Westside Los Angeles Home Market Bottomed in December 2008 - Median Sale Price Trends Down 15% to $1.7 Million

We checked in on the Westside Los Angeles neighborhoods of Bel Air - Holmby Hills, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Westwood - Century City to see how sales and prices are trending. This is some of the most sought-after real estate on the West Coast (and perhaps the world) - how has real estate fared during the tumultuous past couple of years?

Quite well, all things considered. The percentage of homes under contract in the over-$2 million sector reached a low during the midst of the financial crisis during the Winter 2008 - 9 and has been on the upswing ever since.

The market of under-$2 million homes has been showing robust signs of recovery. The percentage of homes under contract in this sector bottomed out during the same winter 2008 - 9 period and is now far exceeding sales levels of two years ago. 2010 is shaping up much more like the 'good old days' of 2007 rather than the 'dark days' of 2008 - 2009.

The improvement in sales may partially be attributed to the decline in median price of Westside homes. The median sale price in Bel Air - Holmby Hills, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Westwood - Century City has declined about 15% since its high of two years ago. Median sale price has trended down from $2.0 million in April 2008 to $1.7 million in April 2010.

Anyone looking for "fire sale" prices or a collapsed market better look elsewhere. Westside Los Angeles is sprinting to a very nice housing recovery.