LA Westside BlogPOINT

No doubt you've heard this line before.  Michael Corbett, author of "Before You Buy:  The Homebuyer's Handbook for Today's Market" believes that market factors right now are ideal to make a great deal on a new home.  Of course, he's speaking of reasons external to your personal financial situation and there's some sound points here that are made.

"Prices are bumping along the bottom and interest reates are really low" he exclaims according to a recent article in the LA Times.  "When you have those two together, you have the perfect buying opportunity." 

He touches upon a key point regarding Short Sales - one that I generally counsel my clients.  They're not the best deal around town for a variety of reasons and should not be regarded as similar to buying an REO (bank-owned or REO) property. 

He does however extend one piece of advice that I would take issue, which is to get 'pre-qualified'.  You should rather, get 'pre-approved'.  A 'pre-qual' letter issued by a lender is based upon facts discussed on the phone (without verification) whereas a pre-approval letter is based upon a lender's examination of hard and physical data such as 2 years of tax returns, income and employment verification and so on.  Sellers want to be sure a buyer can perform and regard a pre-qual letter as not worth anything more than the paper its written on.

Visit Now May Be The Best Time To Buy to read the entire article and Buyer Resources for more tips and information to help you along the way.

You probably haven't heard the term 'Seller's Market' for quite some time and that would be rightly so.  Market 'Pending' (sales contract written and escrow opened) sales activity however has been gaining momentum since November in most of the Westside SFR market segments.

This trend has carried through December and is strongly reflected in the MSI (Month's Supply of Inventory) data, a leading indicator of market supply. Generally, a five-to-six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

These markets can (at least for now) be considered a 'Seller's Market' based on December aborption rates:

The Beverly Hills SFR market remains balanced with 6.3 MSI and Bel-Air was the only high-end segment to really soften.  For additional info on market sales, visit the Market Sales Data section.

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting a drop in home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call. 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting a drop in home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

  Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call. 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting a drop in home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'. 

Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call. 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are trending relative to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators examined are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view the actual figures for these categories as well as a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call. 

Imagine beyond the purchase of your beautiful new home to eight months later.  You're surprised when you receive in the mail a notice from the city that the sellers had never obtained a permit for that room addition or other property improvements. 

You're confronted with the uncomfortable decision of either paying the permit fees and bring the work up to code or remove it altogether.  You then turn to the title company that insured the property and find that it denies your claim because it was not covered under their ALTA (American Land Title Association) Policy.

This is a scenario that can easily be avoided by specifying the right type of title insurance policy when negotiating your purchase.  The CLTA(California Land Title Association) Homeowners Title Policy is an expanded coverage policy that protects the homeowner if forced to remove an existing structure that was built by a prior owner without a valid building permit. 

Some providers provide coverage up to $25,000 after a small deductible.  This type of policy offers greater security to the new homeowner and should be a stipulation during the purchase negotiation. 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are trending relative to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators examined are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view the actual figures for these categories as well as a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call. 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are trending relative to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators examined are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view the actual figures for these categories as well as a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call. 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are trending relative to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators examined are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view the actual figures for these categories as well as a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call.