A moving geographic essay about the local LGBTQ history over at CurbedLA, by Bianca Barragan. Delve in and watch the LA map come alive with site-specific stories of Angelenos, told through the buildings and places that played important roles in the 20th century LGBTQ rights movement.  Some structures no longer exist, yet some remain, like the home of the Tom of Finland Foundation, a 1921 Craftsman in Echo Park that received the LA Historic-Cultural Monument status just last year.  If you are keen on learning more, we recommend a visit to the fantastic collection (also included on the CurbedLA map) of the One Archives Gallery & Museum, permanently hosted at the USC Library in West Adams.

Millennial home buying trends have been the subject of much industry scrutiny in recent years. Some claim that the touted urban lifestyle is but a passing phase, that it will lose its allure, and that millennials will follow the steps of their parents and move to the suburbs when the time comes to start a family. Others speculate that co-living and sharing housing became the norm for so many young people that it disrupted the very idea of homeownership, with people increasingly delaying buying into their thirties.

Our guess is that the truth is somewhere in the middle- there will be those that will move to the suburbs and those that will remain loyal to the urban hub. Regardless of the the route one takes, the benefits of owning a home are indisputable, and the earlier one gets into the market, the better. And if that seems a mere dream, we are happy to bring you the news that according to this story, owning a home before 30 is an actual possibility. The author, Sharon St. John, does a great job of demystifying the journey to homeownership by parsing it into a series of smart, manageable, and even fun steps. Head over to inman.com to read the article and get inspired, and if you are thinking of buying a home or would like to discuss your goals, do get in touch.

So thrilled to have our new listing, A Sophisticated Silver Lake Modern with Guest House, featured as Home of the Day in LA Times. Take a look and join us at our Open House this Sunday, Feb. 19 from 2-4PM.

A few days ago CurbedLA invited Tracy to be a guest on the Friday Open Thread- a weekly forum in which readers gather to discuss topics of interest and ask questions of the invited experts. Tracy got to answer some great questions about the neighborhoods we serve – here is a fragment of the chat with Tracy and Jenna Chandler of CurbedLA, discussing the merits of buying homes in some of ours favorite North East LA areas. To get more of Tracy’s insight and to read the whole conversation, head over here.

Jenna Chandler:

Tracy, thank you so much for joining us! We’ve heard Cypress Park and Glassell Park are going to be this year’s “it” neighborhoods. Are you seeing interest peak in those neighborhoods right now? And what do you think the appeal is?

Tracy Do:

Absolutely interest is peaking in Glassell Park and Cypress Park, for the reason that they are well-located neighborhoods that are adjacent to already-established enclaves. Both are directly adjacent or at least very near to Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Mt. Washington. Downtown is close, as are Echo Park and Silver Lake. It’s a nice option for buyers, especially as prices everywhere are climbing. These two neighborhoods represent a nice opportunity for buyers looking to get into the housing market.

Great news about the Neutra VDL House being named a National Historic Landmark. As announced by U.S. Department of the Interior’s: “The Neutra Studio and Residences (VDL Research House) in Los Angeles, California, is associated with Richard Neutra, a nationally and internationally seminal figure of the twentieth century Modern movement in architecture. During the 1940s, as Neutra’s work evolved, he also became the well-recognized founder of mid-century “California Modern” architecture. The VDL Research House is the only property where one can see the progression of his style over a period of years and is among the key properties to understanding the national significance of Richard Neutra.”

Here’s the old master himself, at 74, sitting on the VDL House II deck, deep in thought before the landscape.

Photo by Julius Shulman, courtesy of the Getty Research Institute.