If you were to ask me to use one word to describe the Culver City real estate market in 2011, it would be “impressive.”

I have worked the west side market now for over 11 years and know and understand all of the neighboring micro markets, such as Mar vista, Venice, Marina del Rey, Westchester, Brentwood, Santa Monica. The reason impressive, comes to mind when I think about Culver City’s results in 2011 is when I compare it to the above areas, this is the one that continually stands out. Why?

Here are a few of the key points

1. Consistently low inventory – everyone understands the relationship between the number of homes for sale and the available  pool of buyers is key to price stability. Too many homes for sale and not enough buyers, prices will inevitably drop as sellers compete to attract offers. In a city of some 5,000 residencies, the average number of homes for sale has averaged under 50!
2. Low number of distressed sales – It’s stands to reason if a local market has a high proportion of distressed sales, such as bank REO’s (real estate owned), short sales, or sellers who are close to break even and very little equity to work with, they will cause prices to drop as they all try to sell quickly and stop the further erosion of the “asset” they hold.
3. Buyer Demand – This is an area that Culver City has benefited from enormously in this real estate recession. Culver City home owners should thank all those responsible for our great schools and the development of our very own downtown area. These two factors are very much at the forefront of the buyers who want to live in Culver City

All of this augers well for our small little town as move out of this real estate “slow” period. Once the confidence returns to the overall economy, Cuvler City home prices will inevitably rise. In my opinion, we could see neighboring communities looking at Culver City with a large degree of envy!