Inventory is down, but demand is still high in L.A.s toniest pockets such as the Flats of Beverly Hills.

(Hilton & Hyland)

Hungry for a deal: Beverly Hills home gets 18 offers within 24-hour period

Neal J. Leitereg

June 1, 2020

Even in the throes of a pandemic, the offers started coming in almost immediately.

The day after an off-market opportunity in Beverly Hills was made known in late March, as Los Angeles County residents adjusted to new stay-at-home orders, the listing agent found his inbox flooded and his phone ringing off the hook. Seemingly everyone wanted a piece of the property, which was marketed by email. Within the first 24 hours, there were dozens of calls on the property and 18 offers made.

I knew wed see some action, I just didnt know how much, said Paul Salazar, the listing agent with Hilton & Hyland.

The home on North Bedford Drive, a popular street in the Flats section, received a total of 22 offers, Salazar said.

The potential buyers were a mix of end-users buyers who wish to remodel and live in the home and developers looking to tear down the existing structure and build. Ultimately, it was an end-user that purchased the property for $6.75 million.

The Italianate-style house, built in 1928, has four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms and more than 3,500 square feet. A large motor court sits off the front of the one-third-acre property.

Salazar believes marketing the home as an off-market opportunity gave it more exclusivity, but the excitement began to wear off as everyone began watching the news and reality of the coronavirus set in. Additionally, about one-third of the buyers, specifically those carrying mortgages, were ruled out over concerns that loans might be frozen due to the pandemic.

It looked like it was going to be a big bidding war, but it ended up being a long negotiation with 3-4 buyers going back and forth, Salazar said.

Had the pandemic never happened, Salazar thinks the property would have sold for about $1 million more.

While the coronavirus has stifled sales throughout the Southland, L.A. Countys high-end market has continued to produce a steady stream of multimillion-dollar deals.

In April, there were eight sales of $10 million or more including two deals north of $36 million in nearby Bel-Air. Last month, there were five sales of $10 million or more including two transactions of $21.5 million or more.