Hollywood Riviera & South Bay Real Estate Blog

First of all, here in the South Bay you have to ask yourself, “Who doesn’t want to live here?”   There are many other reasons to buy a home – here are 6 good ones!

Pride of Ownership – One of the main reasons people buy and always have bought homes is pride of ownership.  Part of the “American dream is owning your own home.”  Making it yours – decorating it your way, landscaping w/ your favorite plants,  painting it your favorite colors, etc.  Most of us grew up with our families in our “family home.” 

Good Investment – Although home prices are cyclical, sometimes up, sometimes down, overall they appreciate or go up.   For example, if you use the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s “house price calculator,” a home purchased in California in the 1st quarter of 1975 for $75,000 is worth approximately $1,017,400 in the 1st quarter of 2008.  That’s not a bad savings plan since you had to live somewhere!

Tax Benefits – owning a home in the United States is looked upon favorably by our Federal government.  With that said the government offers quite nice tax benefits to those who also own a mortgage.  The mortgage interest you pay each month is deductible and typically the interest is the largest part of your mortgage payment – especially in the early years….when you need the most help.

Capital Gains Exclusions – (another tax benefit) – As long as you have lived in your home for two of the past five years, you can exclude up to $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a married couple of profit from capital gains. You do not have to buy a replacement home or move up. There is no age restriction, and the “over-55″ rule does not apply. You can exclude the above thresholds from taxes every 24 months, which means you could sell every two years and pocket your profit–subject to limitation–free from taxation.

 Equity Building – As you pay your mortgage, an amortizing mortgage, slowly you pay more and more of the principle off.  The beginning years of an amortizing mortgage are mostly interest, as noted above, but the last part of the term is mostly principle.  You are basically paying into your own bank account as every time you pay your mortgage the principle gets reduced….you can’t do that with rent.  (You are helping pay down someone else’s mortgage then.)

Equity Loans – Consumers can borrow against a home’s equity for a variety of reasons such as home improvement, college, medical or starting a new business.

The ultimate question “What is my home worth in today’s real estate market?”  I hear it all the time and the short answer that is always true is that “Your home is worth the dollar amount equal to what someone is willing to pay for it and what you are willing to sell it for.”  That number is very hard to arrive at sometimes.

Here in the South Bay we have seen a softening of the real estate market…properties taking longer to sell, prices needing to be reduced, homes needing to be staged and then kept in “showing” condition for the duration of the “marketing period.”  This is no easy task. 

The hardest part of this softening market is finding a price that will attract a buyer.  Sellers that are looking back at what homes sold for a few months ago are looking the wrong direction.  Sellers need to look forward to what will make someone pull the trigger and write that offer.  We need to start seeing what Just Sold or Just went into escrow and then adjust accordingly and not equal to or above those prices…but slightly under those prices.  Properties not aggressively priced are not even getting showings – so those perfectly “staged” houses are not even making a dent.  This is why pricing is the number one key to getting people in your home.  Of course, after they are there it must show better than the house they just saw around the corner.  Buyers are looking at everything right now – they are looking for a deal. They hear words like “foreclosure, bank-owned, short sale” and think they want one of these deals.   They want to be able to tell their co-workers and friends what a great deal they got.

So, you still don’t know what your home is worth – we hope we will all find out soon!

“This is a great anecdote that I’ve heard before but just had the pleasure of seeing again the other day, so I thought I’d share it.”

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.
 
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor, as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions; things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.’  The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff.   If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter.

Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented. The professor smiled. I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’ s always room for a couple
of glasses of wine with a friend.

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 glasses of wine.

June 7th – Hollywood Riviera – Area 128 in the South Bay MLS

 
Photo courtesy of Zillow.com

 Active – there are currently 28 Single Family Residences for sale in the Hollywood Riviera.  The average price of those is $1.395K.  The lowest price home is on Pacific Coast Highway (service street) and lists for $689K – it’s been on the market now for 21 days.  The highest price home is listed for $2.4 million and came on the market only 9 days ago.  It’s a large home – almost 3600 sq ft and has a pool, spa and views of the ocean. 

In Escrow – there are currently 9 homes in escrow right now – with an average price of $1.027K.  Their average days on market is 64.  The lowest price home in escrow was listed for $724,900 and the highest price is $1,999,000. 

Solds since January 1, 2008 – 25 homes have sold since January 1st which is 19 less homes than last year or 43% less homes sold.  (44 homes had sold from Jan 1, 2007 – June 7, 2007) That is quite a big difference from this time last year.   The least expensive home sold so far in 2008 was $575,000 on PCH service street.  The most expensive home sold was in March 08 – on Via La Selva and boy was it gorgeous!  What a view!!!  The average price so far for 2008 is $1,189K and the average for the same period of 2007 was $1,142K – which is a 4% increase year over year.  

Although this sounds encouraging - we have a much longer time on market right now vs last year – our market has definitely slowed down a bit.  Things could be much worse though – we are still seeing an average of 96% of list price on the solds…this time last year the number was 98%.  Offers on homes listed right now are coming in a lot lower at first then they did last year…..we see many more “lowballs” if you will.  There have been a couple of REO’s (bank owned properties being sold by the banks) in the area as well, but that is not the norm.  For the most part, sellers are still selling here for the typical reasons….retirement, up-sizing, down-sizing, relocation for work reasons – and these are the same reasons people buy a home. 

The Hollywood Riviera is a great place to live!  There is only so much of it, so we have a supply and demand scenario going on.  There is a very small number of homes for sale in our area – less than 1% of the homes here are for sale.  There are quite a few good deals out there right now as well!  For example, if you were thinking of buying something in move-in condition w/ a Panoramic Queen’s Necklace View – you could snap up a great house for under $1.2K on Via El Chico.  There is a great 4th of July house on Via Anita – the ocean views are stunning and there is a great “ocean-view-party-deck” to see the fireworks!  You’d have to buy it now to be in for the 4th though!  That’s less than 30 days away….yikes!

Here were are and it’s already June 4th.  Summer is a few weeks away and many buyers are getting itchy in today’s market to make a play.  But is there anything “affordable” out there right now?  Let’s take a look at what’s for sale in the general Riviera/South Torrance/South Redondo Beach areas?

Hollywood Riviera  (Area 128) - Under $700,000

The Riviera boasts 5 properties under the $700K mark – one single family home located on Pacific Coast Highway (the service street) and it’s listed for $689K and has 1132 sq ft, 3 beds/3 baths.  There is one townhouse in the Village Palos Verdes complex (AKA – the “Brown Townhouses”.)  It’s a nice looking, clean, end unit w/ a view too – for $699K.  And last but not least, there are 3 condos – all located in the “Cote D’Azur” complex which is located right on the border between Palos Verdes and the Riviera.  They range in price from $540K – $599K (there are other units for sale in that complex as well that are more expensive – typically those units are completely remodeled and/or have terrific views!)  The complex itself offers a large pool, putting green area, underground parking areas, a private walk down to the Torrance…R.A.T. Beach.   It sits on the bluff above the beach there..it’s quite a lovely location.

South Torrance/Seaside Ranchos Areas (Area 129)  -under $700,000

In the Seaside Ranchos neighborhood there are 10 single family homes for sale under the $700K mark – a few of them are on Anza, a cute small one on Linda Drive and a few others.  2 townhouses – one for only $519,000 and has 3 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms.   The other is newer construction – 1999 – and is listed for $670K.  There are 5 condos in the South Torrance/Seaside area for sale all under $599,000. 

South Redondo Beach  (Areas 155-157) - Under $700,000

South Redondo Beach holds quite a bit of inventory under $700,000 – a total of 42 properties: 4 single family homes: $579K for a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom to a $699,000 2/1 on Sierra Vista.  6 townhouses range from $615K – $679K for a cute remodeled unit off of Opal.  The condo market holds quite a bit to choose from – 32 condos that range from $329K for a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom over in Brookside Village to a nicely updated 2 bedroom condo at Catalina & Torrance Blvd for $685,000. 

Looking for a simple, inexpensive upgrade to give your property a selling edge?
Try some lovely landscaping.
It doesn’t matter whether you are planning to sell this year or five years from now, beautiful landscaping will give you very high returns on your investment now and later.  And, with landscaping, the value usually increases with time and a little TLC.
For return on investment, landscaping rivals kitchen and bathroom remodeling, experts say, but a simple landscape upgrade can be done for much less than either of those interior upgrades.
According to Realtor Magazine, a minor kitchen remodel averages about $15,000 and returns than 98 percent of the cost.
Landscaping done well can return 100 percent to 200 percent of an investment and can be accomplished for an average of $5,000, according to Money Magazine.
Sources differ on the value beautiful landscaping adds to a home.  However, estimates range from a 10 percent to 20 percent increase in value. This Old House magazine (April 2003) puts the value at 20 percent. Smart Money magazine (March 2003) reports that if you spend 5 percent of the value of your home on landscaping, you increase the value by 15 percent.
Experts generally agree that landscaping should be modest.  Complicated garden designs and vegetation that requires a lot of tending won’t increase most home values.
Of course, landscaping alone won’t help sell a home in poor condition, but it will lift a home’s profile among similar properties.
Don’t confuse landscaping with simple exterior curb appeal.  Nearly any property can be made more appealing by keeping the lawns trimmed and mowed, removing lawn ornaments, and judiciously placing flowers. Landscaping  involves more permanent elements, such as ornamental and shade trees, flower beds, and water features.
If  you decide to improve your home’s landscaping, consider getting professional advice from a landscape architect or designer. Even if you do the actual installation yourself, getting professional advice can prevent some common landscaping errors that actually decrease the value of your home.
One typical error is planting pine trees too close to the home. The trees may look nice when they are small, but 20 years later an enormous pine tree can dwarf a home.  Planting the right trees can make or break your landscape.

The Hollywood Riviera has its own Garden Club by the way – The Riviera Garden Club.  Check out their website for more info  http://www.RivieraGardenClub.org