It is an extremely confusing market for Los Angeles home buyers.  The media and real estate agents offer conflicting advice... buy now..... wait..... interest rate can only go up.... prices will drop... double dip..... And if you are looking for a home, It’s really difficult to weed your way through the real estate inventory:

1) There are some short sales with listing prices made up out of thin air, others with two and three lenders and just too many liens to successfully negotiate, but some which will successfully close to a patient buyer.

2) Then there are the foreclosures, many of which are very aggressively priced, frequently selling in multiple offer situations and often over asking price.

3) There are the listings which are standard sales (not foreclosures, not short sales) and aggressively priced.  These homes typically sell within ten days and often in multiple offer situations and also frequently over asking price.

4) Then there are the overpriced listings; there are several categories of overpriced listings: 

The Maybe Seller:  The maybe seller is not highly motivated and typically unrealistic.  He will sell his home if he can get a certain dollar amount (usually more than his home is worth).  He would love to purchase a larger home or move to a more expensive neighborhood.  The maybe seller is usually very unrealistic about how much his home is worth; will likely never sell, because he can’t get the equity out needed for the down payment on the more expensive home.  Buyers attempting to write offers based on the real market value of the maybe seller’s home are wasting their time.   "Maybe" doesn’t care what his home is worth, just what he needs (and I get it, because if he doesn’t get his number, he can’t move).



The Distressed Seller:  This is often someone who purchased their home several years ago and can’t afford the payments.  The home is listed too high because of the mortgage balance.  These homes just really need to be reduced and shifted to the short sale category.

The Confused Seller: This is the one who has equity and is able to sell his home for market value.  This seller is often highly motivated to sell, perhaps downsizing, relocating to another town or state, or maybe they have just outgrown their home; typically the confused seller has a very real reason to move.  Although this homeowner reads the paper and listens to the news, this seller does not quite understand that the market has shifted and that while there may be oodles of people who would love to buy their home, many of them can no longer obtain financing.  If a buyer is patient, the confused seller often comes around.  But for a confused seller timing is everything, realistic offers during the initial week of marketing are a waste of time.  Each confused seller is different, some realize in a month the realities of today’s Los Angeles real estate market, some can take a year or longer… and just chase the market lower and lower. 

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