That sale is not an outlier, unfortunately. It is what happens in a market where buyers have almost 1,500 homes above $4 million to choose from. Last week 27 of them closed for a combined $228 million. The leverage has quietly moved across the table.
Volume was essentially flat week over week, on slightly fewer deals. That means the money is concentrating into bigger trophy sales while the overall pace of transactions thins out.
Now, look at what it cost the sellers who misread the market.
A home on Thrasher Avenue in the Bird Streets sold last week for $9.4 million. The seller paid $15M for it in 2020, ouch. A $5.6 million loss in six years on one of the most coveted streets above the Sunset Strip. The assessment here is that they overpaid in 2020.
A Malibu estate on Pacific Coast Highway paid $21.2 million in 2021. They tried to lease it with no takers. Then it was listed at $55.7 million. It closed last week at $31.25 million, years of resets later.
A San Remo property in the Palisades Riviera was first listed at $19.89 million in early 2024. It cut. It expired. It relisted. It finally closed last week at $14.25 million.
Overall, the market is complex and selective. Sellers need resilience, patience, and a willingness to hear what the market is telling them.
