Los Feliz Market Round-Up: January 2009

Los Feliz (Area 22) – Single Family Homes: The liquidity crisis has had a noticeable impact on the Los Feliz single family home market, as evidenced by the drop-off in sales – and selling price point – in January 2009.

Only seven Los Feliz sales closed in January 2009. Three of these homes sold for over $1 million, while the remaining four sold for $701,000 and less. Two of these sales were REOs.

(Los Feliz is a non-homogeneous market. Home prices in the Los Feliz MLS area skew to the high end (hills north of Los Feliz Boulevard) and the low end (Franklin Hills, Atwater Village and Interstate 5-adjacent areas.)

The drop-off in single-family home sales in January 2009 was precipitous when compared to the number of January sales in previous years: 13 (2008), 15 (2007), 12 (2006) and 24 (2005). The $701,000 median sale price in Los Feliz for January 2009 was also substantially lower than in January of previous years: $940,000 (2008), $855,000 (2007), $808,000 (2006) and $900,000 (2005).

The highest priced sale in January 2009 was $1,550,000– 4060 Farnmouth Drive, a 3,255 sq ft Spanish home on a 6,833 sq ft lot in the Los Feliz hills adjacent to Griffith Park. This updated walled Spanish villa has 180 degree views from Glendale to the ocean.

The pricing history of this property illustrates how the perception of “value” has changed in recent months. In the sunny days of May 2008, the home was initially listed at $2,195,000. With price reductions and no sale after 6 months, the home was re-listed with a new agent at $1,699,000, eventually going into contract 45 days later and selling for $150,000 less than the asking price. The sale price was 29% lower than the original asking price.

In spite of January’s weak figures, looking back three months we see that life goes on in Los Feliz. While the nation has been in the grips of a full-blown economic crisis, high-end homes are still trading hands in Los Feliz.

In the past 90 days, four homes sold between $2 and 3 million and 11 homes sold between $1 and 2 million. The majority of properties listed are still not selling (there were 39 sales and 47 expired listings), but many transactions are going forward.

Jamie Adner
www.adnergroup.com