La Canada Real Estate

La Canada Real Estate This Week

We have 102 homes listed in La Canada. 6 of them came on this week:

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Rancho Canada Place is just west of the YMCA on the south side of Foothill. The lot is huge, but almost none of it is flat. Conle is in Sagebrush and is just above Foothill. Nice yard and open Sunday 2-5. Del Oro has been off and on for about 6 months. Viro is newer construction built by the same builder as the home on Burgoyne. It is open this Sunday from 2-5. Robin Hill is a lovely contemporary with views and a pool. Oakwood is a great price for the location. Amazing to have 2 homes on the market in the same block of Oakwood. Nancy Marderosian's listing across the street at 4255 Oakwood is priced at $3,850,000. Price per square foot is about the same. I love that location. It seems the quietest of the north/south streets in Flintridge.

We had 2 homes sell in La Canada this week:

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Saint Katherine has only been on for 1 month and Inverness was re-listed last week after being on the market for $3,499,000 at the end of last year. It always surprises me when an agent doesn't put photos in the MLS. Doesn't everybody have a digital camera, or know someone who does?

3 homes closed escrow:

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Patagonia is in Sagebrush. Los Amigos was pretty but needed work. Flintridge Oaks was a very nice one story home in Meadowgrove that sold within 2 weeks of listing.

We are expecting sales to continue at the same pace through early June. July and August will be slow. It is getting too hard to predict much further in the future. I'm hoping things really pick up this fall so I'll light some candles, burn some incense and say a little prayer that all of the economic indicators do an about face by September. Keep your fingers crossed!

Foothill update

I know I keep saying this, but you have to love living in a city where public works engineers actually call you back! OK, first the good news: we are going to have lovely new "islands" of greenery and trees up and down the boulevard. And we will have new wide crosswalks and signals at several points. The City is finally close to finishing the long-awaited Chevy Chase/Foothill signal that will (hopefully) help the traffic flow at Angeles Crest. I had a listing on Chevy Chase over 2 years ago and remember writing on the disclosure statement that sidewalks were coming. Back then I was told the project would be completed in 3 months. Hmmmm...well, no point looking back. The sidewalk and traffic control curbs (? Not really sure what to call them) look beautiful. Chevy Chase is finally pedestrian friendly! Just in time for T-Ball season at the Community Center.

The only bad news is that construction on Foothill will not be completed until the end of June. I have also heard rumor that tenant improvement will begin on the Town Center spaces at that time. Maybe then the mystery of who the tenants are will be solved...

La Canada Market Activity This Week

This week in La Canada we had 7 new listings come on the market:

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I haven't seen La Granada but for some reason that street is a hard sell. Palm is above the school in a quiet location. Mero was on last year for about 4 months at a higher price. Lovely finishes throughout the house. I haven't see El Vago yet. Jarvis is very well done, but $740 per foot? Apparently the seller has not been reading the Times or the Wall Street Journal. Georgian was previously listed with Steve Davis about $500,000 higher. Now Carol Chua has it and it is getting closer to where the price should be. Great agent, great location. My personal favorite this week is Oakwood. Fabulous location, great floor plan, lovely home. It is a custom home and feels like it.

We've had 4 homes go into escrow in La Canada this week:

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Orange Tree is in a challenged location, hence the days on market and price. Beulah was a nice ranch-style home surrounded by mansions. The epitome of the term "location, location, location." They did get multiple offers and I heard it went a bit over. I didn't see Castle. El Vago is a very emotional home with a gorgeous kitchen. Lovely lot with pool. Priced at $792 per foot, I think it sold for less than asking. Check back in about 5 weeks for the sale price.

We had 3 closings this week in La Canada:

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Castle Knoll had more than 1 offer and sold $1,000 over asking, a rare happening in today's real estate market. Berkshire was on the market for 4 months last year and came back on in early spring. Beulah has basically been on the market since March 2004! It was listed then at $2,795,000, expired in '05, was re-listed in early '06 for $3,995,000 (we lived across the street at the time so it worked for us!), expired in '07, immediately re-listed for $3,695,000, expired a year later, re-listed in 8/07 as a lease for $12,500 per month, re-listed 3/08 again at $3,995,000 and finally sold this week for $3,260,000. I think you have to give points to the Seller and the agent for riding the roller coaster for so long!

I've put a call into the city regarding the Foothill construction. Someone asked me how much of the cost is covered by the Town Center Development and how much is coming from the taxpayers. I'll blog as soon as someone from Public Works calls me back...

Market activity this week

We had 7 new listings in La Canada this week:

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Ocean View is Sagebrush, a large lot with a fixer on it. Hilldale is freeway close, remodeled in the late 90's by my husband. He worked on 3 houses on the little cul-de-sac. We lived in 2 of them. It is true what they say...you get used to the drone of the freeway and you can almost tune it out. Oakwood is a stunning Mid-Century, showings start Saturday. La Canada Blvd. was on the market for about 7 months at a much higher price. It is now listed with a new agent. It is very close to the school. I haven't seen Viro. Starlight Crest has great mountain views and a nice yard. Inverness looks beautiful and is open for the first time Sunday, 2-5.

It was a great week for sales in La Canada:
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Indiana is a tiny little thing that was in escrow earlier this year and fell out. It is across from commercial and a stone's throw from the freeway (near Magpie). Daleridge is a small home south of Baptiste. It came on at a higher price but was reduced and eventually sold. Ditto for Commonwealth, though it sold immediately after the reduction from $989. Mellow was so well priced it sold with multiple offers, unusual in this market. St. Katherine has only been on a few weeks. It was listed at a low $372 per square foot. Alta Canyada has finally sold after 5 months on the market, a major fixer. My listing on Grand sold! A true testament to the hard work and creativity my clients put into it...Angeles Crest is also in escrow, though I am curious at what price. It is a charming, rustic house that at one time must have been fabulous. Now it has what is best described as a marginal house in front of it and the Crest is getting busier.

We've had 2 closings this week, compared to 5 in the same week last year:
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La Canada Blvd. was on for months after being purchased as a flip and then rehabbed. Nice lot, but it shared a driveway and backed up to the power lines. And Beulah, closing at a low $2,065. Such a deal for that Buyer! I am sure people that passed on that home will look back and regret it.

On that note, I was asked this week by Realty Times (I think they really just wanted me to purchase and ad package) to say something positive about the market today. Given that the market seems to continue in the decidedly wrong direction, it was a struggle to come up with something honest without sounding like a doomsdayer or Pollyanna. What I realized was this: When my husband and I started buying properties in 93-94 (market felt much like it does today) and had just held onto them, those homes would be worth about 150% more today, even in the current market. Given that we had put only about 10% of our own money down, it would have been an incredible rate of return. Plus we would have been in a nice home, enjoying tax benefits and the security of homeownership. Take that, LA Times!

A Look at This Week's Sales and Activity

It has been a big week for listings in La Canada real estate, typical of this time of year. We have had 12 new listings:

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Hilldale is a good condo alternative. Mellow is a great price for a 3 bedroom on a quiet street. It has good living areas and an open kitchen. I've heard that they had multiple offers by caravan Tuesday. Beulah is not available for showings until Sunday so I have not seen it, but I LOVE the location and think it is a great price. Susie Goddard will have that open on Sunday from 2-5. Knight Way is re-listed by MacGregor for $24,000 less than the old Re/Max asking price. We'll have to see what the market will bare. 4855 Grand is my listing and my unbiased opinion is that it is a fabulous home. Truly turn-key in that everything has been redone or replaced. I'll be there Sunday 2:00-5:00 with the Mocha Kiss iced coffee bar. I have not seen Alcorn as it has not caravaned yet. Chehelem is a re-list with the same agent. I haven't seen Harter either so I cannot comment. Hill street is in front of Doug Drummond's listing and that is all I can say about it. Berkshire is also Doug's and is an incredible property. I have not been inside the house but it is clearly a land sale for someone who desires to build an estate. Flintridge is one of those properties that comes along every decade...a beautiful remodeled classic home on and acre and half. The guest house is charming and the grounds are amazing.

We had no homes go into escrow this week. Leads me to believe that we will have several next week because I know of a few that are in negotiations and this is the prime buying season, even in this market.

We did have 4 La Canada home close escrow:

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The most notable was Alveo. Darling home on a great street. It needed a bit of cosmetic upgrades but the house was in overall good condition.

As I write my 4 year-old son is in his room crying for me. It's way past his bedtime (9:51) and he sounds like a slowly leaking balloon, hanging on but loosing steam. It is a battle fought nightly, as he is convinced he needs less and less sleep than the average preschooler. I, on the other hand, need more sleep than the average mother of a preschooler so we have reached an impasse. "I wan youmama...I waaannnyouuuu..."is what I can hear right now. I suppose I deserve this, given that I gave in last night and let him watch the Disney Princess Cake Food Network Challenge with me at 9:15. But he is slowing down. I can hear the last gasps of alertness. No words are emanating from under his door now. He is reduced to moaning. I'm holding my breath..."Mooooommmmy!" Nevermind. I'm going in. Please call me if you have any questions about real estate.