This past May, I wrote a blog post discussing updates made to the local multiple listing service (MLS) rules due to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) policy changes. For a refresher, you can find the May blog post here. The policy is what is known as “Clear Cooperation,” which NAR mandates all Realtors to post their properties to the MLS within one day of marketing their listings. According to NAR, they believe that the MLS is the most open, accurate, and equitable place to market homes for sale…and, it is. But, in a nutshell, their real goal was to eliminate off-market listings, or at least limit them, for the good of agents and home buyers
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Month: August 2020
Raw land is always a fun topic with clients. There is an allure to undeveloped land for home buyers and investors alike. Essentially, it is real estate at a discount to the surrounding area. It is a blank slate with a dream to create an incredible home and estate. Invest your money in a great location, and eventually, it will pay off. Unfortunately, it rarely delivers on that promise in Palos Verdes. And, even when it looks like an owner turns a profit, if you really look at the numbers, it almost always under-performs compared to other investments. Of the four markets covered in this weekly blog, Palos Verdes is the queen of single-family raw land.
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The July South Bay real estate numbers are here. As we recover from the shock of the shut-down of our local economy, and continue to stay open, the monthly data will get less valuable. Quarterly data will aggregate bigger data that is more dependable in the short-term, along with helping to see if longer term trends are intact. I may do just one more monthly report and then plan to stick with quarterly data since month-to-month data does not tell the whole real estate story as the natural real estate cycle gets thrown off and we try to go back to a normal market. For reference, I have included past blog posts that cover the monthly
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I cannot believe it is already August. What a crazy and strange year it has been. The real estate market continues its strong recovery, driven by low interest rates, buyers’ heightened desire for their own space, and better than expected economic data. Unemployment positively surprised this morning and the rate now sits at 10.6% without work. That is not a great number and it is still higher than the worst part of the Great Recession, but it is a far better number than 14.7% unemployment rate our economy experienced in April. Remember, we went from 4.4% to 14.7% in just one month. That is unprecedented and scary. Thankfully, there has been improvement each month to help
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