Laguna Beach real estate broker, Boyd Roberts, gives his take on the Laguna Beach real estate market. This month’s text:
“This is Boyd Roberts broker of Laguna Gallery Real Estate with my take on the December Laguna Beach real estate market, the 2019 market, and my 2020 outlook.
As I predicted a month ago in this space, Laguna prices were up. The sold median rose $320,000 finishing at $1,770,000.
Quite notability, the number of active listings plunged to 175: down from 218 last month and 324 in July. With that declining inventory and a very decent 32 closings, the supply of homes came in at just 5.4 months, the lowest print since March 2016. The under $1.5M segment – with only 13% of the listings and 42% of the sales -- was particularly strong with less than a 2-month supply of homes - an extreme seller's market.
Said another way, if you have ever considered listing and selling your Laguna Beach home, this is the time. Call me to sell it, quickly, at full price.
Back to my report. As I predicted a year ago in this space, 2019 was historic. Even though the year started out with a 17-month supply of homes, the sold median rallied $60,000 and finished at $1,895,000 – an all-time high. The median price reduction was $210,000 or 9.8%. The median $ per square foot finished at $1,011.
What is next? What is my outlook? All evidence points to still higher prices. Both my short term and long-term price indicators have issued fresh up signals. With pending prices $425,000 higher than December's sold median, my Short-Term Pending Indicator – which has never been wrong – is now projecting higher prices, probably this month.
And with 2019 finishing at 383 closings my Long-Term Price Indicator – which has only been wrong once in the last 20 years – is now projecting 2020 as an up year. No guarantees.
One thing before I go. Usually when I compile the data for these reports there is almost always contrary data to support an opposite forecast. In the absence of such data, although I stand by my forecast, I am cautious.
Go to my website www.LagunaGalleryRealEstate.com for all my reports, charts, and videos. Call me to buy or list. Have a happy new year, an excellent decade, and thank you for joining me.”