San Fernando Valley Real Estate News- Heather Farquhar

Price Reduced on 11135 Blix Ave. in West Toluca Lake

West Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing a price reduction on 11135 Blix Ave., a 2,936 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $929,000 - Authentic Spanish.

Property information

Big uproar over broken sidewalks

Who is going to fix your broken sidewalk?   "The State of California Improvement Act of 1911" give cities the authority to require property owners to repair the sidewalks abutting their property (California Streets and Highways Code.) and the authority to make the repairs and assess the property owner for the cost should the property owner fail to make such repairs. There is an unless: Los Angeles Municipal Code (Section 62.104, Ordinance No. 146.040 effective July 3, 1974) exempts homeowners from the responsibility for sidewalk repairs caused by city owned trees and places responsibility for these repairs with the City's Department of Public Works.

Okay, now that said at the rate the city is going if you call in a request for the city to repair your sidewalk today you probaly won't see a repair crew outside your house for about 50 years. Yes, they are really that far behind. City crews repair about 60 miles of sidewalk a year. The 50/50 program will move your request closer to the top of the list and your repair will (should) be done in concrete instead of asphalt but you have to cover 50% of the cost and that program moves pretty slow as well. Because of underfunding only about 40 miles of sidewalk repair is completed a year under the 50/50 program.

So this is just another big plan by the city that is going nowhere.

For more information on who is responsible for fixing broken sidewalks and who to call to have your sidewalk fixed if it was damaged by a city owned tree go the Special Projects FAQ website.

Are prices starting to level off?

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but could the fact that the median sales price in the San Fernando Valley in March was $525,000 which is down 13.9% from 1 year ago[:'(] but UP 5% from January 2008, mean that we are on the up-swing or at least leveling off. Or is it just that the winter months are traditionally slow and this is just the market reacting to spring?

I don't have the answer to that but here is what I do know:

In April 2008 there were a total of 10,596 properties listed in the San Fernando Valley MLS. That was an increase of over 50% from February 2008. Based on today's trends this total represents about a 16-month inventory (5-6 months represents a balanced market).

More inventory = more choices = more negotiating leverage.....Now is a great time to buy!

For a more in depth look at the Real Estate Stats for The San Fernando Valley go to Southland Regional Association Of Realtors Stats

Southland Regional Association Of Realtors

Price Reduced on 11135 Blix Ave. in West Toluca Lake

West Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing a price reduction on 11135 Blix Ave., a 2,936 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $989,000 - Authentic Spanish.

Property information

Southern California real estate prices fall again; sales pick up

Southern California home sales rose slightly in November ignoring the normal for the holiday season, probably due to bargain shopping and a slight upward trend in new-home sales. Okay that was the good news.

November sales were the slowest in 20 years and the median sale price posted a record 10.3 percent year-over-year decline.

According to Dataquick:

·         A total of 13,173 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November. That was up 2 percent from 12,913 sales in October, and down 42.7 percent from 23,005 in November last year.

·         Last month's sales were the lowest for any November in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. The previous low was in November 1992, when 15,446 homes sold. November has averaged 22,749 sales over the last 20 years.

·         Sales usually decline between October and November, with that drop averaging 7.4 percent over the past two decades. Last month marked only the third November since 1988 in which sales rose above October, and it was almost entirely the result of an 11.5 percent increase in sales of newly built houses. The number of single-family houses that resold in November was about even with October, while condo re-sales fell 6 percent. The sales are based on the number of escrows that closed each month.

“Point-of-sale” sidewalk repair program

By California law, (STREETS AND HIGHWAYS CODE SECTION 5610-5618 )residential property owners are responsible for maintenance and repair of their sidewalks. The planting of  fast-growing shade trees in Los Angeles has led to an unexpected cost: miles of dangerous sidewalks broken by the roots of these trees. Meanwhile federal funding for sidewalk repair has been used up completely, leaving LA with 6,500 miles of sidewalks in desperate need of repair.

SEIU Local 721 helped City Council member Wendy Greuel develop the tremendously successful 50/50 plan in which the City splits costs of sidewalk repairs with property owners. To meet the need the City has hired additional crews to repair 92 miles of sidewalks per year. Hundreds of new workers have moved into city jobs through programs developed by SEIU.

 

A new “point-of-sale” program will allow homeowners to fix their sidewalks now, but pay for the work at the time they sell their house. A team including representatives from SEIU 721, real estate professionals, neighborhood council activists and city management are developing the pilot with the goal of a July 1, 2008 rollout. The team anticipates being able to hire 600 unskilled local workers in the 2008-09 fiscal year. Through the vocational program championed by SEIU they can transition into full-time civil service workers eligible for union membership.

City residents interested in participating in either the 50/50 or “Point-of-sale” sidewalk repair programs should call 311, the City of Los Angeles toll free number to access information and non-emergency services.

NO MORE CONDO CONVERSIONS?

On April 11th, L.A. City Council passed a measure that could eliminate the lowest cost entry level housing in the City, condo conversions. The new city ordinance is so imposing it may as well restrict condo conversions by apartment building owners completely.

• increase relocation fees that owners of apartment buildings must pay to tenants from $8,000 for seniors or disabled tenants (qualified) to $17,080.00, for other tenants relocation will increase from $3,200 to $9,040 these rates apply for tenants whose income is 80% (AMI) or below or resident in the unit five years or longer. For tenants resident for less than 5 years, a relocation fee must be paid of $14,850 to qualified tenants and $ 6,810 to others.
  
• require building owners to notify tenants of their intent to convert to 180 days
• increase housing production fees by 198% from $500.00 to $1,492.00
• Enforces the denial of project applications if a rental vacancy rate of 5% is not present in the community

And we wonder why the rental housing stock has declined in Los Angeles. The city should be encouraging investments in housing by the real estate community to increase supply and solve this problem.

If you have comments about this policy, the contact information of our elected officals is below.

Our region:

Hon. Wendy Greuel 213 485 3391 or 818 755 7676 councilmember.greuel@lacity.org

Hon. Tom LaBonge 213 485 3337 or 818 755 7630 tom.labonge@lacity.org

Hon. Jack Weiss 213 473 7005 or 818 756 8083 councilmember.weiss@lacity.org

Hon. Dennis Zine 213 473 7003 or 818 756 8848 councilmember.zine@lacity.org

Hon. Tony Cardenas 213 473 7006 or 818 778 4999 councilmember.cardenas@lacity.org

Hon. Greig Smith 213 485 3343 or 818 756 8501 councilmember.smith@lacity.org

Others:

Hon. Ed P. Reyes 213 485 3451 councilmember.reyes@lacity.org

Hon. Bernard C. Parks 213 473 7008 councilmember.parks@lacity.org

Hon. Jan Perry 213 473 7009 jan.perry@lacity.org

Hon. Herb Wesson 213 473 7010 councilmember.wesson@lacity.org

Hon. Eric Garcetti 213 473 7013 councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org

Hon. Jose Huizar 213 485 3335 councilmember.huizar@lacity.org

Hon Janice Hahn 213 473 7015 janice.hahn@lacity.org

Gated Estate For Sale In Valley Glen

Valley Glen, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing A New Listing: 6517 Matilija Avenue, a 2,645 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story.  MLS® $949,000 - Gorgeous Salt Water Pool.

Property information

Magical Spanish For Sale In West Toluca Lake (11135 Blix Ave.) in West Toluca Lake

West Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing a new listing at 11135 Blix Ave., a 2,936 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $1,099,000 - Authentic Spanish.

Property information

Fixer in Sherman Oaks 13032 Hesby

Sherman Oaks, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles  -  Announcing a New Listing: 13032 Hesby, a 1,464 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $699,000 - Diamond In The Rough.

Property information

Homes For Sale Under $600,000 In Sherman Oaks, California

There are two hundred and sixty four active listings in Sherman Oaks, California right now (Nov. 2007) and 10 of them are listed under $600,000. A few of them are well under $600,000, as low as $524,900. Not that long ago homes in Panorama city and Van Nuys were going for that price, but not homes in Sherman Oaks. There are twice as many homes on the market today as there were at this time last year.

So Where Are All The Buyers. This is the time to start looking. Low prices + high inventory = BUYER’S MARKET

While savvy buyers are out searching for properties, many are missing their opportunity, either unsure of their ability to purchase or risking that prices will drop even more if the market is glutted with foreclosures. Isn't that what the press has been saying. Even if foreclosures do start to hit the market in larger numbers, the number of bank-owned properties in the San Fernando Valley represents a small portion of our market. And, always remember, not even a bank wants to sell real estate for less than it is worth and banks can be much harder to deal with. Banks don't have to make half the disclosures that a Seller has to and the Banker handling your deal has NO knowledge of the property and could care less about you.

If you have a down payment, a decent credit score and are pre-approved by a lender then you can call the shots. There are a close to a record number of homes on the market and Sellers are willing to negotiate. How quickly things change.

Now is the time to by a home to live in long term not a house to flip for a few quick bucks.

Southland Regional Association Of Realtors Say "Median Price Rises"

Home Sales Down, Yet Median Price Rises

The Southland Regional Association of Realtors reported that a total of 552 single-family home sold throughout the San Fernando Valley during August, which is a 33.1 percent drop from the 825 sales in August 2006. Condominium sales were 40.7 percent below last year

The interesting thing is that the median price of these single-family homes was $645,000, up 5.7 percent compared to a year ago. The August median price was $10,000 below the record high median price of $655,000, which was set in June.

The condominium median price of $389,000 was down 2.8 percent from a year ago and off 4.5 percent from this July. The record high median condo price of $415,000 was set in February 2006.

What is "median Price?" The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.  The median price is an indicator of which price range is most active. Not all price ranges experience the same market activity at any given time.

So does that mean my home is worth 5.7% more then it was last August? No, it only means that half the buyer’s are purchasing homes that cost less than $645,000 and half bought homes that cost more.  Why should you care? I don’t know? What is your home worth? Bottom line, it is worth what a buyer will pay for it. And there are some buyers out there buying just not as many. Pricing your home correctly has never been more important.

It has been my experience that a lot of buyers, although out there looking at homes, are not ready to buy. They believe, rightly or wrongly, that the bottom is about to burst and all the prices will come tumbling down. Is that a good strategy? Not usually. Chances are IF (and that is a big IF) prices do come tumbling down, interest rates will go flying up. Also, there will be more buyers competing for the same homes.

My advice…..don’t wait. There are a lot of homes to choose from, if you find the home of your dreams buy it. Interest rates are still as low as 5 or 6 percent for a 30 year fixed and you don’t even have to have perfect credit.

Jim Link, the Southland Association Of Realtors’ executive vice president, says that "Three elements - consumer uncertainty, misinformation and false expectations - may keep home sales in check a short while longer, at least until people see the incredible wealth of current opportunities and accept the long-term strength of the local market," said "The psychological effect of the market slowdown after a years-long boom has been more powerful than the actual impact," he said. "Secondly, buyers who lack professional guidance and local expertise hesitate based on wrong or incomplete information. Finally, some people think prices will drop and that they can time the market, despite ample proof that waiting rarely works."

BUYERS!!!! THIS IS YOUR MARKET....GET OUT THERE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.

Are Prices Dropping In Los Angeles County?

Not according to Dataquick. Sales have slowed but prices are not dropping. Some say I should add a "yet" to the end of that sentence.  Foreclosures have not yet had a marketwide effect on prices, although foreclosure discounts seem to be popping up in some local Inland Empire and High Desert markets.

 

All Home Sales	No Sold Aug-06	No Sold Aug-07	Percent Change	Median Aug-06	Median Aug-07	Percent Change
Los Angeles	10,140	6,647	-34.4%	$520,000	$550,000	5.8%
Orange	3,456	2,285	-33.9%	$630,000	$642,250	1.9%
Riverside	5,292	2,834	-46.4%	$420,000	$394,523	-6.1%
San Bernardino	3,970	2,096	-47.2%	$366,000	$360,000	-1.6%
San Diego	3,853	3,104	-19.4%	$495,000	$475,000	-4.0%
Ventura	1,146	789	-31.2%	$600,000	$575,000	-4.2%
SoCal	27,857	17,755	-36.3%	$487,000	$500,000	2.7%

Chart by dataquick.

Wonderful Condo - Walk To Ventura Blvd.

Sherman Oaks Larger One Bedroom Condo (848 Square Feet of Luxury Living!) in Country Club Condominiums with a Balcony. End/Corner Unit with one Common Wall. Newer - Full Amenity Building with Pool, Indoor Spa, Steam/Sauna, Gym, Recreation Room, BBQ Area and On-sight Management. Very Close to Ventura Blvd - Borders Books, Restaurants, Shops, Public Transportation. Beautiful - Well Maintained Building.

Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City has been SOLD!

 

The Cat is out of the bag. The Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel, a Studio City landmark, has been sold.

Richard Weintraub, President of Weintraub Financial Services is the proud owner of about nine acres of property and the hotel located at 12825 Ventura Blvd. It is rumored that he paid a whopping $50 MILLION.

The question is what is he going to do with it? Sources say that there are plans to renovate the existing hotel and add a few retail shops. I read that they were going with a "mid-century" theme and that about 300,000 square feet of retail space will be built. 

Does this mean that the traffic at Coldwater and Ventura will become even more dense. Already there are traffic jams at that intersection, despite the gloved people waving us through.  After all that intersection is a MAJOR route to the Westside. Will I soon have to avoid that intersection with the same devotion that I avoid Laurel Canyon and Ventura.

 Growth is good, I know but the growing pains can be crippling.