It is our pleasure to bring you the Compass 2020 Q3 Real Estate Market Report. As Los Angeles felt the continuing impact of COVID-19, with restaurants and non-essential businesses facing closures and restrictions for a second time, the real estate market’s strength continued to surprise.
Many communities saw both sales activity and prices increases. Inventory constraints contributed to the multiple offers and biddings wars seen in parts of Los Angeles. The popular community of Manhattan Beach saw home sales increase by 72 percent. Neighboring Hermosa Beach had 50 percent more home sales than last year’s third quarter.
We saw serious buyers make above asking price offers immediately after seeing a property. Days on market declined at rates not seen in the last decade. Days on market fell by 55 percent for single-family homes in Brentwood. Historic low-interest rates allowed more buyers to qualify for higher-priced homes.
The perfect storm of low rates, children learning at home, and the ability to work from home turned Millennial renters into buyers as they accelerated their home buying timelines. Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles, a vibrant community for young families had a 14 percent increase in home prices. As Work from Home orders were extended the flight to the suburbs continued through the third quarter. Malibu was a stand-out with a 174 percent increase in home sales. As we move into the fourth quarter Los Angeles remains one of the country’s most desirable places to live.