The Perfect Storm

This month I closed a record breaking sale. Record breaking not necessarily by price, but by the amount of interest the property garnered. Now that we have recovered from the intensity of that sale, I wanted to share my thoughts on why it generated such demand. It was not one or two factors alone but rather, five colliding factors that created the perfect storm.

A little back story on the property first...

455 N Bundy was a Trust Sale that began with an elderly gentleman passing on the property late last year. The property is located in Brentwood, a tony residential neighborhood on L.A.’s westside, known for celebrities, great schools, and a family orientated lifestyle. The Lot was impressive for the area measuring at an entirely flat 15,000 sq ft. The home itself was an original 1930’s traditional two bedroom house, most likely considered a tear down.

The Five Factors that I feel brought in the 61 Offers:

1. Confidence in COVID Recovery
   With Vaccinations rolling out, and the case numbers going down, Buyer confidence is up. If things were stunted a bit at the end of 2020, come time we listed N Bundy in late Feb 2021, there was now a feeling of hope and normalcy in the near future. With that being said, Factor 5 speaks to the future market in effect of this.

2. Location
   Surprised by the level of interest, as Bundy Drive is a pass through street. But as it turns out, this particular section of the street is serene, tree lined, and is a perfect little block not too high up while still being far enough off of Sunset. Basically, it’s more than met the eyes--or just that need to be in an area at low price point is very high.

3. Pricing
   I did price the property too low. At $200/sq ft on the land, it could have been listed right below $3,000,000. Again the busy pass through street, complaints of construction costs going up, and resale comps all made me use caution, but in this instance too much caution. What is interesting, is if priced a few 100K higher, we would still have received the onslaught of offers, but likely I think they would be from less end users.

4. The Community
   There are certain neighborhoods that people just have to be in. As it turns out, Brentwood, and in this area in particular, is one of those areas in demand. Many of the 61 offers came from people who already lived in the area but were determined to see their relatives live near them. This internal domestic drive is strong and definitely added heat to this listing, which I did not anticipate.

5. The Correcting Market
   To that, I ascertain that the Developers who were mainly attracted to this were hungry to get one more flip in before any major correction sets in. If the warning signs are true, in 12-18 months, things could be slumping. Due to that, 455 N Bundy drove in Developers from all corners of the City. They were all Cash, quick close, and were swinging big to lock this one up. That clear competition, thn inspired the End Users I mentioned to come in higher.

In the end of course only one buyer can close on a house. That I always say is the rub of being a Listing Agent. We work as hard as possible to make a property most attractive, in hopes of a bidding war knowing it will be hard to let down the 60 Buyers who didn’t get it. 455 N Bundy sold 30% over asking at $3,726,000 in an All Cash deal.

61 offers was a truly perfect storm that I think could have only occurred with all those factors I have pinpointed, all being in place. I was definitely challenged and forced to grow from this experience but all paid off upon feeling the Sellers’ genuine happiness as that is in the end the greatest compliment for the work we do.