Tech pumps up the volume
Westside’s Silicon Beach leads the latest surge in L.A. home sales.
Temperatures may finally be cooling off across Los Angeles, but the same can’t be said for the housing market.
In a record-breaking quarter that saw median sales prices in L.A. County hit a decade high, and the average days on the market near a decade low, real estate markets, particularly on the Westside, have remained whitehot.
In July, August and September, the booming tech hub of Playa Vista saw a 317% increase in sales volume for single-family homes over the same period last year, according to a survey by the Combined L.A. Westside MLS.
Neighboring communities have also benefited from rapid growth in the area. Venice saw a 10% increase in sales volume last quarter over last year; West Los Angeles, which includes Sawtelle-Japantown, increased 89%; and Playa del Rey saw an uptick of 52%.
“Tech companies such as Facebook and Google have moved to these areas, and many employees of these companies are looking for homes near their offices,” said MLS CEO Annie Ives.
And don’t expect things to cool anytime soon.
“Venice is getting more and more expensive, which is pushing people to move to Marina del Rey, where you get more for your money,” real estate agent Denise Fast said.
In Marina del Rey, 47 home sales during the quarter combined for $72.666 million in sales volume, an increase of 119%.
Fast said that an influx of development near the harbor, such as new restaurants, hotels and entertainment, is also attracting buyers to homes in Oxford Triangle and the surrounding areas.
Central neighborhoods also continued to trend upward.
Ladera Heights showed an 81% increase in sales volume based on 21 sales. South Inglewood increased 37% based on 25 home sales in the third quarter.
Across the county, there were 2,688 single-family-home sales during the quarter. In addition, 36 neighborhoods experienced home sale growth, whereas 15 experienced a decline.
Those numbers are nearly on par with the previous quarter, which saw 2,813 homes sold and growth in 39 neighborhoods.
“2017 definitely started out strong for the L.A. market, but it may slow down in terms of sales volume in upcoming months,” Ives said. “That said, median prices for single-family homes in Southern California will probably continue to rise due to the limited inventory.”