Investigating the Hollywood Riviera real estate market?  Here’s an update for you.

As of September 1, 2008, there have been 21 homes sold.  That is much higher than this time last year when 15 homes sold during that same period.  That’s a nice little 28% increase in the number of homes sold!  Good news at last!  Homes that are priced well are seeming to go into escrow quickly still.  For example one on Via Monte D’Oro recently went on the market for $1,199,000 (under $1.2K seems to get a lot more attention these days) and sold in 9 days for $1,150,000.  That was super quick – I heard they actually had multiple offers – 3 of them.  The average price of the solds last year was $1,051,547 and the average this year is $990,183 – a near 6% drop in the average price.  So seems we have more homes selling but at a reduced rate this time over last year.

As far as what is currently for sale – there are 26 homes available for purchase as of today.  They range in price from $625,000 (a short sale) to $2,395,000 for brand new construction w/ nice views.  We have seen a few Short Sales and Bank Owned properties selling here recently – not a lot however.  The average price of the homes currently for sale is $1,199,800.  Some of the homes for sale have been on the market for a long time – there is a direct correlation between price and how long a property stays on the market.  Buyers want to get a deal in today’s market – if they sense it is overpriced there are not even offers being submitted. 

Bottomline, people still need to buy and sell and this is typically a great time of year for buyers to score on a good deal.  The Hollywood Riviera is the kind of place people love to call home.  The schools are great, the beaches are gorgeous and so close, shopping abounds, the weather is very close to perfect most of the time, and the people are super nice here.