May 28, 2008

The Housing Slump Catches Up to Beverly Hills

In March, I blogged about the current state of single-family home and condo sales in the famous Beverly Hills 90210 ZIP code.  At the time, agents were telling us that homes were still selling briskly in places like Beverly Hills and Westwood, because high-end homes in established areas were less affected by the ups and downs of the market.

But that appears to be changing.  Here is a snapshot of sales in 90210, with March figures in parentheses:

Single-Family Homes
For sale:  212 (176)
Average listing price: $3,745,000 ($3,562,500)
Average listing price/sq. foot: $1,063 ($695)
Average days on market:  120

Sold since 2/27/08: 27 (79)
Average sold price: $2,050,000 ($2,225,000)
Average sold price/sq. foot:  $867 ($863)

Condos
For sale: 92 (68)
Average listing price: $820,000 ($844,000)
Average listing price/sq. foot:  $798 ($614)

Sold since 2/27/08: 19 (31)
Average sold price:  $760,500 ($875,000)
Average sold square footage: 1,715 (1,702)
Average sold price/sq. foot:  $658 ($554)

Single-family home inventory has grown about 20 percent in the last three months, while sales have dropped by two-thirds.  Similarly, condo inventory has burgeoned more than 30 percent, while sales are off by more than a third.

There’s about an 18 percent difference between listed square footage and sold square footage on both homes and condos.  Is that how far prices need to come down before sales pick up?  We’ll have to wait and see.