Market Update April 2021
Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park
By: Michael Rice | April 5, 2021
Released April 5, 2021
My View From Inside
We all know that the market is on fire and inventory is low, so let’s jump to what’s really important right now…
It’s time to be blunt about what it takes to get your offer accepted in today’s market.
There’s a good chance you’ll be competing with anywhere between 5-15 offers for the move-in ready homes in popular neighborhoods. It’s going to take both the right mindset and the right strategies to get your offer accepted. These are the daily conversations I’m having with active buyers.
- The asking price is just the MSRP. Good rule of thumb is to add about $100k over asking to get closer to the actual price on the hot homes.
- Start making offers. There’s no risk in throwing your hat in the mix. And going through the offer process will help you get a first hand education about what it’s going to take to get accepted and what your limits are.
- You’ll likely be competing against cash offers so a standard pre-approval won’t be enough. You’ll want to have a full underwritten loan approval so you can reduce or eliminate your loan contingency.
- You may have to waive your appraisal contingency.
- If you get to the counter offer stage (not every offer makes it that far), be prepared to go all in. You can always back out during your contingency period if you change your mind. It’s more likely that you’ll be thrilled to have gotten the house!
Try these tips: How to get your offer accepted in 2021
APRIL 2021 CONEJO VALLEY REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE
- The buying frenzy continued in March with multiple offers and bidding wars on almost every home.
- Conejo Valley median home prices increased 3% in March to 860k (+25k) vs last March posting the 9th straight month of year-over-year price gains.
- Lack of inventory of available homes continues to be our biggest challenge with only 430 homes for sale in the Conejo Valley, down 13% from last March.
- But inventory was up 53 homes from the previous month as the hot spring market encourages sellers to list their home.
What Should We Expect Going Forward
- Expect more homes to hit the market daily as the spring season gets in full swing.
- Reluctant sellers will start to feel more comfortable listing their homes as Ventura/LA County enters the Orange Tier and restrictions continue to ease.
- We may have seen the last of sub 3% mortgage rates, but that’s having little effect on buyer demand so far.
- Don’t expect a sudden change to the market. Multiple offers will remain the norm for the foreseeable future.
What's The 2021 California Forecast?
According to the California Association of REALTORS, (revised 2/26/21)
- The median price of a home is expected to increase 8% in 2021.
- The number of home sales is expected to increase by 11.2%.
- Interest rates are expected to average 3% on a 30 year fixed mortgage.
Market Snapshot
Prices
- The median price of a Conejo Valley home was up in March at $860,000.
- That’s now 9 consecutive months up.
- Prices are up 3% from $835,000 last March.
- And down $67,500 from last month.
Home for Sale
- March ended with 430 homes for sale.
- Down 13% from last March.
- That’s 63 fewer homes than last year.
- And 53 more homes than last month.
Days on Market
- It took 32 days on average to sell a home in March.
- Down 49% from last March.
- That’s 30 fewer days than last year.
- And 2 fewer days than last month.
Interest Rates
Median Prices by City
(Prices are for February 2021. City data is two months behind. Keep in mind that low volume of sales can cause large price fluctuations.)
| City/County | # Sold | Feb 2020 | Feb 2019 | Y-T-Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County | 827 | $650,000 | $575,000 | 13.0% |
| San Fernando Valley | 956 | $745,000 | $645,000 | 15.5% |
| Agoura Hills | 31 | $935,000 | $725,000 | 29.0% |
| Calabasas | 28 | $1,637,500 | $1,528,250 | 7.1% |
| Camarillo | 82 | $675,000 | $572,500 | 17.9% |
| Moorpark | 39 | $795,000 | $561,000 | 41.7% |
| Newbury Park | 53 | $820,000 | $763,000 | 7.5% |
| Oak Park | 19 | $770,000 | $682,500 | 12.8% |
| Simi Valley | 165 | $640,000 | $571,000 | 12.1% |
| Thousand Oaks | 80 | $717,000 | $725,000 | -1.1% |
| Westlake Village (Ventura County) | 22 | $1,117,500 | $1,260,000 | -11.3% |
| Westlake Village (L.A. County) | 15 | $1,300,000 | $1,025,000 | 26.8% |
| Woodland Hills | 107 | $922,500 | $917,500 | 0.5% |
