Happy New Year! Playa Vista 2009 Market Report – 1.8.2010
January 8, 2010 – 7:09 am|
What will the 2010 market be like? Depending on your news source, you will hear either good or bad news about the upcoming real estate market. On a national level, The Wall Street Journal reported on December 29, 2009, “Latest Home Price Data is Good News for Buyers.” The paper referenced the closely followed S&P/ Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the residential housing market in 20 Metro areas. In the Q4 2009 press release, San Francisco reported seven consecutive months of improvement, while Los Angeles and San Diego followed closely with five. One week later, WSJ reported that “Real Estate Faces Tough Recovery Slog.” This article predicted an uncertain outlook for 2010.
On the west coast, The Washington Post printed its own thoughts on real estate reviews and predictions. In the January 2nd, article titled, “What follows a decade of boom and bust? ,” the paper offered projections on home sale activities, prices, mortgage rates, affects of foreclosures on the market, and mortgage financing. Overall, it maintains a positive tone, expecting to see a continuation of the tentative healing signs found in the 2009 housing market, while also believing sales will continue to rise. In California, the Los Angeles Times reported on January 6th, that “pending home sales in the West fare better than the rest of the country,” and on December 30th, “U.S. home prices are flat, with Bay Area showing most improvement.” The good news in housing for the Bay Area also included a positive note for Los Angeles, in which prices gained 0.7% in October. Additionally, the paper reported Southern California’s real estate industry is stirring to life again in its December 16th article titled, “Southern California home prices and sales improve in November.”
Because real estate is a highly localized market, activities on the national and state level can be very different. So, how did the Playa Vista condo market do in 2009? Take a closer look.
Over the summer of 2009, the condo inventory peaked at over 60 listings. Beginning in the fall, these numbers dramatically decreased to as low as 19 units. Market activities moved swiftly with a dramatic increase in pending and sold listings in the latter half of the year. Well-priced and high quality listings sold quickly, and in recent months, received multiple offers. Prices adjusted downward by 11% and remained attractive. Look around and you will see some exceptional deals out there! The overall market has dropped an additional 10% from the already adjusted levels of 2008.
Although there is no way to predict exactly when the market will bottom out, serious buyers are out shopping and taking advantage of the combination of great values and historically low 30-year fixed interest rates. As of yesterday, buyers were able to lock in loans in the mid 5% level! I would be happy to speak to you with more detail, should you like more information on the topics discussed above, properties listed below, or more information about Playa Vista real estate.
Happy New Year and have a great weekend!
Winnie Licht THE PLAYA VISTA SPECIALIST
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You must be logged in to post a comment.