Timely Real Estate News………………………………………………17 May 2013
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Lotusland is just an elegant, “wow” experience….if there is such a thing. There is!
When you first pull into the parking area at LotusLand in Montecito, California, you are aware that you have arrived at someplace very, very special as you pass through the tall, pink walls of the estate. And it’s not on some busy highway, but tucked away in a residential neighborhood known for walled, multi-acre estates. LotusLand is special because 1) you have to have a reservation to get into this magical place and 2) in peak season, reservations are hard to come by. Once you visit this magnificent and enthralling estate, you want to experience it again and share it with your friends.
What makes LotusLand so special are its magnificently landscaped grounds that feature some of the world’s most beautiful and rarest plants…where you meander through these meticulously kept gardens that just feature one amazing presentation at each and every turn along the path.
LotusLand is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska (1887-1984). The 37-acre property is surrounded by an exterior wall and within the interior are the gardens originally commissioned by the first owners, the Gavit family, which had called the estate Cuesta Linda. They built a classic multi-level home in the Mediterranean Revival Style and retained renowned landscape architect George Washington Smith to design the water garden pool house, and the form of the distinctive exterior walls in pink. Smith later altered the residence to a more traditional Spanish Colonial Revival Style, and over the years, Madame Walska hired leading landscape designers to create new additions to the estate that took shape in many unique forms.
When Madame Walska passed away in 1984, the estate was given to a non-profit foundation that maintains and sustains its rare collection of distinct and excellent plants that are clustered together in separate “gardens”, each featuring a theme or plant species. They are found along the many pathways throughout the estate grounds.
The estate is well regarded for its cycad garden, providing stewardship of some species no longer in their native habitat. Throughout the tour, you will pass through the Blue Garden, Bromeliad gardens, Butterfly gardens, Cactus Garden, Cacti and Euphorbias gardens, and the famous, most complete collection of cycads in any public garden in the United States.
In addition, Lotusland also features a small Shinto shrine in its Japanese Garden and has extensive orchards and succulent gardens. Really, there is so much to see — and I would recommend that you take the time to visit LotusLand and see for yourself! If you love gardens, you cannot miss going to LotusLand. And as I have learned, there are many visitors who make an annual trek to visit their favorite garden.
Guided tours — make a reservation
LotusLand offers guided tours of the residence and gardens Wednesday through Saturday, February 15 through November 15 each year. Because LotusLand is a public garden operating in a private residential area, advance tour reservations are required. Admission is $35 for adults; $10 for ages 5-18; and under 5 are free. Group tours are available. Because of space limitations, please call a couple of days in advance. Web site: www.lotusland.org.
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Sales remains steady as the market, new home construction, and prices pick up.
It can’t hurt but perhaps good news does come in “threes”: #1 — the market broke the $15,000 barrier last week…
#2 — new home construction is the best it’s been in years….and #3 — home prices are picking up across the US. It all sounds good — and it is. I normally isolate the good news from the bad news that’s happening elsewhere, but there is a trickle-down effect that spills over into the four communities I report on — Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Post Office, Bel-Air and Brentwood.
The most tell-tale sign locally is that sales volume for these four communities is up 6% over last year when they reached $696 million for 2013 through end of April vs. $656 million through same period in 2012. And again, we are seeing sales across the board in all price categories (from under $1 million to over $10 million in each
community). What this is telling us is that we have a strong, healthy market — and the pluses that we see in the market, new home construction and home prices are picking up nationwide and translate to strong sales in our neighborhoods.
Frankly, it’s nice not to see wild fluctuations in median sales prices — when we have large sales one month and relatively modest sales the next. But in April 2013, sales volumes and median sales prices all stayed within comfortable ranges ahead of last year — so the climb is steady from the bottom of five years ago.
Median sales prices for Beverly Hills were up 3% for April 2013 vs. same period last year….Beverly Hills Post Office was up 4%……Brentwood was up 20% over same period last year. Only Bel-Air was down — 10% for median sales prices for April 2013 compared to April 2012.
The median sales price for Beverly Hills for April 2013 was $4.787 million. which was 13% below last year’s MSP. Beverly Hills Post Office was $2.050 million or 18% ahead of last April. Bel-Air was $1.450 million and was 30% better in 2013 than in April 2012. And Brentwood was $1.565 million, 28% ahead of last year. But again, let me re-iterate: “…a month does not make a trend”. What we are witnessing in the field, however, is a definite firming up of home prices.
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And speaking of home prices…..biggest year-over-year gains in US
Home prices in the country saw their biggest year-over-year gains in over seven years in the first quarter of 2013 according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The national median price for an existing single-family home was up 11.3% from the first quarter of 2012, and this was the ‘biggest’ year-over-year jump since the end of 2005 (remember that far 
back?). NAR examined closings in 150 metro areas, and they found that the median sale price rose in 133 of them, which 17 saw declines.
We have seen a steady gain in our prices since the bottom of 2007, but we are still quite a bit behind (only 56% back) from our worst. Still, we’re climbing back.
“The supply/demand balance is clearly titled toward sellers in a good portion of the country,” stated Lawrence Yun, NRA’s chief economist. “Some of the previously hard-hit markets like Phoenix, Sacramento, and Miami continue to experience dramatic turnaround, while a new set of areas like Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Seattle have begun to show strong signs of upward momentum.”
Low-interest rate loans and consistent wages help…..
In a companion study by the NAR showed that despite the economic downturn of recent years, low mortgage rates and consistent wages have given US home buyers “ample buying power” in the current market which has improved chances for first-time buyers. Dampening the recovery to some degree is that tight credit remains a problem, especially those with damaged credit scores, and low inventory. To give you an idea — according to NRA, the total number of homes for sale in March 2013 was 1.93 million, the lowest level since 2000. We’ve seen this in the four communities I report on — a lack of quality inventory that has sparked bidding wars (multiple offers), which is driving home prices up. So, in some ways, this may have a silver lining.
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Sorry for the delay in getting this issue out. For those of you who know me, you know that I am blessed with having a very aware and active 91 year old Mother who still lives in her own house and still does some driving. So when I got a call at 1:00 am on Tues night that she did not feel well and wanted to go to the hospital, I was on my way… She is home now and feeling better, Thank you in advance for asking.. but it caused me to spend the last two days with her at the hospital.
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Greening baby wipes
I often wonder how our parents got by in the days when there was no such thing as disposable diapers, let alone baby wipes. Wipes are very handy to have around, but I never gave much thought to the environment when I was using them. Heck, I didn’t even know what they were made of. I assumed it was some type of wood fiber.
The baby wipe
Baby wipe packaging isn’t the only plastic part – the wipes themselves often are too.
The material used in baby wipes can be made from silk, cotton, polyester, wool, rayon, polyester, polyethylene, and polypropylene – or a mixture. Price conscious consumers are likely getting a product that’s predominantly plastic – which is derived from crude oil.
So, the first green tip is to never flush these down the toilet as they are not biodegradable, nor can they be composted and for obvious reasons, they aren’t recyclable. Unfortunately, they need to go to landfill where they will spend many years before they break down.Wipes can incorporate quite a chemical cocktail. There’s not only implications for human health with some of these chemicals, particularly triclosan, but as waste products, they can be toxic in aquatic and land ecosystems.
The packaging
Baby wipe packaging is predominantly plastic. Not all plastics are created equal. Some can be recycled, others not. It’s important to check the tub for a little triangle with a number in it, which indicates the plastic resin code. If that number is 1 or 2, then it is easily recycled.
If you’re not able to find packaging that can be recycled, try buying a brand that utilizes a container you can reuse for another purpose or one you can buy refills for.
Green baby wipe alternatives
While for some people total cessation of plastic based baby wipes may not be possible, particularly when travelling or out and about, when at home you can reduce consumption, plastic waste and save money to boot!
You can use something as simple as a diaper soaked in warm water and then just throw it in with your cloth diaper loads. Others have come up with their own “recipes” for making baby wipes you can lug around, such as the ones here and here.
There are also some commercially available environmentally friendly baby wipes around that use plant fiber and are free of synthetic chemical additives – and they aren’t all that more expensive. If you run a search on “green baby wipes” or “environmentally friendly baby wipes” on your favorite search engine, you’ll likely find these. Also request that your supermarket stock them – you’ll be helping out the companies that produce these wipes, other eco-conscious shoppers and of course the environment!
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You may ask, what is going on with me.. I am still very busy…. It is really crazy out there… but I love the energy… I currently have four listings (one lease and three sale listings). Two of my listings are on the Wilshire Corridor which is a world onto itself. I am still getting daily requests for homes to lease and/or sale. Now is the time, so please give me a call if I can assist you.
Talk to you soon
Carole
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