3731 Glenfeliz Blvd in Atwater Village listed for $729k, sold for $834k

2016 is shaping up to be another scorching summer for home buyers on LA’s Eastside. While interest rates have held steady, sales prices for the most desirable homes are still selling for at least 10% over asking–sometimes more (see above).

Though there’s more inventory, it’s mostly crappy — by crappy I mean dingy, dirty fixers, crap-tastic cheap flips and lifeless stucco boxes with delusional sellers who believe they can command the kind of money being thrown at the top tier lookers.

The good news is that historically, summer means more inventory. More inventory means more buyers, but instead of everyone bidding on that ONE amazing house, buyers will have more to look at and offers will spread over 4-5 pretty stellar homes.

Is more inventory an indication of a turning market? I wouldn’t bet a nickle on that, but it’s definitely promising news for weary buyers who have shuttled from that one magical house to the next like cattle. So what does this mean for buyers and sellers? Here are 10 piping hot tips fresh from the trenches:

Buyers
– You need an awesome agent who knows what she’s doing
– Understand that you still need to be aggressive even though there’s more inventory
– Rather than competing against 30 others, might be closer to 8-10
– There’s still a limited number of super desirable homes (i.e., priced well, looks great)
– Get a full lender approval and make your lender your new BFF

Sellers
– The window for selling at top dollar is narrowing, for now. Don’t be greedy
– Have a relative in real estate? It doesn’t matter if they can’t sell your home
– Understand that offer terms are as important as the offer price
– Need to hire a listing agent with an excellent reputation
– Want a smooth like butter sale? Let me know

Want to scoop up a beauty while rates are still historically low? Contact Vanessa Yan.