Move-up sales buoy market

The median price for a single-family home in Burbank continued to climb last month, but the median price for a condominium slid, according to the latest real estate report.

The median price for a home was $598,750 in June 2013, compared to $653,500 last month, according to statistics compiled by Realtor Eric Benz with Dilbeck Real Estate in Burbank.

The median price for a condo edged down from $417,500 to $399,000 in a similar year-to-year comparison.

While prices have gone up, bidding remains strong in the local market.

“Activity-wise, we’re still seeing multiple offers,” said Realtor Alisa Cunningham with Teles Properties in Burbank. However, the number of offers has decreased.

“Instead of 20, you might be getting eight,” she added.

Cunningham, president-elect of the Burbank Assn. of Realtors, said she’s also seeing fewer investors buying properties and fewer all-cash offers. She added that the increase in median prices over the past several months has probably made buying a piece of property solely as an investment less desirable.

Looking at housing inventory, more homes were for sale last month when there were 70 homes on the market, up from 60 a year earlier.

However, fewer condos were for sale, going from 36 in June 2013 to 27 last month.

The number of homes sold declined, with transactions closing on 38 homes last month, down from 47 in June 2013. Yet the number of condos sold rose, from six in June 2013 to 14 last month.

In terms of buying trends, Cunningham said she’s seeing more people doing move-up buying.

“A nicer home, a bigger home in a better neighborhood, she said.

That trend frees up inventory for first-time homebuyers, Cunningham said. “We have really high demand for that,” she added.

Also in demand is the Magnolia Park area in Burbank, according to Cunningham. “Magnolia Park is uber hot,” she said.

Attributes that may be drawing home buyers to Magnolia Park include the renovated Verdugo Aquatic Center that opened last summer and the walkability of the neighborhood with its shops and coffeehouses.

An event called “Ladies Night Out,” held in Magnolia Park the last Friday of every month, is becoming popular with families and further kicking up the area’s appeal, Cunningham said.

“I don’t know if Burbank is ever going to be hip,” she said. “But our hipness has actually elevated, and Magnolia Park is the center of that.”