By Andrew Khouri
At the start of 2020, the Southern California housing market was heating up, juiced by cheap money and a growing economy.
Then a global pandemic hit.
Deals are now falling out of escrow. Sellers are cutting prices. Certain types of financing are drying up.
As Rick Cirelli, a mortgage broker in Laguna Beach, put it: “Everybody is backing out.”
By Larry Altman
The house on Hobart Boulevard in Los Angeles wasn't on the market long--less than a week. Fifty groups of people walked through to take a look during an open house. Twelve prospective buyers made offers.
The sale was moving along smoothly for Redondo Beach-based real estate agent Lisa Martini and her client earlier this month until the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders hit. A couple of weeks into escrow, the buyer dropped out and Martini scrambled to find a replacement.
By Samantha Masunaga and Andrew Khouri
Zillow will temporarily stop buying homes through its Zillow Offers arm in response to local public health orders intended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and a desire to preserve cash, the real estate company said Monday.
The Seattle company had been buying homes directly from sellers in 24 U.S. markets, including the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Orange County, the Inland Empireand San Diego.
Affordable rental rates and home prices in metro Phoenix continue to attract Southern California residents in droves, according to a report by the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate.
By Vicky Nguyen
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – America is widely known as the land of opportunity, but not all opportunities are created equal.
“Anytime you move, it’s always a challenge,” says 30-year-old Paul Thomas.
Thomas is CEO of his own company Vitality Agency and specializes in regenerative medicine consulting. Nine months ago, a job opportunity pushed him and his family to Southern California and now a new opportunity is pulling them to Nevada.
By Rachel Trauner
The price of houses sold near campus increased by nearly 43 percent in 2019, according to real estate company Long and Foster’s end-of-year report.
Rents are growing fastest in the Valley and Southeast LA.
Elijah Chiland
Despite an election year, the remnants of a trade war and tension with Iran, economists and local experts forecast all real estate markets to continue with trends similar to 2019: stable. Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, said economic indicators, such as low unemployment and increasing wages, bode well for all real estate markets.
By Hannah Madans
Ground leases on condo complexes are rare in Los Angeles, and that’s why it was so unusual when Century City-based George Smith Partners was approached to help finance the purchase of one.