Five of the top real estate agents in California and Colorado joined Haute Residence to talk about the latest in their respective markets during a special Friday afternoon webinar.
The panelists were hosted by Haute Living's Erik Haase for the dialogue. They were:
- Kris Zacuto: Top producing agent for over five years with Hilton and Hyland in Playa Vista, CA and the surrounding areas
- Justin Alexander: Founder of the Alexander Group, with over $1.5 billion in sales over the past 3 years from Laguna Beach to Beverly Hills, CA
- Wendy Gragg: Founder of Distinctive Real estate, the only luxury boutique real estate firm of its kind in Santa Barbara, CA
- Dana Bambace: Founding Agent of the Bambace Peterson Team in Carmel and Pebble Beach, CA
- Anne-Britt Østlund: Founder of Mountain Rose Realty, a top boutique brokerage in Telluride, CO
Watch the webinar below.
Highlight quotes from today's webinar:
Kris Zacuto: "As what everyone is saying of moving to bigger yards, people are leaving Playa Vista, even if just one zip code over. But what's interesting is we that are having a new group of people that are coming in. So it's not vacancies that we are seeing but rather a reshuffling, people leaving and coming... In this moment, it's more evident than ever that being an expert or specialist is a key takeaway... The broker to broker relationships are really important. That has been vital over the last couple of months."
Justin Alexander: "The overall sense is that people want to be anywhere they can be outdoors. If they can drive to the beach within 20 minutes, that's what they're looking for... The luxury real estate market in LA is not going to disappear, even with a pandemic... If someone comes to me and says they want to buy a house now, there is no waiting. Real estate is a top demand in LA... If you can be that little bit of light that gives someone perspective that things are going to stay strong in real estate, people will get through it. Inspire when you can."
Wendy Gragg: "The demand from LA is stronger than the supply we have available, and people are lining up and waiting... We had the highest number of pending sales in escrow in July ever, and that all is going to translate into closed sales, so I continue to anticipate seeing these kind of record-setting numbers... Santa Barbara is a small oceanfront community, so anything that a buyer is looking for, we have. You're within minutes to the beach and mountain hiking. We have wonderful weather and outdoor dining."
Dana Bambace: "We have been inundated with buyer demand since the end of April. We are a market where we would never see multiple offers or over asking, and now we are. The demand on the inventory is crazy. I feel that we will continue to have demand through the Fall... When people found out that their kids were going to be remote learning, we got buyers coming in looking for compounds in Carmel. It has been a very interesting time, and I'm grateful. It's an community and I'm happy people want to choose it."
Anne-Britt Østlund: "I was telling my clients to just wait, that it would come back. I thought we had until the end of June, but it started right out the bat towards the end of May and we are breaking records. Total sales volume for this summer is up 92%... Because rates are so low, sellers are not accepting offers contingent on loans because they take too long. Even though the rates are so great, it's in the buyers' interest to offer cash... Buyers right now are the real deal. They are not wasting time."
To watch previous webinars by Haute Residence featuring top real estate agents, developers, brokers, and interior designers, visit dev.hauteresidence.com.
Top: Kris Zacuto, Justin Alexander, Wendy Gragg. Bottom: Anne-Britt Østlund, Dana Bambace
