Real Estate is LOCAL!

I just attended a presentation by Leslie Appleton-Young, Economist for the California Association of Realtors. She is really great at distilling market conditions into easily understandable data. Because her presentation was for the Malibu Association of Realtors, she customized the data to be applicable to our Malibu/Topanga area. I love the way she cuts to the bottom line. The most important bottom line here -- our local market is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the condition of most of the state. Take a look at her numbers on home sales drops:

Home Sales YTD
Below $500,000 Down 24%
Between $500,000 - 750,000 Down 26%
Above $750,000 Down 5%

Since the Topanga Market pretty much begins around $700,000, we are in the category that has only experienced about a 5% drop in home sales.

According to Appleton-Young, the high end home market is pretty normal. In fact, the level of activity at the high end is actually skewing the median home price higher because more homes are being sold in the high end and number of sales of homes at the low end has decreased.

I believe the most powerful effect on our market has been emotion. The press is reporting worst case scenarios as the headlines. Buyers and sellers are hesitant. My advice -- read the whole article. Somewhere down at about the second paragraph from the end will be something that relates to our Topanga market that admits it's a normal adjustment for the high end markets.

Topanga Neighborhoods, What's the Difference?

I got a call yesterday from a potential client relocating from out of state. She was doing her research about the different areas of Topanga, trying to get a feel for the neighborhoods. I told her that one of my favorite things about this canyon is that each area has a little bit of everything. We have 1920's cottages next to newly expanded mansions. We have contemporary architecturals next to California/Mediterranean styles. Each area has homes on the edge of a canyon and homes in the middle of the "block". It is the same with the people -- a terrific mix of professions, ages and backgrounds -- never boring!

My caller asked me if there were really any differences to consider. I told her that the difference is mainly the varying temperature. As you move north from the ocean, you get hotter temps in the summer and colder temps in the winter. Fernwood is the most even climate because it is the area closest to the ocean influence.

I laughed when I opened the Los Angeles Times this morning and saw a front page feature on the differerences in temperatures in Southern California. The author of "Weather Turns by Degree, Direction," Bob Pool, had taken a trip through Topanga Canyon to illustrate his point. He hit it right on the head. He provides a perfect description of Topanga Canyon temperatures.

Unfortunately, a heat wave has hit us all, and we are all sweltering! Believe me, this is not normal for Topanga. Try to stay cool. Hopefully, we'll soon have some rain to complain about!