Condo sales slower in 2007
Reflecting the same trend as Malibu home sales during the past 12 months, or perhaps worse, condo sales this year are moving at a pace 25 percent slower than last year. Only about five units per month have sold in Malibu throughout August.
Just as home sales in the 90265 real estate area have slowed to a crawl, so have condo transactions. Also similar, condominium values have stabilized, with the median and mean averages just a tad off from last year. The median of 42 sales so far this year has been $1,090,000, compared with $1,110,000 last year.
Condo sales and averages since the beginning of 2004 are shown in the chart below. The year 2005 was the best recently, by far, with 125 units selling. Last year, condo sales tallied a drop-off similar to home sales. This year reveals a sales pace half of that in 2005.
There are so few sales this year, spread out over 26 different condo associations and common geographical segments, that individual association averages cannot be determined with any validity.
It is worth noting that sales from 2004 in the then-new Toscana complex near Webster Elementary School are excluded from this analysis. All the statistics herein otherwise represent all resell units within recognized condominium locations in the 90265 ZIP code based on a comprehensive review of public and private sales records.
Some sales trends to note:
€ The newer condos at Lunita, officially known as Vista Pacifica north of Trancas, have had a flurry of activity-until this year. Sales of the three previous years numbered 12, 7 and 10. This year there has been two. Typically, however, the averages of the sales have risen: 2004-$1,104,000, 2005-$1,385,000, 2006-$1,420,000. This year’s sales have been about $1,375,000.
€ The low-priced, “entry-level” condo complexes, The Malibu Canyon Village on Civic Center, and Malibu Gardens at Kanan Dume, both had very slow years. MCV, despite its recent renovation, has seen only three of its 104 units sell this year, and none for more than $600,000. Malibu Gardens has had the exact same result, albeit with just a little more than half the units existing. Malibu is most feeling the real estate cooling at its lower end, nearer (though still far from) the financing and market woes of outlying and lower-priced areas.
€ At the other end of the spectrum, 12 condo sales of 10 different units have transpired since early 2004; with only two this year.
€ At this time, the following locations have had no more than one known sale this year: the townhouses near Moonshadows, La Costa Beach, The Outrigger, Maisson Deville, Vista Pacifica (Webster area), Malibu Villas (despite 116 units and more than a dozen of them on the market this year), all the units near Dume/ Heathercliff and Whalers Village.
€ About 73 condos in 90265 are listed for sale at this time, meaning it would take about 20 months for them all to sell at the current pace, or an average market time of 10 months per listing.
Rick Wallace of the Coldwell Banker company has been a Realtor in Malibu for 19 years. He can be reached at his Web site, www.RICKMALIBUrealestate.com