Timely Real Estate News……………………………………………. 1 December 2009
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The ‘weather outside is delightful’….oh, what a nice Thanksgiving.
If you were anywhere in Southern California this past Thanksgiving weekend, you could only marvel how lucky you were to be in this incredible climate. You could see forever. And even though Black Friday was a bit windy, the rest of the weekend was just superb unless you were in San Diego which I understand received pouring rain), which only underscores why we love living here.
After spending the previous nine days in the rain at my sister’s home in West Vancouver, British Columbia, the beautiful weather this past weekend was a welcome experience. It rained for the entire nine days that I was there. ! Even though it rains a lot there, it is too early for this amount of rain. They have been receiving three times the normal rain fall, and as a result there was a lot of damage, and with the 2010 Winter Olympics arriving this coming February, everyone there is hoping this is a good omen for a great snow season at Whistler and Blackcomb. My sister lives about one mile from Cypress, which will be the venue for two events. Whistler opened the weekend I was there, but the rain wiped out much of its base. Let’s hope their rain turns to snow in time for the Olympics. It’s good to be home. Yeah, it’s the weather, isn’t it? That’s why we love it here, especially during our Indian Summers; we just need some of their rain to make it perfect.
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Sales are picking up……
As I reported in the last SchifferLine, sales volume has picked up — we’re seeing more activity this fall than at any time in the past 18 months. We’re getting multiple offers on many homes….open houses are well attended, and home sales volume has dramatically improved over the summer quarter. Our office is…’humming’. It is great to see the energy and enthusiasm with my co-workers back again. When I am asked about the condition of the market, I have a standard answer: “We have two different markets, one with the properties that are properly priced, they are the ones that are selling immediately, many times with multiple offers, and the other market is the one with the homes that are not properly priced. Those are the ones that are lingering on the market”. At this point, we do not seem to be impacted by the “holiday market”. There are real buyers out there and the time of year doesn’t seem to be making much of a difference to them.
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Not just on the Westside, either…..
What’s up? It isn’t just the Westside. According to the National Association of Realtors out of Washington D.C., sales of previously owned homes increased 10.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units in October….from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million units in September. That’s up 23.5% from the same seasonally adjusted rate of 4.94 million units in October 2008. And here’s the good news: That is the first time sales pace has been this swift since February 2007. So, if you are in the market to sell, you should seriously consider the market upswing and take advantage of the still-low interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages.
What we are seeing is the supply of homes on the market that is now at the lowest level in over 2 1/2 years. According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR, “we’re getting closer to a general balance between buyers and sellers. First-time buyers made an impact with the new first-time tax credit, and foreclosures continue to put lower-cost inventory into the market, which does drive down the median sales prices, as it has in the West,” according to Yun.
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So, what does this mean for 2010?
I’ve told you before, I have no crystal ball. But as we have reported for the past five years in the SchifferLine, what happens nationally isn’t necessarily what happens on the Westside on in the Los Angeles region. We’re a micro climate, very similar to our own Moraga Vineyard, which has 10 separate micro-vineyards on its 17-acres in the Sepulveda Pass — each unique from the other, and each distinctively different in character. In the four communities that I give you the stats for, each neighborhood is distinctively different, and each having its unique flavor that stands out in the clutter of the Los Angeles basin.
One shoe does not fit all in our real estate markets for 2010. The strength in real estate sales during the past three months augurs well for increased volumes for next year. The increased activity at open houses is changing the dynamics too. Of course, location is still a major factor and will always continue to be so. In the past week or so, I have gone on a number of listing appointments, and it is always a little sad for me to witness the reality for an owner, to learn what the value of their home is. We always feel that our home is special, and it is, but also the numbers speak for themselves and so when a client feels that their home is in the $6,000,000 range, when in fact it is in the high $4,000,000 to low $5,000,000 range the disappointment is difficult to see. Sometimes being an adult is just tough.
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The 405 Widening….
As I have said before, I was and am not sure what the impact of the construction of the widening of the 405 will be in our neighborhoods and the real estate market in general. From the initial information we received, it looked like they would be under way with the project by now. I should have known better. Yes, we are seeing construction and engineering work — two lanes down to one at various times on Sepulveda — but to be honest, I haven’t seen any major traffic congestion that would inhibit a buyer from locating here. Let’s hope it stays that way. There was a meeting at Skirball on the 19th of November, and from what I heard from those who attended, they are still quite a way away from beginning the actual construction. In fact now the projected time for them to work on the Bel Air Crest portion of the project is between July and November 2011. Stay tuned for more changes. With the projection of the growing strength of the market, hopefully by the time they are working in “our neck of the woods”, any weakness that would be created by the construction will be off set by the strength of the market itself.
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We’re moving…..Coldwell Banker Brentwood Court office relocates
It’s going to be strange not driving into the parking garage at 11611 San Vicente Boulevard, Brentwood, every workday. I’ve been driving to our CB Brentwood Court office for nearly 26 years. And now, that is coming to a close. CB is combining our office with the existing CB office at 11999 San Vicente Boulevard office. Rather than being on the lobby level of the building, our sales offices will be on the third floor. It is going to be fun and exciting to be making these changes, but as the make up of the storage facilities is different in the new building, I pity my poor garage as I have been able to use the storage space here in the bldg., and now will be warehousing everything in my garage. It is going to be a tight squeeze. All of my contact information will remain the same.
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A word to the online shopper….look for “secured “S” websites
I don’t know about you, but I do get a bit tired of looking for parking and/or trudging through parking garages to get into the store, especially when I can shop online with a comfortable walk on my keyboard. Online shopping is expected to dramatically increase this Holiday Season, and I wanted to pass on a bit of advice about using “secure” e-commerce sites. Basically, the way it works, is that when you are on a secure site, the letter s now follows the http portion of the address. While a bit complicated to explain, the “value” of making sure you are transferring your identity information to a verifiable, secure website that is authorized to receive this information cannot be overstated. Go to:
http://info.ssl.com/article.aspx?id=10068 it’s a handy place to find out how to deal with transferring your credit card and identity information during your online shopping. Just a word to the wise! Also there is a website called “Coupon Cupboard” that will give us the coupon code that we see many times when are purchasing something on line. Check it out!
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Be Greener at the Dry Cleaner!
Dry cleaning has never been eco friendly. Harmful petrochemical solvents have been used for decades by dry cleaners. Within the last ten years most of us have learned about “Greener Drycleaners”. They are cleaners that use more earth friendly chemicals or wet cleaning methods which do not use petrochemical solvents (my Dad manufactured cleaning compounds and sold those solvents). They are improvement but a number of people feel that many of the clothes that are labeled “dry clean only” or dry cleaning recommended” can be washed gently. Most silks, wool and rayon are harmed or shrink due to the agitation of the machine and not the water itself. You might want to try to gently wash these items by hand and lay them out to dry without twisting or wringing as it will not damage most clothes. I am not sure about that, but do want to pass the information along. That said, some clothes must be dry cleaned and those using a “wet cleaning” dry cleaner has less impact on the environment.
If you do take your clothes to the dry cleaner, as I do, I now use a breathable, reusable bag that can be purchased from your dry cleaner. They are great!! This will eliminate the need for the plastic dry cleaning bags. It is estimated that 300 millions pounds of dry cleaning bags are thrown away each year. I also give them back the hangers for recycling. Most dry cleaners have boxes that you can use to keep the hangers in until returning them to the dry cleaner. One other thing I do is ask that they not stuff my clothes with paper on the hangers.
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My listings. I have a great new Canyon home listing in Bel Air Crest. It is a 4/3.5 home in move-in condition listed at $1,825,000. Please check that out as well as all of my other listings in Bel Air Crest, Mountaingate and Marina Del Rey.
