Timely Real Estate News………………………………………………1 March 2013
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Walt Disney Concert Hall — a Gehry Masterpiece ‘shines’ for all……
It was a grand concept from the very beginning and while there were some bumps along the way, Walt Disney Concert Hall has become one of Los Angeles’s most treasured centerpieces — it is a majestic, striking complex that ranks as one of the world’s grand concert halls and is unique for its dramatic design. The Concert Hall, located in the Music Center complex in downtown Los Angeles, was to be a major statement about Los Angeles and its arrival on the world stage, celebrating the City’s rich music assets, its culture and sophistication, and most importantly, creating a venue that would rank among the world’s best. When the project was announced in 1987 with Lillian Disney putting up the first $50 million as a tribute to her late husband, Walt, the concert hall project was officially launched. A competition to select the architect ensued, and Los Angeles’s own Frank Gehry was selected in 1988 to design the 2,265-seat hall
What is striking beyond the ‘fortress-like’ structure is it resemblance to a stainless steel iceberg floating atop the southwest corner of the Music Center complex that now features the Dorothy Chandler Music Center, Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theater, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Disney Hall is the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.
Certainly, the Disney Hall is the focal point of the complex because of its unique design which has drawn rave reviews from critics around the world — it has been recognized as even surpassing Gehry’s world-famous Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. And its acoustical properties — always the true measurement of any concert facility — have also been broadly praised by musicians and conductors as well as concertgoers. One of the interesting sidebars to the success of the acoustical design was when the first rehearsals were held in the recently completed Hall for VIPs, donors, board members and journalists the LA Philharmonic orchestra, then under the direction of Esa-Pekka Solonen, discovered that in the arrangements placed at the musicians’ standards, there were errors which had never been discovered while performing at the Chandler facility. “The acoustics were so good at Disney Hall that you could finally hear the mistakes that had been in the arrangements for decades!”
Completed in 2003, Walt Disney Concert Hall has been praised for its audience-pleasing qualities. However, as beautiful and pristine Walt Disney Concert Hall has been to the world, it wasn’t too soon before critics popped out of the stainless steel — and that was the problem — the Hall’s shiny exterior reflected some of the sun’s intense rays right into the neighboring condominium homes. Because of the convex shape in some of the building’s stainless steel areas, the bright sunlight was riveted into these offending areas and then sent directly into a nearby condo’s living area, where the heat could rise to 140 degrees. Gehry and his team quickly found a solution — they lightly sanded the steel exteriors where the problem existed, and that solved the problem.
Frank Gehry created a magnificent tribute to Walt Disney — another honor to a gentleman who knew a bit about creating unique venues and making lots of people happy!
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Real estate indicators show upward swing…..let the good times roll
I always caution myself when I pick up the Los Angeles Times — usually there are stories about my ‘craft’ — real estate — and many times, the news is either confusing or negative. Once in a
while, I find a national story that reveals positive trends that does have some connection to our area, and I am eager to share those.
In any case, I always go back to the trenches I work in — what’s relevant here? During the past five years, since 2007 when things started going “south”, I have steadfastly maintained a positive attitude that “this, too, shall pass.”.
National stories — I have found — really don’t always relate to the communities I report on — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air, and Brentwood. We live in such a unique part of the world, hence, we find a growing line of buyers eager to pounce on our relatively light inventory, pay good prices, and tell their friends about it. Foreign buyers continue to flock to our shores, and why not? That is not to say they are not experiencing the same shortage of inventory in other parts of the country… they are….
Three stories I find pertinent that I want to share with you — 1) Foreclosures are down….2) Pending homes sales are up….and 3) Home prices are moving up. Good news comes in threes.
Foreclosures ARE down….and that’s good news
Dragging us down for some time now has been the relatively high inventory of homes in foreclosures. There have been as many as 4 million homes in foreclosures at one time….and we have seen that as many as 40% of sales in any one month have been homes that were either foreclosed upon or in short sale. That fact — alone — is enough to bring prices down for nearby properties.
Irvine-based Core Logic said this week that roughly 1.2 million homes nationwide, or 2.9% of all homes with a mortgage, were in some stage of foreclosure in January 2013. That’s a lot….but it represents a drop of 3.3% from December and more importantly, a 21% decline from January 2012. That’s progress!
Although the foreclosure inventory shrank, the number of completed foreclosures rose 10.5% from revised December 
numbers, but still, the 61,000 foreclosures completed in January 2013 was down 17.8% from a year earlier. “The backlog of distressed assets continues to fade as the foreclosure inventory has fallen to a level we have not seen since mid-2009, with less than 3% of all mortgages in foreclosure,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for Core Logic. Only six states and 13 of the largest 100 metro areas had foreclosure rate increases compared to a year ago.
Getting closer to home, California saw its foreclosure inventory drop 1.2% from January 2012, and before the housing crash, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006. Core Logic predicts that foreclosures will decline as the year progresses amid a stabilizing housing market and increased purchase activity.
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Pending home sales rise in every US region….barely up in West
My readers see headlines like this all the time — online or as you’re reading your morning newspaper so I am sensitive to these stories. I have always been loath to pass on even the brightest of news from some national real estate survey companies because I have been, as you know, preaching the sermon every month that “we’re different” here — in the four communities I report on. We are different — and when you think about it, how many areas in the United States have these incredible communities clustered together — Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Bel-Air? Few if any.
But here comes a report from the National Assn. of Realtors (NAR), whom I do trust and respect very much, stating that “pending home sales” for January 2013 are up all across America. The NAR said that is index of pending sales, based on number of homes purchase contracts signed — rose 4.5% in January from the previous month, and 9.5% from January 2012. Now that is good news.
The index — now at 105.9 — is at its highest reading since April 2010, another good sign — that’s when the popular tax
credit for buyers was driving the market up according to the NAR. According to one of my favorite economists, Larry Yun, chief economist for the NAR, he expects higher home sales in the short term but sales growth will be muted “because there are not enough homes available for sale!” That’s right, low inventory. The index NAR refers to is the level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be studied and also considered historically a “healthy year” of sales volume.
Pending sales were just up marginally in the West — 0.1%, but up 8.2% in the Northeast, 4.5% in Midwest, and 5.9% in the South.
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Home prices across US are up for last December…..
Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller revealed that home prices across the US posted sizable gains in December, indicating that “the housing recovery gained momentum at the end of last year.” The S&P/S-C index, which is widely watched, showed it was up 0.2% from the prior month and 6.8% year-over-year for 2012 vs. 2011.
A broader quarterly index also released this past week showed that national home prices are up 7.3% for the year. Home prices ended 2012 with solid gains according to S&P’s index committee….”housing and residential constructions led the
economy in 2012 fourth quarter.
Nineteen of the 20 metro areas covered by the index posted year-over-year gains, with only New York falling. California cities posted strong increases — San Diego rose 9.2% and Los Angeles was up 10.2%
So…what does this all mean? It simply means that we have some good numbers to report on a national trend basis — the trends appear to moving in the right direction. But, again, let’s get back to your home, your street, your neighborhood….how is it doing? Isn’t that what counts? It does to me.
Specifically, if you are wondering what your home is valued at on today’s market, why don’t you give me a call, and I’ll be glad to provide you complimentary appraisal. I do this all the time…
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The $600,000/month story….brother; can you spare $7.2 million?
Frankly, it’s too big for me. However, if you have a large family, love to entertain like William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies, or just want total seclusion and never need to leave your house, this might just be the house for you.
This Beverly Hills mansion known as The Beverly House is going for only $600,000 a month and it’s available as we go to press. Let me throw in another bit of trivia on this magical property — John and Jacqueline Kennedy spent their honeymoon here — and surely, that’s worth ‘something’.
So what does $600,000/month get you…More than 50,000 square feet of living space that includes 17 bedrooms and 29 bathrooms on 3.7 beautifully landscaped, tendered acres. Also included is a theater with drop-down screen, built-in
projection portals, and a 22-foot-tall living room. But the heart of this truly “intimate” home is the two-story library, lined with wooden shelves on both levels and a wrap-around walkway. And, yes, please call me if you’d like a private showing — only those who can afford $19,355 a day need apply.
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Road Construction in the area… the 405, Sepulveda, Mulholland and Wilshire!
Hold on to your hats, but now they are saying that we will be dealing with the “delight” of all of the construction in the roads and by ways of our lovely area until sometime in 2014!!!! How many of you are surprised?! Not me.. I know it is a pain, and it takes all of our patience to deal with these issues on a continuing basis… There are so many changes and notices that we all need to be aware of that I urge you to please check the web sites of either, i405@metro.net, metro.net/405 or twitter.com/i_405. If I gave them to you piece meal as I get them you would be as confused and frustrated as I am. If you just want to vent.. 213 922-3665. They release updates on a daily basis and I have found that they give us the changes after 4:00 p.m. , so please do check before you head out in the mornings and evenings.. In the meantime, I will see you on our next traffic jam!!!!!
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It’s that “yuck” time of year….put Spring cleaning on your list
Spring is almost here — and next week, we “spring forward” with our clocks. Really! So if you’re bored and looking for something to do, here’s your chance to create some order-out-of-chaos in your life: Spring Cleaning. This is the tradition we Americans have steadfastly resisted, every year when the leaves begin to bud and the green grass starts to cover our Santa Monica Mountains. Here are Seven Handy Tips gleaned and researched by Dr. Google:
1. Pick a day — and stick to it. The rationale most of us have (guys — it’s you I’m talking to) is that we have three months 
(spring) to do this. What difference does a day make? Wrong. Someone will surely remind you that once you pick a day — stick to it. And make sure you pick a day that you are not already unavailable — like a trip to China or a Little League game, you get my drift….. No excuses….and besides, if you miss the date you picked, the guilt will travel wherever you are.
2. Make this a “party” — yes! See, we’ve made progress already. You create a “Happy Spring Cleaning Day” — have some treats for breaks, a lunch prepared (or catered)….give lots of positive re-enforcement to your invited guests (like your kids and Mom/Dad, too)….ask them to bring their favorite CD and you draw for playing position….make this fun, joke, and smile lots.
3. Have great snacks, drinks….available at all times.
4. Gather supplies, tools and lots of strong plastic bags. Don’t wait until the last minute to do this….have it ready first thing (better yet, the night before);
5. No cell phones except during lunch break — that’s the rule. Focus for one day only. Enforce the rule. And please turn off your ringer.
6. Take photos. Seriously, record some of the moments — like when your plastic bag breaks and spills everything out on the driveway….or when you fall asleep on the couch — “I’ll be right back”…and of course, you bug out on your fellow Spring Cleaners…..
7. And finally, make the chores “age appropriate”.
And when it’s said and done — celebrate! Take a group photo — have some great refreshments on hand — and then relax. You have another 12 months before you have to do it again!
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Spring Forward — move clocks one hour forward on Sunday, March 10, at 2 a.m.
It’s that time of year again. Pacific Daylight Savings time officially begins on Sunday, 10 March , and ends Sunday, 3 November 2013.
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How am I doing with all of this craziness that is the real estate market today? OK… just trying to keep my head above water. I have a lovely lease listing in Bel Air Crest that has been on the market a week, and at this writing it appears that we will have two offers by tomorrow. But never fear, I have another one coming up soon as well as one in Mountaingate in by the end of the month. I am still looking feverishly for a condo for a client in Santa Monica while the buyer stays with friends, and a number of buyers looking for those elusive homes to buy that disappear in a nano second. I am also working with 8 mentees , all new to the real estate business, and they too keep me on my toes! If you are thinking of selling your home, please do give me a call, there are a lot of potential buyers out there just waiting for you to give me a call.
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