Keep in mind Zillow recently lost $880,000,000 on their failed home-flipping business... they are not the best at predicting market trends.
Where do you think home prices will go by the end of 2023?
Mortgage rates hit their highest point since 2000!
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has hit 7.48%, according to Mortgage News Daily.
Mortgage rates jumped, following a rise in bond yields driven by investors’ concerns that high interest rates and inflation will linger longer than expected.
Listings fell to a 12-year low for June
Southern California’s housing market continued rebounding in June, despite below-average sales and the highest mortgage rates in seven months.
With inventory at the lowest level for a June in a dozen years, even this year’s diminished demand exceeds the number of homes for sale, driving up prices.
As a result, the median price of a Southern California home — or price at the midpoint of all sales — was $730,000 in June, CoreLogic reported.
That’s down just 0.7% or $5,000, from a year earlier. It also follows four months of off-and-on price gains that brought the region’s median within $20,000 of the all-time high of $750,000 reached in April 2022.
Millennials Are Losing the Home-Buying Edge to Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers have officially taken over! They now represent 39% of all home purchases.
Millennials have dropped down to 28% of home purchases.
Median home listed in LA will soon cost more than $1M — up 30% in 5 years
The already dizzying Los Angeles housing market is poised to reach new heights, as the latest data from Zillow suggest that the median home listed in the city will soon cost more than $1 million.
As of June 30, the figure was $975,333, more than a 30% increase from five years prior. Statewide, six other cities were even more expensive and had already crossed the million-dollar mark: San Jose, Santa Maria, Santa Cruz, Salinas and San Francisco.
In Santa Cruz and San Diego — the major markets with the largest increases — median listing prices were up more than 40% over the last five years.
Source: Los Angeles Times - By Terry Castleman
Housing market stuck in biggest freeze in a decade
Actor/Writer strike is affecting the LA real estate market
When the Writers Guild of America, a relatively small union, went on strike in May, I immediately saw an impact with my showbiz clients who were looking to buy a house. Actors are now also on strike. They command a big presence in Los Angeles. It has 160,000 members. Here is how I am currently seeing the market being affected and how it may potentially be affected in the future:
1) In order to get a home loan, my clients in the entertainment business have to show a paystub dated within the last 30 days. Writers, and those affected by the writer strike, will not be able to show a paystub from their normal writing job for the last 30 days. No paystub means no home loan. As soon as the strike is over, and they get a paycheck, they should qualify to get a mortgage again.
2) If writers, actors, and everyone else affected by these strikes are no longer getting paid, and can't afford to pay their mortgages, will they be forced to sell their homes? Will we see a big jump in LA's for sale housing inventory because of this? It is too early to tell, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on.
I'm hoping the strikes end soon and everyone can happily get back to work!
New listings in June take a big year-over-year hit in LA County
There was about a 41% drop year-over-year for active listings in LA county (2,096 listings in June 2023 versus 3,531 listings in June 2022).
Source: Douglas Elliman Report
Take a look at the SMALLEST home sold this week in Silver Lake!
Here is the smallest home sold this week in Silver Lake.
Asking price: $599,000
Selling price: $706,000 ($107K over asking)
This tiny home has 1 bed/1 bath and only 452 sq. ft. of living space.
Get ready for a ton of multi-units to hit the LA market
I have reached out to a ton of multi-unit property owners to see if they are interested in selling. The #1 response I get from the owner is that they can’t sell because their tenant stopped paying rent, they refuse to vacate the property, and the owner is not allowed to evict them. No one wants to buy a property where you have to take over that type of situation.
Looks like changes are coming soon.
Los Angeles County will move forward with a plan to lift its pandemic-era eviction moratorium and other renter protections by the end of the year, according to a 3-2 vote Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.
The county’s moratorium, which took effect in March 2020, has protected tenants against evictions for nuisance, unauthorized occupants, and not providing entry to landlords.
With the eviction moratorium coming to an end, I’m predicting a huge increase in multi-unit properties hitting the market in 2023.
Newhall’s cheapest home sold this week is a perfect starter home! LOOK!
Here is the cheapest home sold this week in Newhall.
Asking price: $599,900
Selling price: $625,000
This starter home has 2 bed/1 bath, 900 sq. ft. of living space, and is on a 5,454 sq. ft. lot.
The home has hardwood floors throughout, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, and a newly remodeled bathroom.
Mortgage rates drop below 5% for the first time in 4 months
How long will this last?!?
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dipped below 5% for the first time in nearly 4 months averaging 4.99% for the week ending August 4.
Supply constraints and a tight labor market will likely push rates back up, especially since the Fed is determined to bring inflation down even at a cost of a slight economic downturn.
Source: California Association of Realtors
LA County property value hits record $1.9T
The value of Los Angeles County properties has reached a record close to $1.9 trillion.
The county’s total assessed property value for 2022 grew by a record $122 billion to $1.89 trillion, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported. The increase doubled last year’s growth of $63 billion.
This is the 12th consecutive annual increase.
Deutsche Bank predicts US recession in 2023
13 years ago, when many of the homes on the market were bank-owned, I remember looking up for my clients which bank owned the property I was about to show them. The one name that kept coming up was "Deutsche Bank". I could not believe how many foreclosures they were stuck with at that time. Since they know a thing or two about recessions, I advise you to take their opinion into consideration.
"We no longer see the Fed achieving a soft landing," Deutsche Bank economists led by Matthew Luzzetti said in the analyst note. "Instead, we anticipate that a more aggressive tightening of monetary policy will push the economy into a recession."
This Echo Park Spanish bungalow sold WAY OVER the asking price! Take a look.
Here is the cheapest home sold this week in Echo Park.
Asking price: $899,000
Sold price: $1,255,000 ($356,000 over the asking price)
This renovated Spanish bungalow has 2 bed/2 bath, 828 sq. ft. of living space, and is on a 4,280 sq. ft. lot.
The property is close to hiking trails, the LA River bike path, and the historic “hidden stairs".