December 2009

Woodland Hills: Expectations Out of Balance

Last time I analyzed the MLS data for the North West San Fernando Valley, I noted some encouraging trends: a 1% year-over-year increase in the median sold price, and the fact that the “for sale” prices were within approximately 10% of the “sold prices,” which is considered a healthy equilibrium between buyers and sellers. This basically means that sellers are being realistic, which permits transactions to take place. But, turning to the micro-climate of Woodland Hills, we can see a very different picture. On the chart below, it is apparent that while the “for sale” price hasn’t budged since last year, the median sold price has plunged 11%. In other words, buyers and sellers are getting increasingly out of sync. But, at the same time, inventory has plummeted from earlier this year. It will be interesting to see in the coming months whether the expectation gap causes inventory to increase. Stay tuned.