Burbank Real Estate Blog: June 2011

All real estate is local and nothing illustrates that point better than the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index that came out last week.  It reported that the average home price for March in the 10 city composite was down .6%(non seasonally adjusted) and the 20 city composite was down .2%.  Actually if you read the report, the overall data was not that bad, but obviously showed a downtrend in prices.  18 out of the 20 areas did show a downtrend when you look at the unadjusted three month average.

In case you are curious the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index tracks monthly changes in home prices in 20 metropolitan areas and comes out monthly.  The report focuses on single family homes and excludes condos and new construction.  Please note that this data was for March, so it does have a two month lag.

Los Angeles County home prices dipped roughly 1.7% for the first quarter of 2011.

With that in mind, let's look at the average home prices for Burbank single family homes over the last 12 months:

Information is Believed To Be Accurate But Not Guaranteed   CRMLS

There are several ways to parse the data.

There was a spike in the fourth quarter of last year and we are down 8% from the spike, however, year over year we went from $538,773 in May 2010 to $557,000 in May of 2011, an increase of 4%.  From January of 2011 to May 2011 we saw an increase of 11% , as we rose from $505,809 to present levels.

Overall, Burbank home prices are showing strength, and there is no doubt that the current amount of short sales and foreclosures will continue to put pressure on prices.......but the picture here is not as dire as in other parts of the country.  I know it's a pipe dream but it would be nice if local media were to comment on our numbers as well as the national numbers.

It's truly amazing to me how much the real estate market has changed over the years. It used to be that buyers looked at homes, decided what they were willing to compromise on, then made an offer.

These days more and more buyers have a very challenging wish list that needs to fit into their budget parameters, and, after an extensive search, when they do find THE PERFECT HOUSE, they will ask me if I think 10-20% below asking will be ok?

Let's assume that if this house is that perfect, other buyers will probably be bidding on it, especially if your budget happens to fall into the sweet spot that most other buyers are looking in.  If the house is priced within the market, then offer full price!

Offering full price will get you in the game, especially if other buyers are trying to low ball on the price.  In addition to giving you the opportunity to have your offer accepted, it gives you the ability to ask for concessions depending on what is discovered during the inspection period.

I do have to get back to how much you love the home.  If it's in the right neighborhood, priced well and fits most of your wish list items, this should be a no brainer.

Another thing to consider is that after losing out on a certain amount of properties, because you are trying to get "a deal", that may provide some incentive to offer the full price as well.

Please note this post was on May 31st, as you can see from the comments.  For some reason it showed up in draft status today.