If you see a Malibu condo owner around town, be pleasant to them. Give them a hug. Treat them well. Ask them if they might want to sell their place. Ask them nicely; we need them.
Buyers and realtors alike would like to see more condos on the market; the number of local condo owners willing to sell is extremely low; less than four percent of all the Malibu condos are currently listed for sale.
During the dead of winter recently, the inventory was less than two percent. That translates to about 35-40 available listings for all of Malibu in recent weeks, ranging from about $210,000 to more than $700,000. How are first-time and lower-priced buyers supposed to find a place to live in Malibu with so little choice?
The condo inventory problem is exacerbated by home prices overall. Since prices have risen so dramatically since 1997, as much as 60-70 percent, very few homes in Malibu are offered for under $500,000.
Two recent house listings in Corral Canyon went into escrow relatively quickly, with offering prices in the $400,000s. Excluding mobile homes, a Southern California buyer willing to pay twice the regional median average for a Malibu residence is limited exclusively to a condo or townhouse.
At one point in January, only 10 units were listed for under $400,000. That’s out of approximately 1,200 condo and townhouse total units for all of Malibu.
Currently, with approximately 40 listings overall, the median asking price is about $375,000.
Previous to a tight selection during the last several years, the inventory would exceed 70 listings in less hectic times.
The following is an inventory of total units and median asking prices for all condo listings in mid-April of each year:
2001: 38, $375K; 2000: 42, $372K; 1999: 38, $324K; 1998: 46, $297K; 1997: 53, $339K; 1996: 57, $275K.
During 1997, the new Pointe of Malibu, across from Point Dume, added to the inventory and raised the average asking price, due to the newer and larger nature of the units. It was one of the last new complexes planned.
The new Vista Pacifica under construction near Trancas/Bailard (not be confused with Vista Pacifica adjacent Webster School) will offer almost 40 new units at asking prices around the $700,000 level. Several have sold already.
The only other future development will be approximately 20 units near Webster School across from Maisson Deville. Otherwise, it may be years before any new condos and townhouses get past the drawing board in Malibu.
Even in many of the larger complexes such as Malibu Villas, Malibu Gardens, Zuma Bay Villas and Malibu Canyon Village, none or few units are for sale. The selling has also ceased at the Bella Mar complex at Cavalleri/PCH. All units are for rent only.
About two condos sell every week in Malibu. According to Malibu realtor Judy Van Schoyck, who specializes in condo sales, the median sale price during the past two years was $320,000 for listings on the land side and $340,000 for units on the beach (including Tivoli Cove and the Malibu Bay Club).
Van Schoyck reports that market time was very quick, less than three months in 2000, for an average sale. That certainly makes sense considering the supply and demand factors.
Condo owners face an attractive combination these days of increased prices and little competition should they elect to sell.
Rick Wallace of the Coldwell Banker company has been a Malibu realtor for 13 years. He can be reached at RICKMALIBU-realestate.com.