MLS

  Information not guaranteed. © 2008 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors
                          (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

How About A Flying Fish Festival?

Thursday, May 14, 2009
by Craig Whitlock

2ND ANNUAL CATALINA ISLAND FLYING FISH FESTIVAL

Celebrate the annual return of Catalina Island’s famous Flying Fish with a four day festival of family fun, May 28-31st. Enjoy the Taste of Avalon, the Casino’s 80th anniversary dance with Good Vibrations, the Flying Fish Parade and more. Get information today!

Visit their website for more info and go have some fun!

LA Westside Sales Highlights - April '09

Friday, May 08, 2009
by Craig Whitlock

April is showing indications in some market segments that market vitality is on the rise.  Overall, we're seeing a surge in Open House traffic along with an increase in multiple-offers on listings that are reasonably priced from the start.

I've also heard that title and escrow companies have begun to rehire personnel to deal with the increase in activity.

Now back to those market segments with notable changes, which I'll list:

Beverly Hills SFR - Median Sold Price is up 14% over April '08

Pacific Palisades SFR - Median Sold Price is up 20% over April '08

What's also interesting is that in some of the micro-markets, there's a trending back towards a state of equilibrium, which is a balance of inventory and demand with Month's Supply of Inventory (MSI) as the metric.  Generally, about 5-6 months of inventory is considered a balance between a buyer's market (7+ MSI) and a seller's market (4 and less MSI).  Consider these April stats:

Brentwood SFR - 8 MSI (J-26, F-17, M-10)

Brentwood Condo - 5 MSI (J-22, F-10, M-7)

Santa Monica SFR - 8 MSI (J-19, F-21, M-9)

Santa Monica Condo - 5 MSI (J-10, F-9, M-6)

I'm not saying the worst is behind us, but on the other hand, these are indicators that seem to mesh with what's in the media suggesting the 'bottom' may be approaching sometime this year.  For a look at how the other micro-markets performed, click the Market Sales Data tab on the Menu Bar.

 

 Source:  CLAW/MLS

  Information not guaranteed. © 2008 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors
                          (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

The Beverly Hills Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo is Coming

Wednesday, April 15, 2009
by Craig Whitlock

Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce welcomes spring the healthy way, by rejuvenating mind and body at the annual Beverly Hills Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo on Sunday, April 26, 2009! Visit the Expo to benefit from the expertise, advice and product samples that promote a healthy and happy lifestyle for the entire Beverly Hills Community.  Admission is free to the public.

The Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo benefits attendees of all ages by providing a great array of valuable and interesting products, services, activities, and information related to their overall welfare. From nutrition and beauty tips, to fitness demos and pertinent health information, this Expo is an event not to be missed. 

Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo
Location: Along Civic Center Drive
adjacent to Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market
Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time: 9 AM - 1 PM

Price Your Home To Sell

Monday, April 06, 2009
by Craig Whitlock

Did you know the best chance for selling your property is within the first seven weeks?

It's true.

Studies show that the longer a property stays on the market, the less the seller will net upon the sale. It is very important to price your property at a competitive market value at the signing of your listing contract. The market is so competitive that even over-pricing by a few thousand dollars could mean that your house will not sell.

An Overpriced Home:                                                                                          
· Minimizes offers
· Lowers agents response
· Limits qualified buyers
· Lowers showings
· Lowers prospects
· Limits financing
· Wastes advertising dollars
· Nets less for the seller

When you are ready, contact me today for a personal market value analysis of your home. No hassles or obligation - just honest advice on how to get top dollar for your home!

Contact Information

Photo of Craig Whitlock Realty Real Estate Agent
Craig Whitlock Realty
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
11999 San Vicente Blvd., Ste. 100
Los Angeles CA 90049
Mobile: (310) 488-4399
Fax: (310) 820-1457
Send An Email

Broker/Agent does not guarantee the accuracy of the square footage, lot size or other information concerning the conditions or features of properties provided by the seller or obtained from Public Records or other sources as presented in this website.  Interested parties are advised to independently verify the accuracy of all information through personal inspection and with appropriate professionals.  Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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