L.A. real estate news and insights.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose sharply this week, averaging 3.05%. That marks the highest average since April, according to Freddie Mac’s mortgage market survey.
Rates are expected to continue to rise. The higher they go, the less buyers there will be for your property.
"Hot Home” in Sherman Oaks.
Asking price: $2,179,000
This home has 4 bed/4 bath, 3,460 sq. ft. of living space, and is on a 5,400 sq. ft. lot.
The home features 20ft ceilings in the living room, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, and a family room with access to the backyard.
There are privacy hedges and a patio outside which is perfect for al fresco dining.\
Text me if you want a tour at 818-445-7953.
The California median home price is forecast to rise 5.2 percent to $834,400 in 2022, following a projected 20.3 percent increase to $793,100 in 2021 from $659,400 in 2020.
An imbalance in demand and supply will continue to put upward pressure on prices, but higher interest rates and partial normalization of the mix of sales will likely curb median price growth.
Additionally, a shift in housing demand to more affordable areas, as the trend of remote working continues, will also keep prices in check and prevent the statewide median price from rising too fast in 2022.
Source: C.A.R.’s “2022 California Housing Market Forecast”
More house hunters—particularly move-up buyers—are being drawn to new-home construction in the COVID-19 pandemic, so much so that it’s driving a surge in construction across the country.
Single-family starts ended 2020 with the best year in home building since the Great Recession, and 11% higher than 2019.
Ultra-low mortgage rates and a shift in housing preferences—including a growing demand for larger spaces, home offices, and outdoor amenities—are driving the increase.
New-home construction will likely grow by 5% during 2021 and hit above 1 million housing starts for the first time in years.
Builders, however, are concerned about several challenges that could affect sales over the next few months, particularly related to rising construction costs.
Lumber prices, up 169% since mid-April, are significantly adding to the costs of building a new home.
Buyers are seeing the increases in home prices too: A median of $16,000 has been added to the cost of a newly built home from the increase in lumber prices alone.
Source: National Association of Home Builders’ data.
YouTube star Phil DeFranco is selling his Sherman Oaks starter home!
•5 bedrooms
•6 bathrooms
•4,078 sq. ft. of living space
•6,752 sq. ft. lot
•Chef's kitchen w/ center island
•Separate wine room
•Heated saltwater pool/spa
Asking price: - $2,100,000 in Escrow but still accepting back up offers.
Text me if you want a tour at 818-445-7953.
This is the most expensive home sold this week in Winnetka.
•4 bedrooms
•3 bathrooms
•2,111 sq. ft. of living space
•5,903 sq. ft. lot
•Converted garage into a large bonus room
•Pool, custom covered BBQ, separate cooktop, sink, & TV
Asking price: $799,950
Selling Price: $840,000
Here is the most expensive home on the market this week in La Canada Flintridge.
The asking price is $4,450,000.
Want a tour? Text me at 818-445-7953.
The flu season is going to look very different this year.
When everyone starts to get the flu in October, all we are going to hear about in the news is that the second wave of the coronavirus is coming.
I’m not a doctor so I don’t know if that will happen or not.
However, I do know that since a lot of people will be sick with the flu, the perception by the public in LA county will be that a second wave is inevitable.
Because of this perception, there will be fewer homeowners willing to put their property on the market, just like in late March after the stay-at-home order was issued.
I believe we will likely see a dip in home sales during that time in October.
I’m optimistic things will settle down by the time we get to December.
Hopefully, the homeowner’s perceptions will change once the news gets better.
On this episode, I answer the following four real estate questions:
1) What's going to happen in the real estate market for the rest of 2020?
2) What do mortgage interest rates look like for home buyers right now?
3) Has it been difficult to show homes during the pandemic?
4) What's the hardest real estate deal you ever had?
We have almost 20,000 followers on Instagram... come join us!
Home sellers do not have many options when it comes to canceling an escrow.
For example, you can't cancel an existing escrow if you find another buyer willing to pay more money for your home or if you simply change your mind about selling.
Once you are under contract with a buyer, you are basically stuck.
However, you can get out of escrow if the buyer refuses to perform.
So if the buyer refuses to remove their inspection contingency, give them the notice to perform.
If they still don't remove that contingency, then you have the right to cancel the deal.
There were 34 property sales in Burbank for the same dates last year, 5/1/19 - 5/16/19.
There is no rule on what the list price of your home should be.
You can literally put the list price at $1.
I don't recommend doing that because you will get 1,000 offers and you will have to sort through them all to see who the real buyers are.
An impound account is an account maintained by the mortgage company to collect insurance and tax payments that are necessary for you to keep your home but are not technically part of the mortgage.
Some lenders require this, other lenders don't.
Check with the lender to see what their policies are before choosing to work with them.
When buying a home, your offer will have a few contingencies written in the purchase agreement.
Here is 1 example of a contingency:
The purchase of the home is contingent upon the home passing your inspections.
If the home doesn't pass your inspections within your inspection contingency period, you can back out of the deal and get your 3% deposit back.
However, once you have removed all of your contingencies, you can't back out of the deal just because you wake up one day and decide you no longer want to buy the home.
If you do that, the buyers could come after your 3% deposit as damages.
Always remember, changing your mind about the purchase of a property is not a contingency.
Get your calculators out!
Let’s say your home is 2,000 square feet and you want to sell it for $1,000,000.
To figure out your home’s price per square foot at that selling price is easy.
Plug into the calculator 1,000,000 (the asking price of the home) and divide it by 2,000 (the square footage of the home).
That equation equals 500 ($500 per square foot for the home).
Therefore, if your 2,000 square foot home sells at $1,000,000, the price per square foot for your home is $500.
