Burbank home prices steady, but supply fades
Home prices held steady in Burbank in January, with median prices rising slightly as buyers continued to jump on the few homes on the market, according to the latest real estate report.
The median price for a single-family home rose around 1.3%, from $514,900 in January 2012 to $521,750 this past January, according to statistics compiled by Realtor Eric Benz with Dilbeck Real Estate in Burbank.
The median price for a condominium also didn’t change much, ticking up about 1.2% to $333,500 in January.
Broker Karol Kochova, of Kochova Properties in Burbank, said that she expects prices to start picking up again in the spring, a time when the market usually sees increased activity.
“I think actually we’re going to see raising prices since we’re going into the spring-and-summer season,” she said. “Especially families with children, they want to make the transition and the move during summertime when it comes to schools.”
This plateau comes after a months-long trend of prices being pushed up by demand for the declining number of homes for sale in the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena area.
Kochova said this mismatch between supply and demand is why she expects to see prices start to rise again.
“The market basically has picked up, inventory is low, buyers are exceeding the numbers of properties that are out there,” she said. “Burbank has, of course, the location — it’s a highly desired area, so you see the change more here than in the farther suburbs.”
The number of single-family homes for sale continued to fall, dropping from 245 in January 2012 to 122 this past January.
And there were 32 condos on the market in January, a substantial decrease from 78 the year prior.
Fifteen distressed homes and condos sold in January, making up roughly 31% of total sales.
Distressed sales include bank-owned properties and short sales, in which lenders let homeowners sell their homes for less than they owe on their mortgages.
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