How can it be July 8th already!? The older I get the faster time flies…
There are positives and negatives to it, like anything in life. These days I choose to see the positive.
My son Logan graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in business/real estate and is working with me and I love it. Watching him and his friends turn into adults breathes new life into me. In addition to Logan coming on board, Jagger Kroener from The Agency joined us last month and his enthusiasm and fresh ideas are bolstering our already dynamic team! Exciting times for Lauren Forbes Group!
At our office we have been focusing on seeing opportunities instead of obstacles and it really makes a difference. So many people in the media and just in general are talking about a market turndown and perceived doom and gloom for real estate. I don’t see it that way. The craziness of every listing having 10+ offers, most significantly over asking, and so many buyers losing out time after time just isn’t sustainable. Today we are still seeing multiple offers in lower and mid price ranges but it isn’t as frantic and buyers actually have time to see a home more than once before making such a significant decision. Even our ultra high end (The Strand) had a flurry of activity in the last 30 days with 3 listings entering escrow and several others opting out of selling—which turned an oversaturated sector into one lacking inventory under $30M.
We are not seeing prices go down which is good news for sellers, but we are seeing homes sell in about 20-30 days. This is a much healthier pace for buyers and even sellers (and for us realtors!). Our buyers that have been patient and prepared for a very strong “sellers market” are finally getting into escrow and are glad that they waited to get exactly what they were looking for and are still locked into very favorable interest rates. Yes, rates are going up—but this is expected and necessary for a healthier long term economy. And they are still at historic lows!
July and August are traditionally slow months in our Beach Cities as many tend to travel and focus on vacationing over home buying/selling. This year feels different. And it is. In Manhattan Beach specifically we have 56 active listings (still low inventory for MB) and 57 homes in escrow. Hermosa is similar with 35 active and 20 in escrow. Maybe there is some truth to the negative news nationally, but similar to our colleagues in Newport, Malibu and other beach communities in Southern California the glass remains more than half full here in the South Bay—and we get to live here! How lucky are we?!
As always, thank you for your support, business and referrals. We are so blessed, and are looking forward to another beautiful summer. Please let us know if we can provide any real estate assistance to you or your friends and family.
- Lauren