Home prices continue to rise in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, 6% to June of this year from June of last year according to the Los Angeles Times. In the four cities below, the average days on market for a single family home in August ranges from 41 days (Lakewood) to 67 days (Signal Hill). Long Beach had total closings of 193 (not surprising since it's the largest city of the four), Signal Hill had 6 closed sales, Cerritos had 26 sales, and Lakewood had 72 sales.
Even though the National Association of Realtors® reported that sales in July were the highest since 2007, Long Beach and Cerritos sales volume decreased somewhat in August.
Housing inventory is still low, although a recent daily trend for the local market shows a higher number of new listings in the MLS than closed sales. For August, however, each of the four cities below shows a decrease in inventory supply from the prior month: 1.6 months (Lakewood) being the lowest, and 3.7 months (Signal Hill) being the highest. Long Beach had 2.2 months supply in August. The traditional norm for a normal market supply has been 6 months. This is a long term trend: Prices go up while inventory remains low.
Condo prices, which are typically lower than single family home prices, also increased from the prior month: average prices in Lakewood -- $485,000; Signal Hill -- $379,000; Long Beach -- $362,000; Cerritos -- $392,000; all prices represent increases from prior month range from 2% (Signal Hill) to 60% (Lakewood).
8/10/2015
Don't Overprice Your Home's Asking Price
When a willing buyer and a willing seller complete a home sale, they have just announced to the world what the value of that property is. That home may now be used as a marker for other similar home sales, based on other factors:
Location - proximity to community attributes such as parks, schools, and job market usually has more desirability to the buyer.
Size - Larger homes and larger lots may sell for more, and comparing a home to one that is much larger or much smaller could lead to the wrong pricing. A buyer's lender may have very specific criteria on size when it comes time for the appraisal.
Bedrooms and bathrooms - The most common request from buyers today is for a three-bedroom, two-bath home; families today want and expect more privacy than in prior eras. And, the difference between a two-bedroom vs. a three-bedroom home may be critical for the buyer.
Features - Luxury sells, and homes with newer flooring, newer counters and cabinets are perceived as more luxurious and appealing. Some features such as spas and pools may not be worth extra to the buyer, these are often market-led factors. Newer landscaping may be a comparison item depending on the area.
Condition - A newer home that is well-maintained retains more of its original value, as do updated older homes. Homes with deferred maintenance sell for less.
Appeal - A home that looks inviting on both the exterior and the interior may be able to compensate somewhat for a less desirable location, or some other condition the seller has no control over.
Too often sellers based an asking price on their own perceived value, or because they are comparing their property to a recent sale that is not completely comparable to theirs. Understanding how the buyer views the property, using the proper sale comparables most likely to be used by an appraiser, and seeing how their property stacks up against the immediate competition in the local market are important tools for seller objectivity.
The public online valuation systems may be very accessible and offer quick valuations, but the homeowner should keep in mind that these systems do not use software that can "see" the home the way the buyer or your REALTOR does. They use the public tax records, and may include properties inappropriate for yours. As an example, 9 recently sold SFRs or condo properties in the Long Beach 90803 zip code between February 25th and August 4th, 2015 varied as much as 68% between the actual sales price and the online value estimate by a popular website company. (Many real estate data sources within the industry do use AVMs, but some are "closer" to value than others.) In this particular instance with the 9 properties, 6 of the properties were overestimated in value, and 3 were underestimated. Two of the underestimated were within 1.8% of the actual selling price, which is a realistic market difference, while the third underestimated value was 17% less, which is far outside of the average list-to-sell price. The condo that was overestimated in value by 68% at $572,000 actually sold at $339,000. Other estimates ranged between 7% to 41% over selling price.
Speaking of estimates, the value of an experienced real estate professional cannot be underestimated. A good market opinion and strategy can earn you more money at the close, and save unnecessary time on the market. Please contact me, a professional with 20 years' of experience!
Location - proximity to community attributes such as parks, schools, and job market usually has more desirability to the buyer.
Size - Larger homes and larger lots may sell for more, and comparing a home to one that is much larger or much smaller could lead to the wrong pricing. A buyer's lender may have very specific criteria on size when it comes time for the appraisal.
Bedrooms and bathrooms - The most common request from buyers today is for a three-bedroom, two-bath home; families today want and expect more privacy than in prior eras. And, the difference between a two-bedroom vs. a three-bedroom home may be critical for the buyer.
Features - Luxury sells, and homes with newer flooring, newer counters and cabinets are perceived as more luxurious and appealing. Some features such as spas and pools may not be worth extra to the buyer, these are often market-led factors. Newer landscaping may be a comparison item depending on the area.
Condition - A newer home that is well-maintained retains more of its original value, as do updated older homes. Homes with deferred maintenance sell for less.
Appeal - A home that looks inviting on both the exterior and the interior may be able to compensate somewhat for a less desirable location, or some other condition the seller has no control over.
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| If your house looks like this . . . |
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| It cannot be compared to this. |
Speaking of estimates, the value of an experienced real estate professional cannot be underestimated. A good market opinion and strategy can earn you more money at the close, and save unnecessary time on the market. Please contact me, a professional with 20 years' of experience!
7/17/2015
Are Your Ceiling Fans Turning in the Right Direction?
Are you wondering what difference it makes to have your ceiling fans be in one direction or the other? Make sure your ceiling fans are spinning in the right direction to move air around the room.Most fans are reversible: One direction pushes air down, creating a nice summer breeze; the other direction sucks air up, helping you distribute heat in winter. There’s normally a switch on the motor to change the fan’s direction.
Is your fan turning in the right direction for summer?
- Stand beneath the running fan, and if you feel a cooling breeze, it’s turning correctly.
- If not, change directions, usually by flicking a switch on the fan’s base.
Typically, it’s counterclockwise or left for summer and clockwise for winter, but the best method is to follow the steps above.
This applies to fans in general, depending on which way you want the air to flow., i.e., into a garage or out of a garage.
More information is at EnergyStar.gov:
In the summer, use the ceiling fan in the counterclockwise direction. While standing directly under the ceiling fan you should feel a cool breeze. The airflow produced creates a wind-chill effect, making you "feel" cooler. In the winter, reverse the motor and operate the ceiling fan at low speed in the clockwise direction. This produces a gentle updraft, which forces warm air near the ceiling down into the occupied space. Remember to adjust your thermostat when using your ceiling fan — additional energy and dollar savings could be realized with this simple step!
7/13/2015
Long Beach Area Hot Sheet Data Shows Trends Towards More Listings
Every day the MLS shows how many new listings, new escrows, or new sales in a given period of time. Even though the market is still in a low inventory mode, there has been a trend lately of more new listings coming on the market vs. how many sold in a given period of time, i.e., 24 hours up to 7 days. So for Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill areas, there seems to be a "catch up" going on. And even though you can read every day of the week in the Los Angeles Times about the latest multi-million dollar celebrity residence sale, recent sales in this area don't share that profile. Between July 10th and July 13th, 27 houses or condos sold in these 3 areas, ranging from $235,000 (house) to $1,070,000 (condo). These are represented by vastly different neighborhoods, and seeming show the far ends of the distribution curve for houses and condos.
As showing at the right, the average price for these properties in this time period is $505,963.
While condos and houses are not normally used to compare with each other, this data is for trend purposes,.
New listings on the market for the same time and areas are 46, ranging from $175,000, to $3,450,000. Three properties went into escrow right away, and 43 remain as active listings, with the average listing price being $628,072. Whether this shows an upward trend in sales price remains to be seen, as the $3,450,000 property has been previously listed multiple times and not yet sold.
For buyers, this is a positive trend; for sellers, it's really nothing to get the least big panicked over, because over stats for June for Long Beach, for example, clearly show that there is less than 3 months of inventory for houses and condos. This low level, which has been going on for very long periods of time, does not reflect a normal level of inventory, which traditionally means about 6 months, or perhaps double our current inventory. Sellers often think that multiple bids due to housing shortage is favorable for them, which can be quite true, but not if you don't already have a home to move into after you sell.
If you are thinking of buying or selling, whether you have a house, condo or multiple units, give me a call for an evaluation of your selling position.
Lic# 01188996
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| MLS Area Sold Stats for 7/10-7/13-2015 |
As showing at the right, the average price for these properties in this time period is $505,963.
While condos and houses are not normally used to compare with each other, this data is for trend purposes,.
New listings on the market for the same time and areas are 46, ranging from $175,000, to $3,450,000. Three properties went into escrow right away, and 43 remain as active listings, with the average listing price being $628,072. Whether this shows an upward trend in sales price remains to be seen, as the $3,450,000 property has been previously listed multiple times and not yet sold.
 |
| MLS Area New Listing/Active Stats for 7/10-7/13-2015 |
For buyers, this is a positive trend; for sellers, it's really nothing to get the least big panicked over, because over stats for June for Long Beach, for example, clearly show that there is less than 3 months of inventory for houses and condos. This low level, which has been going on for very long periods of time, does not reflect a normal level of inventory, which traditionally means about 6 months, or perhaps double our current inventory. Sellers often think that multiple bids due to housing shortage is favorable for them, which can be quite true, but not if you don't already have a home to move into after you sell.
If you are thinking of buying or selling, whether you have a house, condo or multiple units, give me a call for an evaluation of your selling position.
Lic# 01188996
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