How is the market? State of the market – end of summer 2019 – Long Beach, Los Angeles County & Orange County, California

Labor Day weekend is done and we are approaching the last 120 days of the year before we roll into 2020!

I wanted to share a bit about what the real estate market looks like in our area, in particular, Long Beach California, and this is happening similarly to areas around here in Southern California as well.

Let me first refer to the chart you see above. This is a chart showing Pending Sales by the month, and for the month that just finished, August 2019, can you see that downward sloping line that looks like someone jumped off a cliff?

From July 2019 to August 2019, sales declined significantly from 302 pending sales to 171, a 47% decline. Compared to last August, in August 2018 there were 325 pending sales, and in August 2017, there were 342 pending sales.

As you can see in the chart above, the dips in previous years happened at the end of the year, in December, but this year, the dip happened earlier, in August.

Let’s look at what is happening in Los Angeles County at large:

And in Orange County:

Similar trends.

What does this all mean for you?

Well, it depends, on whether you are a buyer or a seller.

If you are a buyer – good news, you have less competition compared to previous years, when there were more transactions and a more active real estate market. This puts you more in the driver seat and you have inventory to choose from. Add to that the fact also that interest rates have declined significantly in the past 6 months – they have plunged 1.5% from the beginning of the year, resulting in monthly payments declining $400 to $700 for many borrowers, depending on the size of their loans.

If you are a seller – you’re seeing the end of a market cycle, where we have been seeing prices rise for almost a decade, and because transaction numbers are declining, we are seeing longer days on the market, more price sensitivity, more competing sellers, and more finicky buyers. If you are finding that your home is taking longer to sell, don’t be discouraged, it’s not just happening to your house, it’s all houses. Your best bet is to keep the property condition as pristine as possible, allow as much access as possible to show your property, and most importantly, price it attractively and aggressively – 5% below the last sale and the competition in the area will bring the buyers to your door. And once you have offers from a strong marketing campaign, have a strong negotiator as your agent, so that you are getting to the finish line without losing the buyers you have, at the same time coming from a position of strength but with sensitivity to the dynamics of the market.

Are you looking for an agent with her finger on the pulse of the market, and can market your property to stand out from the crowd, and negotiate you the best price and terms in detail?

Look no further – give me a call – send me an email – My Team and I are here to navigate you through the final 4 months of 2019 to help you make a great move, one that is financially sound for you and also emotionally gratifying.