Palos Verdes Real Estate

September 2019 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor:

I have a number of new listings that have come on the market since my last letter, black and white flyers for which are included.  I’ve also got a couple more coming up in PVE and RPV under $1.4 million, so please call me if you or anyone you know might be interested.  It’s generally better to get to them before the world at large finds out, and this is your chance.

The market has slowed noticeably in the last couple of months.   The ridiculously low interest rates (currently high 3%’s for a 30 year fixed rate loan) have settled in as the norm and don’t have the buyer stimulus that they should, given the rates of double that in the not too distant past.  When I got into this business in 1984, 14% was about the best you could do, so they all seem low to me.  Anyway, listings are sitting on the market longer, prices that might have been viable last Spring are being reduced, and the buyers are more finicky and don’t have the sense of urgency they did even 9 months ago.  My crystal ball is still in the shop, but if I were considering selling in the next year or so, I would get my house on the market now – actually I would have gotten it on the market a year ago as I said at the time.  We’ve become so used to a very active market the past few years that this seems slow to agents who have been in the business only a few years; but this is typical of the real estate market during my 35 years in the business, and I know how to get houses sold in this environment.  As I write this, there are news reports that prices were up in July.  As you know, July reflects May and June sales, not July’s.  Call me at 310 613-1076 and we can talk. 

I kind of feel like I’ve beat this issue to death, but I had another case in the last few weeks that illustrated it again:  about a month ago a seller called from just outside the PVE City limits who had listed his house 5 months ago with an agent from out of the area.  This was an agent who, I don’t think, had ever sold a house around here, and appeared to be completely unfamiliar with the cities, past sales, values, or pretty much anything else.  The result was that she listed the house at least 25% over the market value, which resulted in the house sitting on the market with no bona fide offers, during a fairly hot market.  She also did some other things that were counter to the seller’s interest, without the seller’s knowledge, which worked against getting the house sold.  These are sellers who are very motivated to sell, and it pains me that they missed that window and will now likely sell for less.  I am going to get this house sold but, as the seller said, he should have called me in the first place.

A few months ago I gave a series of well-attended lectures entitled “Myths and Realities of Real Estate”, where I got into the nitty gritty of what’s true and not, what matters and doesn’t, and things to watch out for when selling your house.  One of those lectures is soon going to be on YouTube.  I will let you know where to find it.  Meanwhile, visit my website at www.DanaGraham.com, or call me to get the information first hand.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                            Dana Graham

                                                                                                                                            DRE #00877973

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 10th, 2019 at 7:50 am and is filed under Buyers, Everything I've Written, Newsletters, Palos Verdes Information, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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