Westside Estate Agency: Upbeat on LA's Luxury Real Estate

Tech buyers from Silicon Valley and Silicon beach fueled Q3 demand for luxury real estate

If you've been wondering how the luxury real estate market has been faring over the last few months, I have some data for you: Westside Estate Agency, (WEA), the leading Los Angeles luxury home brokerage firm, has run the numbers for Q3.

WEA experienced robust growth in Q3, driven by strong demand for Los Angeles luxury real-estate valued at more than $1 million — especially from buyers in the tech sector.

WEA's most recent market analysis shows that the high-end real-estate market in Los Angeles fared well throughout Q3, compared to both the previous quarter and the same time period a year ago:

• 71 percent growth from Q2 to Q3 this year
• 11.5 percent growth compared to Q3 of 2015
• Up 6.3 percent YTD compared to the first three quarters of 2015

Tech buyers from Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach are a major factor

The number of Westside homes purchased by buyers who listed a mailing address in Santa Clara County, San Francisco County or San Mateo County more than doubled from the year before, hitting the highest number since 2007. And from 2007 to 2016, there has been an almost three-fold increase in real-estate sales in the most sought-after Silicon Beach neighborhoods. Most of that growth occurred from 2014-2016.
 
Stephen Shapiro, founder and chairman of WEA, is seeing an influx of buyers from Silicon Valley as executives either seek the lifestyle provided by the Westside, or who relocate south to work in the expanding LA tech neighborhoods adjacent to Silicon Beach.
 
Stephen has represented Larry Ellison, (Oracle), Sean Parker, (LinkedIn, Napster), Evan Spiegel, (Snapchat) and other members of the tech industry elite who have invested in Westside properties. He also recently hosted a meeting in Silicon Valley to connect with local realtors who advise tech execs on where to invest.
 
I think there are some interesting story angles here, such as:

• Which Silicon Valley tech industry luminaries have purchased +$25M homes, and why in LA?
• What makes the Westside an attractive investment for a Silicon Valley tech exec?
• What are the top five attributes that super-wealthy millennial tech workers desire in a new home?
• How do realtors need to adapt when selling/marketing to high-net-worth-individuals from Silicon Valley?

If you're a journalist who would you like to set up a time to discuss this with Stephen Shapiro, please contact:

Tim Cox | tim@zingpr.com | 650-888-6116 cell