Earthquake Insurance becoming more affordable

With less than half of California homeowners opting not to get earthquake insurance due to the cost and high deductibles, The California Earthquake Authority (“CEA”) is aiming to change that beginning in January. The CEA will be offering more coverage choices, more deductible options (5% to 25%) and more affordable rates.  The average reduction in rates will be about 10% with up to a 20% discount to those that have had a verifiable earthquake retrofit on a home built prior to 1979. For more information check out the CEA web-site.

Price reductions are more prominent...close to 50% of active listings in some westside areas

 Last month a colleague noted that around 40% of the active single-family residences ("SFR") in Culver City experienced a price reduction. We decided to see if this was a trend in other Westside locations and ran the numbers for the Palisades, Santa Monica, Westchester and Mar Vista as of November 24th.

We found Culver City is not unique and the reductions over the last month even increased in Culver City to  14 of the 29 SFR active listings being reduced.

Area  # of Active Listings       # Reduced 

Culver City         29                    14 (2)

Santa Monica      49                    24 (6)

Mar Vista            39                    20 (2)

Westchester         32                    11 (0)

Pacific Palisades 80                    32 (7)

**The # in perenthises are homes the Multiple Listing Service “MLS” mis-categorized as not being reduced. Realtors can come up with tricks to eliminate the reduction label to the public but a check of the listing history of each property can expose this. This practice is more popular in luxury markets.

 The percentage of reductions compared to active listings is inflated due to the holiday season with quite a few sellers holding off to list their homes.  However, the trend of increasing reductions has been consistent since the middle of the summer. Typically we see about 25% of the active listings showing a reduction and over the past few years that number has dipped to 10-15% due to the strength of the market.  The increase in the reductions is a sign the market is settling down a little bit with buyers unwilling to pay the heavy premiums we saw earlier this year.

Though we are seeing this trend, do not be mistaken into thinking the market is headed in a downward spiral. Well priced listings (around the true market value), especially those in premium locations, are still selling in multiple offers with favorable terms for the seller.  The market is still strong but just not at the level it was four to six months ago.

3rd Quarter Market Report

Check out the latest Partners Trust Quarterly statistics report for the third quarter of 2015.  The market report is extensive and covers the Westside, Los Angeles proper, Manhattan Beach, San Gabriel Valley and Malibu.  Please feel free to contact our office with any specific questions about your neighborhood. 

Check it out: Interactive Map for noise levels in Los Angeles

An app called HowLoud has created sound profiles of every Los Angeles address and RentLingo has released a searchable map that displays the decibel levels at any given point in Los Angeles, allowing you to see what it is like during the day and at night. This can definitely come in handy when searching for a home and are sensitive to noise. It is interesting to note that some of the trendier and pricey real estate is located in areas where the noise levels are fairly high thanks to restaurants and bars. Check out a few examples of Santa Monica below and why so many neighbors want the Santa Monica Airport to go away (at least the big jets).

Santa Monica Airport

Santa Monica

Source: LA Curbed Blog

Mortgage rates continue to drop

Mortgage rates continued to trend lower, following declining Treasury yields. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage “FRM” averaged 3.79% for the week ending October 22, down from last week when it averaged 3.82%. In 2014, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.92%. The 15 year FRM averaged 2.98% while averaging 3.03% last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.08%.

(Source: Housing Wire)

Santa Monica: Lincoln Boulevard to get a makeover

The section of Lincoln Blvd. between the 10 fwy and Ozone Ave (city border with Venice) is in for a make-over to beautify the area making it more inviting to pedestrian foot traffic and cut-down on conflicts between cars and people on bikes. The plan, called Lincoln Neighborhood Corridor, aims to add dedicated peak-hour bus lanes, more crosswalks, nicer landscaping, street furniture and better sidewalk lighting. The plans also calls for adaptive reuse of buildings for more consumer friendly tenants like eateries and coffee shops that will be more community friendly.

click on images to enlarge

Be Prepared for El Nino!

We talked about the importance of preparing for El Nino a few months back and we are just reiterating it as this could potentially be one of the wettest winters in Southern California history. The largest hurricane in history is about to hit Mexico and is just another reminder of how warm the Pacific Ocean is.

Here is a link to a recent LA Times article outlining 28 things to do to prepare for El Nino.  (Hint: check and fix leaks; clean out gutters and downspouts; inspect windows; Store emergency materials)

(Source: LA Times)