Los Angeles Real Estate Blog & Market Updates

Major changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac condominium financing standards took effect on August 3, 2026, and another important reserve-funding change arrives January 4, 2027. For condo buyers and sellers throughout Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, that means an HOA’s reserves, deferred maintenance, special assessments, insurance and other building-level issues can affect whether a buyer is able to obtain the loan they planned to use.

When a home inspection uncovers issues like structural damage, mold, or roof problems, get at least three repair estimates before you decide how to move forward. Bids for the exact same scope of work can differ by tens of thousands of dollars, and the inspector's ballpark number in the report is not a substitute for a real bid.

Before you write an offer, or right after you fall for a house, spend real time in the neighborhood around it. Drive the school route, shop the grocery store, grab coffee, and walk the block, because lifestyle fit in the San Fernando Valley or on the Westside matters as much as the floor plan.

The LA housing market in August 2026 holds a slight seller's advantage, with a Market Action Index of 35 and median list price at $1,399,000. Mortgage rates climbed to 6.71%, the highest level in over a year, yet well-priced homes across the San Fernando Valley and the Westside of Los Angeles are still drawing multiple offers while overpriced listings sit.

California's FAIR Plan is raising residential insurance rates by an average of 29.1% starting October 15, 2026, but that number is a statewide average, not what any one homeowner will pay. In San Fernando Valley communities like Tarzana, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Woodland Hills, and Calabasas, the real difference comes down to whether a home sits in the flats or climbs into the hills, with hillside and canyon-adjacent properties facing the steepest increases.

Mortgage rates for San Fernando Valley and Westside buyers have spent much of August hovering in the mid-to-upper 6% range. Freddie Mac's August 27 weekly average was 6.66%, but rates moved higher following Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's August 28 Jackson Hole remarks, a reminder of how sensitive borrowing costs remain to inflation data and expectations about future Fed policy. Rates haven't meaningfully improved, but higher rates are also helping create a less competiti

A general home inspection covers the overall condition of a home's major systems and structure, but it is an overview, not a deep dive into any one area. Specialty inspections, including sewer line, mold, termite, foundation, roof, pool, electrical, drainage, and plumbing, go far deeper and are often worth the extra cost, especially when nothing looks obviously wrong on the surface.

You know you're ready to buy a home when you have an actual lender prequalification (not just a conversation), a clear sense of your real monthly number, and a realistic view of your budget. Ready buyers have separated their needs from their wants, have a target area in mind, and can move quickly and confidently once they find the right home.

Tarzana has one of the strongest senses of community of any neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. People know each other here. • The neighborhood has deep, fascinating roots dating back to Edgar Rice Burroughs, the author who created Tarzan and literally named this community. Ventura Boulevard offers walkable access to restaurants, shops, markets, and services that rival any neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Wooden blocks spelling out "MORTGAGE" are arranged on a table, with a small house-shaped keychain and keys beside them, symbolizing home ownership. By Leegie Parker | Real Estate Advisor, Compass | Los Angeles | DRE 01020534 I have been helping people buy and sell homes in Los Angeles since 1989. In that time, I have watched the mortgage business change dramatically. It has become more complex, more document-intensive, and more stringent with every passing decade. What w