La Canada Real Estate

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 62 active listings in La Canada. 2 of them are new:

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4462 St. Francis sold in 2004 for $639,000 and again in 2005 for $720,000. Amazing given that it the house sits on a cul-de-sac that backs up to the freeway (just off of Verdugo). It is now an REO. 1728 La Barranca was previously listed for $889,000 in July, then reduced to $799,000. It is now a short sale. I can not find any record of a notice of default, so perhaps the owners are still making the payments.

3 homes went into escrow this week in La Canada:

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2226 Fairhurst was listed in 2008 for $1,100,000 but did not sell. This time around it went quickly with an aggressive price. 5123 Jarvis came on the market in July for $1,500,000 and had 2 reductions before selling. It is a great home, just not a style (Post and Beam) that flies off the shelf in La Canada. 5236 Bubbling Well came on November and has had one price reduction.

3 homes closed escrow this week:

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4957 Revlon came on in September. It is small but in a nice location. 4614 Grand was listed in 2006 for $1,199,000 but did not sell, and that was when everything was selling. It came on the market again in 2008 for $1,065,00 and reduced over time to $875,000. By then it was short given that the proceeds would not cover the sales costs. The owners must have negotiated with the bank and were able to stay in the home until it came on this year, again as a short sale. $861,000 was owed on the property and it was scheduled to go to auction on January 13. The bank cut their losses and accepted the short sale.

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday.

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.--Oren Arnold

La Canada Market Activity This Week

There are 60 active listings in La Canada. 4 of them are new:

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2226 Fairhurst is in Sagebrush. It came on in 2008 for $1,100,000 and expired in April of this year. It went into foreclosure and the back bought it back for $765,000 in November. $864,000 was owed. Now it is on just in time for the mud slides. Nice photo of the pool...903 Coral Way is also bank owned and unfortunately overlooks the freeway. The house was last listed in 2006 for $1,260,000 but it did not sell. 4709 Viro is a short sale. It last sold in 2003 for $790,000. It was listed in 2008 for $1,249,000 but did not sell. 4809 Alminar last sold in 2002 for $575,000.

2 homes went into escrow this week:

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4953 Alminar. A shocker given that the house showed horribly, but it is in a great location. 5025 Alta Canyada sold in 2006 for $1,580,000. The current owners meticulously renovated the home from top to bottom and it is beautiful. Tough in this market to justify a higher price than 2006, but it is obvious that a fortune was spent bringing the house to its current state.

2 homes closed escrow this week in La Canada:

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1925 Lamp Post was listed in September for $999,000. In October it reduced to $969,000 and was in escrow 2 weeks later. 4905 Alta Canyada was listed in July for $1,725,000. In September it was reduced $100,000. 6 weeks later, there were 2 offers on the property. It is strange how a house can sit there for months and then all of a sudden there are multiple offers. We are seeing more multiple offers, and while it doesn't mean prices are going up, there is a greater sense of urgency among buyers today. Currently there is about 4 months of inventory in La Canada. More homes will come on the market in early spring, but sales volume should be up so our inventory could go lower as buyers move to get into the schools. I don't want to jinx anything by saying this, but I think 2010 will see loads of sales because prices are down and interest rates should hold well into next year. Maybe it is too much holiday cheer, but I think things are looking up!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 62 active listings on the market in La Canada. 1 of them is new:

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Not really new, as it was on the market from early 2008 through February of this year. It started last year at $4,895,000 and came down to $3,995,000 after the new year. Why put it on now, right before the holidays for slightly less...I can't explain. The house has spectacular views. Not much more to say about it other than that the fabulous view was overshadowed by the baskets of laundry on the bedroom floor and the spotted bananas and loaves of bread on the kitchen counter. I don't consider myself nit-picky or overly tidy, but if you are going to caravan your home 17 days before Christmas (or any day for that matter), put the laundry and the food away. Out of sight...gone. When your home has a wonderful feature, like a view, brand new floors, a nice pool, you don't want the take-away to be rotten fruit or unfolded underwear. It seems odd in this era of "Designed to Sell" that we even need to have this conversation.

4 homes went into escrow this week:

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5138 Redwillow last sold in 2006 for $880,000. It was listed in 2007 for $969,000 (didn't sell) then was up for lease. It came on in October for $869,000, then reduced to $849,000 before selling. Proof that the low end is very buoyant and has not been hit as hard as the high-end (let's assume it is in escrow for $800...less than a 10% drop since the height of the market). 339 Santa Inez took a few weeks but found a buyer. Nice lot, loads of charm and in the sweet spot of the market price-wise. 5254 Alta Canyada last sold in 2005 for $1,060,000. At the time it was a nasty 1400 square foot house with a less than perfect lot. Back then it did not matter that a large portion of the 16,450 square foot lot was actually an easement over Linda Vista on the east side of the property and that the usable lot was under 10,000. It was even in the agents remarks. The buyers added more than 1,000 square feet and put it on the market in 2007 for $1,650,000 then steadily rode the market down, with ne'er a mention of the fact that most of the yard was actually a paved street.. It expired in March when it had been dropped to $1,295,000. At that point, one can assume that the owners threw up their hands and let it go. Now a short sale, it is finally in escrow and not a moment too soon as it was scheduled for auction tomorrow. 4411 Woodleigh, a market casualty, sold in 2006 for $4,000,000. It is in a great location and has grand public rooms perfect for entertaining, but the 2009 buyer pool was not impressed. It came on in February for $4.2 and has inched its way down. At the current price, it finally attracted multiple offers and actually has a solid back-up offer.

We had 4 closings in La Canada this week:

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1123 Inverness was listed in August for $999,000, went into escrow and fell out. It was then reduced $100,000 and was in escrow again a week later. 660 Pomander, a personal favorite, sold in the first week with multiple offers but did not go over asking. 334 Saint Katherine came on in October and also had multiples. Tons of potential with an amazing lot. 3751 Normandy Ct. was listed for $2,495,000 in May but dropped to $1,995,000 a month later. When it dropped to $1,799,000 it went into escrow, fell out and then finally found its buyer. It is a very nice house but because of its remote location, it sold for $294 per square foot. A great deal for a buyer who values privacy.

Cheers!

Open Houses this Sunday

For MLS Version click below:

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For Printable Version click below:

Download Open Houses 12.06.09.xlsx

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 67 active listings in La Canada. None of them are new! I think we have officially hit the snooze button until 2010...

One home went into escrow this week:

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274 Baptiste last sold in 2002 for $780,000. It was listed in September for $1,149,000 and had one reduction before selling.

6 homes closed escrow this week in time for the holidays:

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4715 Oakwood sold with multiple offers $45,000 over asking.This is the example I use when I say the low end of the La Canada market has bottomed out. The house is cute but tired and just 3 doors from the freeway. To put it in perspective, that house just sold for close to 3/4 of a million dollars (yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus!). Sounds like a really high price given that we are in a down market. While one could argue that there will be another dip in prices next year, it will have a greater impact on the homes in La Canada over $1.2. 4816 Palm came on the market in June 2008 for $1,249,000. By June of this year it was a short sale listed for $899,000. The home was scheduled for auction next week with a published opening bid of $1,046,081. There was a $1,000,000 first and a $140,000 second. 4363 Grand was listed in September 2008 for $1,199,000. It has been off and on the market since, selling for $891,000. The $387 per square foot was because of its location on a busy street. 4611 Vineta was listed in March for $1,295,000. It was a cute house with good square footage on a great street, but the price was hammered by the proximity to the freeway (it backed up to it). 5239 Harter was listed in June for $1,895,000. Nice home, but the backyard was small for the lot size. 954 Flintridge was listed with agent #1 in February 2008 for $5,195,000. While it seems that the sellers took a huge hit (house just closed for roughly 1/2 of that price), the house was never worth that much. It reduced to $3,995,000 with agent #1 and then was handed to agent #2 at $3,595,000 in October 2008. A year later, it has closed. The location and frontage are fabulous, but the back yard is small and the house is simply a nice Ranch (I can say that because we live in a nice Ranch), but nothing spectacular enough to push it into the 3's. Had it been listed in the mid-3's to begin with, it would have been perceived as a great deal because of the location and sold close to that. After languishing on the market for a year and a half, the perception was that it just wasn't worth it. Again, pricing is crucial in this market!!!

Holiday Activities in La Canada

If you are like me and feeling the Christmas spirit, there is much do do in town. First of all, there is a book fair at LCE for all of your holiday shopping needs. The hours are as follows:

Wednesday: 8:00-6:30, Thursday: 8:00-4:00, Friday: 8:00-3:15

Thursday is the Christmas in the Park and Memorial Park from 4:30-6:30. Tree lighting and Santa will be featured.

Descanso Gardens has a multitude of events, including the Patina Holiday Wine Tasting on Thursday from 6:00-8:00...the perfect way to unwind after an evening at Memorial Park surrounded by wild children binging on candy canes (look for mine, the crazy blond ones with dilated pupils). For reservations, call 818-790-3663 or visit

http://www.descansogardens.org/site/home.cfm

And if you didn't already know, Viro Road was featured on the original "It's a Wonderful Life," as "Bailey Park." If you haven't yet seen the movie, enjoy it this holiday season and think of La Canada as a modern-day Bedford Falls...a wonderful place to live!