There’s great news for home sellers in Los Angeles: inventory is extremely low, and luxury home prices are at an all-time high.
For-sale inventory is measured in terms of how many homes were listed for sale last year vs. the current year. In a strong sale market, analysts expect to see this number at around 40%, as it is in San Diego and Washington, D.C., meaning that this year, 40% more homes were listed for sale compared to last year. This year, in the L.A. area, that number is at just 19.8 percent.
For top-tier homes in L.A., this rate is the lowest: a whopping 10.5% meaning that only 10.5% more homes were listed this year compared to last year. (Compare that with bottom- and middle-tier homes, which are a little better, at 27.3% and 24.7%, respectively.)
In no small part due to this, average luxury home prices have hit an all-time high in LA: the value of top-tier homes (homes valued at more than $1 million) in the L.A. area jumped 13% from the third quarter a year ago.
This is consistent with my own experience: I have several clients looking for homes in the $3-4M range in Santa Monica, Brentwood, and Hollywood Hills, and there is very little inventory.
If you know anyone who is looking to sell a home in any of these areas or even Beverly Hills (up to $4M value homes that don’t need any work), please let me know. The most preferred styles are contemporary, architectural, modern, and mid-century.