Dear Bel Air Park Neighbor:
It’s the Spring selling season…
March came in like a lion, dumping rain, and snow across the country, but we escaped the devastating floods and mudslides of February, and the moderate rains we did receive were sorely needed in California. The snow pack received a healthy amount also.
With the economy continuing to show strength and with interest rates remaining relatively low for the past five weeks, we enter the 2nd quarter of 2018 prepared for a more challenging year for real estate market. We’re still lacking in inventory and prices continue to move up, especially on the Westside. Activity is strong as well with lots of activity at open houses and there are multiple offers for those homes that are priced competitively. Just recently one of my associates received 28 offers on her listing.
For those of us who live in hillside areas, you should be aware that the City of Los Angeles Fire Department will no longer allow home owners to “self-certify” for fire safety and brush clearance on their property. Please check your property to make sure they are in compliance with LAFD regulations as it pertains to brush and the landscaping for your homes. Starting April 28, the LAFD will be inspecting homes and will fine ($28) those residents that are not in compliance and possibly issue additional fines if the non-compliance is not completed and/or corrected. For specific information as to what is allowed, please refer to L.A.M.C. Section 57-3722.
From a real estate perspective, what is happening in the community and how does it stack up to last year? As pertains to the number of homes listed for sale, it is the same this past quarter as 20017, 2 is the magic number. Currently there are no homes in escrow, vs. 2 for the same time period in ’17, and as far as closed escrows are concerned, there was 1 this past quarter, and none for the same time period last year.. Also, there are no homes available for lease, with 1 leased this past quarter, and none last year. As far as an analysis of value is concerned, the community at large is holding its increase in value as is the case in the majority of the homes in West Los Angeles.
Please let me know how I can assist you with any and all of your real estate needs. You can follow me at caroleschifferrealtor@facebook.com or www.linkedin.com/in/caroleschiffer/
Cordially,
Carole Schiffer
Mine was lovely, but a little strange and different. I spent it at my home at the beach in Coronado, and it was HOT!!! The temp was 94 on the beach, leaving no energy for doing anything including eating turkey. I cooked it, but we ended up having an omelet as that is all we had the energy for. Fortunately, it cooled down and we were able to enjoy the rest of the weekend. 
Hopefully when the whole family gets there for the rest of the holidays, the temp will be more normal.
The brunt impact of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” on California home owners is merely one of the insights to emerge from a new state-by-state analysis by NAR of the tax bill that passed in the House on November 16.
Based on signed contracts, year-over-year statewide pending home sales dropped in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the Pending Home Sales Index declining 2.6% from 119.1 in October 2016 to 116.0 in October 2017. California pending home sales were also down on a monthly basis, decreasing 3.3% from the September index of 120.0.
climbed steadily the past decade and is up from 17% in 2012, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by Trulia, a real estate research firm. The increase defies record job openings and a 4.1% unemployment rate, the lowest in 17 years. Not surprisingly, a much larger portion of younger Millennials age 18 to 25 (59.8%) live with relatives, but that figure generally has fallen the past few years after peaking at 61.1% in 2012.
More dramatically, it is women who are using home…and its invention…as a tool for economic and creative improvement.
proposed plan for the development of a Think Tank on the undeveloped 450 acres just south of Mountaingate between Sepulveda and Mandeville Canyon.
Yes, the market is slowing down, but we are also experiencing multiple offers on properties within days of them coming on the market, so while there may be slowing down while people are waiting to see what is happening with the tax bill, and the holidays, depending on the properties and prices, it is an active market. Case in point, last Sunday (Thanksgiving weekend), at some open houses held by my colleagues there were more than 40 groups (or guests) in attendance, and one of those open houses created a multiple offer situation of 6 offers. In another example, two homes in Santa Monica that I sent one of my clients to the previous weekend, had just come on the market and are now in escrow. As always it is a case of pricing and filling the needs of the client.
after the first of the year. They are in Bel Air Crest and Mountaingate and will be in the mid $2,500,000 range. In addition, we will be putting a home in the Sunset Plaza area on the market soon, and that will be in the $4,000,000 plus range. If you have any interest in either of these homes or know someone who would (the Sunset Plaza home will need updating but has a fabulous view!) please let me know. 310 442-1384
the country. However, you can’t tell it by sales volume — which is driven by demand, forcing prices up and up — demonstrated by the fact that these communities were up 13.5% over 2016 for the first 10 months at $3.136 billion compared to $2.751 billion a year ago at this time. But, please remember, there are many private sales in the $10- and $20-million-plus category that are not officially reported to the Multiple Listing Service, so sales volume is significantly more for the Westside. According to last month’s high-end sales report, there were 42 homes selling over $20 million, 19 of which were private sales, meaning they were not included the stats that I get from the multiple listing service. However, the median sales prices would be slightly higher for those sales not included.
One of the key statistics I look at each month is comparing how a community is doing on a year-to-year basis, and October was really an eye-opener. For example, Beverly Hills’s median sales price in October 2016 was $3.102 million but in 2017, it was $7.860, a 153% increase. Bel-Air/Holmby Hills was 83% over a year ago…Brentwood was up 73%, Beverly Hills was up 37%. Westwood/Century was, however, down 3%. As I mentioned in the past one months’ price increase doesn’t make a trend, but we are seeing extremely strong price increases in our most popular communities on the Westside. All of Beverly Hills nine sales were over $3 million.
volume for Marina del Rey through October 2017 nearly doubled. Located next to the Venice canals and literally dug from a swamp/wetlands area in the 1960s by Los Angeles County, Marina del Rey has been developed into a community with condos and lovely single-family residences. In comparison with October 2016 — total sales through the 10 months of this year was $111 million vs. $58 million a year ago at this time…. an 88% increase in volume. Median sales prices were $1.410 million through October. This can mostly be attributed to Silicon Beach as we have discussed in the past.
— recently retired and is starting off her retirement with a move to Normandy, France, for six months. She and her husband, a retired attorney, decided to sell their house before leaving. It’s a lovely home on a tree-lined cul-de-sac in Brentwood, walking distance to Sunday’s Farmer’s Market, and has this fabulous, large lot, with a guest house and large BBQ area, towering trees and is beautifully landscaped.
your home if you’re thinking of about putting your home on the market. It’s a way to add dramatic impact to your home without costing you a fortune, and it’s relatively easy to accomplish.
ignore the ceiling: If you pick the wrong color and have not taken into consideration the ceiling color, you could end up with a mess. “…paint properly, giving the edges along the top a sharp cut in will make the wall pop!” Also, the best color for a ceiling is one that will add to the feeling of height of the ceiling (everyone loves high ceilings!), and 5) Add an accent wall to an odd place. There’s nothing like putting a distinctive color on one wall that is not expected. Adding a pop of color to an accent wall is a popular choice…but don’t make the move ‘jarring’. Use samples and swatches…think about it until you feel comfortable before you commit. If the colors are too bright or too bold, it could turn off buyers.
dropped precipitously, with Manhattan plummeting in the PWC index, while Chicago’s drop was “severe” according to the well-regarded study, issued annually by PWC and the Urban Land Institute.
expected to approve the use of commercial drones —This will be a boon for companies as Amazon who have already tested innovative product delivery. This will not affect the recreational user, but there a many uses already being tested for commercial use.
exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment. Bitcoin can also be held as an investment. According to research produced by Cambridge University in 2017, there are 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, most of them using bitcoin.
local family owned market here in Brentwood at Thanksgiving to collect food and cash for the Westside Food Bank. This took place last Saturday, the 11th and as always it was a truly exceptional day It always amazes me that people who look like they don’t have two Nichols to rub together, come out with shopping bags full of food.. The concept is that people go into the store, purchase nonperishable foods, which they in turn put in the barrels for the food bank to distribute to their clients. Over the years, we have learned that some of the clients at the food bank, had in previous years been donors themselves! This year we filled 4 barrels to the top, and collected $550.00.
My wonderful listings in Bel Air Crest and Mountaingate are patiently waiting for their new owners to enjoy them. The house in Bel Air Crest is 3 bedrooms/3 baths and has been done to the nines and is very sophisticated and is priced at $2,225,000.
brush ready” for its new owner and is priced at $2,130,000. Both homes are in gated communities. The holidays are a great time to look for a new home, and sellers are most anxious to show off their holiday decorations. Please give me a call at 310 442-1384 so we can make an appointment and get together.
Southern California market. The median price for the six-county region soared nearly 10% from a year earlier, to $505,000, data firm CoreLogic said last week. That matches a price level reached in 2007 before the housing bubble burst and the economy cratered.
California (it’s true), so you might be confused by the news that new-home sales are, indeed, up — to a 10-year high, but that’s in the U.S. not here.
of Realtors, California pending home sales dwindled for the third consecutive month, suggesting that the housing market will slow as the end of the year winds down. Based on signed contracts, year-over-year statewide pending home sales dropped in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)* declining 6.0% from 127.7 in September 2016 to 120.0 in September 2017. California pending home sales increased on a monthly basis, rising 2.5% from the August index of 117.0.
ago, 
Based on current construction estimates, the work to relocate the utility lines will begin on January 2. They will be using Lot 36, at the corner of Wilshire & Veteran for their staging area. Work will be done “a block at time” (or thereabouts) and will be done at night and on weekends. In those periods, Wilshire Blvd. will be reduced from eight lanes to two lanes.
based company that starts at $250. Shoppers will then be able to select in-home delivery on the Amazon app.
gift 
We reduced the price of my listings. 12357, The Ridge in Mountaingate is now $2,130,000 and has been done to the 9’s!!!. My sellers have purchased their new home and want to sell this one, please do come and see it http://www.12357ridge.com.
Also my listing at 11737 Ipswich Court in Bel Air Crest has also been reduced to $2,225,000 and again has been updated as well.
number of homes sold compared to a year ago. This time last year, we had a total of 610 homes sold in the five communities I report on (Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air/Holmby Hills, Westwood/Century City, and Brentwood). According to the MLS records, as of September 30, we had 650 homes sold. That’s a modest 6.5% increase, but inventories have been flat and this has frustrated buyers, all of whom have been fiercely competing for premium listings. We are still in that hot competitive mode, and we have a long way to go to get back to decent inventory levels. Still, it’s a good sign to see home sales increase.
With pressure on inventories, home prices continue to steadily climb. Significantly, when looking at median sales prices a year ago, Beverly Hills is up 7% at $5.237 million; Beverly Hills Post Office is up 24% at $3.050 million; Bel-Air/Holmby Hills is down 3% to $2.211 million; Westwood/Century City is up 7% at $2.039 million, and Brentwood is up 16% at $3.100 million. Bel-Air is one of the areas where median sales prices constantly fluctuate and I don’t regard this as a trend. As always, we need to keep in mind that there are always large sales that skew the numbers as well as private sales that are not included in the MLS numbers.
one home at $25 million. Beverly Hills Post Office had 8 over $3 million, Bel-Air-Holmby Hills had 10 over $3 million with one selling for $17 million, Brentwood had 7 with a sales price of $17.2million. Westwood had 6 over $3 million with the highest priced at $4.4 million.
high-end sales with 434 closed sales of $5 million-plus thus far this year, versus 361 as of last year. That’s a 20% increase. Of these sales, 134 were $10 million-plus vs. 106 last year, a 26% increase. But the biggest difference is in the $20 million-plus category. There have been 40 closed sales of $20 million-plus vs. 19 at this time last year…a 111% increase. Nineteen of these sales were $30 million-plus vs. 8 last year.
workers receiving unemployment benefits fell to 1.89 million by the end of September — the lowest such mark in 44 years! And according to the agency, new claims for unemployment benefits dropped 15,000 to 243,000 in the first full week of October as the job market bounces back from hurricane damage even faster than forecasters expected.
anticipating that factors slowing down inflation will pass, and that will lead to the economy hitting the 2% inflation mark that the central bank believes is consistent with healthy growth. If this holds true, the FOMC indicated that a third increase in 2017 of its benchmark funds rate is warranted. Traders now broadly expect the Fed to hike interest rates in December. Past hikes in the past year have not dampened the real estate market or mortgage rates. According to most experts, another hike most likely will have the same effect. There are other factors that may impact a change in mortgage rates, such as the international situation, but we will have to wait and see what happens there as well.
Roughly 60% of American homes are underinsured by an average of about 20%, according to CoreLogic, a company based in Irvine that provides data to home insurers. That means someone whose house was valued at $500,000 (not including land), for example, would be short $100,000 on the cost of rebuilding after a disaster.
Napa Valley and Anaheim Hills as stern warnings to all of us, especially those of us who live in the hills of Southern California. It’s happened before, and we have to remain vigilant.
years, as demand increases along with job growth, stated a report released last week. In Los Angeles County, average rents in 2018 are forecast to hit $2,304, up 3% from the previous year. In 2019, rents are expected to climb another 3%, to $2,373, according to the annual USC Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast.
showers as a focal point and the growing role of high-tech features in bathroom products,” said Houzz Principal Economist Nino Sitchinava. “Additionally, today’s master bathroom renovations are marked by timeless and durable elements, from natural stone finishes to curbless shower entries, a benefit of having older generations in the driver’s seat.”
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