While keeping in mind February only has 28 days this year, the monthly stats for real estate sold and for sale in Santa Monica is pretty low.  Take a look at these numbers from the Multiple Listing Service:

So only 12 homes sold last month.  With 29 active, the market activity is off from last year.  Interestingly enough, days on market (the number of days on the market before being put into escrow) are 77!  Over two months to sell a home.  Granted, this is also all of Santa Monica, and different neighborhoods bring different prices and inventory.  Contact WestsideDB if you want more information about your neighborhood.

For a free search for properties in Santa Monica and the Westside of Los Angeles visit this awesome free page.

This is something I’ve never seen before, but I think its brilliant.  This guy seems like the real deal and I told him I would blog about his quest.  He’s a family man looking to buy a home that is currently not on the market.  Price range 1.6MM-3MM.  There are what some circles call “shadow inventory”, meaning homes that are not quite on the market yet, or the owners have not contemplated selling, but would be willing to if the price and terms were right.

Check out his deal here. And then leave a comment with us to let us know what you think.

If you’ve been paying any attention to real estate trends of late, you know that it’s as Yogi Berra said, “The future ain’t what it used to be”.  Indeed, this economic turn of events has taken everyone by surprise and given us cause for introspection and an opportunity to change direction.  I know so many people working on digging out of debt, short selling their positions to move on with their lives, and even just giving up completely and letting the bank take their home away – which I find incredibly sad since there are creative ways around what seem to be formidable obstacles in the real estate world, as long as you just ask for help.

I have the good fortune of working with an excellent team who specialize in just about everything a person could hope for when it comes to answers in real estate.  If you have a question, we can answer it.  I’ll be sure to be prompt.

Santa Monica’s real estate stats for single family homes have been an interesting tale as of late.  For instance, it seems that available inventory is tightening up a bit, with more sold homes in the past calendar month that actual inventory on the active market.  Doesn’t this seem peculiar?  If you were a discerning buyer with the ability to get into what is undoubtedly a higher bracket market, would you be concerned with the lack of available inventory to choose from?

And conversely, if you were a home seller, would you be excited by the opportunity to have a home for sale with a limited amount of supply in the marketplace?  I know I would.  Let’s take a look at the numbers.  And yes, you can only get these from a great Realtor or someone who has access to the Multiple Listing Service, or here on SamoLive.

September Santa Monica SFR Stats

For the numbers junkie and for the person interested in what price per square foot can buy in Santa Monica, this is a powerful tool.  Need more in depth info about a particular zip code, school district, or geographical area?  Contact WestsideDB here and we’ll get back to you shortly.

Hey everyone – I created this whitepaper for anyone interested in buying a house in Santa Monica – actually, the principals can be applied to anywhere in California.  If you know someone who can use this pdf, please forward it on.

Just register over there on the right with your email for an immediate download.

An excerpt:

The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Home in Santa Monica, California

From WestsideDB

WestsideDB

Lifestyle.  Beachside Living.  Sustainability.  Great Schools.  These are just some of the
reasons why Santa Monica residents love their town.  It’s the people who call this home
that really make it a special place to live.  And Home is what this guide is all about – how
YOU are going to find the perfect Santa Monica home to live in.

The price of a home varies considerably — each area of Santa Monica has its unique quality
that drives the pricing.  We will take a look at a number of factors that drive pricing in the
following chapters.  Additionally we will discuss the steps you will be taking to make your
home purchase a reality.

Outline:
• Brief history of Samo
• Real Estate trends
• Areas defined (neighborhood organizations and geographics)
• The home buying process in Santa Monica
• APPENDIX A — Retrofitting Options
• APPENDIX B — Green Building & Solar Initiatives
• APPENDIX  C — Rent Control

BRIEF HISTORY OF SANTA MONICA
It started a while ago.  How’s that for brief?

To read the entire Whitepaper, register there on the right with your name and email.  Yes, its FREE!

I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile now – Condos for sale in Santa Monica are among some of the most amazing pieces of property on the Westside.  Not only do homeowners get the benefit of excellent schools, ocean breezes, a sustainable city, you get the benefit of not having to cut the grass!  Or fixing things on the outside when they break!  That’s what the Association is for!

When my wife and I lived in a condo a few years ago in 90402, we loved having to pay homeowner’s dues.  Because we realized that we didn’t mow grass, fix blown out light bulbs and deal with general maintenance of the building.

With the current state of affairs in the housing market, condos offer a more affordable opportunity to get into the real estate market and the benefits of homeownership.  Now off to the stats for last month.

Santa Monica Condos for Sale Stats -August 2009

This data is straight from the MLS.  This is stuff you can’t find on your own.  You have to ask an agent. Luckily, I like to give stuff away for free so you have more information at your disposal.  Like this:

Santa Monica Condo Months Supply of Inventory August 2009

Or even this:

Santa Monica Condos sold per month August 2009

Yes, condos are still selling here on the Westside – there are also a few that are not selling at all.  Take a look and let me know if you have any questions.  There are sure to be a few.

WestsideDB

Yep.  Today’s the first of September.  Once again, we look back on the real estate activity for homes in Santa Monica.  Check out this market analysis (pulled from my MLS search – let me know if you want something more specific to a zip code or area) but for ease of seeing the macro of activity in Santa Monica, whala!

Santa Monica SFR for August of 2009

More than anything, I love looking at Santa Monica’s sold data.  Because sometimes a seller’s expectations of what their home is worth may not always be in line with what the market will bear. Or perhaps, an agent doesn’t counsel their client well enough for them to understand that they may sit on the market for awhile.  Or, the seller insists on a price that doesn’t bring people in.  Just look at the expired numbers.  135 days on the market.  Geez.  The average person who sold was half that amount of time.

Here’s another interesting look at the past year’s inventory.  Notice that the average number of days on the market is still very low = under 5 months.  Which is very close to a balanced market.  Should it dip further into 1 or 2 months inventory, then we are typically in a seller’s market.  Take a look and leave a comment.  Your last blog post will be shown in the comment – just because we like to spread the commentLUV.

And here are the number of properties sold by month: IMO: (In My Opinion) sales are up.  But you be the judge.

SM Sold per month 08-09