Los Angeles Real Estate Blog & Market Updates

The San Fernando Valley housing market had 675 houses for sale across Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Encino, and Sherman Oaks on October 19, 2026, down from 713 a week earlier. At the same time, 26% to 36% of the active listings in those communities show an asking-price reduction. Well-priced homes are going into escrow, while overpriced homes are sitting and adjusting.

The new California real estate laws for 2027 mostly take effect January 1, 2027. They let homeowners build up to two detached ADUs and pay lower ADU fees, stop HOAs from blocking air conditioning, heat pumps, and energy-efficient windows, strengthen wildfire insurance and smoke-damage protections, create permanent mortgage forbearance after disasters, and open a faster approval path for for-sale townhomes.

If you are comparing Sherman Oaks vs Studio City, the two are closer in price than their list prices suggest: in Q2 2026, the median single-family sale was $2,025,000 in Studio City & $1,850,000 in Sherman Oaks, according to CLAW MLS data. Sherman Oaks is larger, with more homes for sale and direct access to the 101 and 405, while Studio City is more compact, slightly more walkable, and closer to Universal City, Burbank, and Hollywood. Most buyers end up choosing the house, n

According to Realtor.com's 2026 Best Time to Buy report, the best time to buy a home in Los Angeles is the week of September 27 to October 3, 2026. In the Los Angeles metro this week, buyer competition runs almost 40% below its annual peak and listing prices sit about 5.7% below their seasonal high, and buyer-friendly conditions typically carry into October.

Buying a home in the San Fernando Valley and Westside comes down to three things: getting genuinely ready before you start looking, finding an agent who treats your specific priorities as the plan rather than following a generic script, and having real support through every stage from the first showing to well after closing. Buyers who compromise on the right things, rather than waiting for a home that checks every box, tend to build equity faster and feel more confident alon

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.

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.