La Canada Real Estate

La Canada Market Activity This Week

There are 106 homes on the market in La Canada. We had 16 homes close escrow in the month of July leaving us with approximately a 6 1/2 month supply.

6 homes came on the market this week, 2 of which are already in escrow. The other 4 are here:

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4555 Indiana is just north of Armstrongs. Cute house with a big lot. I have not seen 2226 Fairhurst. It is in Sagebrush near the top of Ocean View. 1016 El Vago is just off of Haskell. Nice views but no yard and is a bit dated. 625 Georgian was originally listed with Steve Davis last November for $3,745,000. Then it went to Carol Chua for $3,388,000 in April. Now it is with an agent I have never heard of for a much more realistic price, but because of the time on market the sellers may end up taking less for it.

A very brisk week for sales given the time of year...we had 4 homes go into escrow this week:

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4536 Rockland is a partially finished bank-owned property with all kinds of code violations, but because of the price they even have back-up offers. 1231 Inverness got everybody excited. Charming old 3000 square foot home in a great Flintridge location for under 1 million! It went into the MLS on Friday and the only showings took place on Monday afternoon. They had 4 offers by then. The outside was charming, but I don't think I've ever seen a home in worse condition. Original in this case meant decrepit, beyond repair. The septic system had leech lines running downhill. The agent was wise to price it where he did to generate so much interest. I've heard it went for 300-400 over asking. 4954 Alta Canyada originally started at $1,249,000. 4240 Woodleigh listed this week and is awesome in a James Bond sort of way. Amazing open spaces and walls of glass. The 78,000 foot lot was even more incredible. It sold right away. For buyers in that price range looking for contemporary in La Canada, this was the only game in town and worth every penny.

3 homes closed escrow this week:

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4733 Castle was priced right. 4705 El Camino Corto languished on the market before finally selling. 4190 Hampstead started in December at $1,515,000 and rode the market down. It is a lovely home but the lot was not for everyone. All of the sales this week prove that pricing is critical. If you overprice to begin with, you will leave money on the table. For more information on this notion, read Lew Sichelman's LA Times piece, "To Sell a Home..." The link is on the right under "Related Articles."

A picture is worth a few words...

Today I had my new head shot taken to coincide with the announcement in the Outlook that I joined CB. I figured new company, new photo, new brand. A shout out to TTMom who commented that she liked the old photo better. While I was hardly thrilled to read that, I am grateful that somebody noticed. Truth be told, I hate having my picture taken, hate advertising myself but it is part of the business. So, TTMom, other than the digital botox, I don't like it either but thank you for paying attention to this blog!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

On the business side, so much has happened in La Canada real estate in the last 2 weeks. Coldwell Banker announced plans to open"the office of the future," a streamlined smaller office next to La Canada Books and Toys. Carey Haynes left Keilholtz after 16 years to join that new office. Keilholtz was purchased by Dickson Podley. This week I left Dilbeck and also joined Coldwell Banker. I was asked to be part of what will be a small group of premiere agents to open the new office. While my 6 years at Dilbeck have been wonderful, it was an opportunity I did not want to look back and regret not taking. With its national resources, Coldwell Banker gives me more tools to market my listings and resources to help buyers with find a new home. As soon as our September grand opening is scheduled I will post the date.

We had 5 listings come on the market in La Canada this week:

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2157 Patagonia was as formerly for-sale-by-owner at a higher price. 4917 Angeles Crest Highway is a nice home but the location is a challenge. 4536 Rockland is in Sagebrush and is lender owned. Because it is unfinished, getting a loan is not an option. You will need cash if taking on this project sounds interesting. 787 Starlight Heights is a town home that has been updated and features a small yard/patio. That end of the market has been hit fairly hard. Similar town homes were selling in the mid-to-high $900's last year. 4251 Commonwealth is an estate but perhaps a bit on the high side. Compared to 700 Flintridge Ave., it has larger house square footage, but a much smaller lot (Flintridge had almost 70,000) and a lesser location.

One home went into escrow:

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4353 Vista Place was priced for its location at $383 per square foot.

3 homes closed escrow this week:

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725 Starlight Heights was on the market for almost a year before selling. 2240 San Gorgonio is in Sagebrush. It was basically a tear-down (ie: hideous) on a decent lot. It sold the first week it was on the market for full price. 4227 Beulah is in a great location on a perfect lot. They received multiple offers and sold over asking.

As I sit here blogging my 3 year-old is crying that my 5 year-old is calling her a brat (he is). They both refuse to eat their breakfast and insist on picking on each other. They've just run down the hall, he with a pink easter basket on his head and she screaming that it is her basket. And now I am being called to assist in the bathroom, so I must sign off.

The Life and Times of My Front Yard Part 1

Chances are if you own a home you've been through it. That innate desire to make something out of nothing, recreate a room, feather your nest... Whatever. My husband and I have been doing it forever. Since before we were married, before we had kids (together), before I became a real estate agent we have been taking on little home improvement tasks and making mountains out of mole hills. Our current house is perhaps our longest project, a constant reminder that nothing is ever perfect and the cobbler's children have no shoes. We bought this house exactly 2 years ago and immediately began tearing it apart. New kitchen, bathrooms, walk-in closet, yada,yada,yada. When we finally moved in we began the back yard improvement, creating an oasis for our family and various animals. Meanwhile, we became so negligent with our front yard that we started getting visits from the city.

Our house had a huge hedge that masked the property from the street, or so we thought. The lawn died. We started parking on the dead grass. At one point my husband parked his boat there too. Once when showing property on our street, my client was pointing out all of the nice homes as well as the stinkers. Not knowing it was where I lived, he pointed to my house and just shook his head. That evening, as my husband was headed down what was left of our driveway, decked out in spandex on his new road bike, I lowered the boom.

We contacted an old friend, Van-Martin Rowe to come up with a design for our front yard. I envisioned Easter egg hunts on a sprawling front lawn, perhaps a picket fence, off street parking and a trash enclosure. Nothing fancy. A quickie-redo that would take at most 2 months.

Within weeks, we had a fabulous rendering of a dream front yard: low rock wall, gated brick driveway, a trellised pedestrian entry and a covered trash enclosure. We started scouring stone yards for the perfect wall finish. After about 1 month, we decided on a pedigreed stone. New York cobble removed from the streets of NY after 9/11. Originally the stones had come across from Europe as ships ballast. $5 a stone...sold! We had to have it (we also have a $1500 SilverKing vacuum that a door-to-door salesman sold to Greg years ago).

So, the hedge comes down. The last shreds of dead grass blow down the street. Thousands of dollars worth of stones are delivered. A salvage person begins to deliver 1,000,000 bricks rescued from a demolition site in La Crescenta. Our front yard begins to look like Rustic Stone. My husband waters the dirt. We are into the project 3 months at this point.

Finally, the wall begins. We attempt to follow the drawing, stick with the inspiration. No one figured on the slope of our front yard. From the north point to the south point at the street, we go downhill 4 feet. So our lovely "swooped" wall looks more like a ruin:

We stand across the street and argue whether the tops of the columns should be level (my idea) or follow the slope of the land (his idea). I whine that it looks like the Stone Henge set from the movie Spinal Tap, only without the little people. After another month of deliberating, the swoops come off.

Van-Martin comes over to resolve the wall issues and provides marriage counseling services. We finally agree that the wall will be level, but step down slightly on the south side of the driveway. Progress. Our workmen go to another job, and Greg goes on a bike ride.

After another month I have a first class freak-out and the workers come back to finish the wall. Van designs a lovely brick detail and orders trees to keep me happy. In a loving gesture, my husband gets off of his bike and lays out our new circular driveway. The dumpster moves in front of the wall, almost like an ugly statue watching over our unfinished project. 2 months later, the driveway is finished. 1,000,000 bricks set running bond. It is beautiful. But the dumpster is still in front. Stop by if you have excess trash you need to get rid of.

Stay tuned for part 2. I am praying it will finally be the "after."

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We kicked off this week reeling from the IndyMac news. With IndyMac Pasadena shedding its 3000 jobs, we are seeing direct results of those lay-offs in La Canada as homes are quickly listed for sale.

We had 10 homes come on the market in La Canada this week:

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4617 Lasheart sold 2 years ago for $1.2. The current owners completely redid the kitchen and baths. It shows very well. 2021 Tondolea was built in 2005. Lovely home with beautiful furnishings. The back yard is small but manicured and has a pool. 1528 Sugar Loaf looks like a fixer but seems priced right for the lot size (28,286). 2105 Via Venado is in Sagebrush and not available to show until Tuesday. 4826 Alminar is the much-anticipated re-do from Sandy Saeger of Coldwell Banker. It has been staged and looks adorable. It will be open Sunday, 2:00-5:00. 2273 Cross is also in Sagebrush on the corner of Ocean View. 4554 Viro sold last year for $1,675,000. It was built in 2007. Much of the square footage is in attic-like rooms upstairs. I haven't seen 925 Vista Del Valle, but it is open Sunday from 2:00-5:00. 5036 Gould is a nice, well-priced new home. It sits on the private drive that runs behind Paradise Canyon. 510 Meadow Grove looks like it has potential. Great location and lot size. Also Open Sunday 1:00-5:00.

No sales this week but 5 closings:

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1939 Tondolea was cute but sold for a whopping $668.06 per square foot. Proves that while all the banking news is bad, they are still making loans on properties that are tough to appraise. 5117 Castle was nice and sold for $438 per square foot. 251 Starlight Crest had a nice yard with mountain views. 4575 Viro was in and out of escrow but finally sold to the 4th buyer just a bit under asking. 700 Flintridge was amazing. That end of the market seems decidedly less effected than first-time buyers!

I had dinner tonight with someone who described our new market as "wild times." Well put...

Camping in Rock Creek

We survived 2 nights in a tent! Actually, more than survived. We thrived (admittedly, mine was a sheltered upbringing and my idea of camping was more like staying at a motel with a wall air conditioner). We camped with another family at a glorious place called Rock Creek, near Mammoth:

http://www.rockcreeklake.com/camping/

I highly recommend it as we all loved it. Incredibly beautiful, perfect weather (the hail storm was exciting) and low bug count.

Make reservations in East Fork on the creek side of the campground. We stayed at campsite #114 right next to the creek. The soothing sound of the water lulled us to sleep both nights. Since it is bear country, I recommend not drinking anything after 8:00 due to the potentially dangerous trek to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

I had alluded to my problem packing last week:

For those of you who don't have an SUV or the desire to travel with half of your worldly possessions, call Sierra Vacation Trailer Rentals at 760-935-4263. They will deliver a deluxe trailer equipped with a microwave, DVD and TV (and a bathroom with a shower) prior to your arrival and pick it up at the end of your vacation. Pets are allowed and gas is included.

I know this really has nothing to do with La Canada or real estate, but it was more fun to report on camp sites than what is happening in the mortgage lending market! More on that later in the week...

A Look at Real Estate in La Canada This Week

We had 2 new listings come on the market this week in La Canada:

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1930 Lyans sold 2 years ago for slightly less that the current list price. It is a lovely home with a pool and the Sellers have completely renovated the kitchen. It will be open Sunday 2-5. Bad news for 4120 Wishing Hill...bankrupcy court approval sounds nasty. Not a good sign when that is combined with "occupants are very messy. Try to see past it." Sure, we'll do that....

A brisk week for sales with 5 homes going into escrow:

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787 Greenridge and 1627 Leycross sold in less that 2 weeks. 7826 Fairlawn sold in just over 1 month. 4190Hampstead has been on the market for over 7 months and 887 Flintridge has been on for what seems like years.

Only one closing this week:

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210 Mero finally found it buyer!

The blog is short and sweet this week as we are getting ready to go camping. I have a condo-sized tent (thank you Sport Chalet), 2 large air mattresses, gallons of bug spray and sunscreen, down comforters in their duvets, dozens of articles of clothing, fresh veggies and herbs from the garden, I could go on and on (I will be up very late trying to get this all in my car). My husband on the other hand is bringing a chair and one pair of shorts. It is amazing that we have survived building 20 homes together!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We've had 6 listings come on the market in La Canada this week:

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781 Greenridge, built in 1986, is a bit tired for it's $595 per square foot price. 951 Descanso, designed by Anders Troeddson is brand new construction. Great curb appeal in a nice location. Over 1,000 of its 5300 square feet is in the finished basement. I hear it is very nice inside. It caravans on Tuesday. 1627 Leycross is cute. Cul-de-sac location but close enough to Verdugo Hill Hospital to hear the helicopters coming in. 5160 La Canada Blvd. is a rustic old ranch in need of a paint job (and more) but has a fantastic, wide lot. 555 Meadowgrove is a lovely original Flintridge estate. I haven't seen it since it last sold in '05. It is also on caravan Tuesday. 5188 Princess Anne is quite large. The property was purchased by the current owners in 2004 for $1,410,000. It is in a nice location at the top of the cul-de-sac. I haven't seen it since '04 but I remember it backing up to Angeles Crest.

We had one house go into escrow this week:

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5188 Vista Miguel was very well priced for the square footage and location. While it too needed fresh paint, it was a nice home.

3 houses closed escrow in La Canada this week:

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4932 Oakwood seems like a steal. Fantastic house in a good location, though $663 per foot is high in this market. 3690 Chevy Chase demonstrates the value of paint and staging. It finally sold after sitting for months last year. The seller finally pulled it off the market and invested a small amount in improving the appearance and it sold. 1220 Lanterman was an emotional home in a great location near Descanso Gardens.

It's an interesting time. Even when I read the paper or watch the news I get sucked into that doom vacuum that inundates us with negative images of a market smoldering in ruins. Yet every day I check the hot sheet and see that dozens of homes are selling daily in La Canada, La Crescenta, Pasadena and Glendale. And it is not as if we live in a bubble. Even in the worst markets, houses are selling and most of them are selling for twice what they were worth in 2000. Frankly, right now I am more concerned about the price of gas...