Best Time to List a Home, According to the NYT

Apparently, April is the best time to list a property. General rule of thumb is Spring & Summer.

The factors considered: "the number of days each property spent on the market; the rate at which properties listed at various times of year sold above or below asking price; the number of online views listings received; the total number of listings at any given time; and the average listing price in each area at various times of year."

When Is It A Good Time to Sell, When Is It A Good Time to Buy?

Everyone can look back in hindsight and say "I should have bought in the crash." Then why did so many people jump ship and short sell in the crash? It's because everyone has different motivations, different circumstances in their lives.

There's no really right answer unless you know for sure where the market is heading, and if we could all predict the future, all of us would be in the 1%.

The best answer to the question of when to sell or buy is when you can afford to, and it's the right property.

If you can afford a house at what we're calling the "height of the market," then you should be fine. Even if the market dips, you can afford the payments (Please people, get a 30 year fixed and you're mortgage is like rent control for 30 years). Some people have bought at the height, but got some amazing interest rates, so they ended up just as good as other buyers who got locked into a higher interest rate at a slightly lower price.

If you're selling because you need to, or you want to upgrade, or you want to cash out on equity and get a better investment, go for it. We're at new heights so if you're looking to sell, then duh, this is the best time. If you're not needing to sell, there's no real reason why you should, and it's not like you're needing the cash right now, then hold onto it. You can always rent the place out for killer rents--just as prices are high, rents are even higher than ever before.

The Art of Trading Up

A successful stock broker friend told me a long time ago that there's only one rule he lives by: "Buy low, sell high." It doesn't matter that you've bought low now and sold high a year from now, or 10 years from now, it only matters that you bought low and sold high.

This is also the key to real estate. If you do this, then you can really start to rake in that passive income.

But you can't just sell high and spend it all--you need to trade up. If you've made a killing on RE in the past 2-3 years like many of my clients did, nearly all of them ended up with either

1. Multiple properties
2. Multi-family properties
3. A wow factor trade up single family home

The ones that traded up to a larger pad in a better neighborhood will still make a killing because their neighborhood keeps getting better.

The ones that doubled their property portfolio or added multi-plexes into the mix, are now happily collecting passive income that increases every year (not to mention their prop values keep going up due to the LA housing market demand) They've basically turned their first profits into cash cows.

Congratulations to all my wonderful clients who are positioning themselves to retire a little earlier!

What's Up With All the Units at Bartlett? - #308, #309, #312, #509, #610, #803, #811

I've been flooded with questions about the Bartlett Lofts located at 215 W. 7th Street. Great building, historic pedigree, amazing central location between the historic core and the Financial & Jewelry Districts, anticipated to become a Mills Act building one day, etc. Basically, lots going for the building, but why so many units on the market?

A few reasons. Sales have picked up at the Bartlett this year, and sold prices have increased, which means that owners are happy to sell for a profit, which is why there are suddenly several units--7 to be exact--on the market right now.

The building has front desk security, beautiful rooftop with amazing 360 views, and a lot of the original historic charm intact. Think high ceilings and large windows. The only drawback is that the building does not have parking. This is a turnoff for some buyers.

Lastly, this is a slow time (Fall/Winter) to sell condos and lofts, meaning things tend to sit on the market for 30-45 days on average.

But as I've mentioned before, deals can be scooped up when the market has slowed down. There's always an upside to real estate, as Warren Buffet used to say.

The Thing About Pricing to Sell...

We're approaching a slow time in downtown. Holidays are near, people are resolving to look again next year, and inventory is low. This also means that properties are sitting on the market longer. And when properties sit, it doesn't look good. Which is when price drops happen. And that gives buyers hope that prices can be dropped even further. Moral of the story if you're putting your place on the market? Know the cycles of real estate, and price accordingly.