Is LA Finally Becoming a Buyer’s Market, or Is It Still a Seller’s Market?
I've been seeing a lot of conflicting opinions about the Los Angeles housing market lately.
Some people are saying buyers finally have leverage. Others are saying good homes are still getting multiple offers and sellers are doing just fine.
I think the answer is: it depends where in LA you're looking.
And honestly, that's probably the most important thing to understand about the market right now.
A simple way to think about buyer vs. seller leverage
One of the numbers economists and real estate people use is months of supply.
Basically, it estimates how long it would take to sell the homes currently on the market if no additional homes were listed.
As a general rule:
- Under 4 months: seller-leaning
- 4–6 months: relatively balanced
- Over 6 months: buyer-leaning
Nationally, we're now around the balanced range.
But that doesn't necessarily tell you what's happening in Los Angeles.
LA is too fragmented for one number to tell the whole story.
A house in Glendale can behave very differently from a condo on the Westside. A well-priced, move-in-ready house in a desirable neighborhood can still attract strong interest while an overpriced or dated property can sit for weeks or months.
And that's where I think some of the online arguments about the LA market get confusing.
Buyers do have more breathing room than they had a few years ago
We're seeing more inventory and more properties taking longer to sell in parts of the LA market.
That can give buyers something they haven't had much of in recent years:
time.
Time to compare properties.
Time to investigate a house that's been sitting.
Time to ask for repairs or credits.
And sometimes, time to negotiate on price.
But that doesn't mean every seller is desperate.
If a property is priced correctly, in a desirable location, and shows well, the seller can still have plenty of leverage.
Recent LA-area Reddit discussions are actually showing this exact split: people are noticing more price reductions and longer market times, while well-priced homes can still move quickly.
So who has the upper hand?
It may be better to ask:
Who has the upper hand on the specific house you're looking at?
That's a much more useful question.
If you're buying, I'd pay attention to:
- How long has the property been listed?
- Has the price already been reduced?
- How does it compare with recent sales?
- Are there competing offers?
- Are similar homes sitting?
- What repairs or updates does it need?
- Is the seller offering concessions?
If you're selling, I'd be looking at the opposite side of that equation:
- What are buyers actually paying for comparable homes?
- How much competition do you have?
- How quickly are comparable homes selling?
- Are buyers negotiating?
- Which features are getting attention?
- Are overpriced homes sitting while correctly priced ones sell?
The bigger takeaway
I don't think LA is accurately described as simply a buyer's market or seller's market right now.
It's much more neighborhood- and property-specific than that.
And that's probably a good thing.
Buyers have more opportunities to negotiate than they did during the frenzy.
Sellers can still do very well when they price and position a property correctly.
If you're buying or selling in LA right now, what are you actually seeing?
Are sellers negotiating more?
Are buyers getting concessions?
Are well-priced homes still getting multiple offers?
Or does it depend entirely on the neighborhood?
I'm curious what people are seeing on the ground.