A Glimpse into the Santa Monica Real Estate Market
Home prices in Santa Monica real estate market have been on the rise in the past year. According to recent reports, the median price of sold homes has increased, indicating improvements in the housing market.
A post on santamonicapropertyblog.com states, “Santa Monica has the technology to offer more current statistics. When contrasting July 2012 to July 2013, the Median Sold Price in our City by the Sea has gone from $970,000 to $1,205,000 – a jump of $235,000, or 24%.”
A Santa Monica Real Estate report on trulia.com indicates that sales in 5 out of the 6 Santa Monica zip codes were up during the second quarter of 2013 when compared with the first quarter. It also shows that the median sold price was up overall.
The post on santamonicapropertyblog.com states, “Authorities and pundits note that the last time prices appreciated by double digits were during the last housing bubble > leading to a discussion on whether a new bubble is beginning to inflate.”
It goes on to say, “After invigorating interplay, the experts have calculated a different conclusion. They have decided that the current pace of growth – while unsustainable for long-term market health – is not yet problematic.”
Even with the rise of home prices, it is becoming more affordable to own a home because of low monthly payments and mortgage rates. The post states, “Today’s housing market is critically different from 2007. Homebuyers are offering larger down payments and opting for more stable loan products. Tried to get a loan lately? Mortgage-lending standards are stringent compared with the loose lending environment of years past. Plus, sexy low mortgage interest rates mean lower monthly payments, thus making it more affordable to own a home even though prices are rising.”
The post goes on to state, “Demand for homes is strong, but the lack of inventory is having a negative effect on sales. The inventory of unsold single-family homes in California has fallen to 2.6 months compared with 3.6 months a year ago. Inventories were even tighter in Los Angeles County with only a 2.5-month supply of homes for sale in May versus 3.6 months a year ago.”
The trulia.com report shows that there are only 50 single-family homes and 54 condos for sale in all of the 6 zip codes in Santa Monica. According to the santamonicapropertyblog.com post, “Santa Monica real estate has seen a 46% drop in inventory since July 2012. Then end of July 2013 showed a 1.9 months supply of inventory. A 3-month supply is parity, so we’ve clearly fallen into a seller’s market.”
It goes on to state, “The wizards predict that this rapid growth will stabilize. They cite several variables, including increased inventory and higher mortgage rates, will slow the pace growth, which to be clear, is expected to stay positive over the next several years.”
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