Timely Real Estate News………………………………………………..15 August 2010
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Westside real estate stays ahead of 2009….same ups, same downs….
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I know…sounds like a broken record. But the reality is: Sales volume for Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Brentwood, and Bel-Air remained 28% ahead of last year as of July 31, reaching over $1.004 billion for the first time this year, compared to $783 million same time last year. The buyers are there, and while the economy demonstrated stagnation again last week, our real estate market reflects somewhat of a counter trend to bad economic news. Leading the pack for July 2010 sales is Beverly Hills, which showed a 34% gain over July 2009, with an average median sales price of $2.624 million, which has not been its highest monthly average over the past year when BH has consistently been over $3 million range; Beverly Hills Post Office is down 10% (over July 2009) with an average of $1.801 million; Bel-Air was 1% above a year ago at $1.450 million, but Brentwood dropped 38% compared to July 2009 with an MSP of $1.694 compared to $2.725 in 2009.
Real estate musical chairs…..
These #s reflect the continuing trend of musical chairs in the Westside real estate market — these four areas seem to find themselves switching chairs each month — some are up, some are down when compared to a year ago. And a lot of this chair-switching has to do with large estate sales that take place in every community — at one time or another. For example, Beverly Hills had six homes over $2 million this past month — with the highest closing at $7.580 million, which sold over asking of $7.450 but was on the market for six months; this compares to only four sales over in 2009, with the highest selling for $5.5 million, and five months on the market. Beverly Hills Post Office had three homes over $2 million, with the highest closing escrow in July 2010 at $6.8 million, selling at full price after only 30 days on the market. But BHPO had five in 2009, with the highest selling for $4.075 after being listed for $4.795 (on the market for five months). Bel-Air also had three over $2 million in July 2010 — the highest selling for $5.5 million….but had five in 2009 with the largest being listed originally for $27.995 million but selling for $18 million after four months on the market. (How times have changed!). And finally, Brentwood, had seven homes over $2 million, but the highest-priced home this past July was $3.950 million after being listed for $4.140 million (and being on the market for 13 months) So when you look at Brentwood’s 2010 #s for July 2010 with MSP down 38%, it’s understandable when you discover that Brentwood’s sales for July 2009 were 14 homes over $2 million, with the highest selling for $14.847 million (with a list price of $17.500 million and was on the market for six months). When you compare June 2010 to July 2010 median sales prices, Beverly Hills jumped 60%…Bel-air jumped 35%…but BHPO was down 12% and Brentwood was only down 2%.
What does this tell us? Previous year’s statistics greatly influence our reality of today’s market….because in the real estate industry, we’re always watchful for trends. In this economy, we’ve experienced the downward spiral of real estate prices in 2008 and 2009, and for the past seven months, we’ve enjoyed the “treading water” phase — prices are not plummeting and falling through the floor and they are not zooming up, either. Again, the Year-To-Date Median Sales Prices reflect a better measurement of where we are compared to monthly comparisons with previous periods: Beverly Hills is down 4% for YTD median sales prices compared to 2009 YTD numbers….Beverly Hills Post Office is down only 1%….Bel-Air’s drop is only 4%, and Brentwood is still lagging behind last year’s #s by 14%. So, all in all, we’re seeing some leveling off — and have we hit bottom? Anyway, as I was saying…… (I won’t answer that one!).
Here’s what I would recommend to anyone who is thinking of selling your home: Pricing is the most critical factor in the “to-sell-or-not-to-sell” decision-making process. Price determines your success in the marketplace and, yes, everything is relevant and on the table. Buyers are not only more savvy and sophisticated; they have the online tools to compare everything — location, presentation, condition, and finally, price. Getting an experienced Realtor who knows your neighborhood is the only intelligent choice to make. There are just too many factors to deal with in making an objective, accurate evaluation of your home’s value. I will be glad to give you a free appraisal….so give me a call.
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How To Get a Great Credit Score
What will help and hurt my credit score?
The following 2 items count for about two-thirds of your credit score:
Your Payment History
Having a long history of making payments on time on all types of credit accounts is one of the most important items lenders consider before approving a loan.
Owed vs. Available Credit. This compares the amount you owe versus the total amount of credit available. Your credit score can be lower when you use more than 50% of your available credit for each account. This is because when you are at the point of possibly maxing out your credit limits, lenders see you as a higher risk and more likely to have late payments in the future.
The following 3 items count for about the last one-third of your credit score:
Length of Credit History. A credit report containing a list of accounts opened for at least 10 years or more will help your credit score.
New Credit. Opening several new accounts in a short period of time can lower your credit score. Along the same lines, multiple inquiries may also lower your credit score.
Type of Credit Used. A mix of credit cards, retail accounts, finance company loans, installment loans and mortgage loans will help your credit score, as long as they all follow the above rules.
About 13% of Americans have a credit score of 800 or higher. If you were to look at their credit report, they generally have:
• 4-6 credit card accounts
• No late payments in the last 7 years
• At least one installment loan (mortgage or car) with excellent payment history
• An average of 10 years credit history and a few accounts with 20 years of good history
• Low number of credit inquiries (less than 3 in a 6 month period)
• No bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments, charge-offs or collections
• Debt limits at no more than 35% of their overall credit limits per account
To sum it up, having a long history of on time payments, using the right mix of credit and not maxing out on available credit are the keys to having a great credit score.
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On the Consumer Front —
One of the aspects of the recently passed Consumer Protection Bill that was just passed was the legislation pertaining to gift cards. Gift cards are more popular than ever…..but so are complaints. As gift cards continue to grow in popularity and usage increases, so have complaints about expiration dates and fees, which can eat into the value of the card. Beginning August 22, new rules provide important protections when you purchase or use gift cards. These rules cover both store gift cards and gift cards with a MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover brand logo. Under the new rules:
Gift cards must provide an expiration date that is at least five years from the date card is purchased.
If there is a fee to purchase the card, this must be clearly marked on the card itself or its packaging.
Fees for inactivity, usage fees, and maintenance fees can only be charged once per month.
You can only be charged an inactivity fee if you haven’t used your card for at least one year.
Consumers must be given clear and conspicuous disclosure about any fees relating to the use of the card.
Happy gift-giving!
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As you know, I do not make recommendations for services or companies, but this is information that I recently received that is quite interesting If you’re looking for new, consumer electronics, look no further.
Over 20,000 new consumer electronic products are introduced to the marketplace each year, so it is no wonder that searching for that new camera, laptop, or DVD player can seem daunting. Next time you need a new electronic gadget, you might want to visit Retrevo.com first.
This free website is one of the largest consumer electronics shopping and review sites online. It uses artificial intelligence technology to aggregate product information, reviews, and articles from across the internet. Information is gathered from blogs, forums, websites and manufacturers to provide up-to-date shopping advice. In addition, they offer services like the ability to find user manuals for thousands of products and a value map, which shows the best value for your money. I am in the process of purchasing a new flat screen, and have found their information most valuable. Please let me know if you have tried it and found it useful also.
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“Help…..find me, please. I’m lost….and I want to get home. Signed, Bailey”
I don’t normally run “lost dogs (or cats)” advertisements, but this month, I received my first request from a family in the lower Casiano area whose beagle and lab-mix dog has been gone from home for nearly three weeks. The hunt for Bailey has galvanized a normally quiet and very private community into a community wide effort, and that impressed me. I know this is late notice — but I wanted to call your attention to this adorable dog, named Bailey, who would really like to get back to his Masters. If you have any information on this cute little guy, please
call 310-622-5936. You’ll make his owners and Bailey very, very happy, and you just might earn yourself the $3,000 reward!
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