If you follow LA real estate closely, this week offered a lot to absorb. A report about condo sales hitting a 20-year low. A major update on the city's landmark housing rezoning program. And a fresh roundup of new bars and speakeasies opening across the city. At first glance, those three stories might seem unrelated. But when I look at them together, I see one consistent thread: Los Angeles is a city in a real and meaningful transition, and how you position yourself right now could matter more than you realize.
The Condo Market Is Cold. That Is Not All Bad News.
Let me start with the data point that got the most attention this week. According to figures from real estate data firm ATTOM, fewer than 2,000 condominiums were sold in Los Angeles County during January and February of this year. That is the lowest sales volume to start any year since 2005, and it is more than 40 percent below the peak we saw just five years ago. Median condo prices also dropped close to 5 percent in February compared to the same month a year earlier.
For sellers in the condo segment, this is a sobering data point. Demand is simply not where it was. Rising HOA fees, persistently high mortgage rates, and general economic uncertainty are keeping buyers cautious. As USC housing economist Richard Green put it, condos tend to feel market softening faster than single-family homes, partly because buyers prefer houses when they have the option.
But here is what I want buyers to hear: this is the kind of window that serious, prepared buyers should be paying attention to. Sellers in the condo segment are more negotiable right now than they have been in years. If you have been watching from the sidelines waiting for a moment when competition is thinner and sellers are more motivated to work with you, this market is offering exactly that. A pricing plateau is not a freefall. When rates ease or supply tightens, this window will close.
The City Is Building for the Long Term
Now pair that data with what is happening on the policy side, because this is where things get genuinely interesting for anyone thinking about long-term real estate strategy in LA.
Mayor Bass recently announced that nearly 30,000 new homes are moving forward under the Citywide Housing Incentive Program, known as CHIP. One year into the program, this is the largest local rezoning effort in the country, designed specifically to cut red tape and make it easier and faster to build near transit corridors and established neighborhoods. The city has a legal obligation to create zoning capacity for more than 255,000 new housing units, and the progress now underway reflects real momentum.
Add to that Senate Bill 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, which goes into effect July 1, 2026. It opens the door to significant transit-oriented development across the city, allowing higher-density housing near transit stops in ways that were not previously possible.
What does this mean for a buyer today? It means that neighborhoods closest to transit and urban amenities are the ones to watch most closely. It also means that areas currently considered fringe or transitional could look very different five years from now, both in terms of what is built there and what those properties are worth. Buying strategically near future development corridors has historically been one of the smartest moves in any growing city.
The City Is Still Alive
And then there is the bar story. I include lifestyle content like this every time it shows up in our weekly roundup because I think it tells us something that the data simply cannot.
Right now, new bars, cocktail lounges, and speakeasies are opening in neighborhoods like Los Feliz, Highland Park, Downtown LA, and South Pasadena. Entrepreneurs are investing in these communities, committing to long-term leases, hiring local staff, and betting on foot traffic. Neighborhoods like Highland Park, once overlooked, are now seeing a genuine cultural scene take root.
That does not happen in a city people are abandoning. Yes, LA lost residents between 2024 and 2025. Yes, the condo market is slow. But new businesses do not open in dead markets. The culture, the creativity, and the social fabric of this city are still here, and in many neighborhoods they are getting stronger. That matters to real estate. Walkability, a thriving dining and nightlife scene, and community investment are all drivers of long-term property values. When a neighborhood becomes somewhere people want to spend their Saturday night, it tends to become somewhere they want to live.
What I Would Tell You Right Now
If you are a buyer, particularly someone who has been interested in a condo or a property near a transit corridor, the current combination of softened prices, motivated sellers, and long-term supply expansion is worth taking seriously. This is not a permanent market condition. It is a window.
If you are a seller in the condo segment, pricing strategy matters more right now than it has in a long time. Your list price needs to reflect what the data is showing today, not what the market felt like two or three years ago. The buyers out there are informed, and they are doing their homework. Positioning your property correctly from day one is everything in this environment.
And if you are simply trying to make sense of it all, know this: LA is still LA. It is complicated, expensive, and endlessly dynamic. That is why people keep coming back to it, and why real estate here, approached thoughtfully, still makes a great deal of sense.
I am always happy to talk through what any of this means for your specific situation. Reach out anytime.
Keri
