SchifferLine 15 June 2012

Timely Real Estate News………………………………………………15 June 2012
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It took a while, but Happy Father’s Day, Pop!

I know that many of us assume we have always had Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Not so. In fact, it took more than 62 years after Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, WA, first proposed the idea to officially declare a national holiday to honor fathers. Inspired by Anna Jarvis’s campaign to celebrate Mother’s Day that started a year earlier in 1909, Sonora began in earnest 1910 to create the first Father’s Day celebration, and she made it a life-long effort to make Father’s Day an equally respected holiday. After many failed attempts within Congress and by various presidents, it was President Richard Nixon in 1972 who officially signed it into law by declaring the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day.

And wouldn’t you know it; it was the trade associations of retailers and tie manufacturers who threw their support around the idea to have an official legal holiday — Father’s Day. Ain’t free enterprise a wonderful thing? Regardless of the gift or card you gave your Dad or if you’re ‘are one’, isn’t it the “thought that counts?” I lost my Dad 10 years ago, but Father’s Day will always be special to me. He was a great Father!

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Carole Schiffer named top 1000 for CB out of 140,000 agents…

It was nice to hear — good news on a hectic day in a hectic week. But what popped into my head when I heard that I was one of the top 1000 out of 140,000 Coldwell Banker agents nationwide for this year’s first quarter was the lyrical sounds of Blood, Sweat and Tears 1979 Number 1 hit — Spinning Wheel — “what goes up must come down!” Of course, it’s nice to hear your firm recognizes your achievements — and then, back to the reality of the moment. We have certainly seen our real estate market rise, fall. So, thanks for the nice note from NRT (who owns CB) CEO Bruce Zipf, but especially a big Thank You to my clients for your business and loyalty!

So, now, where were we…oh, yes, back to the real estate trenches. There is no rest these days. Again, thank you so much for your strong support.

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May was an interesting month with the sales volume

I was wondering how the rest of the world was doing. My life since January 1 has been a blur of activity, and when I got the May 2012 stats from the Multiple Listing Service, It confirmed what I already knew:  For the most part, the first quarter of this year has been much busier than we have seen in a long time in terms of real estate sales:  The number of sales reported through the multiple listing service (MLS) in the four areas I report on has been both up and down:  Beverly Hills, 9 in May ‘2012 vs. 10 in May 2011, Beverly Hills Post Office 19 in ’12 vs. 12 in ’11, Bel Air 16 in ’12 vs. 20 in ’11, and in Brentwood 15 in ‘2012 and 12 in 2011.  So once again, we see the yin and yang of the market   

More interesting information for May

We have seen this before — some months just shoot up in sales volume, and median sales prices significantly surpass previous months and periods. For example, Beverly Hills median sales prices for May 2012 was $5.550,000 boosted by one sale for $34.500,000 and a few “smaller” sales at $17,000,000, $8,400,000, $5,550,000, and $4,175,000 respectively. The median price for Beverly Hills Post Office for May 2012 was up slightly from May 2011 at $2,475,000 vs. $2,395,000.  There were three sales over $3,000,000 ranging from $4,030,000 to $4,745,000.  The median price in Bel Air was also up in May 2012 at $ 2,420,000 vs. $1,622,500 in May 2011, and Brentwood showed a drop of $1,838,000 in May 2012 vs. $2,262,500 in May 2011. .

These large sales continue to reflect these communities’ strong attraction to both domestic and foreign buyers. For sure, these are
strong, encouraging numbers, and while the economy, again, seems to be humming along only to sputter here and there, there are some definitive signs that we are, perhaps, seeing a turnaround in our local real estate market. Open houses continue to show strong attendance — buyers are showing more enthusiasm and endurance to seek out bargains. — and the bargains are still out there, but may be harder to find these days.

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Foreclosures — steady but to rise in the future

We have not left the foreclosure issue behind us. There is somewhat alarming news that the number of homes in the foreclosure pipeline are going to significantly increase as the banks move pass the settlement mandated  by the Federal  government to resolve ‘unfair practices’ during the past three years. While foreclosure filings are four percent below May 2011 levels, ‘foreclosure’ starts — meaning default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions also rose in May, increasing 12 percent from April and 16 percent compared to a year ago. This is the first year-over-year increase after 27 consecutive months of annual declines. “It’s going to be a bumpy ride down to the bottom of the foreclosure cycle” according to Realty Trace CEO Brandon Moore. So, stay tuned.

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Are we just puppets on a string? It’s the ‘global’ economy stupid!

Sometimes I feel I have absolutely no control over ‘stuff’. I know we all can feel that way at times, because as we find out every day that what happens in China or in Europe affects us right here in our community. We may, indeed, have control over what happens inside our homes, but once we leave the safety of our ‘castle’, we enter a world where the strings of our economy are being pulled in all directions by a global cabal of world leaders and economic conditions that cannot be fixed with a stroke of the pen, printing more money, or even handing out the latest ‘bailout’. The PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) have become a ‘brand’ in themselves, and it seems the European Union is scrambling every day to save the Euro and keep one of the PIGS afloat. So, like it or not, we’re part of a global economy that directly affects our real estate market. The puppeteers change daily, and we can only react to the reality of what the conditions are right here in our local communities. But the good news is: We have one of the most attractive, most popular, and most desirable places in the world to live. We know it better than anyone else. And we are finding out that the rest of the world knows it, too.

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International buyers are swooping down on Southern California

While this isn’t ‘new’ news, the background on the continued influx of foreign buyers into Southern California represents a trend that is not going to go away anytime soon: Individual foreign buyers are taking advantage of the collapse of bonds backed by American home loans to “snap up bargains at a record clip,” according to  recent article in  the Los Angeles Times. Shying away from Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed securities, foreign clients (a combination of just-arrived immigrants or those who have moved here within the past two years) have purchased more than $82 billion worth of U.S. residential real estate (from March 2011 to March 2012), up from $66 billion a year before.

The demand is so strong that Coldwell Banker is now publishing its advertising magazine The  View in China,  and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) launched an international version of its listing website: There are over 4.4 million properties displayed on Realtor.com and can be viewed in nearly a dozen languages. Of course, the Internet brings these “homes for sale” to anywhere in the world. Florida holds the most interest according to the NAR followed by Arizona, California and Nevada.. Nearly 55% of all US residential real estate sales to foreigners from May to November last year were in those four states mentioned. So don’t be surprised if you get a visit from a buyer who doesn’t necessarily speak your language. One observation — the language in today’s real estate is $$.

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It’s a Grand Ol’ Flag– July 4th is the time to ‘show your colors’

It’s still politically correct to ‘show your colors’ — displaying the American flag is a centuries-old tradition that resonates
throughout America and wherever Americans may reside around the globe. June 14 is national Flag Day which commemorates the history and traditions of displaying the American flag. Betsy Ross is widely credited with creating the first American flag at the behest of George Washington. The history of the actual ‘first flag’ is ambiguous at best because after years of research, the Smithsonian experts point out that the popular recounting of how George Washington asked Betsy to design the first flag appealed to Americans “eager for stories about the revolution and its heroes and heroines. In fact, research points out that there were several flag makers in Philadelphia where Betsy lived, and the only significant fact that can be directly attributed to her is that she converted the six-pointed star to five points — a major ‘point’ to be sure. The earliest flags trace a history and connection back to England which featured the same colors (red, white, and blue) and even the Union Jack symbol was part of the early designs of the Continental Congress’s flag. There have been a total of 28 different flag designs over the years, and today with the addition of Hawaii and Alaska, we now have 50 ‘stars and stripes.

Betsy Ross remains to this day as the ‘mother of the American flag’ and it seems appropriate that as we celebrated Flag Day on Thursday, we are thankful to all of those who gave so much to preserve America and our freedoms.

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Our technological world vs. the oh so important human touch

  A virtual office, Cloud, Facebook, blogs, Facebook, Twitter,  IPhones,  IPads, and by tomorrow, I am sure there will be four new devices added to this list of “must haves” needed in today’s real estate office! And to keep up to date, we need to master the newest technology overnight.  In1968 Stanley Kubrick’s epic movie, 2001, A Space Odyssey, we were introduced to Hal, the computer that controlled this adventure into outer space.  What a futuristic fantasy this was, but 44 years later Hal is definitely here and in our pockets! We are connected at all times by the collection and forwarding of information: always plugged in.  It has become a must in all of our lives and it has dramatically changed the way we all do business and lead our lives.  The real estate business is no different.  In our business, more forms are added each year.  I thought all of this technology was to eliminate paper as it is really sad, in my opinion, at least one tree loses its life for each transaction. We do contracts, disclosures, electronically, but certainly not completely.  With all of this talk of gadgets that have improved our lives, buying and selling real estate is still very much a” people to people business” and that is the part of it that I LOVE! Meeting and getting to know each and every one of you is very important to me, and working through to balance the exchange of ideas. Protecting your best interests are at the heart of what I do.  So… Hal , I have not been cloned yet and have no immediate plans to do so, so back off.

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Bicycle Touring Anyone?

If ever you find yourself in Bend, Oregon, and are interested in taking a bicycle tour of the wonderful areas around Bend including some of the fabulous wineries there, please contact my daughter, Melanie Fisher and her company Cog Wild (www.cogwild.com).  Melanie and my son-in-law, Lawrence, who also owns his own business — Home Solution Systems (www. hssbend.com), have lived in Bend for the last number of years after attending UC Santa Cruz. They both have entrepreneurial souls by having parents on all sides that own their own businesses.  Mel & Lawrence also lived in Japan for two years while they taught English to Japanese students, not an easy feat when one of the requirements of the company they worked for was that you do not speak Japanese.  I am very proud of the both of them as they just purchased their second home in Bend and are renting out their current home.  Go kids!!!!

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Castile soap

What is castile soap?
Castile soap isn’t a brand but a type of soap made exclusively from vegetable oil rather than animal fat or synthetic substances. The purists feel it should be made from olive oil but there’s a wide variety of castile variants that use oil from plants such as coconut and jojoba. The simple nature of the soap means a lesser environmental impact due to reduced waste stream during manufacture and also faster biodegradability.

While castile soaps can have additional synthetic ingredients, usually you’ll find if it’s marketed under that name, it’s a fairly natural sort of product.

Castile soap – so versatile
Castile soap has many uses aside from washing your skin – it’s also known as seafarer’s soap due to its versatility.  Liquid castile soap can be used for a shaving lather,it can be used as a pet shampoo,  it is great for washing clothes and diapers, general cleaning, diluted and used in a spray bottle, heavy duty degreasing, It can also be used in place of dishwashing detergent and even in your automatic dishwasher!
 The other great thing about castile soap is you can make it at home and there’s a ton of recipes available online. Just a word of warning; in soap-making, lye is used which is a corrosive alkaline substance – sodium hydroxide; so handle with care.  

Ingredients:
1/2 cup liquid castile soap
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
Method:
Stir all ingredients together until blended. Store in a squirt top bottle. Use 2 tablespoons per load of dishes, shake well before use.

My Father owned a chemical manufacturing company, in which he manufactured soaps and detergents, among other products, so both my sister and I grew up  with lots of times when we made our own soaps (in fact we were called the “bubble princess” when we were growing up).

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As a natural consequence of having a lot of listings, they hopefully segue into escrows, so while I am still very busy servicing my listings including a new one in The Ridge of a bright, sunny 2/2.5 den that is an end unit with golf course views and extra windows and a big side yard patio ($1,239,000), and then another 4/4 home behind the gate on Ridge Point Drive with stunning views of the city and a great yard ($1,999.999) and another fabulous home in guarded Bel Air Park  which is 4/4.5 with a big yard, again stunning views of the city ($2,950,000 or for lease $11,000 completely furnished), I am fortunate to have escrows from Brentwood to Playa Vista and  points in between. I love being busy, but am also looking forward to short rest at my home in Coronado for the 4th of July holiday. Please give me a call to let me know how I can assist you with any of your real estate needs.