West Hollywood and Silver Lake-Echo Park Market Round-Up: January 2008

West Hollywood (Area 10) – Six homes closed in the West Hollywood area in January 2008, well below the average of 11 closings during January in the previous five years. The market in the “West Hollywood West” neighborhood – the area bounded by La Cienega and Doheny, Melrose and Beverly -- remains “hot” by any standard. Two sales illustrate this trend -- 9015 Dorrington – 2br, 2ba, a high-end remodel -- that sold for $1.80 million ($95,000 below asking) in 8 days and 385 Huntley Drive – 3 br, 3.5 ba, 2,400 sq ft – that sold for $1.925 million ($25,000 above asking) in 3 days. West Hollywood West has established itself as the “SoHo” of Los Angeles – with residences at the forefront of design, at the footsteps of restaurants and high-end retail – and continues to be a magnet for Buyers. With the construction of the Red Building at the Pacific Design Center, the reputation of this neighborhood should only be further cemented.

The average days on market for sales in West Hollywood in January 2008 was 28. The West Hollywood single family home market remains robust in relation to outlying areas. The foreclosure groundswell which has struck the Southern California region has left West Hollywood relatively untouched. The number of Notice of Defaults (NOD) served to property owners’ in arrears in West Hollywood was 2 among the 1395 total records for LA County as of early February 2008.

Silver Lake-Echo Park (Area 21) – Only seven homes closed in the month of January 2008 in the Silver Lake-Echo Park area – a multi-year low. That small number of sales is staggering when compared to the number of closings in Silver Lake-Echo Park during January in the previous five years – 35 closings (2003), 33 closings (2004), 27 closings (2005), 28 closings (2006), 21 closings (2007). Buyers were seemingly on strike in December 2007 and with no apparent need to find a property before the end of the year.

In spite of the small number of sales in Silver Lake-Echo Park and the weak regional market, values in this neighborhood remain firm. Among these sales were two of the Maltman Bungalows (Maltman Street south of Sunset.) The sale prices of $499,000 and $519,000 net to about $1,000/sq ft – a value rivaling the best homes in West Hollywood or Venice. Two of the seven properties that sold in Silver Lake-Echo Park were over $1 million. The median sale price for single family homes has increased for the past two years, trending from $680,000 in Feb 2006 to $735,000 in Feb 2008 – a $55,000 increase – and an annual appreciation rate of 4.0%.

http://www.adnergroup.com/