Tuesday or Friday between the hours of 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. you may have witnessed scores of well-dressed, professionals rushing from their European sedans into houses, only to re-emerge moments later, speed away, then perform the same ritual a half mile down the road. These are not thieves, census takers or delivery people, but local real estate agents engaged in the twice weekly Broker’s Caravan, an opportunity for agents to tour new real estate listings here in the San Fernando Valley.
More often than not, these real estate agents will appear parched and hungry. This wasn’t always the case. Back in the day, when it was a 'buyer’s market,' the hosts of Open Houses would work hard to entice agents and potential buyers to show up at their listing with promises of home-baked cookies, hot-off-the-grill barbecued meats, on-site smoothie trucks and Asian-inspired buffets.
Nowadays, agents are lucky to be offered a miniature bottled water with a local title company’s logo slapped on it.
Make no mistake, it is a seller’s market with an average of 18 qualified buyers vying to purchase each Valley Village and Studio City property that is for sale, oftentimes in spite of the condition the property is in. The buyers are not just families looking to put down roots, but investors who arrive bearing bags of cash with which to sweeten their offer.
It’s a tough time to be a buyer, especially an un-informed buyer. Many haven’t been following the upward trend of prices in Los Angeles and have great hopes of getting a real steal. It often takes them several rounds of their low-ball offers being rejected before they realize that the deals are no longer out there. The pent-up demand for real estate is roaring through our happy neighborhoods and bidding wars are not uncommon.
What’s the best way to ‘win’ a property in Valley Village these days? First of all, do not underestimate the importance of working with a realtor who is good with people. A friendly relationship between the buyer’s realtor and the listing agent’s realtor will, more often than many realize, be the lone determining factor of who goes home with house keys. When all the offers come in at about the same elevated price, what else is there to determine the decision?
I’ll tell you what, knowing that the buyer’s agent you will be working with for the next 45 days is professional, helpful and a pleasure to work with. That being said, you’ll also want a realtor who knows the area, is good at negotiation and is good at educating you, the client, so that you will be an asset to them when trying to close a deal.
A good realtor will advise a family with elementary school-aged children of the boundaries for Carpenter Community Charter School and Colfax Charter School. And, she’ll go on to advise that being within those boundaries doesn’t necessarily guarantee that their child will get into that school.
Click to see map for Colfax students
Click to see map for Carpenter students
Click for another Great School resource
A solid, professional real estate agent, and there are many of them, will educate you on what the current market is like, and how to win in it. If you will be using a loan to purchase a property, she will insist that you acquire a pre-approval letter from your lender before you look at properties. That Pre-Approval letter will be stored on her computer right next to your ‘Proof of Funds’, for easy access when you find a home you want to make an offer on.
If you find such a smart, friendly, professional, educational, people-person REALTOR, tell your friends about her so that she can continue to do her good work.
And, would it hurt to buy her a bowl of soup once in a while?
Lori Aronsohn
Your Valley Village Realtor
Keller Williams Studio City
larealty@me.com
www.loriaronsohn.com
818.516.9218
