Analysis: Active residential listings in LA and where there's lots of action. (Part 2)

We analyzed 2000 residential properties sold in 2017 thus far. Here's what we learned about what's selling, at what prices and at what volume. This is especially useful for homeowners looking to sell and get into the market mix.

Key takeaways:

  • About 2000 residential property deals (from single family homes to condos) have closed in 2017 year-to-date (**see areas below). The average close price is about $1M, while the median is about $700K. In other words, these are the prices homes are typically selling for across the greater LA area.
  • These prices are dramatically different from what we're seeing in the current active listing space. If you recall from the previous post, the average price of active listings is $2.2M while the median is $988K. These are 200% higher than the average and 50% higher than the median of what's actually been closing.
  • Almost 50% of deals are for properties between 1000 - 1500 square feet. This is where the bulk of the competition is highly concentrated. These homes are selling for anywhere between $600K - $800K on average. These are pricing anchors for sellers who want to charge closer to $1M for homes within this size range.
  • Interestingly, 25% of deals are for homes above 2000 square feet. This highlights the ability of larger homes to take a chunk out of the selling share. Larger homes are definitely closing at a healthy pace, so there's clear demand.
  • For homes between 2000 - 2800 square feet, $1.1M - $1.6M seems to be the sweet spot price range based on average closing prices in 2017.

**Areas we analyzed: Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Northridge, Tarzana, Beverly Hills, Granada Hills, Van Nuys.**

So what does this all mean? First, closing prices are way below the prices of active listings, so as we've mentioned, there will be pressure to defend value. We do know that supply is low, so sellers can still have an advantage if they position their homes the right way.

Second, there are pricing anchors for areas where there's high competition in terms of square footage. Sellers should be aware of this and be sure to focus on key differentiators of their homes and neighborhoods that justify prices above median or average.

Interested in talking strategy? We can help. You can also try our free market analysis, and we'll provide something tailored just for you.