La Canada Real Estate

La Canada Market Activity This Week

So sorry for the delay in posting! We went to Arrowhead for 5 days and the wireless connection was intermittent. We rent this wonderful condo in Meadow Bay on a private beach. The interior is a bit dated, but the views from the living room are spectacular:

The price is reasonable, and it is a wonderful place for a family vacation. For reservations, contact Barbara Hughes at 760-831-4792. Now onto the business at hand...

4 new listings came on the market in la Canada:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNkXMPmQvo7A9z3LOXsernNU%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

966 Regent Park Drive has been updated. It last sold in January 2003 for $650. Unless the MLS information is incorrect, the square footage is still the same. It will be open on caravan Tuesday. 5029 Indianola Way last sold in May 2007 for $1,565,000. It is in a fabulous location and will prove to be a great indicator of what has happened to the La Canada market over the last year and a half. 1704 Bonita Vista last sold in September 2004 for $1,350,000. It has a large piece of land. 4306 La Forest is a remodeled Craftsman on a private drive in west La Canada. The current owners have done a lovely job updating the home and the gardens are beautiful. It is open this Sunday from 1:00-4:00.

One house went into escrow this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNnBC0PM836FRqN0VnLzjqGA%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

822 Wiladonda last sold in July 2005 for $1,615,000. It came on the market in October for $1,495,000 and has been reduced twice.

3 homes closed escrow this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNl4aEcrqK4JVucHBISonX1g%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

4602 Commonwealth sold quickly for $1,000 over asking. It is a darling home but close to the freeway on upper Commonwealth. 1240 Lanterman sold with multiple offers over asking. It is in a premiere location for that price range. 1830 Earlmont listed in September for $2,795,000 and reduced 2 weeks later. It was completely updated and has great frontage and a large lot with a pool.

The news of late has not been good for real estate in general. The recent interest rate cut has yet to really impact the jumbo market which would apply to most of La Canada. While I think that the holiday season will weigh on our local market, inventory will start moving again in the spring...

La Canada Real Estate This Week

check back Sunday night for this weeks market activity. Away for the holiday and the Internet connection is sporadic!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 88 active listings in La Canada. One of them is new:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNrNNfV%2FWqsgBLOj27NWRrMA%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=

5131 Crown is a bank-owned (ie: foreclosure) gem. Originally listed in July of '07 for $1,349,000, it ended up leasing for $4600 per month in August of '07. It came on again in March for $1,285,000 but felt no love in the market place. Now, at $377 per foot, it should find a new owner.

We had one home go into escrow this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNt7gp%2BW14v8Z9J90LS%2FaM8M%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

2045 Tondolea, the infamous price-fluctuating short sale. It could be months before it closes and the sales price goes public.

Finally, some good news! We had 5 closings this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNoVPW%2BNYpQhL%2F1SBpePQ%2B4s%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

5495 Burning Tree came on in May '07 for $2,195,000 (!). It expired and was back on in January with a big reduction to $1,995,000. 3 reductions later, it sold for $1,580,000. 2057 Hilldale was listed in March for $725,000 and reduced in June to $689,000 before selling for $650,000 early this week. It last sold in May '04 for $600,000. 2120 Countryman, in a refreshing turn of events, sold quickly for about 97% of its original asking price. 3900 Chevy Chase sold well under its $1,350,000 asking price. Nice lot...5704 Evening Canyon listed in June for $1,350,000 and reduced to $1,295,000 before selling. It had a large lot but much of it was hillside overlooking Angeles Crest.

I check the hot sheet daily for North Glendale through La Crescenta and La Canada, east through Pasadena and down to San Marino and South Pasadena. Yesterday there was a combined total of 898 active listings. In the previous 36 hour period, only 7 homes went into escrow and 3 homes previously in escrow came back on the market. In conclusion...if you are thinking of putting your home on the market, price it below market or wait until February when sales volume will pick up.

In an effort to distract myself from reading the LA Times and Internet articles about how bad our economy is, I am continuing with my series of home renovation projects. My latest is featured in the following Before and After.

 

Before and After

After moving 10 times in ten years, I am used to change. When we bought our current house I thought, this is it! We're unpacking all of those boxes that we have moved 10 times and we are finally staying put (actually many went into the dumpster, unopened). I do love my house, but in this business you see many houses that you could fall in love with if you moved...again.

With children, moving becomes complicated. There is the doorjam with little pencil lines recording their growth. The garden in which they planted there first seeds, the bedroom that used to house their crib and now has the "big kid" bed. So instead of packing up all of our memories my husband and I just continue to renovate and change in the hopes that roots will really sprout from our feet and we will actually live in the same place for say...5 years.

I've blogged about our front yard. There was a short burst of activity and the arbor went up over the pedestrian entry. But then someone complained and the city noticed that it didn't exactly look like our approved plan so we are on hold again. Rejected, we turned inward.

Our house has wonderful covered porches on the front and back. The problem with those covered porches is that they block sunlight and the interior of our house is dark for most of the day. Our dining room has a north facing wall that faces our driveway. It has never had a window:

 

 One day I realized that the wall was screaming for a window. It took Greg a few cups of coffee to see my vision, but eventually he was on board.

 

We call this process "peeling the onion." You do one project, then another, then another. Next on my quest to let the "sun shine in" is replacing our solid front door with one with glass. And then my son's bathroom...

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We had 6 new listings come on the market in La Canada:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNv1QyW%2FcqhM8iJLIL%2FmUQTk%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

2059 HIlldale is just on the south side of the freeway next to Montrose. It was listed for 4 months in '06 at $835,000 and did not sell. Now it is listed for $19,000 more than that in an arguably worse market. Hmmm....4818 La Canada Blvd. is a nice 2 bedroom with a pool in a nice location above the school. 1943 Lyans has great curb appeal and is in a good location. 172 Lamour last sold in early '05 for $1,195,000. Homes like this provide a good indicator of where the market has gone in the last 12 months. While it varies from house to house, we are seeing '05 prices again. 1045 Lavendar is a newer (2007) home with a good floor plan, pool house and a loft above the garage. 1032 Wiladonda is a gorgeous new home on a large lot with a pool. Don't dismiss because of the proximity to Angeles Crest. The house sits at the end of the cul-de-sac and is in a very private setting. Several of the neighboring homes have been renovated or rebuilt and the street is being redone. The house will be open Sunday 2:00-4:00. It is a treat to see so even if you are a "lookey-loo," go to the open house.

We had 1 house go into escrow this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNiwZl1fKJoiMBb2Is7YodY0%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

4588 Viro last sold in '03 for $741,000 (even in this declining market it is hard to imagine prices going that low again). It was listed in June for $1,149,000, then reduced to $1,099,000. They ended up with a new agent at the most recent price of $999,999. Let's see where it closes...

We had 1 house close escrow in La Canada this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNgmGELXlZMBI7y4V%2Bam4M4Y%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

941 Wiladonda was listed in July for $1,049,000, reduced in September and went into escrow 3 weeks later. It is a charming home but close to Angeles Crest. The seller did well at over $500 per foot in that location.

The market is slow, slow, slow! Buyers seem to be holding back and the new mantra is "we're waiting until next year." Because of this prevailing attitude, serious buyers will have great opportunities in the coming months.

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 88 active listings in La Canada, 2 of which are new:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNncjtwtF7JX6nA6m5e3ng6k%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

826 Parkwood was last on in March for $1,050,000. 5534 Rock Castle sold June of '07 for $870,000. It has been cosmetically updated but the square footage is the same. In real estate we call that putting lipstick on a pig.

2 listings went into escrow this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNryU90womjwwzu3rW8d5xCI%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

1112 Wiladonda is in the semi-popular under-million dollar group so it sold in less than 3 weeks. Note that there is no "popular group" in real estate today. Being pretty and emotional no longer means a fast sale. 4832 Commonwealth, last sold in '04 with multiple offers (sold more than $100,000 over asking) at $1,105,000. It was listed at $1,279,000, then reduced to $1,249,000 before selling.

One house closed escrow this week:

http://itech.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Itech&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=EKS%2F2aNfo8yX98urRNVVNm7tht0D9aRpRykQkQCetP4%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=on

1016 El Vago was listed in July for $1,250,000. It went through 2 price reductions before selling for $980,000.

We had 9 homes close escrow in La Canada in the last month, compared to 14 in September and 24 in August. The holiday slowdown is normal in our market and traditionally we won't see a significant increase in sales volume until late January. There are rumblings that mortgage markets will loosen up in the spring. While that helps with the number of sales, it doesn't guarantee higher sales prices.