Los Angeles Real Estate Blog & Market Updates

To prepare your home for El Niño this winter, start before the first major storm arrives. Clean your gutters and drains, have questionable or overhanging trees assessed, and address any known roof issues now rather than waiting for rain to reveal a problem. It is also a good time to call your insurance agent and ask specifically what your policy does, and does not, cover for flood, mudflow, landslide or earth movement, sewer or drain backup, fallen trees, and rain entering th

Real estate communication problems, especially agents who refuse to get on the phone, are one of the most common and preventable reasons deals slow down or fall apart across the San Fernando Valley and the Westside of Los Angeles. A quick phone call between agents can resolve in minutes what a string of one-word texts cannot, and the deals moving smoothly right now are usually the ones where both sides are actually talking to each other.

San Fernando Valley first-time home buyers in 2026 are still closing, but not on the homes they originally pictured. Entry-level single-family homes in Reseda start in the mid to high $700,000s. North Hollywood and West Hills start in the low $800,000s. Buyers who get to the table are combining family gift funds, California down payment assistance, and lenders who know how to qualify them correctly. The Valley is not closed to first-time buyers. It just requires a clearer str

Multiple offers on a Los Angeles home do not automatically mean the highest price wins. The strongest offer is the one with the best combination of price, terms, contingencies, and certainty of closing. Sellers need to evaluate the full picture, and buyers need a strategy that goes beyond just raising their number.

The Residences at Sportsmen's Lodge is a 520-unit, $500 million mixed-use development rising at Ventura and Coldwater in Studio City, with construction expected to run through 2027. For Studio City and Sherman Oaks homeowners, the closer your home sits to the site, the more you will feel both the short-term construction disruption and the longer-term amenity and walkability lift once the project delivers.

Most buyers in Los Angeles can go from starting the process to keys in hand in about 60 to 100 days, depending on preparation and how specific their search criteria are. The biggest factors that slow things down are skipping pre-approval upfront and making large purchases during escrow.

A quick update for those purchasing real estate through an entity (LLC/trust) using all cash or private financing. The FinCEN Residential Real Estate Rule (RRE), went into effect March 1, 2026, requiring mandatory reporting of non-financed residential property transfers involving legal entities, trusts, or LLCs to combat money laundering.

Real estate transactions are complex. There are title issues, inspection surprises, contractor questions, neighbor disputes, permit problems, HOA complications, appraisal gaps, and a hundred other things that can come up between the moment you decide to buy or sell and the moment you get your keys or your check. The question is not whether problems will come up. They always do. The question is whether your agent is going to solve them or hand them back to you. I am Leegie Par