While the rest of the Los Angeles County real estate market is still getting back its bearings after the pandemic-induced slump, it’s an entirely different story for the Culver City real estate market.
As a premier entertainment and tech-driven market, Culver City, L.A. continues to see significant boosts in real estate activity, both in residential and commercial real estate.
On the commercial front, business establishments and buildings in the city are getting snatched up left and right as employers are redesigning working spaces as a way to entice their employees back to the office. The availability of many office spaces with upgrades such as high ceilings and open layouts are among the reasons why Culver City is a great location to snag prime commercial real estate.
As for residential real estate, the median listing price for homes in the Heart of Screenland increased by 21.8% in May 2022 compared to values from last year. The average home here is bought for $1.2 million, which is 3.95% above its asking price. More interestingly, homes in the Culver City real estate market are selling fast, regardless of their pricing or the number of beds and baths.
If you’re a home seller or buyer, how do you harness this information to your advantage?
In this article, we’ll go over the various reasons why Culver City homes are selling fast. We’ll also discuss what great things Culver City has in store for you, whether you’re a property buyer or seller.
Factors behind Culver City’s fast home sales
In other states and cities, the average time that a property stays in the market would be a month or two. However, this is not the case in Culver City. Real estate market observers note that a home in Culver City usually remains in the market for up to a month before it’s bought. This doesn’t even cover offline listings that would only take a week at most from their introduction to the market to closing.
Here are the most common reasons why homes being sold in Culver City are selling fast:
Low supply, high demand
All over the United States, housing demand far outpaces the available housing supply. In February 2022, for example, the nationwide housing inventory decreased by 26% year over year. Homes were being sold 13 days faster than they did during the same time the previous year. This severe imbalance between sellers and buyers has resulted in a 12.8% increase in the median listing price of homes on the national scale.
Moreover, recent economic developments have become an impetus for buying real estate at their present price points. This comes as an attempt to hedge against anticipated hikes in mortgage rates that are predicted to return to their pre-pandemic levels.
In Culver City and the rest of Los Angeles County, the same narrative holds true. The July 2022 forecast from NoradaRealEstate.com reveals that the said county is holding on to only 2.3 months’ worth of housing stock. A balanced market, on the other hand, will feature four to six months’ worth of supply. Thus, if you are a property seller in Culver City, the market is clearly on your side.
High desirability among real estate investors
Culver City homes are touted as among the most lucrative real estate investments to acquire, regardless of their size and amenities, due to the following:
Great location for young professionals and families
Culver City makes the cut as one of the best neighborhoods in California. Niche.com, in fact, gives it an A+ grade, particularly in the following metrics:
- Public schools
- Good for families
- Outdoor Activities
- Diversity
- Nightlife
- Weather
- Health and fitness
Also, pulling in key statistics and insights from the US Census and other expert resources, it’s ranked #13 among the Best Suburbs for Young Professionals in California, #18 among the Best Suburbs to Live in California, and #48 among the Best Suburbs to Raise a Family in California.
Access to entertainment, amenities, and natureIn terms of mobility, Culver City is highly walkable. It has a walkability score of 75, which means that you can complete most of your daily errands on foot. Groceries, parks, schools, places of work, and other urban comforts are not far from each other. Even local attractions are easy to find and visit.
Speaking of local attractions, Culver City has an edge over other urban areas in the West Coast in terms of the city’s proximity to almost every attraction and modern convenience that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area could offer. Whether your preferred place of recreation is the sea or the hills, Culver City is found right smack in the middle of it all.
If nature and exploration is your thing, you can take your pick from the many parks, trails, and other green spaces in and around Culver City.
- Explore the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, a 58-acre park that offers a breathtaking view of the L.A. Metro, as well as Downtown Culver City.
- Walk up the Culver City Stairs, an uneven stairway that leads to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. Just climbing the stairs’ 282 steps is enough to give anyone a good workout.
- Pedal along the Ballona Creek Bike Path for a coast-and-back adventure. The section of the path between National Boulevard and Duquesne Avenue has been reopened after the construction of a bridge replacement on Higuera Street and a new bike ramp have been concluded.
As for beaches, a short drive will take you to nearby coastlines like Venice Beach, Santa Monica Beach, or even Manhattan Beach where you can take your regular dose of sun, sand, and surf.
For the world-class kind of entertainment that L.A. is known for, a good number of television and movie studios – some of which have been in the area since the 1920s – are found in Culver City. Among the long-time movie greats located within city limits are Sony Pictures and MGM Studios. You will also find Amazon Studios’ new campus here, which houses IMDb and Amazon Video. Sports buffs or radio heads, meanwhile, will recognize NFL Network and NPR West, both of which also have main offices in Culver City.
Diversity and culture
Culver City also offers various options for cultural activities. For starters, its Arts District features murals and other street art made by local artists, as well as 26 galleries. Musicians and spoken-word performers also abound at Industry Cafe and Jazz, while budding theater actors show their skills at The Actor’s Gang Theater and The Ivy Substation.
There are also several museums that cater to a wide spectrum of ages and tastes. The guided tour of exotic wildlife at the Star Eco Station is great for children while those interested in historical memoirs of the Cold War can visit the Wende Museum.
Finally, in terms of food, you can visit one of the long-time establishments for good ol’ pastrami and other hefty sandwiches at Johnnie’s Pastrami or binge on a wide array of food choices at the Citizen Public Market. Several other restaurants, coffee shops, and bars also dot the city so you can plan for an extensive Culver City food trip with friends.
Selling your home fast and for a good price in Culver City
Given the above-mentioned reasons why Culver City homes are worth the substantial investment, how can you use these to your advantage for a quick sale and a great deal? Consider these tips below.
Get your home market-ready.
Selling a property in a seller’s market gives you a lot more room to work with. In fact, even homes that are considered “unique” – meaning, challenging to sell – will still attract buyer attention in this kind of market climate.
However, just because it’s a seller’s market doesn’t mean that you can leave your home for sale floating in the market without doing anything to push it forward. You will still need to do the work to ensure the windfall in profits at the soonest possible time.
How do you get your home market-ready?
- Declutter and depersonalize your home. Clean every nook and cranny of your home for sale before you get your property listed. Also, store away personal mementos, photographs, and other baubles to give your home a fresh update minus the lived-in look.
- Invest in minor upgrades or repairs that will make your home more inviting. A staged home sells for 20% more and 88% faster than a non-staged home? Moreover, you don’t need to shell out some serious bucks to make your home more appealing to buyers. You can simply:
- ◆ Choose a neutral color palette (e.g., gray and pink or beige and cream) for the main living areas
- ◆ Put together electrical cords and wires then hide them
- ◆ Add flowers in vases near the front door for a splash of color
- ◆ Repair or replace house items or fixtures with noticeable damage
- ◆ Use decorative bins or receptacles for knick-knacks or loose items
- Go live on a Friday. Setting your property to be listed on a Friday is a great hack that can generate the most buyer interest. Set your listing to go live on Thursday night just before midnight so that by Friday morning, home buyers can see your listing. Then, they could make plans to visit by the weekend.
- Work with a trusted Culver City agent to help you with the preparations in listing your home.
Set a strategic home price.
Make sure to be strategic in setting your home price as pricing it too high or too low has dire consequences. If set too high, buyers will just scroll down to another home with a more reasonable price. Meanwhile, if set too low, not only will buyers become suspicious that your home may be hiding some major defects but you could also end up getting less than your property’s actual worth.
A good trick is to set your price just a tad below the market value of most Culver City homes. This will give your buyers some wiggle room to negotiate for the final selling price, as well as encourage multiple bids. As a result, your property is most likely to be sold at a price point that’s higher than the market value. For optimal results, set your home price at $10,000 to $15,000 below the fair market value. And, speaking of multiple bids…
Leverage multiple bids to your advantage.
If you have a Realtor working hand-in-hand with you in your home-buying transaction, they would be the one to inform all interested buyers that there are multiple offers on your property. This will encourage them to submit their best offers and, as a result, raise the final price.
Some buyers may even include an escalation clause in their second offer, which sets increments and the ceiling for price increases that they’re willing to pay. Once you find great offers, submit your counter-offer and keep negotiations open until a final price is reached, complete with agreed-upon contingencies.
Opt for the best offer, not the highest offer.
How do you know if an offer is the best offer? It will feature some or all of the following:
- A substantial downpayment
- No (or only a few) contingencies (e.g., appraisal, financial, home sale, inspection contingencies)
- Buyer incentives or concessions (such as the buyer offering to take care of closing costs)
- A cash offer
Buying your dream home in a seller’s market
What if you’re a home buyer who has found the house of your dreams among Culver City homes for sale? Take note of these suggestions.
Secure your pre-approval paperwork.
When you’re competing with many other buyers for the home you’re eyeing, you should be steps ahead of everyone else. If you plan to apply for a mortgage, securing a mortgage pre-approval will give you that edge. Having this in your possession tells the seller that a lender sees your capability in affording their home.
How do you prepare for pre-approval paperwork? Get the following:
- Good credit. These days, a credit score of 700 and above is considered good enough to secure approval for a conventional mortgage. The higher the score, the lower the mortgage rate assigned to you. But if your credit score is lower than 700, ask your lender for advice on how to improve it or prepare to make a more sizable down payment.
- Proof of assets/income. Be prepared to submit documentation such as bank or investment account statements that will prove your financial capability to pay for a mortgage and other related financial requirements. Your asset information will also help in calculating your debt-to-income ratio.
- Proof of employment. Being employed is an important requirement if you are to assure both lender and seller that you won’t default on your regular mortgage payments. Thus, get ready to submit your most recent pay stubs. If you’re self-employed, lenders will require your business documents, financial books, and at least two of your most recent tax returns.
Take it seriously.
Buying a home is a huge investment. That said, you’ll want to protect this investment by making sure that you make the least amount of mistakes in navigating the home-buying process, especially in a most sought-after area like Culver City.
As early as the planning stages of your home-buying journey, identify your negotiables and non-negotiables in your dream Culver City home. Non-negotiables are amenities or fixtures that you cannot do without like a home thermostat that’s working optimally or a four-burner gas range. Negotiables, meanwhile, are amenities or fixtures that are nice to have but which you can still live without. Examples include a backyard pool or a balcony.
Similarly, take note of homes that match what you’re looking for and decide which among them fall under your budget. Once you’ve locked in on a property, be as flexible as you can when it comes to winning the seller over. Be available for a tour at any time and request it at your seller’s convenience.
Pitch the best possible offer.
If you’re in a bidding war, go above the seller’s asking price, as long as it’s within the vicinity of the house’s fair market value. You can also opt to add an escalation clause, which stipulates that your bid can go higher if need be. But, if you can afford to buy the house in cash, do so.
Waive contingencies if you can.
When buying a house, some contingencies need to be raised to make sure that you don’t end up getting the short end of the stick during negotiations. However, circumstances change when you’re competing with other bids in a seller’s market. To increase your chances of winning in a bidding war, you may want to waive some of these contingencies.
For example, the appraisal contingency exists to protect the buyer from paying for a house with a market value that’s more than what a lender is willing to finance. But if you can cover the gap, no matter how big it might be, you can waive this to let the seller know that you can afford the house.
The same is true for a home sale contingency. With this, you won’t have to complete the sales process until your current home is sold. But if you don’t need this condition, eliminate it when making your offer. This ensures that they don’t need to wait and possibly miss out on other offers because of this contingency.
Work with a trusted Culver City Realtor.
Make sure you partner with a trusted Realtor who specializes in the Culver City real estate market. Agents don’t just represent you at the negotiating table – they also have connections who can share offline listings with you.
Local Realtors in Culver City also have information that many non-locals won’t have access to. This can facilitate more insightful analysis, leading to informed decision-making and a home that you’ll be in love with for a long time.
Ensure success in your real estate transaction with Martin Feinberg
I, top-ranking Culver City Realtor Martin Feinberg, offer my clients over 30 years of experience in connecting buyers and sellers in this beautiful SoCal city, as well as quality results in every real estate transaction. I am committed to predicting and mitigating hurdles that can crop up, thus helping ensure that clients complete their home-buying or selling experience with the least hassle.
Property management is also among my offered services, which cover single-family homes, condo units, duplexes or triplexes, and apartment buildings. Rest assured that you can look forward to better leasing strategies, more insightful management, and improved maintenance. Get in touch with me at 310.729.6573 or send me an email here to learn more.
