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Timely Real Estate News……………………………………………..1 November 2013 ******************************************************************************************************************
Exploring our city
How does the idea of hilltop vistas, the quiet charm of tree-lined streets, and a quick and easy one-mile trip on public transit to downtown appeal to you? Well, it certainly proved an effective lure for the fresh-off-the-train Midwesterners settling in Los Angeles who flocked to our city’s first suburb in the late 1880s.
A real estate boom in 1887 saw the construction of numerous, majestic Victorian homes in the new neighborhood, but a recession halted the development a few short years later, and once the pace resumed in the early 1900s, the more reserved Craftsman style was in vogue.
All this development was in vain, however, as the rapid growth of the city encroached on the idyllic hillside community, and by mid-century its once-regal homes were suffering from disdain and disrepair.
Angelino Heights is a small quarter within the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California. It is most notable for its Victorian era residences, although these are small in number. Originally spelled Angelino Heights, the area is second only to Bunker Hill as the oldest district in Los Angeles. Founded in 1886, it was originally connected to the downtown mainline (which ran east to west on Temple Street) by the Temple Street Cable Railway and later by streetcars. Like Echo Park proper and Chinatown, it is known for its steep hills. The district contains many notable examples of Victorian architecture, particularly of the Eastlake and Queen Anne styles, and though found throughout the neighborhood, they are especially concentrated on Carroll Avenue. Two of these residences served as the houses used for the TV shows Charmed and Journeyman, which were shown to be San Francisco Victorian residences. Traveling around the neighborhood, one also discovers that many other styles of architecturally significant homes are to be found here, such as Craftsman, Bungalow, Mission Revival, Art Deco, and Colonial Revival, to name a few. A number of the homes in the area were moved there from other areas in the city, including Brentwood when in 2008 a home designed by Richard Neutra was moved to Carroll Avenue. Tours of Carroll Avenue are offered through Los Angeles Conversancy. They are a lot of fun.
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Mortgage rates expected to climb in 2014, 2015
There is a projection that the home lending world is going to change in the coming months as interest rates rise as the number of mortgages are expected to drop by a projected 32% in 2014. The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said last week that it expects to see $1.19 trillion in new mortgages written in 2014, down from $1.75 trillion this year. Loans made to purchase homes are expected to rise 9%, but refinance originations could tumble by 57%. The Assn.’s chief economist said all-cash home purchases are also expected to taper off next year as bargains are fast disappearing.
Lenders were offering 30-year-fixed-rate loans to solid borrowers lasts week at an average of 4.13%, while down sharply from recent levels, the average is much higher than the rates in the mid-3% range that triggered the refinancing boom.
One of word caution….. These interest rates are still VERY low and should not impact your decision to buy and or sell your home! Historically these low interest rates have been in effect for a number of years.
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Housing prices in US cities rise by most since early 2006
It’s always nice to read that housing prices are rising if you’re a seller; if you’re a buyer, not so much. The latest study by S & P/Case-Shiller was taken of 20 cities throughout the country.
The index rose 12.8 percent from August 2012, more than the forecast, after a 12.3 percent gain in the year ended in July 2013. The median projection of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 12.5 percent increase, thereby beating the economists’ estimates. So what does this mean?
At first glance, these reports always reflect a national trend, not a trend in the four communities I report on — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air, and Brentwood. We have trends which I discuss with you on the 15th of the month in the SchifferLine when I share the latest stats with you.
What the S&P/Case-Shiller report states is that we have some momentum nationally, which is good for our nation’s economy. “The most encouraging thing is not just that prices accelerated in every 20 cities they follow reported higher selling prices. The breadth of the increase was across the entire country,” states senior economist Brian Jones with Societe Generale in New York.
What is fueling the price increases across the board was the lack of inventory. –“quality” inventory. The better homes in our area are moving quickly and have multiple offers. Again, homes priced too high, sit. Those competitively priced move slower. In the past two months in all four areas, we have seen that the Days on Market have dropped dramatically. We have a rush on, so to speak, on “quality” homes which demonstrate, again, the attractiveness of our communities. There is no denying that trend.
On another front, fewer contracts reduce pending home sales growth
While we are seeing home prices rise, we are also seeing fewer contracts being signed. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Americans signed fewer contracts for previously owned homes in September than in any month since December. New home sales have also been weak, although September data have yet to be released. According to research firm Data Quick in Southern California, the median home price stayed essentially flat for the third straight month in September. It appears we saw a pick-up in October.
As I track our four communities (and other markets as well), I sense that we are experiencing some of the same trends that are being reflected in the NAR statistics — we are seeing moderate growth in median sales prices (but they are still over previous year’s figures). And volumes are staying close to or ahead of 2012.
Tight access to credit and higher insurance rates are also affecting home buyers’ ability to purchase a new home. Higher mortgage rates are also affecting many buyers who are either opting for lower-priced homes or leaving the buying market entirely. Investors are decidedly pulling away — they have already picked up the choice fruit from the real estate tree….and what’s left are what would be available in a “normal” market. The bargains are few and far between these days.
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If you haven’t noticed, the “holidays” are here…..Halloween started it off
Halloween is behind us now…but wait, we have so many more in the pipeline. The Holidays is a great time for Family and fun times and adventures together. I would love to know what some of your plans are. Retailers can earn as much as 60% of their yearly sales during this period through the end of the year, and as retailers become more competitive for your $$, you will have already noticed that Christmas is upon us — just walk through a Costco or Wal-Mart in August or September, and you would think it’s here already .
Hanukkah is next, which arrives early this year on Wednesday, November 27, and lasts for eight nights. Then comes Thanksgiving, which is Thursday, November 28. Christmas is on December 25, and the next day, December 26, we have Kwanzaa, which begins on December 26 and lasts until January 1. New Year’s, of course, is on January 1. .
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Want to build your ‘own’ Rose Bowl float….there are opportunities
One of the fun things your family can do together is to work on a Rose Parade float. Each year, professional and community float builders need volunteers. It’s a massive undertaking, sometimes requiring hundreds of volunteers to place real and “live” fauna and flora on the Rose Parade floats, some requiring thousands of real flowers. If you want to take part in this fun exercise, there are many float builders who would welcome your help — there are age minimums and you will need to sign a waiver. Float decorating can be messy and you can get glue, paint and other dirt on your shoes and clothing. And it might even be a bit chilly, depending where you end up volunteering. And this is a freebie….no one is paid. But it is a lot of fun and very rewarding.
Here is a link to find an opportunity: http://www.tournamentofroses.com Events Search for Float Decorating and Viewing.
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Relocation becomes stream-lined, easy to do…..
One of the services I very much enjoy offering is to assist in easing the stress of someone relocating anywhere in the world! As we all know, moving is stressful in and of itself, and I love making that process as easy as possible.
One of the great advantages you would have in referring me to someone who is moving out of the area is that I hand-pick the local agent who like myself is thoroughly familiar with the neighborhood and community you/they choose. These agents have expert knowledge of the schools, the community cultures, and the shopping and entertainment assets — and of course, they are hands-on in the real estate trenches and can provide a plethora of quality options for any family, leasing or buying.
But on the flip side, I also have the capability to work with clients who are moving here — and I have all the capabilities to reverse the process — getting the profile of client needs and wants.
Coldwell Banker has the largest relocation contacts thought out the world. Through CB’s new relocation program we have the technology, data, and support systems that can identify exactly what the family needs in their new home…locate a variety of options/choices that match that profile…and arrange to hold their hands through the entire process. Whether leasing or buying, CB has the largest data bank for new home options in the world. We have more offices throughout the world than any other international real estate company.
I have coordinated many of these relocations over the years. If you are facing relocation or know of someone who is looking for help moving to new area, please give me a call — Carole Schiffer at 310-442-1384 or shoot me an email at carole@caroleschiffer.com. Thanks.
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405/Sepulveda Pass and other lessons in life
Were we surprised to learn that the 405/Sepulveda Pass was going to take another year? No. When it comes to getting a huge project such as this built on time and on budget was a fantasy to begin with. This was supposed to be a four-year, $1 billion project to alleviate the woes of driving over and through Sepulveda Pass. The design flaw, which is being blamed for causing the delay, is going to cost an estimated $75 million — do you believe that one? They had to take the wall down, find another contractor to re build the wall. As you can well imagine, there are already a number of law suits attached to both the flaw & the delay.
The project was earmarked to be completed mid-2013. Then it was December 2013. Then, summer 2014. Now it is fall 2014. One frustrated neighborhood association president testified that they are just “worn out”. It is like a horror movie that never ends. I don’t have anything profound to say except that it will be over, eventually. Hopefully, their last estimate is going to be right this time. Always check out this site before you venture out….www.metro.net/projects/I-405
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Phantom Electricity Loads = Higher Power Bills And Carbon Emissions
You can reduce your electricity bills by as much as 10% – simply by unplugging appliances or switching devices off at the power point they are connected to when not in use. It’s good for your wallet and for our planet. Standby, also known as phantom or vampire power loads are responsible for an incredible amount of electricity consumption around the world.
Practically every electronic device we plug into a socket continues to consume electricity after you’ve switched the device off. Examples include phone chargers, notebook power adaptors, microwave ovens, game consoles CD and DVD players. A signal that an appliance is using standby power is a lit LED or operational digital readout of course, but sometimes gadgets and gizmos can be sipping power on the sly. If an appliance or device has an external adaptor, the easiest way to tell if it’s still drawing power when the device is switched off is if the adaptor is warm. If there is no external adaptor, to determine if it’s using standby power you’ll need to check the appliance’s manual or contact the manufacturer.
While the amount of power being drawn by appliances in standby mode usually isn’t huge – anything from .5 – 5 watts per hour; when you consider the number of electronics devices in the average home these days and multiply that by the number of hours in a year; then multiply that by the number of households in your country – it really adds up.
The average home in the USA consumes about 1.2kWh of standby power daily. I’ve read the annual collective standby power draw from households in the USA is around 8 gigawatts – equivalent to the electricity production of eight large power plants. Globally, standby power consumption is estimated to be responsible for about 1% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Using the US example of 1.2 kilowatt hours daily, standby power consumption equates to approximately 500 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions a year per household where the electricity is generated primarily through the burning of coal. With coal still accounts for around 40% of the USA’s energy generation; this adds up to many millions of tons of standby power related emissions annually.
We could knock 1% of the amount of carbon dioxide being spewed into the atmosphere just by switching appliances and devices off at the wall when not in use.
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I don’t know about you, but I had many less trick or treaters last night, but they all sure were cute. Carving that pumpkin and decorating the house, gets me in the holiday mood. I am looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in Coronado and possibly joining the other ice skaters at “the rink at the Sea” at the Hotel del Coronado! The other thing that gets me in the holiday mood is making my travel arrangements for the holidays and planning my annual trek north to Vancouver.
My niece Morgan and her boyfriend, Ben, are moving from Denver to Vancouver and they will be staying in their new apartment. Nephew Connor got a taste of home building/construction during the summer while working on his parents’ home remodeling project, and he loved it. He is coming home from school in Montreal to once again to work with the contractor on the house. Since my sister’s rental house is smaller than their home — for the first time, my Mother and I are staying at a hotel in downtown Vancouver,(the Wedgewood) and experiencing the holidays there rather than staying at my sister’s house. It will be a different experience. I hope the weather cooperates so that we can walk around some.
As far as business is concerned, I am still busy, working with my 10 mentees, and handling my listings, which includes the lease of a 2/2.5 and den in Mountaingate. This lovely home enjoys a golf course view and is available for $6,800. If I can assist you or anyone you know with their real estate needs, please do let me know… carole@caroleschiffer.com.
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