Short sale inventory down in Redondo Beach

It wasn’t too long ago that most buyers had heard all of the horror stories involved with and wouldn’t go near them. In many conversations I explained to buyers that if they were looking for a “deal” a short sale was definitely the way to go. Unfortunately that just doesn’t seem to be the case any longer as short sale inventory is way down and anything initially priced below market value is quickly in escrow with multiple offers and most seem to be selling at numbers much closer to market value. According to Keith Kyle, a South Bay short sale specialist, “it’s a combination of lower inventory and a much more streamlined short sale process in which most short sales are going through. No longer are buyers overly cautious about potential short sales taking 6 months or more like they had in the past.” While short sale may not be the bargain they once were, they still are the likeliest source of well priced homes if and when you can find them. For a current list of foreclosures visit either our Redondo Beach foreclosures site, or our South Bay foreclosures and short sales listings.

Fusion townhomes show just how the market has changed

Often when we look at the broader world of the real estate market it’s hard to notice just how dramatic a shift can be. It’s equally amazing just how quickly we forget the market we just left…as if we’ll never be back. I focus much of my attention in terms of marketing, selling and blogging about a small gated community in the Hollyglen known as Fusion South Bay. It’s just a pocket of newer townhomes in the South Bay but nowhere have I seen a more drastic turnaround and the implications it has had. I sold a few units at the height of the market and have struggled with the fact that values went down so dramatically and so quickly. As they were constructed in 2005-2007 almost every buyer was truly buying at the peak of the market. The result was a % of short sales and foreclosures not seen anywhere else in the area. Less than a year ago almost 75% of the closed sales were short sales and values plummeted. I showed most of them and, at the time, I almost felt as though you couldn’t give them away….no buyer motivation, no sense of urgency and most of those buyers are probably now kicking themselves. It was truly a buyers market.

Just a year later and oh how the real estate world has changed. Units that had been in the low $300,000s are now in the mid to high $400,000s and buyers are lining up for the next owner that decides to sell.   At the moment the one 2 bedroom home for sale, the smallest floor plan in Fusion, is listed at the same price that a 3 bedroom sold for just a year earlier.  Those clients that had bought a few years back are once again looking good and those that didn’t purchase at the bottom when they had the chance are certainly wishing they had. In one short year this micro market has gone from barely being able to give away these townhomes, to having buyers and agents eagerly searching off market for the chance to own one.

My how quickly things change and how quickly we forget where we just were.

 

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Redondo Beach Pocket Listings

So What’s All the Fuss about Pocket Listings in Redondo Beach

Understanding off market and pocket listings

With the extremely tight inventory of homes for sale in the South Bay, many buyers approach me looking for off market, or pocket listings.  Pocket listings and exclusive listings are the hot trend at the moment as eager buyers clamor for a chance to purchase a home without all of the competition.    In this market knowing about it first may not ultimately make a difference, but it certainly helps.  Many agents seem to be trying to keep listings private as well in the hopes that perhaps they can represent both buyer and seller, which is much easier if fewer agents know that the home is for sale.  So what do the terms actually mean?  A pocket listing can be anything from a realtor simply knowing about a home that a seller might consider selling and not having a listing agreement, to something coming to the market but not yet on the MLS, to the intentional withholding of the listing from the MLS.

But is it beneficial to the seller? 

Redondo Beach Pocket Listings

In terms of price, exposure, etc. the answer is generally no.  The more exposure the home gets, the more potential buyers see it, and the likelihood that it will sell for a better price and with more favorable terms for the seller.  Eliminate that competition and generally speaking the chances of such favorable terms decrease.

There are very legitimate reasons for exclusive or “pocket” listings and for keeping the property off the market…..work being completed, tenant issues, or simply a seller who doesn’t want the world touring their home.  Seller’s just need to be sure that the reasons for keeping a home off of the South Bay MLS are beneficial to them….and not just to the listing agents.

Whether keeping a listing from the MLS is good or bad for the seller ultimately depends on the situation and whose best interest is the primary reason, but working with a top local realtor who has the network and knowledge to seek out these possible opportunities is certainly key for the buyer.

Torrance Short Sales At Lowest Point Since 2007

As a short sale specialist I have tracked the short sale market for years and as Torrance is the largest city in the South Bay, it has been a very good indicator of how much of a factor short sales and bank owned homes have been on the local market.  Short sales first became a factor in mid 2007 with a high point in 2010.  In August of 2010 there were 159 active short sale homes for sale in Torrance.   Those numbers started to decline in April of 2011 and have continued downward to the current level which has seen an average of 4 homes for sale for the past few months.  What was a source of the “deals” sought by buyers is no longer putting downward pressure on the market and has basically ceased to be a factor. View short sale homes for sale on our distressed home site for Torrance and all of the South Bay

Are Foreclosure Opportunities a Thing of the Past?

As a short sale listing expert, I’ve tracked the number of foreclosures, meaning both short sales and bank owned homes (REOs) in the South Bay for the past few years. It wasn’t long ago that each month there would be consistently over 100 short sale homes listed in Torrance alone. That certainly isn’t the case any longer. As of April 10th 2013 only 29 short sales were on the market in the cities of Lawndale, Gardena, Manhattan Beach, Redondo, Hermosa, Palos Verdes, El Segundo, San Pedro and Torrance combined.

The chart above shows the number of active short sale listings, pending escrows and sold homes for each month in the cities mentioned above. The light green bar shows the active listings, dark green shows sold homes with the red line showing the pending or “in escrow” homes.

 

Redondo Beach foreclosures

The Days Of Redondo Beach Short Sales May Be Winding Down

Although the South Bay and certainly the Beach Cities were fairly protected fromRedondo Beach foreclosures the wave of short sales and bank foreclosures that plummeted prices in other areas of California, there were opportunities out there.  As Redondo Beach is both larger than neighboring Hermosa and Manhattan Beach, and typically caters to more first time home buyers, it felt the foreclosure brunt the most and it wasn’t a challenge to find “deals” on such properties.  Gone may be the days of short sale deals and homes selling below market value, as the inventory of both standard sales, and distressed home sales has continued to decline while demand has grown.  The influx of investors buying up short sale and foreclosures added to the pressure.  As of December 2011 there were 46 active short sales and foreclosures in Redondo Beach and just a year later the inventory was down to 9 distressed sales.  This will likely lead to rising prices as these short sales were the driving factor behind the declining prices over the past few years.

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Vista Sotheby’s International Realty is one of the top real estate brokerages in the South Bay and Southern California with offices in Redondo Beach and throughout the South Bay

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Keith Kyle – Licensed Realtor – Vista Sothebys International Realty – DRE#01712785

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