This market is changing as we speak. Right before our eyes it is very different all of a sudden. Spring is usually a great time to put your house on the market and I still believe it is, but don’t expect the old days’ of the last 4-5 years.
We are still seeing multiple offers believe it or not ~ music to our seller’s ears ~ but they are not the same multiple offers of the last 5 years. Now we are seeing “lowball multiple offers.” And this is after only days on the market when the buyers know there are other offes. We just had one where the buyer actually made their counter offer worse than their original offer and this was in a multiple offer situation. Crazy! They did not get the house!
Pricing is all too critical now for sellers. Staging is critical as well…having “the house on the market” that stands out from the rest and that is priced slightly under it’s competition is the key. Pricing is not as easy to do as it was over the last 5 years. Our number of sales are way down, so there is little sold inventory to compare to. Even though our 2008 sold prices are seemingly 6% higher than this time same quarter 2007, one can not build that into their sales price. I would ascertain that the 6% rise in average price for the Hollywood Riviera this year over last is due to some very high end homes selling this year and thus raising the average. We have also seen the lowest price sale in a long time occur this year -2008- $575,000 for a fixer upper in the lower Torrance side of the Riviera. That is lower than the last low sale of $605,000 which was an even worse location on the Pacific Coast Highway service street of the lower Torrance side of the Riviera. We have quite a diversity of homes in our “designated-by-the-MLS” Hollywood Riviera neighborhood. There are definitely two sides to the Riviera and two separate price ranges that go along with the different addresses.
To date the 90277 (Redondo Beach) side of the Riviera has an average sales price of $1,375K and the 90505 (Torrance) side of the Riviera has an average sales price of $946K. That is a $444,000 price discrepancy. Wow - a 32% price difference.
This is interesting here….the Redondo Beach side (90277 only) had an average price of sold homes this same period last year (Jan 1 - May 2, 2007) of $1,195K. That means the RB side has gone up 14% year over year - same time period. Now the number of sales has gone down from 23 last year to 11 this year…that’s more than a 50% drop. The Torrance side had an average price this same period last year of $951K and it’s $946K this year. They had a drop in their year over year average price of 1/2%. Not much, but not the increase in average price the RB side had. There were 7 houses sold in 2007 Jan - May 2nd 2007 and 9 solds for 2008. About the same which makes their numbers a bit more in line with each other.
Here’s the map of the Riviera with the dividing line in different colors. 
What are some of the requirements to getting your home SOLD in today’s market?
Lights, Camera, Staged - SOLD!
Lights - a seller always wants to make a home feel light and bright. Open all blinds and turn on all lights during all showings. Part of this includes cleaning out those dust and bug filled light fixtures. Light makes everything shine. Another important showing aspect would be to add music…something soft. Think about going shopping at Nordstrom’s -the lights are on and often strategically placed and there is always nice music. Create the right atmosphere!
Camera - Digital Photography is a big part of today’s home sales. A big part. We use a great ”real estate camera” the Kodak v570 which has a nice wide angle lens and takes great real estate pictures. Rooms can look quite a bit larger on film than a regular camera and it doesn’t make that weird “fish eye look.” We’ve come up with some great Panoramic shots with it as a matter of fact! Sometimes hiring a professional photographer can be the best thing to do, but whatever it takes - get great photos! MLS, marketing brochures, & virtual tours are based on these still photos, and any other good marketing pieces. Over 80% of people begin their search online and many savvy buyers use the internet to base their choices on what homes to go see.
Staged - It is critical today to be the house on the market that shows the best. You’ve got to stand out in the crowd today. Not only price, but Look Great! 90% of buyers don’t have the imaginatin to see past clutter or unstylish furnishings. Nor do they have the ability to see how they would place their furniture in a vacant home, especially if there is a room that may be a bit awkward. Prospective buyers make a decision on your home within the first few minutes of walking through the front door. Staging creates a series of good first impressions that will make potential buyers want to linger and move in not move on.
It’s a combination of marketing efforts of course, but we’ve found that Lights, Camera, Staged usually lead to SOLD!
There are many marketing tools in a realtor’s arsenal to get a house sold but the best one and most important one is Pricing! Everyone wants to sell their house for “top dollar” - everyone! The job of realtor who is really doing their job is to price it right. Here in the Hollywood Riviera homes that are priced right and in top showing condition sell quickly and some in “multiple offers.” Yes, I said multiple offers. They still exist and there is no getting one on an “overpriced listing.” If a buyer is not even interested in the house - if their agent isn’t telling their buyer this is a good deal - then they are certainly not going to spend an “extra” $10K - $30K. Now get more than one party interested in the house and you’ve got the right atmosphere for more of an “auction” if you will.
We believe in “staging” a home to get people really excited about a home’s potential - it’s funny, even though a buyer is not buying the furnishings/accessories, if it’s shown with really great stuff they can somehow see themselves in the house. Often if you create the right mood - people will want to buy the house for the lifestyle it offers. People want “move in condition” these days. They want to feel like they got a house that was “wanted” by others - it is perceived to have more value that way. This is part of the key to pricing - create value!
This is an idea of “setting the mood.” What a great house with a great view…it was completely staged and really looked amazing!
A seller wants to sell their house for $1.4K and a buyer wants to buy a house for $1.399K - it’s perceived as a lower price although it sure is close. The retail stores of the world know this and use it almost exclusively.
