1341 Duende Lane: Available for both Lease or Sale is Open Sunday 1-4

Our listing at 1341 Duende Lane is now offered for sale at $1,299,000 and for lease at $4,700.00 per month. Come by and check out the best view property available in the Palisades for this price range on Sunday from 1-4 pm. City light and mountain views from every bedroom! This 3 bed/2.5 bath home with hardwood floors, fireplace and balconies on both levels sits on almost a 1/2 acre of land creating tons of privacy and potential for yard or home expansion. Check out the virtual tour here: 1341 Duende Lane Virtual Tour



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For another great value, check out 12679 Promontory in the exclusive Mountaingate community. At $2,289,000, this 5,050 sq. ft. home has too many wonderful features to list including superior built-ins, picture windows, high ceilings, a chefs kitchen and great views. This 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms is located in a resort like setting with 24 hour guard gated security and a community pool and spa. This home is truly exceptional. Easy to show. Please contact my office to set up and appointment. Check out the virtual tour: 12679 Promontory

Home Prices Fall In October: The First Since The End Of The Tax Credit

Home sales rose slightly and prices slid in October compared with the prior month as the Los Angeles real estate market searched for a bottom now that federal home buying tax credits have expired.

The median price fell 3.6 percent versus September to $346,000. It was the first drop on a month-to-month basis since the credits expired in April.

At the same time, sales rose 1.6 percent to 3,760 homes.

However, Paul Habibi, a professor of real estate at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, considers the market to be still artificially stimulated by the government, including higher Federal Housing Administration mortgage loan guarantees.

“The government stimuluses, in a sense, have created this artificial bridge under housing prices so that they can’t reach their equilibrium,” said Habibi. “A lot of what we’re seeing is bouncing along the bottom.”

Year over year, the median home price countywide was up 2 percent, while sales were off 14 percent.

As indication that the market has yet to reach an equilibrium, the supply in Los Angeles County rose to 6.2 months, a significant jump from the 4.3 months of inventory tallied in August. The number has now slightly crept ahead of the five- to six-month level considered healthy.

A quick look at sales prices vs. original list prices shows that Westside properties are selling around 90-93% of their list price which is still below the typical 95 to 97% range.


Sources: MLS Data and Los Angeles Business Journal

A Look at Sales Volume in Manhattan Beach for October from 2000-2010

Thanks to the Manhattan Beach Confidential blog, they have provided a look at October's sales pace among Single Family Residences west of Sepulveda and it shows that the past two years are back in line with the pre-bubble volume in 2005.

Both Oct. 2009 and 2010 outperformed the 3 slump years of 2006-2008. That's in line with the general sense that a local Real Estate recovery of sorts began in Q3 2009.

The question now becomes whether this is a true recovery or the start of a potential double dip. The current economic recovery tells us we may avoid a dip but quite a few developers and higher end property owners are struggling with the reality of the market and will eventually have to throw in the towel and sell for a realistic price.

Source: Manhattan Beach Confidential

Looking at Price per Square Foot for the Westside, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach

If you cannot do a comparable where you can find the sales history of the same house over a period of time, then price per square foot is usually your best indicator of value. It usually gives you a good range for what you can afford in certain areas especially if the zip code has at least nine sales for the month.

As I have stated many times on this blog, The median price numbers usually stated in the mainstream media can be useless when comparing numbers month to month. A small sample of sales or type of sales can completely skew the numbers. However, they are fine when looking at data over a six to twelve month period.

You do have to be careful when comparing price per square foot. Smaller houses normally go for a higher square footage value than larger homes in the same area unless it is a tear down or new construction.

Here is a look at the September Dataquick SFR sales report for the Westside and Manhattan and Hermosa. Please note that some of the more affluent zip codes were in the high $900 price per square foot range in 2005-2006:

Beverly Hills 90210 18 sales $584/sqft
LA/Bel-Air 90077 11 sales $480/sqft
LA/Brentwood 90049 24 sales $634/sqft
LA/Mar Vista 90066 18 sales $493/sqft
LA/Westwood 90024 12 sales $622/sqft
Pacific Palisades 90272 17 sales $622/sqft
Venice 90291 12 sales $753/sqft
Malibu 90265 13 sales $583/sqft
Santa Monica 90402 9 sales $760/sqf
Santa Monica 90405 12 sales $648/sqft
LA/Westchester 90045 20 sales $451/sqft
Hermosa Beach 90254 8 sales $692/sqft
Manhattan Beach 90266 27 sales $625/sqft

Sources: Dataquick, Westside Bubble

Property Lists for $75 million in Malibu

Real estate developer Richard Weintraub has listed his Malibu home for about $35 million. If you add in the four adjacent lots and guest homes that sit on them, the price leaps to $75 million, making it the highest-priced listing in Malibu and one of the top properties listed in greater Los Angeles.

The property has been featured in the movies “Funny People” and “I Love You Man,” and is also available for lease at $87,500 or $250,000 per month, depending on how much is needed.

The property is an 8-acre estate featuring a three-story home of 12,500 square feet with four bedrooms and eight baths. There are three swimming pools, including one in Greek revival style with walls lined with more than 500,000 seashells and a glass ceiling. The resort-style property includes a north-south tennis court and parking for up to 10 cars.

Sources: MLS and Los Angeles Business Journal

$30 Million Dollar Price Reduction and 9.5 Million Listing in Palisades

Investment banker William Chadwick has listed his 10,500-square-foot Carbon Beach home in Malibu at $35 million. Two years ago, it had a price tag of $65 million, which was unrealistic but it is now priced to sell. Yes, despite the $35 million price tag, it is well priced compared to comparables in the area.
The property has 150 feet of beachfront and a 75-foot oceanfront swimming pool. There is a 16-seat home theater, an aquarium that takes up one full wall, a wine cellar, a home gym and a pub.

Ursitti Lists for 9.5 Million in Palisades

Chris Ursitti, the chief executive of GreenHouse Holdings, has come on the market at $9.5 million.

The home is a gated estate with unobstructed canyon views. The traditional-style home has an open floor plan, formal living and dining rooms, a kitchen with attached great room, a wine-tasting room and a media room. There is a pool, spa, waterfall and terraces for dining. The property is next to hiking trails at Will Rogers State Park.

Sources: MLS and Los Angeles Business Journal

Mortgage Rates Sink to Record Lows Again

Home loan rates set record lows yet again this week in response to the Federal Reserve's plan to buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac said in its weekly report on rates.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the lenders it surveyed were offering 30-year fixed-rate loans at an average of 4.17% with 0.8% in upfront lender fees, down from 4.24% last week and the survey's previous record of 4.19%, set on Oct. 14. Freddie Mac has been tracking the 30-year loan since 1971.

The lenders were offering 15-year fixed-rate loans at 3.57% with 0.8% in lender fees, down from 3.63% a week earlier and the previous record of 3.62% in the Oct. 14 survey. Freddie Mac began tracking 15-year loans in 1991.

For adjustable mortgages with rates fixed for the first five years, the average start rate was 3.25% with 0.7% in lenders fees, also a record for the survey.
Mortgage rates have been bumping around near historic lows since April, tracking a decline in the yields on U.S. Treasury bonds. Formally confirming an expected program aimed at stimulating the economy, the Fed said last week that it would buy $600 billion in Treasuries. That additional demand is expected to continue exerting downward pressure on Treasury yields, presumably keeping rates low on private debt such as corporate bonds and mortgages as well.

Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the nation each week. The rates aren't available to all borrowers, just those with solid credit, enough verifiable income to support payments and 20% down payments for purchases.

Well-qualified borrowers who shop around often obtain slightly better rates, and it's possible to lower the rates further by paying additional amounts known as discount points when the loan is originated.

Source: LA Times

Coveted North Santa Monica 8,900 Sq. Ft. Lot Sells For 1.9 Million

365 24th street, located on one of the nicest north-south streets in the prestigious 90402 zip code, sold for $1,900,000 on November 4th. It was originally bought for $2,337,500 in May of 2006.