The real estate recovery has been marked by 3 ½ years of annual double digit price appreciation.  And there are no signs of it abating.  The primary driver has been and continues to be low inventory.  Six (6) months of inventory, based on closed sales, is considered a balanced market.  You have to go back to January 2012 to find more [...]

More homes are selling now than at any time within the past 10 years.  And the supply is not being replenished fast enough.  There are simply not enough new listings to serve the need.  So much so that the last time we had less homes for sale was 10 years ago!  See the charts below.  For the current quarter, June 2015 – August 2015 [...]

The supply of homes available for sale continues to shrink, resulting in higher prices.  At the end of July there was only a 1.9 month supply of homes.  A 6 month supply is considered a balanced market between sellers and buyers.  With a 1.9 month supply, if you are thinking about selling your home today, you will have little [...]

The trend continues unabated. The number of closed and pending sales in June outstripped the number of new listings by a country mile.  There were 192 closings in June, and 196 homes went under contract.  That’s out of a total inventory of only 414 homes for sale for the month of June. The result is that inventory levels remain extremely [...]

The number of homes going under contract and sold continues to outpace the number of new listings.  The result is continued low inventory, continued price appreciation, and quick sales.  For the month of April 2015 there were 529 homes for sale; of which only 216 were new listings; 252 homes went under contract; and 235 homes sold.  [...]

This month I have made a quarterly comparison relative to how real estate is trending in the general Venice area.  The results below are for the most recent quarter, December 1, 2014 through February 28, 2015.  I have indicated the extent to which they increased or decreased as compared to the same quarter last year, December 1, 2013 [...]

The trends that I have been reporting continue unabated.  Although there were less new listings in November 2014 versus November 2013, more homes closed or went under contract.  The result is that inventory levels continue to decline.  There were 20% less homes for sale in November 2014 than the same time last year.  Accordingly, homes [...]

A recent review of home sales turns on its head the perception that the best time to sell is during the winter, so-called “in season”.  Although the number of homes for sale and new listings was down, the number of homes sold and homes under contract were way up.  In September 2014 homes for sale were down 9.3% compared to the same [...]

Sold prices have stabilized.  In fact, there is some evidence that prices may be showing signs of modest depreciation.  Consider the following:

1. Inventory remains low --- 2.9 month supply based on closed sales.
2. Buyers quickly emerge --- average days on the market, 77 days.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the laws of supply and demand:

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Home Sales in July, for the Venice area continued the trend of the last few months.  The number of homes for sale, listed, closed and placed under contract remained fairly steady, maintaining a “neutral” position.  Likewise, the average sold price stayed about the same as last month.  However, the active list price increased 4.5% from [...]