Conventional wisdom tells us that we do not know if we have hit bottom until we are on the way up. Trying to "time" the bottom is a matter of luck. For buyers of Palos Verdes real estate I encourage them to consider the following: 1) Interest Rates are at historic lows. 4.75% for conforming 30-year fixed and 6.625% for jumbo 30-year fixed rate loans. 2) Many buyers are sitting on the...
I am often asked by owners of Palos Verdes real estate which remodeling projects will give them the greatest return on their investment. The answer is siding replacement, window replacement and major kitchen remodel according to the December 2008 Realtor Magazine. This article covers areas around the country and states, "Pacific Coast cities recorded the best payback on remodeling by a wide...
Statistics for single family homes for the month of November for Palos Verdes Real Estate are now available. To date, our prices have remained fairly steady with only 2.9% decrease in average price since January 1, 2008, compared to average 2007 sold price. Average price per square foot since the first of the year is down 5.8% from average 2007 square foot price. The median price has decreased 4.7%...
Statistics for single family homes for the month of October for Palos Verdes Real Estate are now available. There were 21 closed escrows (32 in September) and 16 pending sales (19 in September). Active homes for sale have been reduced a bit to 264 (276 in September) . Average price for homes that closed escrow in October declined to $1,227,000 from $1,455,000 in October. This reflects the lower...
On Tuesday, I attended a presentation by Robert A. Kleinhenz, Deputy Chief Economist for the Callifornia Association of Realtors, to hear the forecast for Palos Verdes real estate. Although, Kleinhenz did not have information specific to Palos Verdes (because we need a minimum of 30 sales per month for their formulas), the Market Outlook was a good perspective on our overall economy nationally,...
Statistics for single family homes for the month of September for Palos Verdes Real Estate are now available. There were 31 closed escrows (30 in August) and 15 pending sales (35 in August). Active homes for sale have remained fairly constant (276 in September) for the last 4 months and up from the same period a year ago (227 in September 2007). Average price for homes that closed escrow in...
Statistics for the month of August for Palos Verdes Real Estate are now available. There were 29 closed escrows, 26 pending sales in August and 51 closed escrows and 26 pending sales in July. The number of closed escrows are down compared to the last 5 months. Average price for homes that closed escrow in August was nearly the same at $1,480,000 compared to July at $1,496,000. Average days on...
Chris Ayres loves his house. In his refreshing and thoughtful opinion piece in the LA Times, he challenges us to remember why we should love ours too. He actually purchased his home one year ago and instead of bemoaning the fact that his home may be worth less today, he tells us why he is lucky. First, the price - Ayres concludes a $1,200,000 purchase price, a loan of $1,000,000 at a fixed rate of...
Statistics for the month of July for Palos Verdes Real Estate are available and the results were mixed again for July - more closed escrows and less pending sales. There were 38 closed escrows and 45 pending sales in June vs. 48 closed escrows and 21 pending sales in July. The days on market for sold properties in July was only 52 days compared to 67 days in June. Average price for homes that closed...
That is the question of the hour from buyers of Palos Verdes real estate (and probably nationwide). Should buyers believe the doomsayers or the optimists? Today the LA Times has a very balanced answer to their question. Reasons not to buy are mostly from economic forecasts, statistics and ratios. Reasons to buy look at the benefits of home ownership (you can't be evicted, you can control the...