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Community Corner

Home Sales Up in March

Fourteen of the sales are single-family homes, five are condos.

Nineteen single-family homes and condos have sold and closed escrow in the Malibu area (everything in the 90265 ZIP code) so far this month. This is up from only six closing escrow in February. Twelve were listed as standard sales, five were REOs/bank-owned properties and two were short sales. Fourteen of the closed sales were single-family and five were condos.

As we close the third month of the year, there has been one consistency to Malibu sales: There has been a greater percentage of standard sales than distressed sales. These distressed sales, such as bank-owned or short sales, are much more predominant in other cities. It’s good news for the single-family housing stability. In many instances, local homeowners unable to pay their mortgages are able to lease their single-family homes, and the lease amount is high enough to pay the mortgage and keep the house in a good economic condition until the market stabilizes.

The distressed sales in Malibu are predominately in the condo market. Because of this, units in Malibu’s complexes are selling much below what many buyers paid during the 2005-07 era of increased sales activity and pricing in this city. The condo communities have been heavily impacted with distressed properties because when a homeowner is in the foreclosure process and not paying the mortgage, the person is usually not paying homeowners association dues.

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According to the National Association of Realtors, distressed homes (typically sold at a discount) accounted for 39 percent of sales in February nationwide, a rise from 37 percent in January of this year and 35 percent in February 2010.

According to the California Association of Realtors, distressed homes accounted for 56 percent of sales in California, up slightly from 54 percent in January of this year and 55 percent in February 2010. REO (bank-owned) properties made up a third of sales.

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It is interesting to note that the Malibu sales do not fall within the national or California percentages for short sales and REOs. Malibu’s single-family and condo sales are not consistent with the real estate sales activity across the country.

In evaluating the current real estate market and looking to predict what’s to come, it is interesting to look at the past market statistics for February the past two years compared with February of this year. According to the MLS/CLAW, these are the home sales from downtown to the ocean.

2009:  329 single-family home sales

2010:  335 single-family home sales

2011:  284 single-family home sales

The attached sales charts outline the single-family and condo sales in Malibu since Feb. 24. If you see a home that sold on your street in this report, it is a fairly good indicator of the current value of your home. As we begin the second quarter of this year and the spring selling season, it is reasonable to expect some increased activity in the area. Look for my next market update report in this column on April 29. 

Beverly Taki is a California-licensed real estate broker who has represented clients in Malibu for 22 years. She is a Malibu resident and president/broker of Seabreeze Estates Realty. Taki can be reached at beverly@beverlytaki.com or 310-456-4843. Her website is beverlytaki.com.

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