Janet Siderman's Blog

Recently Sold Homes in Malibu

Janet Siderman (Coldwell Banker-Malibu West) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:55:02 -0700

Did you know the following Malibu properties have sold for a more than 15% price reduction from original list price since April 1, 2008?

Moral of the Story for Buyers: Don't be afraid to make an offer!

To ask me more questions, or have me help you find a property, email me at: janet@callmalibuhome.com or call me at 310.924.4631.

To read the complete article click here.

So You Are Selling Your Home!!!!

Janet Siderman (Coldwell Banker-Malibu West) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:59:36 -0700

Lately there has been so much information in the news about the real estate market and how depressed it is. However, people are still selling their properties and new properties are being listed every day. So, how do you sell your home in this market?

As a seller you must take into consideration that we have a different type of real estate market than the last couple of years. This is a buyer's market, which means you need to think of your home more like a commodity and less like a unique item. While everyone feels their home has special qualities that make it stand out from other properties in their area, a buyer's market doesn't allow for a seller to use these qualities to price their home higher than the home next door. How do you present your home to help the buyers feel like they're making a wise purchase and getting more for their money?

Remember, first impressions are everything. Understand that your home will get the most activity in the first two weeks it is on the market and if it is overpriced in the initial weeks, you may lose out on many potential buyers.

Second, if a comparable home sold recently, the sale price of that home was negotiated approximately 60 days earlier and that price is probably not an accurate reflection of the market today.

Third, buyers want to feel that they are getting a good price, not watching their money disappear in front of their eyes.

Lastly, the real estate market follows the economic principles of supply and demand like most other markets. Currently, we have a higher inventory of homes and a longer "days on market" than in the past. Until the inventory of homes and "days of market" start to decrease, we will be in a buyer's market.

Moral of the Story for you as a Seller: Homes will continue to be considered a commodity and selling your home is all about setting it at the right price!

To ask me more questions or to get an assessment of the value of your home, email me at: janet@callmalibuhome.com or call me at 310.924.4631

Have We Bottomed Out Yet?

Janet Siderman (Coldwell Banker-Malibu West) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:42:43 -0700

No one person can predict or have the guaranteed answer to this question, however, with careful analysis one can begin to make a more educated decision. I have completed an analysis of the Malibu Real Estate market from January 1, 2008 thru May 15, 2008 to assist you in making more informed decisions when it comes to real estate.

The data I collected was broken down into the following categories:

Single Family Home Sales from $0 to $1.5 M
Single Family Home Sales from $1.5 M to $2.5 M
Single Family Home Sales from $2.5 M to $5 M
Single Family Home Sales from $5 M to $8 M
Single Family Home Sales above $8 M
Condo Sales
Land Sales

Single Family Home Sales from $0 to $1.5 M
There were eight (8) homes that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. Five of the eight homes were mobile homes. The Average Sales Price was $698,751 while the Median Sales Price was $687,500. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 20% and the Median decrease was 24%.

Single Family Home Sales from $1.5 M to $2.5 M
There were eleven (11) homes that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. None of them were mobile homes. The Average Sales Price was $2,060,227 while the Median Sales Price was $2,100,000. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 17% and the Median decrease was 18%.

Single Family Home Sales from $2.5 M to $5 M
There were eight (8) homes that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. The Average Sales Price was $3,668,750 while the Median Sales Price was $3,762,500. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 8% and the Median decrease was 5%.

Single Family Home Sales from $5 M to $8 M
There were six (6) homes that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. The Average Sales Price was $6,213,833 while the Median Sales Price was $6,000,000. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 6% and the Median decrease was 8%.

Single Family Home Sales above $8 M
There were five (5) homes that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. The Average Sales Price was $15,950,000 while the Median Sales Price was $14,000,000. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 20% and the Median decrease was 16%.

Condo Sales
There were eight (8) homes that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. The Average Sales Price was $1,136,875 while the Median Sales Price was $1,212,500. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 14% and the Median decrease was 13%.

Land Sales
There were seventeen (17) land deals that sold between January 1, 2008 and May 15, 2008. The Average Sales Price was $1,419,529 while the Median Sales Price was $750,000. What is more interesting to note is percent decrease from the Original Sales Price to Actual Sold Price. The Average percent decrease was 21% and the Median decrease was 10%.

As I look at this information, several points stick out in my head for Malibu.

Single Family Home Average Value based on Sold Homes between $0 and $2.5 million have dropped between 17% and 20%
Single Family Home Average Value based on Sold Homes above $8 million have dropped 20%
Condo Average Value based on Sold Condos has dropped 14%
Land Average Value based on Sold Land has dropped 21%
However, Single Family Home Average Value based on Sold Homes between $2.5 and $8 million have only dropped between 6% and 8%

Buyers Moral of the Story: If you are in the lower or higher end of the purchasing market, there are plenty of opportunities to purchase something for significantly less money than before. As long you are in the market to hold on to the property for more than a couple of years, this is YOUR market!

Sellers Moral of the Story: If your home is in the $2.5 to $8 Million range the average value of your home seems to be holding relatively firm. You will most likely have a fairly strong return on your asset if you sold now.

To find out more about Malibu homes, contact me at: 310.924.4631

Here are two links below talking about the housing market:

The Housing Crisis Is Over - WSJ article

Money File - Nightly Business Report PBS: How Best to Buy in this Housing Market

Is it time to jump in?

Janet Siderman (Coldwell Banker-Malibu West) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:08:11 -0700

With all the information and debate about the real estate market in the last year, it is very hard to determine what's really going on. However, one thing that is clear is that each local market has it's own cycle and general market trends and articles may not apply to your local market.

I have done a summary for Malibu's Real Estate market for the first part of 2008 (January 1, 2009-April 7, 2008). Some interesting information has come from this summary that I would like to share with all of you...

First of all, let's talk volume.

There have been 26 single family homes that have closed escrow in this year to date
The median price was $3,687,500 and the average price was $4,905,788
The highest sale during this time period was $18,975,000 and the lowest price was $220,000.
There were 4 homes that sold above the $10 million mark and 22 homes that sold below the $10 million dollar mark

Now, let's look at Days on Market (DOM) or the number of days it took to sell a property.

The average DOM(total number of DOM divided by the total number of homes) was 197 days
The median DOM (the number of DOM that is in the middle of all the DOM) was 165 days
The longest DOM for the 26 homes was 679 days (the home finally sold after a 36% price reduction)
The shortest DOM for the 26 homes was 18 days (the home had only a 3% price reduction)

Next, let's look at Percentage of Price Reduction (Initial Listing Price minus Sold Price divided by Initial Listing Price)

The average price reduction in percentage was 14%
The median price reduction in percentage was 12%
The highest price reduction in percentage was 36%, again also the longest DOM home
The lowest price reduction in percentage was 0%

While this is a lot of data to sort through or draw conclusions from, two statistics really stand out to me.

The Average DOM for homes that had the largest price reductions (above both the average and median price reduction percentage) was 320.25 days
The Average DOM for homes that had the smallest price reductions (below both the average and median price reduction percentage) was 91.14 days

Buyers Moral of the Story: Deals are being made for 12-15% below asking price...don't be shy to make offers and begin the negotiating process

Sellers Moral of the Story: Price your home appropriately and it will sell quickly, price you're home poorly and you will be waiting and waiting and waiting.

To find out more about Malibu homes, contact me at: janet@CallMalibuHome.com or visit my website at: http://www.CallMalibuHome.com