Mickey Kessler of Coldwell Banker was one of the panelists for the “A House Divided: The Impact of California’s Housing Crisis on Family Law Practice” panel at the Beverly Hills Bar Symposium held December 6th at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The panelists included Jack Zuckerman, CPA of White, Zuckerman, Warsavsky, Luna & Wolf, Larry Sommer of Sommer Appraisal Service, Kenneth Young, Esq. of Kaufman, Young, Spiegel, Robinson & Kenerson and Hon. Thomas Trent Lewis.
The purpose of this panel, chaired by Elizabeth Potter Scully, was to discuss various aspects of real estate and how they apply to and are impacting the family law practice. While many provisions were discussed, Mickey Kessler and Larry Summers were responsible for discussing current trends in real estate and Mickey and Jack Zuckerman discussed short sales and how they are impacting family law cases.
To aid Mickey’s presentation he displayed several charts (see below) showing changes in inventory and absorption rates of properties on the Westside and how this year’s activity compares to the activity for several prior years. In addition he provided graphic representation for condos and leases. 
What is evident from these graphs is that the inventory of homes on the market for sale is growing while the number of sales is declining. Note that there has been a steady and substantial increase of expired and withdrawn listings (homes that have failed to sell). While this factor is offsetting the growing inventory it is also an indication that it is becoming yet more difficult to sell homes. Moreover, it is a clear indication that many home sellers are not willing to price their homes at an appropriate price (an “energy price” if you will) that will get their home sold.
In response many home owners are opting to list their homes for lease. These homeowners would prefer to lease their home rather than sell at the reduced prices the market now dictates. As you can see from the chart below however, many home owners have the same idea as evidenced by the growing number of lease listings coming on the market. Not surprisingly, the increasing inventory of lease listings is creating apathy among prospective tenants. Like homes sold, the number of homes being leased over the last half of 2008 has declined which is bound to create downward pressure on lease prices as well. 
Based on my discussions with home sellers and lessors, there is some wishful thinking going on out there that they would be better off waiting until next spring when “the market will be better”. If 2008 is any indication (see single family 2008 chart), there will be a steady increase of homes coming on the market and a swelling of the inventory while sales will only pick up slightly, resulting in more downward pressure on home prices. That’s just my opinion but who’s to say. One thing for sure, the real estate market is certainly keeping our attention. Stay tuned.
Mickey Kessler
Coldwell BankerAssociate Manager
310-442-1398
The Hourglass Nebula (5th place), 8,000 light years away, has a 'pinched-in-the-middle' look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the center.
In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).
