Palos Verdes Peninsula November 2011 Condo and Townhome Real Estate Market Report

The following is my Palos Verdes Peninsula November 2011 Condo and Townhome Real Estate Market Report

Curnt vs. Prev Month Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago Nov. 11 Oct. 11 % Change Nov. 11 Nov. 10 % Change Sep. 11 to Nov. 11 Sep. 10 to Nov. 10 % Change For Sale 45 48 -6.2% 45 70 -35.7% 49 73 -32.9% Sold 14 4 250% 14 8 75% 9 10 -10% Pended 13 14 -7.1% 13 9 44.4% 13 9 44.4%

The inventory of unsold condos and townhomes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula continues to shrink and is down approx. 36% compared to a year ago. The level of average sales per month sales over the last 3 months is down a bit from a year ago, but sales for November was a strong 14 units sold after dipping to only 4 units sold in October 2011.

Curnt vs. Prev Month Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago Nov. 11 Oct. 11 % Change Nov. 11 Nov. 10 % Change Sep. 11 to Nov. 11 Sep. 10 to Nov. 10 % Change Avg. Sq. Ft. Price 279 338 -17.6% 279 340 -18.2% 293 351 -16.4%

The average price per square foot of condos and townhomes sold on the Palos Verdes Peninsula over the last 3 months is down approx. 16% compared to the similar period last year and dipped significantly compared to last month.

Curnt vs. Prev Month Curnt vs. Same Month 1 Yr Ago Curnt vs. Same Qtr 1 Yr Ago Nov. 11 Oct. 11 % Change Nov. 11 Nov. 10 % Change Sep. 11 to Nov. 11 Sep. 10 to Nov. 10 % Change Days on Market 127 108 17.6% 127 80 58.8% 113 74 52.7% Sold/Orig LP Diff. % 90 92 -2.2% 90 94 -4.3% 91 93 -2.2%

Although the average days on market to sell a condo or townhome on the Palos Verdes Peninsula continues to rise, the low level of inventory of only 45 units for sale and the average monthly sales over the last 3 months of 9 units sold equates to only a relatively modest 5 months of inventory.

I believe that several factors are leading to the relatively weak market for condos and townhomes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. First, the weak economy and the increased number of foreclosure sales has led to pressure on the financial condition of the homeowners associations due to owners being delinquent on their homeowners dues. Second, many of the condos on the Peninsula are former apartment conversions therefor most of these condo units do not have washers and dryers inside the unit. Today’s condo buyers, many of which are moving up from apartments, are only intereste3d in buying a condo if it has laundry facilities inside the unit.

This is why it is imperative that a buyer of a condo or townhome unit carefully reviews the financial condition of the homeowners association. It is also important to determine the number of units occupied by renters in the project, as many lenders will not lend on a project that has too high of a percentage of non-owner occupied units.

With historically low interest rates and the recent correction in the market, with proper research, now is actually an excellent time for buyers to buy a condo or townhome on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.