Timely Real Estate News……………………………………………………15 May 2010
The Maypole brings out the fun of May Day in life at Archer School for Girls
I don’t know about you, but as a child growing up on the Westside, May 1 was always the day that we put up the Maypole with these brightly colored ribbons streaming from the top. Each of us would grab the ribbon and dance around the pole with music in the background. This was always our ‘Rite of Spring’. The maypole dancing tradition dates back to the 18th century in Italy and France and was eventually imported to England where it became a part of every spring. The ‘ribbon maypole dance’, as it was called, is now regarded as the most ‘traditional’ of May Day’s characteristics. The Archer School has carried on the tradition from the previous owners of their property by erecting a really lovely beautiful, most decorative traditional Maypole –and its brightly colored ribbons are stretched out on its front yard and can be easily seen as you drive by on Sunset Boulevard. It will be up until May 31. It’s worth the trip.
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Beverly Hills has a stellar April as sales volumes for year continue strong
Is the market changing? Yup, slowly, but it is improving! Yea! We’re seeing enthusiastic crowds at open houses across the Westside, and year-to-date sales volume continues to stay well ahead of 2009, with nearly $577 million sold since January 1, 61% over year-to-date sales for the same period last year.
Leading the pack was Beverly Hills with 13 homes sold over $3 million and one selling for $13 million. Beverly Hills Post Office had three over $3 million; Bel Air and Brentwood each had two over $3 million as well. This strong April showing indicates that there are buyers out there for quality properties — which are the hallmark of the communities I report on. We’re all looking for ‘signs’ that the market is stabilizing and growing — and the continued strong sales volumes prove that we are making progress.
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Another key indicator for a healthy real estate market is the DOM number — “days on market”. DOM reflects, of course, the number of days a property sits on the market — from the date of the listing to the date it goes into escrow. Beverly Hills had 17 sales during April with the average DOM of 75 days. Beverly Hills Post Office had 11 sales with the average of 112 DOM. Bel-Air had 13 sales with a low of 40 DOM, and Brentwood had 13 sales with 110 DOM. It is always important for buyers and sellers to have a Realtor who knows the neighborhood and is familiar with the inventory, both past and present. If you’re a serious seller, you have to price your home to sell; otherwise, the DOM will drag on and on. The result? Lower-than-necessary sales price. It could have been avoided.
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The MLS is working hard to fix the glitch
You will notice that some of the information I generally give you on the stats is missing from this report. The reason is that the MLS has not yet fixed the programming problem so that the stats they provide are accurate. The MLS assures me that they are working tirelessly to fix the problem, but until they do, I will only give you the data that I can rely on as being accurate. It is my policy to always verify the data I give you, and well, the process worked. The MLS was totally unaware of the problem until I called them to alert them to the problem. .Hopefully, we’ll have this fixed and I will be sending you more comprehensive information.
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Multi-million homes falling prey to foreclosure
We’re seeing it more often now….bank-owned homes are more and more prevalent on the Westside. We’re not reaching epidemic proportions as they are in the Inland Empire or in Arizona or Las Vegas, but the foreclosure of high-end homes reached a new high in February 2010, the last month data were available. Another interesting part of this is that generally those individuals were not buyers who had obtained questionable loans or had had bad credit, but had unfortunately seen changes in their lives that caused them to not be able to afford their homes. A total of 4,169 high-end homes (over $1 million) were in the foreclosure process — having received a foreclosure notice, had an auction scheduled or had ownership taken over by the lender. This represents a 121% increase from a year ago. Owners of expensive homes have been able to stave off foreclosure longer because they had greater ability to extend their home payments through their credit card capacity while lower-end buyers were already tapped out.
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Appraisal Issues
As you know I have talked a lot about the issue we are having with appraisals in getting loans through today. It is not because the sales price is not “correct” but sometimes the appraisers they are using today just do not know what they are doing or talking about. So what recourse does one have? If you get an appraisal that is not the same as is necessary to obtain that loan, you can dispute it and obtain a review appraisal. One thing you need to know, if you do decide to get a second appraisal, which also have to be paid for, and that one doesn’t come in higher than 5% over the original one, the original appraisal will stand!
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How is Morgan doing? My niece coming back for her senior year
Oh, how time flies when you’re having fun. It seems like only yesterday that I wrote about my niece, Morgan, who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, coming to enroll at USC three years ago. While at the time, of course, I resented a family member enrolling at ‘that evil school across town’, I was very happy to know that I would have my delightful, wonderful niece practically next door. Morgan enters her senior and final year at USC this fall, and will then be enrolling at the University of British Columbia Dental School in the fall 2011. She’s been a delight to have her around — mostly weekends when laundry needed doing or when she had to make a run at Costco. I’ve met many of her friends over the past three years, and it is so gratifying to meet such bright, effervescent kids (yes, kids) — it does give one hope for the future. It will be in good hands. Her brother, Connor, graduates this June from high school, and has been accepted at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan campus where he will major in business. Connor is no couch potato: He’s a champion mountain biker and to keep in shape, he rides up Grosse Mountain three times a week — it’s like riding up to Mount Wilson. Not my thing — but he sure is in good shape. This campus is fairly new and connected to the prestigious University of British Columbia campus on Vancouver in the Grey’s Point area. So if their plans pan out, both of them will be attending the same school, only on different campuses.
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Coming soon The Grape Vine– Social media here I come
Sometime very soon, you will be seeing my blog on many social media outlets — Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and on my website — caroleschiffer.com. You will be getting more up-to-date information approximately three to four times per week that will bring you the latest real estate, financial or community news. The blog will be called The Grape Vine, with a ‘wine’ theme! As you know, there is a lot going on these days on the Westside, especially the 405 Widening project, which affects all of us. So stay tuned. You can say “you heard it on the Grape Vine” (always one of my favorite songs!)!
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Save the Date!!!!
Attached you will find a flyer for the Emergency Preparedness Day that we are having at Bel Air Crest. We hope you will be able to join us and help yourselves in preparing for what ever emergencies that might befall our communities. It will be a fun and informative day, and I hope you decide to join us. If you do, please follow the R.S.V.P. information at the bottom of the flyer.
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Recycle your toothbrush
Toothbrush recycling and repurposing .Sounds a bit icky doesn’t it? It’s reported that over 25 000 tons of toothbrushes end up in landfill in America each year. It’s something we don’t think too much about – we use them, we throw them away.
Here’s a couple of ideas for minimizing waste:
Replaceable head toothbrushes:
By weight, the head of a toothbrush is the lightest part, the bristles may wear out quickly, but the handle lasts a long time. There’s brands of toothbrushes available that have replaceable heads, so you could cut down the bulk of your toothbrush related waste that way.
Recyclable plastic toothbrushes:
Some manufacturers have heeded the call to minimize waste and are now making toothbrush handles from recyclable plastics. The plastic is reclaimed, melted down and used for making other items such as outdoor furniture. Next time you’re shopping for a toothbrush, look for these – it’s likely their “green” credentials will be mentioned on the packet.
If you’re not sure about what a toothbrush is made from check the packet or handle for a resin code – the number will indicate the type of plastic it is and if it’s suitable for recycling.
Toothbrushes around the home:
Given the small head size of a toothbrush, they are really handy for all sorts of fiddly jobs around the home, including:
– Scrubbing in between tiles
– Knocking off dust that’s caked onto other items.
– Comb cleaning
– As a paintbrush for the kids art projects
– Cleaning a cheese grater
– Cleaning jewelry in conjunction with baking soda
– Upholstery and carpet stain removal
– Applying hair dye
– Scrubbing dirt off hard skinned fruit and vegetables
– To clean car battery terminals
– Cleaning mud or dog poop from shoes
Remember to disinfect your toothbrush before repurposing it
Do you have other toothbrush recycling or repurposing tips?