Timely Real Estate News………………………………………………………………………15 October 2012
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It’s pumpkin time….our childhood memories come to life every Halloween
I don’t know about you, but I can never forget the joy of pumpkin carving — seeing my Dad do it the first time, and then trying it myself. Well, I must admit, I’m better at carving a turkey (not really) than a pumpkin but seeing pumpkin patches around Los Angeles (still) and in the stores, there is no mistaking that Halloween is around the corner. And yes, it means Fall is here in all its c
olor and glory.
A tradition for centuries, Halloween has become our #2 retail sales holiday – running behind our holiday celebrations in December (true story). So, why is Halloween so popular these days? Think $$. Halloween was formerly known in the 16th century as All-Hallows ‘Day, and while it was largely ignored by our early founders, the holiday gradually was integrated into our annual calendars by immigrants to America in the 19th Century. Halloween was finally assimilated into mainstream society by the late 1890s, and by the first decade of the 20th century, it was being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious backgrounds. And as we all know, Halloween is the one day and night you have to be on full-alert for goblins, ghosts and ET-type characters wandering around your neighborhood.
Halloween spending in the US is expected to top $8 billion, with steady increases project for the next five years…why? Well, it’s a non-religious holiday….it promotes fun parties with fun costumes….and most of all, our children really love to dress up and go “trick or treating”. Compute costumes, candy sales, holiday decorations — of all sorts, and oh, yes, pumpkin (real and not real) sales. And in spite of our economic recessionary times, Halloween sales have increased every year since 2004.
Looking for a place to get spooked? There are a few fun places in the area that are offering “Halloween Happenings”! Universal Studios is having Halloween Horror Nights until the end of the month, Knott’s Berry Farm has both various events including Snoopy’s Costume Party, again until the end of the month, Disneyland is also having happenings in various parts of the park, and there are special programs for children up to the age of 11 at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. For specific information on any of these fun happenings, please go to the web site for the particular venue you are interested in.. Have fun!
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California pending home sales take a dip in August
After 15 straight months of higher pending sales over the previous year, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) said that California pending homes sales rose in August over July….BUT with the a continuing shortage of “good” housing inventory sent pending sales lower from the previous year. Additionally, the reported that the lack of supply — particularly of REO properties — sent the share of equity sales to its highest level in four years.
CAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 2.7 percent from a revised 115. in July to 118.9 in August, based on signed contracts….but pending sales were down 2 percent from the 121.4 index recorded in August 2011.
So what does this mean? It means we don’t have enough quality inventory on the market. Buyers are scrambling for quality properties, and frankly, in this market and in the four neighborhoods that I report on (Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air, and Brentwood), we have had a shortage of quality homes for sale. It’s that simple. And when this happens, buyers are competing for what’s out there — which results in multiple offers in many cases. For some of the larger properties, sellers are not always listing their properties in a traditional manner (through a real estate agent), and consequently, there are private sales that do not show up on the public records for months after closing escrow.
What is important about the Pending Home Sales Index is that it is a key indicator of forward-looking future home sales activity — providing information on the future direction of our market. “While Augusts’ pending sales were higher than July was not a surprise,” said CAR President LeFrancis Arnold, “we started to see a gradual slowdown in the year-to-year change over the past five months, primarily due to the dearth of available homes. “
The good news is the share of “equity sales” (non-distressed property sales) has increased to its highest level in the past four years, and the share of REO sales (bank-owned properties) has declined. Equity sales made up a robust 62.2 percent of all sales in August….while distressed properties fell to 37.8 percent in August, down from 40.5 percent in July.
These statistics, again, are only a reflection of our current market, but this Index reflects a longer-term analysis of what we might expect in the future. Yes, foreclosures sales are down, but they remain a significant part of our market today. I have been involved in a short sale for the past four months — and while there are some economies and savings to be had — the journey is fraught with twists, turns, and frustrations all along the way.
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Strong sales continue….even though inventory remains tight
As I mentioned above, we have a dearth of quality inventory on the Westside — and throughout California, but that hasn’t stopped buyers from snapping up homes in the four communities I report on (BH, BHPO, Bel-Air, and Brentwood).
Total sales through August 2012 was over $1.708 billion vs. $1.594 billion through the same period for 2011, a 7% increase. Last month, we were only 4% ahead of the previous year, which indicates that we are gradually seeing some strength in total sales. In reviewing the specific communities, there was strength in overall total sales because there were no really out-of-the-ordinary transactions that were over $20 million. For example, in Beverly Hills, median sales prices for August 2012 were 32% ahead of August 2011, with nine sales over $3 million (two were over $10 million — one for $12.3 million and one for $16.2 million). Beverly Hills Post Office median sales prices for August were down 10% with only three homes over $3 million. Bel-Air was up 6% over same period in 2011, with five homes over $3 million — $6.955 million, $7 million, and $8.5 million; Brentwood was down 5% over the previous year-to-year period and had five homes over $3 million.
Bottom line: These sales figures for homes that closed escrow in August 2012 reflect a modest performance in terms of higher-priced homes. Except for two homes over $12 million in Beverly Hills, sales were confined to what I would call our 
‘normal sales range’ — between $2 million to $10 million.
Statistically, what we are seeing are the vagaries in the market place from month to month and from community to community — some areas are down one month, up the next, and then there is Beverly Hills, which is up (32%) for the year in median sales prices because the area continually has homes over $10 million that come on the market and are quickly consumed by anxious and hungry buyers. Sellers with quality properties, as I have pointed out, are getting their asking prices and sometimes enjoy multiple offers.
September was a good month, especially in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is out performing the other communities in median sales prices for 2012, and September is a good month to show why — they had $73 million in sales for the past month, with 14 homes sold, which resulted in a 61% increase in median sales price compared to September 2011. We simply don’t know whether this trend will continue for the rest of the year, but Beverly Hills attracts both domestic and foreign buyers who are looking for quality properties. BHPO was down 14% in median sales prices compared to 2011 for September….Bel-Air was down 5% for same period….and Brentwood was up 7%. And even though the year-to-year comparisons in BHPO and Bel-Air, were both up for September compared to the previous month, August 2012….BHPO was up 31% over last month; and Bel Air was up 1%.
As I have said so many times, we can’t take a one-month snap shot and extrapolate forward to come to some grand conclusion — it has never worked that way in these four communities. Each community and each neighborhood have their own uniqueness, and because we have so many wonderful areas, we will always see these ups, downs, and sideway moves in our real estate market. Just the nature of the beast.
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Spend money to save money. . . . .
House Maintenance — Key to keeping your home in order
It’s never the wrong time of year to look at your home with a critical eye — and that means ‘taking stock’ of the essentials in your home and paying attention to necessary details in “home maintenance”. Yes, I know, it’s easy to put home repairs and maintenance off — I do it myself, too. But as a real estate agent, I have seen so many sales go down the drain when sellers have let important items go bad that result in buyers walking away — they don’t want someone’s problems.
Some of the common maintenance miscues I see in my journey through thousands of homes that I have inspected over 30 years in selling real estate include. . . .
* Chimneys — Because we’re not in a traditional cold-weather, wood-burning environment, chimneys become prime suspect 
for problems if you are not attendant to their maintenance or issues. Lately one of the most important components of a buyer’s physical inspection is the chimney inspection If you use your fireplace, you should be cleaning them out on a regular basis (think Dick van Dyke, the friendly chimney sweep from Mary Poppins!). The spark arresters on the top may not be effective and given the fire prone areas that some of us live in, a misplaced spark from your fireplace could lead to disaster , and then there are the
birds that create nests in the chimneys Since we live in earthquake country, you should be cognizant of your chimney’s condition — should they be re-enforced….were the fire boxes themselves properly installed?….are there cracks in the fireplace or chimney? During the Northridge Earthquake of 1992, many Westside homes lost their chimneys or suffered severe damage. So, if you have a chimney, have it inspected.
* Gutters — We always seem to forget rain gutters. We look at them and if we can’t see any debris, we assume they’re clear and clean. Not always so….gutters need to be cleaned out on a regular basis — put a grate cover on the top to keep debris (leaves, branches) out of them. Sometimes cleaning them out is as simple as running a hose through them to clean out the debris. This is another one of the places a home inspection will turn up a demerit — not expensive to clean, but they can cost you extra $$ through damage to the home’s exterior or leakage into the walls.
* Fire sprinklers should be checked annually — make sure the pressure is not too high and that are they operating properly. There is nothing worse than coming home and finding a pipe has burst and your living room is soaked and flooded. I’ve seen it happen more than once.
In each issue, The SchifferLine will cover maintenance items that every home owner should check on a regular basis.
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Recycling our stuff
The City of Los Angeles has set up a collection program for SAFE Collection Centers for residential special materials and electronic waste. The one closest to West Los Angeles is on the UCLA campus at 550 Charles E. Young Drive, West (it is on the west side of the campus, down the street from the hospital). They are open Thursday – Sat from 8:00 am – 2:00 pm. There is also one at the Hyperion Treatment Plant at 7660 West Imperial Highway, Playa del Rey. Their hours are Sat & Sun from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
I have used them many times.. they take the following items: paint and solvents, used motor oil and filters, antifreeze and other
automotive fluids; cleaning products; pool and garden chemicals; aerosol cans; all unused medicine (except controlled substances), auto batteries; household (alkaline) batteries; florescent tubes and bulbs, thermostats and other mercury containing gadgets; home generated SHARPS (needles, syringes, carpules, lancets, endo files, prefilled pens, etc.).
They also accept TV’s, computers (be sure you wipe the hard drive first), monitors, printers, network equipment, cables, telephones, microwaves, video games, cell phones, radios, stereos, VCR’s and electronic toys.
There is no collection during the rain.. They ask that you put everything in the trunk of your car, then you just drive up, open the trunk.. They will empty it and off you go, easy peasy!!! For more info please call 1 800-988-6942.
I will also be more than happy to come by and collect your used cell phones as well the empty ink cartridges. We collect them at my office, and the money goes to the public school program in the State as well as a potable water program in Africa. Just shoot me an email or give me a call and I will be there to help you save our environment!
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As for me, I am very busy and joyfully so. At the moment, I have six listings, a few escrows and some listings coming up including a lease in Bel Air Crest and a condo on the Wilshire Corridor as well working with buyers from Westchester to Bel Air, and parts beyond. My newest listing is a lovely house at the Ridge in Mountaingate that has been done to the 9’s and includes a lovely expanded master with a partial view of the North course of Mountaingate. As always I am here to serve any of your real estate needs, so please do not hesitate to give me a call.
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