Downtown Los Angeles is not proving to be the magnet for residential living that its developers and boosters anticipated, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The housing slump seems to have disproportionally dampened demand and prices in Downtown Los Angeles, while nearby markets such as Silver Lake-Echo Park remain more or less flat. According to Dataquick, the median sale price for 4th quarter 2007 in Downtown Los Angeles was $497,360 -- 16% below the peak reached in early 2007.
Downtown developers are offering hefty incentives -- from Mini-Coopers to gobs of upgrades -- to lure buyers to languishing units. The Downtown Los Angeles residential building boom -- fueled in part by an easing of parking, zoning and seismic safety rules in 1999 -- may have preceded the influx of services and the wholesale gentrification of neighborhoods that would make the area livable to the residents.
With a huge homeless population, lack of green space -- and not a Whole Foods in sight-- Downtown urban pioneers ventured into a transitioning neighborhood that is still quite rough around the edges -- although it may be viewed from the penthouse unit with Brazilian cherry wood floors and Poggenpohl kitchen.
Long-term, the fundamentals are excellent and those buying prime units in the best buildings will likely be rewarded disproportionately in the next housing cycle. With the construction of the Staples Center, Nokia Theater, Disney Concert Hall, the urban core is regaining its cultural luster. Many businesses have established themselves there. And with car-jammed freeways, those who work there will save time and money by living in Downtown Los Angeles. But for now, builders fret and homeowners gnaw their fingernails over a softening local market.
LA Real Estate Group
Lou Arakelian and Alex Golshan
8560 W. Sunset Blvd., 3rd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Direct 323-704-7129
Fax 888-214-7552i
Info@MyLARealEstateGroup.com
www.myLARealEstateGroup.com
Thursday, April 3, 2008
West Hollywood Market Roundup March-2008
Four homes sold in the West Hollywood area in March 2008, well below the number of home sales in March in previous years: 7 (2007), 14 (2006), 18 (2005) and 18 (2004). The average days on market was a scant 13. The highest price sale was 8916 Ashcroft -- 1,012 sq ft house, 4,000 sq ft lot -- clean and presentable -- selling for $1,125,000 -- over $1,000/sq ft.24 condos sold in March 2008 in West Hollywood -- down from an average of 55 condo sales in the 4 previous years. The average days on market for a condo in West Hollywood was 71. Four sales were over $1 million. The highest sale was 9024 Cynthia -- $1,350,000 -- 1,864 sq ft, redone -- in a prime WeHo location.The rout in the stock market and tight lending standards clearly made their impact on this high-cost market.
LA Real Estate Group
Lou Arakelian and Alex Golshan
8560 W. Sunset Blvd., 3rd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Direct 323-704-7129
Fax 888-214-7552in
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