La Canada Real Estate

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 89 listings on the market in La Canada. 2 of them are new this week:

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300 Corona is in a nice Flintridge location. It last sold in July of "06 for $1.1 million, the same price it is listed at today. I read a great article about how sellers estimate the value of their home based on past worth, not present value. We'll watch this one. It is also available for lease or lease option. 434 Noren St. last sold in 2002 for $710,000. We will see where this market puts the value.

One home went into escrow this week:

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Last sold in 2007 for $2,000,000, 3778 Hampstead listed in June of this year for $2,200,000 and had several reductions before landing at $1,650,000. On paper, we can see the seller has already lost $350,000 in one year. Whatever the sales price is plus sales costs will add to that number. While it is an extreme case of price erosion by La Canada standards (17%), it clearly states the direction the market is heading in the short term.

2 homes closed escrow this week:

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4627 Viro was a short sale. Originally listed for $919,000, it closed at $438 per foot. 4273 Hampstead was listed from May-August at $1,995,000. It relisted in September for $1,750,000 and just sold $100,000 under that. Great location, but the house was a bit tired and the lot went up the hill.

I'll be holding 4336 Chevy Chase Drive open this Sunday from 1-4. We've had a price reduction and are now listed for $3,600,000. Stop by!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We had 8 listings come on the market this week in La Canada:

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375 Santa Inez way is a cute 3 bedroom home with an office. Good price and location. 1112 Wiladonda is on a nice street near LCE. The house is a bit tired and needs some TLC. 4947 Commonwealth is above the freeway. It just came on and I haven't seen it yet. 5409 Castle Knoll sold in 2006 for $1,260,000. Most recently, it was listed for $1,399,000 for the first 6 months of the year. Buyers are keenly aware that prices are now below 2006 prices and in most cases won't pay more. Mike Kobeissi just joined our office and brought 5710 Ridge and 4338 Commonwealth with him. The 2 listings were canceled with the old broker so they show up as new now. 4337 Beulah has been under construction since the property sold in July of '06 for $849,000. Since the permits were pulled back then, the house was not subject to any of the new setback requirements or second story review. The neighbors are not happy! 3703 Via Serrano sold in 2006 for $2,348,600 (see Castle Knoll's note on buyer perception). Listed in March for $3,349,000, the house is now on with a new broker at a new price.

4 homes opened escrow this week:

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4602 Commonwealth sold in a week. 4453 Bel Aire was listed in March for $998,000 then reduced to $949,000. Recently re-listed with a new broker for $819,000 it sold quickly. Ah, the power of correctly pricing homes for this market! 5814 Briartree sold before processing. It was well-priced at $504 per square foot. 5704 Evening Canyon came on in June for $1,350,000. It reduced to $1,295,000 before selling.

3 homes closed escrow this week:

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307 San Juan Way was gross but well-priced. It sold for more than $30,000 over asking. 4621 Encinas is acute house on a nice lot. It sold with 5 offers, but still under asking. 5063 Gould came on in July for $2,195,000. It seemed well-priced at the time, but the market quickly told a different story. It was reduced twice in September before selling. The fact that the house overlooked the playing fields at PCY hurt the sales price immeasurably.

Look for more listings and price reductions in the coming months!

 

Before and After...my living room

In the September 4th blog I mentioned our latest endeavor, raising the living room ceiling. After several months of negotiations*, the ne'er-do-well contractor finally stepped up to the plate. Vaulting the ceiling completely changed the room, yet feels like we just exposed the original plan of how the room was supposed to be.

Before:

 

After:

    

*you may see my husband tooling around town in the middle of the day on his new motorcycle that was supposed to be a "scooter" 

La Canada Market Activity This Week

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

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4602 Commonwealth is a charming 2 bedroom, 1 bath. Comparable to 4555 Indiana that closed two weeks ago for $695,000 but in a less desirable location on a smaller lot. 4130 Lanterman is a 60's ranch very close to all of the action at Verdugo Hills Hospital. I haven't seen 5220 Castle but it is in a desirable section of Sagebrush and it has a large lot. 417 Richmond sold in June of '05 for $1,835,000. It looks like the sellers are just trying to cover their sales costs with their price. 777 Georgian sold in August of '07 for $4,250,000. It came on in February of '07 (arguably a better market than today) for $4,995,000 and had a $500,000 reduction before selling 6 months later. Now, after painting and refurbishing for the last year the seller assumes it is worth more than 1.5 million more. Hmmm. It caravans on Tuesday and I can't wait to see it!

2 homes opened escrow this week:


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2120 Countryman is in Sagebrush. 1830 Earlmont is a gorgeous ranch in the Deodar section.

1 house closed escrow:

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2028 Lombardy is on the cul-de-sac. In another era (12 months ago) it would have sold higher because of the location.

The change in our market is more glaring to agents, though anyone in the market right now feels it. My husband and I are buying a duplex in Montrose. As a buyer, I feel it almost more acutely than I do as an agent. Yesteryear, we were buying properties and easily getting million dollar loans with only 20% down...the whole process took about 15 minutes. We have good credit and have never had a late mortgage payment. I thought we were strong buyers until we applied for this conforming loan. Not only do I have to provide 2 years of tax statements (personal, corporate and LLC), ownership documentation of the corporation and LLC, verification of every single penny in all of our accounts including the rapidly diminishing stock portfolio but I need to pre-lease the units we are buying and provide said lease agreements. Soon, they will be asking for the children.

My point is, selling the house is only the first hurdle. Getting your buyer through the firing squad at the bank has become the big maybe. Toto, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

While the stock market seems to be spinning into the abyss, homes are still selling here in La Canada. We had 4 homes come on the market this week:

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I have not seen 887 Monarch. A new MLS rule being implemented this November mandates that agents put a photo of their listings in. So hard to get excited about a new listing when there is no visual...4832 Commonwealth is charming, charming, charming. Built in 1911 and updated, when you enter the house you will feel like you are on the east coast. 822 Wiladonda is lovely as well. It features a spacious open kitchen and family room. Both houses are open on Sunday, 2:00-4:00. 5250 Vista Lejana is a very nice home with a guest apartment above the garage and a pool. It is a tough market for that price point, especially well over $600 per square foot.

An indicator of the changes in the market place is featured here:

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2045 Tondolea came on in August of '07 at $2,190,000 and expired in November. It relisted in August '08 for $1,675,000 and just dropped to $1,600,000 a sale price approved by the lender because this is a short sale, that nasty precursor to the foreclosure. Had the seller acted quickly late last year and reduced to $1,800,000  (they purchased 7/05 for $1,890,000), they perhaps could have saved their credit and a bit of their equity. At $1,600,000 the house is back to the price that it sold for in June of 2004. Yikes! Have we really dropped back to 2004 prices?

We had 3 houses go into escrow this week:

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1016 El Vago has been on for 11 weeks and been through 2 reductions. 1240 Lanterman was only on for one week and sold with multiple offers...location, location, location. 3900 Chevy Chase sold quickly as well.

We had 3 homes close escrow this week:

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4555 Indiana sold well under asking but at $672 per square foot. 2316 Conle started at $1,050,000 and was reduced to $749 before selling for $789...another short sale. 4821 Vineta closed close to $100,000 below asking. $1,662,375 seems like a low price for a street like Vineta, yet a symptom of the current market.

I'm having a twilight open house at 4601 Hillard on Sunday, 5:00-7:00. It is an opportunity to show the house in a different light...incredible for entertaining as well as every day living! Stop by for wine and cheese.

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 90 active listings in La Canada. 3 of them are new:

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5289 Haskell sold in the spring for $1.3 and is now back on the market with permits to add a new master suite. 4710 Viro is a nice newer (2005) home with 2 bedrooms up and 2 bedrooms down. 4318 Bel Aire is a remodeled home with a pool in a good location close to Descanso Drive. It will be open on Sunday.

4 homes went into escrow this week:

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Criteria=on

307 San Juan was the nauseating tear-down but at a ridiculous low price that attracted multiple offers. 5169 Redwillow has been on for less than 3 weeks. 941 Wiladonda was on for a bit over 2 months. 3985 Hampstead has been off and on for about a year.

We had 5 closings this week:

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4808 La Canada Blvd. was on for 4 months last year at $799. It relisted with a new agent in August for $789, sold, fell out then sold again. 1528 Sugar Loaf was sold for land value (94% of list price). 5012 Princess Anne came on in March for $1,699,000. It was reduced in June to $1,499,000 and just closed for $1.2. It was an awesome piece of property and an indicator that even the mighty value of land is going down a bit. 1270 Inverness came on in April at $1,650,000, reduced in May to $1,575,000, again in June to $1,575,000 and landed in July at $1,475,000. It just closed at $1.3. 4936 Palm listed in May for $2,349,000, reduced in July to $2,049,000 and just closed for $74,000 less.

A lesson we can all learn from closings this week is that we are now in a market where overpricing is not the best strategy. I have fallen victim to the notion of "room to negotiate" and "let's see what the market will bear" because I become emotionally attached to my sellers and their homes.

I went to a CB seminar today that really got me thinking differently, like it or not. Real estate is a commodity, plain and simple. What complicates it is emotion. I don't get all emotional about my stocks (I haven't even looked lately). I would imagine that if I had gold it would be in a safe deposit box or buried in the yard and I wouldn't think much about it or what it was worth until I went to sell it. And if I did go to sell it, I would look on the Internet and see what it was going for and sell it at that price. I wouldn't hold out for $20 more per ounce because I bought it on my son's birthday or I think it is such a pretty color. It is what it is. Houses are really the same thing. Yet because of our attachment and our perception of "home," we negate economic indicators and recent sales of like properties because ours is better or more special than the others. The truth, and perhaps the hardest reality to swallow, is that our home is actually worth a little less than the most recent comp because we are in declining market. This is no time to pad your price for negotiation (I mean I literally thought that about one of my listings
yesterday, so I, too am just beginning to digest this new information). Not a good idea either to "test the market." Who wants every neighbor and all-too-picky buyer touring their house, judging their furniture selection and closely examining their collection of family photos. If you aren't serious about selling your home, don't try. It is incredibly depressing if you don't get any offers. It is like adoring your spouse, thinking they are gorgeous, funny, charming and charismatic and hearing someone thinks that he or she is dull. While it may anger you that someone would say something so rude, it might get you thinking. Maybe he/she has told that joke one-too-many times. Maybe that fabulous blue in my dining room is....ugly. If you need to sell your home, price ahead of the market...1-3% less than your neighbor who closed escrow last week. If you are well priced, your furniture looks fabulous and that blue in the dining room is lovely. We all love to think we are getting a deal and the way to sell fast is to make agents and buyers think "This is it. Too good to last." More favorable than them sitting back, waiting for you to get desperate and lobbing a low ball at you and your beloved home.