My Listing Featured in the LA Times… Again!

 

This screen-capture from today’s LA Times might look familiar. It’s a house I sold back in June (posted 6/7/12) and for the second time it’s being used as an example, the poster child for what’s happening today in real estate.

I brought 1428 Mount Pleasant Street to market at a list price of $379,000, which was quite realistic at the time. I knew it would sell, but when 73 offers came in (!) I realized a shift was occurring. The final sale price wound up at $163K over asking, and the market for my listings hasn’t let up since. I’ve handled several of what you could call “lower priced homes,” (relative to prices in our local market). And I can tell you, buyers, that demand is high, inventory is low, prices are rising and competition is fierce. But there’s a simple way around this problem: Put me to work for you. I can give you an edge in this process, with top-shelf service that comes without any financial obligation to buyers. If you’re really serious about getting into a house, no matter the price point, contact me anytime here.

And sellers? The writing is on the wall. If you’re waiting for the market to get hot, it’s already sizzling. No realtor in LA or Pasadena will worker harder or smarter to sell your home, so call me anytime for a complimentary valuation and you can decide how to proceed from there.

You can read Alejandro Lazo’s excellent LA Times article here.

To receive new listings by email, or to schedule a viewing click here!

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FYI Quick Read…

From a housingwire.com article by Jacob Gaffney: Morgan Stanley Declares Housing Out of the Woods. We expect to see 2012 end with an increase of 7-9% for the year in aggregate home prices after considering seasonality effects for the remainder of the year, with the possibility of a 10-12% increase on the bullish side and a 4-6% increase as the bear case,” write analysts in the latest Housing Markets Insight report. ” We view the bear case outcome to be relatively less likely.”

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Rising Tide of Cash Lifts All Boats in the SGV

Buyers from Mainland China have long coveted LA County real estate, and in the San Gabriel Valley’s small but stately jewel of San Marino, competition for prime property is particularly fierce. KPCC’s Alex Cohen and A. Martinez recently talked with the BBC’s Rajesh Mirchandani, who reports that for Pasadena’s neighbor, 90 percent of home sales go to Chinese buyers who typically pay in cash. Click here to listen, and find out how this trend is turning up the heat on an already-robust housing market.

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FYI Quick Read (x3)…

Lots of good news about housing today. Chris Isidore of CNN Money reports that “according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index… the typical home price in July rose 1.6% compared to the previous month.” It’s a return to 2003 levels…

Which, according to a New York Times article by Shaila Dewan, is most apparent at the lower end of the housing scale. “’It’s less that the top tier is cooling than that the bottom tier is strengthening,’” said Stan Humphries, the chief economist at Zillow. “’The bulk of the recovery is due to the changes in the bottom and middle tiers.’”

Finally, Jim Puzzanghera of our local LA Times informs us that “home prices in the nation’s largest cities rose 1.6% in July to their highest level in nearly two years… adding to recent data showing the housing market finally has begun its rebound from the deep recession.”

Taken together, what does it all mean? A good time to sell your home just got even better. For a complimentary valuation of your property, contact me here.

To receive new listings by email, or to schedule a viewing click here!

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FYI Quick Read…

New York, Boston, San Francisco — is LA next? I’m talking about “micro studios,” tiny apartments that are between 200 and 300 sq. feet including the bathroom. Read about it in today’s LA Times.

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FYI Quick Read…

From the Wall Street Journal’s “Developments” blog comes a report on the declining number of for-sale homes, which matters because “falling inventories are a leading driver behind the recent rally in home prices, and… point to continued price-strength in many parts of the Western U.S.” I’ll say this again to any would-be sellers out there: it is a great time to list your home. If I don’t have a buyer for you, then someone else likely will. Call me anytime for a complimentary valuation of your property.

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Buy vs. Rent Revisited

Last month I posted a NY Times article about the math of buying vs. renting (8/20). Well Trulia.com reports that for many people it’s 32% cheaper to buy than to rent in Los Angeles. Read the full article here, and after you do — call me. My top-shelf services come without any cost to homebuyers, so you’re not just going to love the house I find for you. Your bank account will love me, too.

To receive new listings by email, or to schedule a viewing click here!

Map graphic courtesy of Trulia.com.

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FYI Quick Read…

There’s a story on cnbc.com today about the government’s new stimulus package. Jeff Cox reports that the Fed “will buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities per month in an attempt to foster a nascent recovery in the real estate market.” I doubt that this will have a huge impact locally, since our housing engine is already running ahead of the national pack. But I do see significance in the bigger real estate picture.

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FYI Quick Read (x2)…

It’s the LA Times again, with even more good news for local homeowners — especially those of you who have been thinking about selling. Alejandro Lazo writes today that “home sales in Southern California hit their highest level for an August in six years last month, and the median price for a home in the region rose to a four-year high.” Full article here.

Dataquick reports the story with deeper analysis. For my buyers, I urge you to consider that any good deals out there are going fast. Get in touch with me asap so we can get ahead of this market.

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FYI Quick Read…

The LA Times’ Alejandro Lazo reports this morning that “the number of underwater borrowers in the U.S. is continuing to decline as home prices improve, meaning one of the most stubborn roadblocks to the housing market’s recovery is slowly lifting.”

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