Ellis Posner Real Estate Year in Review 2020

Dec 16

As the saying goes “hindsight is 20/20” and this year that is not only a great play on words but has a special meaning.

We all had plans, hopes and dreams heading into 2020 and then the world changed, more abruptly and dramatically than most of us had ever seen in our lifetimes. And before I go any further about my experience this past year, let’s all pray that this pandemic is over soon and that we never see anything else like this again in our lifetimes. The loss of life, health, savings, business, and loved ones has truly been tragic for so many.

I entered 2020 with the goal of fulfilling a long held dream - starting my own Real Estate Brokerage, even if that initially meant only me. A little background first.

In California, Real Estate agents can either be licensed as a broker or salesperson. Most, even some very successful people you see on the Real Estate TV shows, are licensed as salespeople. The reason being that the Broker test requires more study and passing a more difficult test.

if someone is licensed as a salesperson they have to work under a Broker which is what everyone associated with a brokerage does. However as a Broker you also have the option to run your own brokerage or even just work independently as a one person shop (which is what I am currently doing).

After months of studying and practicing thousands of test questions I took and passed the Broker’s test in February and in March, after years of planning and preparation, launched, for lack of a better name, “Ellis Posner Real Estate”. And we all know what happened in later in March.

So here’s the story of my year in review and a video of just some of my listings and sales to recap.

SAFER AT HOME

On March 19th when California announced the first Safer at Home order I really didn’t know what to think and my immediate reaction was that I might not do any more business in 2020 or until the pandemic was behind us. Fortunately that turned out to not be how things played out although the initial guidance was to “just say no” to doing any business.

Initially what we saw, though, was a flurry of listings and escrows canceled and others put on hold. In fact, at that point I was tracking plus minus of active inventory compared to what was being taken off the market. Many people were worried that the economic toll the country, well actually the world, was going through would lead to the next housing crisis. As it turned out, that was not even close because thankfully…..

REAL ESTATE CONSIDERED AN ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY

As of March 28th, Real Estate was declared an “essential service” in California which I found very surprising. To the extent that people need a place to live, yeah sure, I get it. But to the extent someone wants to buy or sell, not so much.

None the less I was very thankful that there was at least a path to being able to do business albeit with some new procedures and protocols. During April and much of May things very much felt like we were an industry trying to find a footing and redefine ourselves with new forms (PEAD, NUCC, etc). With in person activity extremely curtailed and inspectors and appraisers reluctant or even refusing to enter properties and lenders imposing new restrictions, I was initially struggling with how to move forward. But fortunately, I was soon presented with the opportunity to figure out….

HOW DO YOU LIST AND SELL A HOME DURING A PANDEMIC?

The first new listing I had post Safer at Home was a 2 bedroom Townhome in the Fusion complex in Hawthorne. While it was initially tenant occupied, the tenants moved out before the property hit the market and thankfully it was vacant the first time I saw it. Fortunately, the sellers were on the same page I was regarding safety protocols meaning windows open, masks and carefully timing the controlled access. In fact, what I did was to place the Supra box in a non obvious location so Buyer’s agents would have to call me for not only the gate code but also the lockbox location. And I had them send me a pre-approval before I would even let them show the property.

During those early days we were very concerned about touching things so I left plenty of booties in the property and the windows cracked open a bit. Needless to say, no open houses (will they ever come back) and no printed brochures.

But fortunately, the property was sold as I was simultaneously solving a different problem…..

HOW DO YOU REPRESENT A BUYER DURING A PANDEMIC AND SOCIAL UNREST?

I had a first time Buyer client who was interested in a Townhome in West Hollywood just south of Melrose. Even though I’m the “beach guy”, for some reason I’ve had some sales in that neighborhood over the years. And with far less traffic on the road in late May, I’ve never been able to get there faster (Redondo Beach to the Beverly Center).

But then after we opened escrow the protests started and you may remember the National Guard and whatever else was going on in the streets. In fact, we had one home inspector who canceled going there because of social unrest concern. Me, not so much.

But it was both heart breaking and jarring to drive down La Cienega Blvd, Beverly, Melrose, Hollywood etc and see that business were not only closed but boarded up also.

Fortunately for my Buyer client she was able to beat the rush and get into the market before……

THE GREAT REBALANCING

With the new housing needs based on the work from home economy and fueled by record low mortgage interest rates the summer months were some of the busiest any of us had ever seen. Multiple offers, properties bid up huge amounts, waiving contingencies -all this and more were back.

Almost every market was incredibly hot. A listing I had in the Southwood neighborhood of Torrance had 40 showings over 2 days, received 11 offers and sold for more than $100K higher than the most recent comp. Fortunately it was a cash sale even though I believe I could have gotten it to appraise.

For that listing, I tried to schedule the showings 15 minutes apart as was becoming common, but after an hour was 40 minutes off schedule with a line outside. I remember saying to my wife when I was leaving on Saturday that I was glad I didn’t have to be putting out open house signs. But after 2 days of showings I can tell you that Open Houses are a lot easier!

It wasn’t that much fun being on the other side of it either. I remember standing out side of listings with Buyer and there were 10 or more other agents with clients also waiting. And it was fairly routine to see properties getting 20 offers. My advice to Buyers over the summer was that unless they were willing to do “whatever it takes”, and I really mean whatever, they weren’t likely to get into escrow. In fact, in large part I cut back substantially on my marketing efforts to attract to new Buyers and only worked with previous clients or referrals from friends and previous clients.

That led me to selling a SFR in Norwalk (also competitive) and a condo in Fullerton. There still wasn’t that much traffic on the roads over the summer so why not, right. On a side note, some scenes of one of my favorite movies, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, were filmed in Norwalk. I’d been there before but had never been to Fullerton. All I ever knew about Fullerton was that that’s where Leo Fender invented the solid body guitars that many players use (Telecasters, Stratocasters) as well as the iconic amps bearing his name. In other words the original home of Fender Musical Instruments. Full disclosure - I was always more partial to Gibson guitars.

But let’s get back to Real Estate and remember that…..

ELLIS POSNER SELLS REDONDO BEACH

The answer to the question, “who has sold more properties in Redondo Beach than almost any other agent (not including the large teams) or builder reps” would be? Yes, yours truly based on MLS data.

During 2020 I listed and sold one of my favorite remodeled properties in the Golden Hills, 1604 Spreckels Ln. As was common over the summer, that property sold for substantially over the list price and set a new high for comparable floor plans. If I recall, it was the first video I did with a mask on. Those Sellers then bought a home on Anita (190th) which is one of the few properties in N Redondo that has an ocean view. In fact it is further west than many homes in Hermosa Beach and only 4 blocks to The Strand. You can learn more about Redondo Beach here.

A FEW OTHER THOUGHTS

As this strangest of years draws to a close and we hopefully face an end to the pandemic in 2021, the most prevalent emotion and thought I have is gratitude.

I am very thankful that my family, loved ones and friends have been able to stay healthy and safe no matter what the inconvenience has been. And even though my sales and income were less than usual, I am also grateful that I had the opportunity to make some money and keep busy. And what I consider less sales, other agents would consider a great year in normal times. (I only discussed some of my sales in this post.)

I have the feeling that when we transition to the new normal, Real Estate may be forever changes and it looks like most likely for the better. As for the rest of the world hopefully so.