Southern California Real Estate Video Blog with Scott Himelstein

When is the Best Time of Year to Sell Your Home?

There are many great San Fernando Valley area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 818-720-9922 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

We get asked all the time whether now is a good time to buy or sell. While most people think the spring and summer are the best times to sell, the numbers suggest the later months are a pretty great time to sell. Many homeowners take their home off the market because they think they'll get a better price come spring. With more sellers sitting on the sidelines, those who decide to go ahead and sell in the fall benefit from a lack of competition.

Homes sold in January often sell for a lot higher and with multiple offers because there is less for buyers to choose from. Interest rates are still quite low, hovering just above 4%, so buyer demand is still quite high. When looking at the numbers for last December in San Fernando Valley, we noticed more listings closed escrow than were on the market. We saw a similar trend in January and February of this year, before things started to change when March came around.

The months of December, January, and early February are perfect for maximizing your home's value. Competition is low and buyers are serious, giving you an upper hand in negotiations. If you want to take advantage of these favorable conditions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to assist you in any way possible.

Does it Make Sense to Invest in Solar?

Many of our clients ask us whether solar panels are worth the investment. It really depends - there are a few things to consider if you are thinking about investing in solar technology for your home:

Buying: If you buy solar panels for your home, it's going to take a long time before you see a return on your investment. If you plan on moving within the next 10 years, you're not going to save any money on your electricity bill. You have to live in your home a long time before the $200 dollars a month you save will pay off the panels.

Leasing: Leasing the panels can create many problems when you try to sell your home because the buyer will have to qualify for the lease payment. The buyer loses some of their purchasing power because it will have to be factored into their loan approval.

If you're looking to get solar panels simply to make an environmentally friendly decision, there's no reason not to. However, if you're trying to save money on your electric bill, it will take a very long time before you'll see a return on your investment.

If you have any further questions about solar, or simply have a general real estate question, please give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

How we helped Chuck with his real estate needs by keeping him posted on everything

"It was very good working with Scott. He was very clear from the beginning of the services he would provide and the costs involved. He was very thorough and always kept me posted on things. If anything came off the rails, he was very quick to react and take care of it. We had a situation that could have been a real problem but with the way Scott handled it, it didn’t turn out to be a problem at all."

-Chuck Roedel, Home Seller

The Porter Ranch Market Is Still Warm Despite Recent Cooling

Conditions here in LA County have been quite interesting lately. Going back to the beginning of the year, we had only 2,361 properties for sale on our local MLS. For the month of October, we have well over 3,700 homes for sale. What does this big shift in inventory mean?

For one, it means buyers have more options. Before, sellers were competing with 3-5 homes - now, they are competing with 10-15 homes at a time. We've also seen a jump in days on market: from 31 days to 48 days. This can be attributed to buyers having more homes to choose from and taking their time. It helps that interest rates are still at historic lows, at just below 4.5%.

The good news for Porter Ranch and the surrounding area is that we've seen a 10% gain, and distressed property sales have fallen from 17% to under 10% since this time just a year ago. Most of the sales we're seeing now are under normal circumstances.

The market was red-hot at the beginning of the year - now, we're seeing stable conditions. The market is growing at a normal pace, rather than falling after a great start to the year. The chances are, if you price your home right, you'll get it sold in under 30 days, which is certainly ideal for sellers.

Here at the Scott Himelstein Group, we've managed to get homes sold in under 20 days on average. So, if you're interested in buying or selling in the LA County area, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We'd love to make your real estate transaction as beneficial as possible!

How we helped Sean with his real estate needs by our quick response

"I’ve known Scott for a long time so it was really cool to have him help me out with my transaction. I don’t know if Scott actually sleeps, he was just so responsive at all hours of the day or night and I never had to wait more than 2 seconds for him to get back to us. We ended up with a condo that we’re very happy with and he did everything that he could so it was just an awesome experience!"

-Sean Feeney, Home Buyer