Silver Lake / Echo Park Market Sizzles - Median Price Up 125% Since March 2009 - Home Inventory Down 67% - Updated Homes Sell at $500 - $550/sq ft

The Silver Lake / Echo Park market was one of the first neighborhoods that we fell in love with when we moved to Los Angeles. We had moved from Lower Manhattan, and found that the bohemian - creative - edginess of New York had a parallel life in this eclectic neighborhood wedged between Los Feliz, Hollywood and Downtown.

But don't be fooled by the hip, casual atmosphere. The real estate market is highly competitive and has tightened considerably since the slackest days of the foreclosure crisis. We were honored to have been interviewed on the subject by the Los Feliz Ledger, a newspaper we love and admire:

“I represent some older clients who live in that area and it’s been bohemian for 80 years when the movie studios were first out there. I think it always attracted that kind of person. The [home] prices… are stratospheric. But profile buyers young or old like that vibe,” said Adner, the real estate agent.

As the trendy youth continue to set up camp in Silver Lake, Adner predicts the trends in real estate will only go up.

“If the trend continues, home prices are going to go up quite dramatically… like [homes] near [the] Beverly Center. Silver Lake always was and is officially now the east village of Los Angeles,” he said.

Consider these bewildering statistics about the Silver Lake / Echo Park market comparing March 2009 data to March 2010 data:

• 60% increase in # of houses under contract
• 44% decrease in # of houses for sale
• 67% decrease in residual inventory
• Median price March 2009: $340,000 (market was almost exclusively foreclosures)
• Median price March 2010: $768,500 (125% increase!)
  
• Months supply of inventory March 2009: 5.9
• Months supply of inventory March 2010: 3.3

Month-to-month data can be deceiving, but the overall trend is apparent: Silver Lake / Echo Park continues to be the best quality - best located - most affordable - most sought-after neighborhood in the Beach-to-Downtown corridor. Below are highlights of some sales in 2010.

2039 Micheltorena Street, a 5 bedroom, 5 bath, 3,643 sq ft Spanish pool home on a 12,588 sq ft lot (with this killer view!) sold for $1,350,000, and was the only home to sell for over $1 million.

Some of the better properties in the area are selling for a lofty $550/sq ft. 2667 Lake View Terrace, close to the Silver Lake reservoir, sold for $971,000. The house has a scant 2 bedrooms, 1.75 baths, 1,762 sq ft on a 5,837 sq ft street-to-street lot.

What a difference a couple of years makes. This home at 2533 Ivan Hill Terrace (one of five homes built by BUILT) was originally put on the market in 2006 at $1,075,000, then lowered in 2007 to $979,000. Cut to a couple years later and the houses became short sales and this one was listed at $675,000. Selling price was $750,000. With 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 1,500 sq ft of living area, the house sold for $500/sq ft.

Now, to illustrate how strong the demand is even for the most diminutive properties, let's jump to a little home, off the beaten track, in a quaint Echo Park neighborhood. 1818 Berkeley Avenue has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and 550 (!) sq ft of living area on a 2,400 sq ft lot. Asking price? $299,000. Sale price: $325,000. Days on market: 14. This real estate market is anything but "laid back."