January Market Conditions Report

Happy New Year! Wow, what I great year this is going to be for real estate in Los Angeles I just returned from Brazil and I'm very excited with what I see going on in our market. First off, interest rates are lower then they were the last few months. For a 30 year fixed rate, paying one point, the rate is 6.125. That's great news for buyers. We thought that January might have brought higher rates, but it didn't. More listing are starting to come on the market, which is always good news for buyers. This is typical, after the holidays people are in a better position to list their property. There are still plenty of homes on the market that were listed last quarter. These sellers are eager to sell, and this leaves room for a buyer to negotiate the price slightly. Great news for sellers who are listing in January in LA, if the property is priced right, it should sell in less then 30 days. My team had 3 listings that sold in one week this month. It was all because we priced the property correctly and made the property presentable. Making the property presentable, or staging, is huge! I always recommend staging your property when you are selling. It always sells quicker and for a higher price. I work with great stagers and would love to refer them to you if you need them. California Association of Realtors says that home prices in Southern California will rise about 5% this year. In Los Angeles I believe the increase will be about 5-10%. This is a lot less of an increase then we've seen in the last 3 years, but none the less, it is still a healthy increase. In conclusion, I believe the market is still transitioning into a normal market, where buyer and sellers will be happy and find fair deals, where homes will sit on the market for about 90 days, and where interest rates are low. I was asked to speak on the CBS Evening National News a couple weeks ago with my take on the housing market for the LA area, and I told them just what I have told you. Bill Whitaker interviewed me and agreed with the points I made. I hope you allow me and my team the opportunity to consult you through a real estate transaction one day soon! Feel free to E mail me at Anthony@TheMillenniumTeam.com and check out our web site at www.TheMillenniumTeam.com and www.LARealtorToTheStars.com