Understanding Pricing for Echo Park Real Estate

Drive down any street in Echo Park and notice the mix of residential architectural styles and eras. A meticulously restored Craftsman may sit next to a multi-unit building or a newly built contemporary home.  Conditions of these homes can vary greatly; and block-to-block there can be a significant disparity.

Consider that real estate agents and sellers must make sense of this charming eclecticism in housing stock when deciding how to price a home for sale. And prospective homebuyers want to make sure the price they are offering is right.

Today’s reeling economic markets also impede lending, further complicating the issue. If a buyer and a seller agree on a price, the mortgage lender must be on the same page too or the deal doesn’t close.

Many factors go into a home listing price. Timing plays a key role too.  Typically, home sales are seasonal. Expect more homes to come on the market after Labor Day. 

The season slows down late Fall through the holidays and then, as more inventory comes onto the market, it kicks into high gear again in the spring.

The Home Pricing Process: The Seller’s Perspective

Real estate agent Joseph Lightfoot at Sotheby’s Los Feliz explains that settling on a home’s list price is a combination and balance of math, analytics, intuition and experience. After looking at a home’s size, location, condition and floor plan, he will compare the property to recent home sales, pending sales and active listings.

“It’s important to compare what’s currently for sale as that’s the competition,” says Lightfoot. The amount of competition (homes on the market) is also a factor in determining pricing.

Arriving at that dollar figure has become more challenging. “Even though the market is robust in Echo Park, the volume of sales are down and essentially flat with last year,” he notes.

With so many unique properties in Echo Park, Lightfoot cautions that online sites that offer instant evaluations of a property’s value are probably not accurate. It takes time to properly evaluate a property in context of not only the neighborhood, but today’s market.

He finds that prices locally in 90026 are holding steady. “Good houses are selling quickly for good prices,” he says.

The Buyer’s Perspective: What Is A Good Price?

One thing about online information, there is more of it and it is now relatively easy to find what area properties have listed for and sold for---market knowledge is an important thing to study (and hopefully not obsesses about) when searching for property.  Although online searching is extremely useful, nothing equals touring a home during an open house.

Studio City residents Joe Ksander and Narineh Hacopian are looking at homes in Echo Park. At a recent weekend open house Ksander offered that he determines which homes to visit after searching online. He only looks at homes within a particular price range. After viewing more than 10 homes in the area, the couple has found "a ratio of quality to square footage,” says Ksander.

Sotheby’s real estate agent Louise Leach reminds that when judging home prices, “You’re not always comparing apples to apples.”  A prospective buyer needs to work with a good agent because no matter what the list price, there will be negotiations. And rarely is the listing price the final sale price.