Venice California Real Estate May Update by Brian Maser

I specialize in selling single family homes and small income properties on the Westside of Los Angeles. Over the last 3 months, there have only been twelve (“12”) 2-4 unit income properties sold on the Westside of Los Angeles (Venice, Santa Monica, Palms-Mar Vista, West L.A. and Culver City). This information is based on what is reported within the MLS system. There are thousands of these 2-4 unit income properties in the locations mentioned above, but no one is buying or selling right now. Over the last 10 years, many of these properties were sold to investors who did not care about cash flow, but were hoping to generate appreciation in value and to buyers who could not afford their own single family home. We are seeing a real depreciation in value for these properties, where investors will only make a move if they can generate a 6% or more return on investment. The values being asked for the active 2-4 unit properties on the Westside still do not make financial sense at these prices. Other realtors must convince their sellers that they need to be realistic in value in order to sell. No more picking numbers out of thin air and selling. It must make sense. Brian Maser of Abbot Kinney Real Estate (Listing Agent).