La Canada Real Estate

Home of the Week

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619 Meadow Grove is an absolutely stunning Spanish Revival. The house is single level with most rooms opening to the outside. It is an exquisite example of Myron Hunt's work in the 20's. The drawback, if you will, is the freeway. Seeing homes like this makes me wonder what Flintridge was like before the freeway came through and pray for soundwalls!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

We have 126 listings in La Canada. 9 of them are new:

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4615 Castle Road last sold in 2006 for $696,000. It was listed in 2007 for $749,000 and didn't sell, then came on again in 2008 for $559,000 with no takers. At some point it was given back to the bank and now it is on at a higher price. It is almost as if some banks enjoy holding onto properties. 2085 Ahlin last sold in 2003 for $697,000. It was listed in 2007 for $1,074,000 and did not sell.  2040 Rancho Canada Pl. is located on the hill near the YMCA. 1734 Fairmount has been in the same family for more than 40 years. It has a beautiful living room that overlooks a huge screened-in porch. It needs work, but is priced for location, lot size and square footage. It will be open on Sunday from 2:00-4:00. 5333 Jessen was a custom built home for the family that sold to the current owners. At that time (2001) it sold for $1.4 million. 619 Meadow Grove, in spite of its location, is my home of the week. 1517 Olive was built by the current owners. It is a large home with a fantastic yard. 742 Greenridge last sold for $4,550,000 in 2006. And now it is listed for a higher price...3627 Karen Sue has been on the market since last June. It was listed with the former agent at $7.5 million.

5 homes went into escrow last week:

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4603 Encinas last sold in 2004 for $625. This time around it went into escrow after 2 1/2 weeks on the market. 787 Starlight Heights was on the market in 2008 for the same price and did not sell. The spring market is definitely bringing more buyers in than last year. Volume is up, but prices are not. 5224 Bubbling Well sold with multiple offers. 3726 Berwick, which last sold in 2003 for $920,000, has been remodeled and sold quickly. 1067 Oxford is subject to bankruptcy court approval. 5 bedroom, 4 bath, bankruptcy! It is one of those houses with a very bad vibe. It will be interesting to see if and what is closes for.

4 houses closed this week in La Canada:

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940 DeLinda sold in 2004 for $811,000 and 2007 for $1,000,000. At the end of 2007 it came back on the market for $1,075,000 but the ride up was over. It has been listed off and onsince then with 2 different agents and closed for about 8 1/2% higher than it did in 2004. 5755 Summit Crest sold with multiple offers. 4458 Chevy Chase was last listed in 2005 for $2,395,000. The sellers pulled it off the market and did a huge renovation. They enjoyed it for a few years and now have sold it. $426 per square foot seems low for a house with that amenity, but because of its proximity to Foothill, the sellers did not do that badly. And now for the elephant in the room....4132 Chevy Chase last sold in 2005 for $4,350,000. The buyer was allowed to purchase with a very small downpayment and it was handed back to the bank last year. Now it has sold for $1,000,000 less.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

La Canada Market Activity This Week

I apologize for the late posting as I came home from Mammoth with a horrible cold and a mountain of work. The following is the report up to April 30.

We have 129 (Yikes!!!) active listings in La Canada. 4 of them are new:

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4639 Lasheart has been in the same family since 1997. It is now a short sale which leads one to believe that the owners refinanced a few too many times. Not a happy situation. 4344 Hayman last sold in 2004 for $1,089,000. It was leased for a few years and then the owners moved into it and now have it on the market for $1,299,000. Great location but needs work. 3726 Berwick last sold in 2003 for $920,000. It has been updated and shows well, but they will loose some buyers because of the steep grade of the driveway. 5209 Harter last sold in 2003 for $1,900,000. It was listed in 2008 for $2,680,000. The sellers drank some reality juice and are now listed at the right number.

4 homes went into escrow this week:

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207 Starlane was listed in June for $1,159,000. It has been off and on the market since and has finally found its buyer. 1943 Lyans came on in November for $1,225,000. I'm curious to see where it closes. 690 Wendover came on the market in October and has had 3 reductions. 4363 Oakwood was listed in January for $5,995,000 and had 2 substantial reductions. Rumor has it that they had multiple offers and went close to the new asking price. Beautiful home, not so beautiful market.

3 homes closed escrow this week:

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1738 La Barranca listed in January for $719,000. It reduced to $699 and sold 10% below that. 4816 Castle sold for land value in the golden era of 2006 for $740,000. A new home was built and it came on the market in August of 2007 for $1,799,000. It had 6 reductions over almost a year and a half. At some point along the way, it became a short sale and the persistent buyer ended up with a great price. 4019 Hampstead sold with multiple offers over the asking price. The price was driven by emotion and how unique the house and property are.

More on Thursday!