Well, it is June 11th, 2010 and summer is upon us. As of today there are 147 active Calabasas homes on the market (Single family homes). 8 of those homes are short sales. Perhaps you had heard that 2010 was supposed to be the year of the short sale. If so, you may ask why there are only 8 homes that are being sold as short sales. Well, to start, there are 34 homes that are either in escrow or in some stage of negotiation with their respective banks and willing buyers. In addition to that, there are 20 more homes that have sold as short sales since the beginning of the year. There are also 28 homes that have been withdrawn, put on hold, were cancelled or expired since the beginning of the year. Lastly, Calabasas is an affluent city and many of the sales that are taking place in the higher end of that market are being sold for less than they were purchased for a few years ago and the sellers are absorbing the loss with out doing a short sale. The bottom line is that they are out there. There are nearing 100 home owners who are in pre-foreclosure status but may not have listed their homes because they are trying loan modifications or other means to resolve their problems. One thing we don’t see a lot of are REO properties or bank-owned homes. There are currently one active and one in escrow and only 7 have sold since the beginning of the year. Beyond the distressed properties, 122 homes have sold in Calabasas year-to-date with 70 in escrow (half of those are short sales). There IS activity in the Calabasas real estate market and things are selling.

But as usual, these Calabasas homes are selling when they are priced properly. No matter how much a seller wants or needs their home to sell for a certain amount, the market will always decide. The market value is what a ready, willing and able buyer will pay for it. Pricing is paramount to success. And that needs to be combined with a proper and comprehensive marketing plan designed to attract today’s buyers. You need and agent who knows how to price properly and who knows how to market.

Who You Work With Matters. Contact us at the Improta Group to set up an appointment so that we can create a results-oriented strategy on your next home sale or purchase. www.improta.com.

Calabasas Homes & Santa Monica Homes for Sale