West Hollywood Market Round-Up -- February 2009

Single Family Home Market. Only two houses closed in West Hollywood in February 2009. Both houses are in the West Hollywood West Area, just south of Melrose Avenue, between LaCienega and San Vicente Boulevards.

334 Huntley Drive

334 Huntley Drive, a 1,444 sq ft house on a 5,355 sq ft lot sold for $880,000 close to its reduced asking price in 62 days. 421 Westmount Avenue, a semi-distressed three bedroom, two bath REO property with a pool was listed at $905,000 and sold for $860,000 in 98 days.

Only 3 out of 69 -- an astonishing 3% -- of houses in West Hollywood were under contract in February 2009. To make matters worse, many high-end properties are on the market, priced well over the $800,000 - $900,000 range of February’s sales. As March 5, there are 29 houses in West Hollywood listed for over $1 million.

Condo market. The West Hollywood condo market remains equally languid – only fourteen condos sold in February 2009. The median sale price for West Hollywood condos was a mere $392,500, well below the 2008 median sale price of $560,000.

1351 Havenhurst Drive

The three highest priced sales were all new construction – 1351 Havenhurst Drive #203 ($835,000), 1248 N Laurel Avenue #203 ($699,000) and 1029 N Vista Street #103 ($699,000).

The sale at 1248 N Laurel Avenue (The Milano) is an example of a developer capitulating and chopping an over-inflated price to make a sale. In January 2008, the 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1,740 sq ft condo was listed at $990,000 – and after almost 20 months on the market, closed for 30% less.

1029 N Vista Street

The right price can also lead to a quick sale. 1029 N Vista Street #103 (2 bedroom, 2 bath 1,850 sq ft), in a slick, new five-unit development sold for its reasonable $699,000 asking price in 16 days.

The market is a difficult one for sellers. Buyers are looking for deals. In this climate, only the most aggressively-priced properties will change hands.

Jamie Adner