Silver Lake / Echo Park Homes up 4% in 2011. Sure, the Market's a Mess, but with 4% Interest Rates, Buyers and Sellers Should Have Confidence to "Get Off the Dime"

We've always loved the the Silver Lake / Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, partly because it's priced at a discount to such other "Westside"-adjacent areas as Los Feliz, Hancock Park-Wilshire, and Beverly Center-Miracle Mile, and is just as nice (if not more scenic.) 

Echo Park Hills

As a result, Silver Lake / Echo Park has become the first rung on the ladder for first-time buyers who are looking to get a toe-hold in the Los Angeles residential market.

And how is the Silver Lake / Echo Park "entry market" faring?  Quite well.  Year-to-date, the median price for a single family home in Silver Lake / Echo Park is $570,000, up 4% over the 2010 median sale price of $550,000.  Despite the negative sentiment about the "housing market", the median price in Silver Lake / Echo Park is increasing.

2011 Median Sale Price up 4%

The Silver Lake / Echo Park market is "hot" and "the inventory is moving".  56% of sales during the past two months took place in 30 days or less. 

The message here is:

1. Real estate markets are hyperlocal, and opportunities exist in "neighborhoods", not in the market at large;
2. The Silver Lake / Echo Park market "bottomed out" in 2010;
3. Owners in Silver Lake / Echo Park looking to "move up" should leverage this market's strength, and capitalize in weakness in some higher-end markets; 
4. Buyers should take advantage of ultra-low 4% interest rates and jump in to this appreciating market before they are "priced out".

We are certainly not "out of the woods" when it comes to the housing market.  In August, foreclosures in California rose 12.3% over the previous month.  There is still Armageddon-like talk around Fannie, Freddie and everything having to do with homeownership.  However, when it comes to Silver Lake / Echo Park, it is "morning in America."

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Looking to buy or sell in Silver Lake or Echo Park? Have a question about the commercial or multifamily markets?  Please call us at (310) 845-6810 or email us by clicking on this link.  We'd love to hear from you.
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