This is our first Condominium report for the Micro Markets we track on the Westside of Los Angeles. Condominiums are a Micro Market in and of themselves and are behaving differently from the single family residence market. Of the Micro Markets we track, several have a very limited condominium market while other areas like Santa Monica and Westwood have large condominium markets. This is because of each area’s zoning and building restrictions which either encourage or discourage the construction of condominium units.

The sales volume for June ‘08 improved over May ‘08, but for our month over month comparison of June ‘08 to June ‘07 and comparing YTD  ‘07 to ‘08 it was quite a different story. Sales volume in June ‘08 was up over May by 14% however, YTD, June ‘08 to June ‘07, sales volume was down 44%. June ‘08 to June ‘07 month over month sales volume was down 38%. During this same time only three markets performed better; Malibu Beach, Pacific Palisades, and Santa Monica. In reality, only Santa Monica really fared better as Malibu and Pacific Palisades had one and three sales respectively. 

Median sales prices performed differently. Seven markets actually performed better comparing the median price of properties sold from June 2007 to June 2008. They were: Beverly Hills $950,000 to $1,170,000; Brentwood  $702,000 to $739,000; Hollywood Hills East  $478,750 to    $650,000; Pacific Palisades  $706,000 to $707,000;  Silver Lake $476,000 to $595,000; Venice $1,025,000 to $1,295,000; West Hollywood $585,000 to $585,000; Westwood-Century City $689,500 to $700,000.  In eight markets’ median sales price increased in June 2008 to May 2008.

It has taken longer on average to sell a condo in 2008. The Average Days on Market to sell a condo YTD for June ‘07 was 77 days and for June ‘08 it was 102 days . Comparing month over month, June ‘07 took 64 days to sell a condo while June ‘08 has been averaging 108 days. Individual markets have different statistics. Los Feliz  averaged 198 days in ‘07 to sell a condo compared to 145 days in ‘08. Malibu Beach took 268 days in ‘08 and there was not a single sale in ‘07. In Pacific Palisades it took just 10 days in ‘07 but jumped  to 166 days in ‘08. And in Venice it took 63 days in ‘07 to 25 days in ‘08.

Active listing inventory for condominiums currently on the market year to date ‘08 is down to 710 listing from 1501 in ‘07. The number of sold listings year to date for 2008 is also down, 809 condominiums sold compared to 1511 in 2007. New listings that have come to market year to date are also down to 2240 in ‘08 from 2511 in ‘07. Expired listing increased from 153 in ‘07 to 205 in ‘08. These were listings that did not sell and the listing agreements were not renewed. More listings were withdrawn from market in 2008. These were listings that had not run the course of their listing agreement and were removed from market. 

In conclusion, the average days on market is up, median prices are stable, inventory is down 52% and sales volume is down  44%.

JUNE 2008 Micro Market Report- Condominiums

Filed under: Industry and Economic News, Micro Market Updates, Teles News and Press Releases on July 25th, 2008