BHAUS EIGHT August 2022 Newsletter

Hello community,

Hope you have been enjoying summer vacation! We are only a few days away from the start of the new school year, so enjoy these last days of summer! During these past couple of months, our BHAUS family has been growing, and we welcomed Matthew Lara to the team. We look forward to all the marketing innovation and transaction assistance he will be bringing in!

It has been a busy summer selling season. While there are some properties that are staying on the market a little longer, there are still those homes that buyers are falling in love with. Within BHAUS properties, our new listing in Hawthorne was a hot property. Immaculate and beautifully staged, the home received multiple offers after the first showings/Open House. We are excited as the Seller is now in Escrow after 7 DOM. Not only did the property show really well, but it was also properly priced.

BHAUS EIGHT Properties:

SouthBay Real Estate.

In general, the Southbay market continues strong versus last year, with a 5% median price increase across all Southbay cities and property types. We did see an 8% drop versus last month, and a drop in # of listings coming up. We also noticed that properties are staying on the market (DOM) a few days longer, and some homes have price drops before going into escrow.

Home Stats by City.

Below are the snapshots of average home prices, # Sold listings, DOM, # New listings by city, inclusive of all types of properties (ie: Single Family Residences, condos, townhomes) compared to July of last year.

Economy & Mortgage News.

Meanwhile in economy news, we see conflicting forces playing a tug of war, and further putting pressure on the market. For one, the unemployment rate dipped to pre-pandemic levels and lowest rate we’ve seen since 1969 (according to C.A.R.). At the same time, a strong wage growth adds fuel to inflation, further pushing the Fed to act more aggressively with rate increases to fight it. While mortgage rates dipped below 5% last week, the Fed is expected to increase their rate again, pushing mortgage rates back up.

According to C.A.R., last week celebrated the recovery of all jobs lost in 2020. As mentioned above, the unemployment rate of 3.5% has not been so low since 1969, showing that America is strong and back in business post pandemic.

On a 30-year conventional loan, rates dipped to 4.99% versus 5.3% a week before (versus 2.77% same time last year). It is the first time in 4 months that rates go below 5%, but according to C.A.R., supply constraints and a tight labor market will most likely push them back up. If you are looking to get a mortgage now, this is the time to lock in your rate!

Investor Corner.

For investor community, we recently sent out some new opportunities in the Southbay. One in particular is a SHORT SALE in Gardena listed under $400,000. For those with an interest in short sales, we’d like to remind you about the process so you can be ready for the timeline.

Short sales are properties that are being sold by less than the actual mortgage (what seller owes the bank), therefore the seller’s lender must approve the sale. Our team was very active in short sales in the last RE down turn, so we are very familiar with the process and can help you navigate it successfully, whether on the listing or buying side. The most important thing to know is that once a buyer sends an offer, it will take a few weeks (4-8 weeks) to get an answer from the lender. All contingencies (inspections, etc) to protect you as a buyer still remain in place, since once the lender approves your offer, the timelines begin per contract and the transaction follows the “normal” path to closing. In addition, most short sales and REOs (bank-owned properties) will not offer any repairs, so if repairs are too much for you to handle, you can still back out of the transaction with no repercussions (given you have not removed your inspection contingency). 

If your timeline allows a short wait upfront while lender reviews offer, these properties should be of great interest to you as they sell for under market value as bank wants to unload them from their portfolios.

Our team sends these short sale listings out in our Investor Corner emails as soon as they get listed. They move very fast, so if it’s something that interests you, make sure your financing is in place (or cash if you are a cash buyer) and you have the flexibility to view the property with little short notice (most of these listings do not accept “blind offers”, meaning you must view it before they accept your offer).

Contact your BHAUS EIGHT team with any comments or questions!

To subscribe to our weekly emails of investor opportunities and our digital newsletter, please email Sonia directly at Sonia@bhauseight.com

From BHAUS to yours.