Let’s dive into the La Crescenta Real Estate Update for July 2024. Twenty-three homes closed escrow last month. Twelve of these homes sold over the asking price, five for the asking price, and six below asking. A four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 2303 Janet Lee Dr. sold for $657.04 per foot. This was also the highest-priced sale for the month, selling at the list price of $2,299,000. A one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 432-square-foot home at 3213 Mills Ave. sold for $1,273.15 per foot, which, interestingly enough, was the least expensive home sold; only one sold over $2,000,000.
The absorption rate remains unbelievably low. In fact, we connected with a Los Feliz agent who has been trying to find a $2,000,000 La Crescenta home for a client for over a year.
From Corelogic: Small starter homes more frequently experience appraisal gaps. An appraisal gap happens when a house’s appraised value is less than the agreed-upon sales price. In June 2024, 8.6% of all home sales in the closing process had appraisals below the contract sales price, an improvement from 10.7% a year ago. Among small starter homes, 9.6% had appraisals below the pre-closing contract sale price, down from 12.1% a year ago. Larger, more expensive homes had a 7.1% appraisal gap rate, which is slightly higher than last year. On average, starter homes are 3-5% more likely than larger homes to have an appraisal gap, indicating a higher risk of overpayment by inexperienced first-time homebuyers.
The sale of a 432 square foot home caught my eye. That is so incredibly small! Even for one person. But I guess it’s common in New York so why not here too. Not for me though. I actually enjoy smaller homes (less to clean and keep up) but I think 432 is too small