Timely Real Estate News………………………………………………1 May 2013
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Norton Simon Museum — a distinguished legacy for all
There is something very enthralling yet relaxing about the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Perhaps it is the Museum’s beautiful, manicured gardens and surroundings of this handsomely designed campus.
Getting to the Museum is really the start of your adventure — driving up historic Orange Grove Avenue, past the stately Wrigley Mansion, home of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses….or wandering by the nearby Gamble House, one of America’s most cherished examples of craftsman homes….or even driving up or down on Colorado Boulevard, the route for the annual Tournament of Roses.
The Norton Simon Museum is today one of California’s treasured cultural icons — made possible by the generosity of industrialist Norton Simon in the early 1970s. Simon infused millions into the redesign of the campus and hired famed architect Frank Gehry. The redesign also included major re-landscaping featuring gardens and pathways designed by Power and Associates to house 20th Century sculpture collection in an “engaging setting.” A theater was added, and it is used for lectures, film, dance performances and concerts. Today, there are over 11,000 objects within the Museum itself however, no more than 800 to 900 objects are displayed at one time. The Museum’s collection has been valued at over $800 million.
It is certainly worth a day-trip to the Norton Simon — where you’ll see rotating exhibits from around the world, and it displays many fine works of Asian, European Art, Impressionists, and American contemporary paintings and sculptures throughout the year. I particularly love the fine collection of European and American artists between the 1870s and today. It’s a marvelous treat to enjoy such a wonderful Museum, a stimulating art collection.
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Housing recovery on its way back across the US….but only 56% of the way!
It doesn’t just ‘hit you in the face’ — our recovery is much more subtle. It comes in bits, pieces — and not at the same time. According to one of the leading online housing tracking firms, Trulia, the housing sector is 56% back to normal. And what does that exactly mean? 
What it means is that based on the latest national statistics that have been accumulating in both new housing construction and resale’s during the past three months — when comparing current level of new home starts, existing-home sales, and the rate of delinquencies and foreclosures versus their worst readings of the recession and “their pre-bubble normal level, things are proceeding at a record pace..” Just to give you a very brief history when this all started, the recession officially started in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Of course as early as 2005, we were beginning to ‘feel’ the slowdown — ‘recession was in the air’…..and in fact, we all felt the #s were coming down before the recession was officially declared to have begun. And likewise, we have been told it’s over officially nearly four years ago, but…….
Despite national setbacks in March, which have been attributed to out-of-the-ordinary weather conditions in different parts of the country, housing construction and demand are firmly in recovery according to the latest year-to-date statistics: There has been a 1.5% rise in new-home sales in March. And there has also been a continued increase in home prices through February.
These trends are exactly what the Federal Reserve was trying to accomplish when it aimed to bring long-term interest rates down (they have done that!) and pump billions into the economy. This helps the overall economy which then
frees up capital for further consumer spending, more credit available, and in the end, this augurs well for home buyers — new and resale — to get financing.
What we are seeing, according to Trulia, is the “New Normal” — where we are getting ‘used to’ continued slow growth over a period of years — not a turnaround accomplished in one quarter or one year.
In looking ahead, Trulia stated that now that we have passed the 50% mark in our housing recovery, the next phase is going to be harder. Progress will continue to be incremental — on the supply side, builders are already reporting difficulties in amassing resources….and developed land is scarcer, materials are more expensive, and skilled craftsman are harder find. Many of them have dropped out of the workforce or switched to a more reliable way to earn a living.
But on the demand side, the best-qualified borrowers have already tapped the mortgage market taking advantage of outstanding bargains existing in most markets, and there is also the huge challenge of “low inventory” — especially in the higher-priced homes and neighborhoods (like here on the Westside). And compounding the inventory situation is that previously A-quality borrowers are finding that the banks are not especially eager to loan money as they once were — it’s just harder to get a loan these days.
In sum, while we have made incredible progress in clawing our way back, the Fed believes that future demand is going to be driven by job and income growth. By all accounts, we are going through a slowdown, which may mean weaker hiring this spring, and March’s abysmal job growth of 88,000 job gain wasn’t good news.
So…..I want to share the good news —Â I just recently sold a beautiful home in Brentwood Park for $8.4 million….with multiple offers that had been on the market for 11 days…and I just closed escrow on a wonderful home in Pacific Palisades….and I now have two listings on the Wilshire corridor. I am also in the hunt for homes and/or condos in Santa Monica or Venice for two very eager buyers….we have been extremely active in pursuit of these homes — have made more than 10 offers in the last two weeks — every one of these offers were “over asking” — with 25% to 30% down….strong offers from strong clients. The Santa Monica and Venice condo market is very strong now — and buyers are tripping over themselves to make a deal.
I am also working on some listings in Bel Air Crest and Mountaingate — and I have multiple buyers who are in the hunt for the right opportunity in a number of different areas.
In my Coldwell Banker office, I now have 12 mentees whom I am training on a weekly basis, a task I thoroughly enjoy and relish as one of CB’s mentors. It is a demanding job — you have the responsibility to orient and train some incredibly talented ‘newbie’s’ to the world of real estate and Coldwell Banker. I am honored to be chosen to work with these fine individuals.
As 2013 now slides into its fifth month, I am feeling both the “good and bad” of this early success: I’m pleased to be working with so many of my real estate agent associates in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Venice and Pacific Palisades
 most of whom I have known for years but don’t always get a chance to work with….so that’s good. And while I’m enjoying all of this business, I sometimes find myself exhausted after what feels like a 24/7 carousel ride. I am learning how to take some time off, like this past weekend to celebrate my sister’s birthday in Vancouver. Fortunately, I have a great team that supports me and my clients.
As we know, success can be contagious — and I would like to share with you my secrets of successfully buying and selling real estate on the Westside. Give me a call at 310-442-1384. I’d love to help you!
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Some interesting facts from the Numbers Game
Courtesy of a recent issue of Women’s Wear Daily Collections magazine and their article on the numbers game. “ Global economies aren’t exactly out from under the cloud of recession yet, but there are signs of financial health that are sprouting up like the first crocuses of spring”.  564 Million people in China used the internet last year; 90 percent of affluent women in India , the third largest global diamond market, own a diamond; 2013 Italian Exports Forecase44,32, Billion Euros (or
$56.7 Billion), +Â 2.2 % from 2012. All interesting stuff here!
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Foreclosures take a dramatic drop as new California laws take effect
Not since the last housing boom of 2005-2007 have we seen such a huge drop in mortgage default notices in California. During the first three months of this year, lenders filed a total of 18,567 default notices, the first step in the California formal foreclosure process. This represents a 51.4% drop from the previous quarter and a 67.0% drop from the first quarter of 2012 according to San Diego-based real estate tracking firm Data Quick.  The sharp decline coincides with State regulations on banks meant to curb foreclosure abuses that went into effect 1 January 2013. But economic factors have also played a big role in the declines as well.
Data Quick pointed out that the drop in rising home prices, a stronger economy, and government interventions designed to curtail foreclosures were responsible for the large decrease.
Rising home values have made homeowners less likely to default by lifting many of them out of negative equity positions, and allowing them to sell or even in some cases refinance. The rise in prices is even enticing some people stung by foreclosure back into the market. “Anyone who can afford to avoid foreclosure is now scrambling to avoid foreclosure” said Christopher Thornberg, principal of Beacon Economics.Â
In looking at our communities that I report on — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air, and Brentwood — the impact of foreclosed homes in neighborhoods greatly affected homeowner equity and home prices. There is still some lingering inventory of bank owned properties, but they are few and far between. This is good news!
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I promised myself not to mention this, but….the 405 construction project is behind schedule
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one…..the LA Times reported last week that the 405 widening project is going to be delayed about a year, perhaps longer, and the cost over-run is over $100 million (that’s on top of the $1 billion estimated). Is this news? For those of us who are in the middle of it every day, of course not. It’s just as obvious as the cones and detour signs on Sepulveda Boulevard. My only recommendation is to visit the www.metro.net web site to get the latest news on closures. The BIG QUESTION IS…. WHO IS PAYING FOR THIS COST OVERRUN?!?  Wish I had better news!
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SURPRISE!!!! Â
A few weeks ago, I organized a surprise birthday party for my sister Kim. It was an 
interesting process being that she lives in Vancouver, BC Canada, and I was here. But between my brother in law, Bob who was my partner in crime and one of her friends, we pulled it off and she was TOTALLY surprised. Both my Mother & I flew up and joined her 16 other friends, and when Kim saw us there and started to cry, I knew had a success. The plot was somewhat complicated and involved a lot of “stories”, but we pulled it off and it was a lot of fun to do.
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Cleaning your Washing Machine
I don’t know about you, but I tend to take both my washer & dryer for granted, and yet they were the first things I bought when I bought my first home about 25 years ago. Actually amazing enough, I still have the dryer, but replaced the washing machine about 10 years ago. Recently I saw an article on cleaning and properly maintaining your washing machine. 
Basically is it very easy:
1.   To prevent mold and or any moisture collecting in the machine, you should never leave the top or door closed.Â
2.    Once a week, we need to run the machine through without any detergent or clothes in it, just to clean the lines.
3.   Approximately once a month, we need to add some white vinegar mixed with water to the fabric softener container when we run the machine without anything else in it (we should also do the same thing in our spa tubs by the way).Â
4.   On a regular basis, we need to check the lines in both the washing machine & dryer to make sure they don’t have any holes in them and the dryer needs to have the lint cleaned out of the lines on a regular basis (of course we all clean out the lint trap after each load.. right?).
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Spring is ‘busting out all over’….it’s a carousel ride on the Westside
It may not be June yet, but business is “busting out all over” as Rogers and Hammerstein might call my life so far in 2013. While there were those who were pondering what might become of 2013, I was eagerly looking forward to it since the last quarter of 2012 was great for both myself and my clients….and I envisioned that the next 12 months was only going to get better. And it has.
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