SchiTimely Real Estate News…………………………………………………..15 April 2010
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One if by land, and two if by sea. “CalTrans
is coming….”The 405 Widening project currently underway in the Sepulveda Pass area reminds me of our Revolutionary War times when the colonists were awaiting word as to how the British were going arrive — by land or sea. It was Paul Revere’s job to notify Bostonians after seeing one or two lanterns in the Old North Church steeple: “One if by land and two if by sea.” We residents on the Westside, and especially those adjacent to the 405 in the Sepulveda Pass area, would clearly like to know which way CalTrans was coming and when. We know they are not coming “by sea”, but even though Cal Trans announces they’re coming at specific times and places along the 405 route, it doesn’t always happen. I find myself creating a different route to the office or to see a client to avoid any street closures, only to find that after re-routing my path, the closure didn’t happen. And that’s been the pattern in our neighborhood for the past several months as Cal Trans tries to cause minimal interruption in our daily lives. I guess — like all of us – we just have to adjust ourselves to the on-going changes and closures.
I’ve attached a map and the projected time sequence (through 2012) for all 405 Widening project work, to give you the ‘projected’ timing on specific parts. I am also posting this schedule on my web site, and as always, I will keep you informed — perhaps not on horseback, nor carrying a lantern. As Paul shouted, “CalTrans is coming, CalTrans is coming…” Just check our website or notices posted on the CalTrans’ website for this project
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Westside real estate market continues pricing pattern…..
We are seeing a number of higher priced sales in the four communities I report on — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air, and Brentwood we are seeing a robust increase in sales for homes over $3 million. During February and March of this year, Beverly Hills has eight homes over $3 million; Beverly Hills Post Office has had six; Bel-Air has eight, and Brentwood has had three over $3 million. These large sales, in many ways, skew what is happening across all four areas which dramatically affects the median sales price for the first quarter. For example, in Beverly Hills there were sales of $16.5 million, $10 million; $7 million, $8 million, $12.5 million and $7.5 million. For the median sales price for Beverly Hills for February alone, the MSP was $9.4 million, the highest average we have had in many years on the MLS. However, one thing to keep in mind is that while these are impressive numbers in terms of home prices, they are still lower than these same properties would have sold for a few years ago when the market was stronger. Case in point, there is a home in Mountaingate that was purchased in June 2006 for $2 million. It came on the market last Friday for $1,495,000 and sold in three days!!! As I have said many times, the buyers are out there, and they certainly know value when they see it.
In reviewing the median sales prices for 2010, the patterns remained close to the last quarter of 2009. Beverly Hills posted no gain — the median sales price was $2.447 million for 2010 and $2.437 million for 2009. Brentwood had an increase of 8% over the same first quarter of 2009; Bel-Air lost 10% and Beverly Hills Post Office lost 18% in median sales price.
March sales were strong in Brentwood — showing a 31% increase of February 2010, yet as you can see from the number of sales over $3 million that I mentioned in the above, paragraph, Brentwood lagged behind Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office and Bel-Air in the number of sales over $3 million; Beverly Hills posted an 83% drop in MLS (because of the large # of +$7 million homes); Beverly Hills Post Office slipped 23% in median sales price over last month; and Bel-Air lost 11% over February 2010.
http://www.metro.net/projects/I-405/
Sales volume for these four communities continue well ahead of last year — posting $391 million in sales for a 76% increase over 2009 for the first quarter of 2010. However, I must put all of these numbers into perspective: As you know, I have been using Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles MLS as the source for all my statistics and analysis for the past 10 years.
Duplicate sales recordings skew MLS stats…..getting it fixed
Last month, the numbers for one of the areas I report on — Beverly Hills — showed a whopping increase in median sales price (over the $9.4 million reported above), and I dug deeper into the MLS statistic reports for which we have access and discovered that the MLS was counting the sale of an $18 million home twice. The reason: Two different agents had the listing and thus it was in the MLS twice, and it was recorded twice. I have pointed this discrepancy out to the MLS, and after a week of research, they agreed that this error shouldn’t have occurred. Well, how long has this error in your statistics been going on? They couldn’t tell me. They are not sure. The MLS staff has been terrific in helping get to the bottom of this and are very concerned that this error might have been part of their program for a while and are working as quickly as they can to get it corrected. I pass these statistics onto my clients and neighbors, and I know that they, too, rely on the analyses that I do every month to keep them informed. We don’t know the exact significance of this finding, but I will keep you posted. The statistics we provided today, however, have all been verified — there are no duplicate sales.
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Bank foreclosures jumped 16 percent…..bank-owned sales to rise – Nationally
I have reported for months about the impact of sales of bank-owned homes in your neighborhood (not good), and just this past Wednesday, a record number of U.S. homes were lost to foreclosure in the first three months of 2010 — a sign that banks are starting to wade through the backlog of troubled home loans at a faster pace, according to Realty Trac, Inc., a real estate tracking firm.
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So what is really happening out there on the streets?
I know I have mentioned this before, but activity has really picked up. At my open house for one of my listings – a beautiful home on the Silver Strand in the Marina — I am getting an average of 35 groups coming through each week. Yes there are some looky loos, and some beach goers or bike riders following the signs, but for the most part we are seeing “real buyers” some of whom are moving back to Los Angeles from other parts of the country or renters wanting to take advantage of the tax credits being offered by both the state and federal governments as well as the still lower interest rates. You can feel the momentum beginning to shift.
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Save the Date!
As I am sure you all know, emergency preparedness is one of my “hot buttons”, and given all of the earthquakes we have seen around the world, I feel even stronger about the need for all of us to be prepared (yes, I was a girl scout). Seriously, in speaking with the Emergency Preparedness group of the City of Los Angeles, they tell us that we need to be prepared to take care of ourselves for a minimum of 72 hours as the City will not be in a position to assist individuals themselves. With that in mind, I am organizing an Emergency Preparedness festival in Bel Air Crest on Sunday 6 June from 11 – 1. We will have a number of vendors there for you to purchase emergency kits and or supplies for your homes, cars and offices, along with plumbers for those gas shut off valves, as well other vendors with fire extinguishers, and any other things I can think of in the mean time. There will be some light refreshments as well. If you do not live in Bel Air Crest, but would like to join us, we would love to have you there. Please just send me an e-mail at ceschiffer@aol.com and I will make sure you are on the guest list.
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Attacking mold
I am referring to the mold we all see in our showers from time to time.
Commercial mold killers are usually made with Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach) and Sodium Hydroxide. They are highly corrosive. Sodium hypochlorite is very toxic to fish but is easily diluted. The problem is chlorine in bleach can attach itself in an aquatic environment to organic matter and form organ chlorines, highly toxic substances that can persist in the environment for a very long time.
Borax – A teaspoon of environmentally gentle dishwashing liquid and a teaspoon of borax mixed with one quart warm water; pour into a spray bottle, soak the affected area for as long as possible; rinse and air dry.
Eucalyptus oil – One tablespoon of eucalyptus oil, one tablespoon of mentholated spirits and two cups of water mixed together and placed in a spray bottle; apply and leave to dry.
Grapefruit (or citrus) seed extract – Mix 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract with 2 cups of water; place in a spray bottle and apply. Leave to dry.
Vinegar – 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water mix, again sprayed on and left to dry.
Baking soda – Pour 1 part vinegar and 1 part warm water into a bowl, then add 2 parts baking soda to make a thick paste. Apply and leave to dry, then scrub off. Repeat if the mold is particularly stubborn.
Tea tree oil – 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil mixed with 2 cups of water. Place in spray bottle and mix well. Again, don’t rinse
Most of the above are safe to use on bathroom tiles and ground; exercise caution with other materials. Regardless, spot test first.
If green alternatives fail
Hopefully one of the above tips will help you deal with your mold situation in a more environmentally friendly way.
In the case of the shower, create a dam around the affected area with rags or old towels in order that none of the runoff gets in the drain. Then, instead of spraying it around like there’s no tomorrow, get the nozzle as close as you can to the affected area and pull the trigger slowly, doing the best to just hit the affected area and nothing else. Wipe off any runs and then after leaving overnight, hit it with tea tree oil and allow that to dry off naturally. The adding of tea tree oil after the mold is visibly gone does certainly seem to prevent mold from reoccurring so quickly. That ounce of green prevention is certainly better than the pound of corrosive cure.
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You should also check out my wonderful listings on my web site, caroleschiffer.com. I have three great listings in Bel Air Crest, another one as I mentioned in the Silver Strand in the Marina, and soon will have one is Mountaingate and another totally newly constructed home in Brentwood (my future listings are not yet on my web site as I do not have photos of them).
In the meantime enjoy this beautiful weather we have and I hope to see you soon.