I’m excited. Redfin recently launched yet another fun-filled, informative feature – their neighborhood pages. You’ll find everything from the median prices of homes in the area to stats that tell you whether or not you should wait for another price reduction when you buy a home. You can also check out stuff like what the climate is like and map out the local schools.

Let’s take a little look-see at the LAX area, for starters. If you punch in 90045 (Westchester) and click the “View inventory and pricing trends”, you’ll find a graph that shows that the list cost per square foot and selling cost per square foot are getting pretty close. Once upon a time, the gap was far apart. Perhaps it’s a sign the prices for Westchester are leveling out?

Now, let’s try the 90293 zip code (Playa del Rey). Here, you’ll find a graph showing a wide disparity between the cost per square foot of sold homes and listed homes. Perhaps sellers in this little community by the beach should do a reality check.

And finally, let’s look at Playa Vista – 90094. Survey says that although there appeared to be about a $100 per square foot disparity between the listed and sold cost per square foot back in April of 08, there is now very little discrepancy between the two.

And with that, I’m leaving the LAX area blog. Sniff, sniff. Look for coverage from me in Woodland Hills (my new neighborhood) and the surrounding areas. Hope you’ll stop by and read my posts!

Last time I wrote about my home sale, I mentioned a few scenarios that could have cost me thousands and thousands of dollars if I had done things differently.

Well, this time around, I’m going to wrap things up with why my sale price wasn’t really my sales price. There are two main reasons why my sales price doesn’t really reflect the true amount of money that exchanged hands. (You can guess how much, but I won’t tell.)

1. The buyers sweetened the deal with a cash sum on top of the sales price that went into escrow. Why did they do this? The only explanation that I got was that one of the buyers (out of the couple) wanted to spend more than the other buyer. Regardless, the commission paid out to the buyer’s agent was slightly less, so who was I to complain?

2. The buyer’s agent only charged a commission of 1.5% and not 3%. Somehow, during the course of the negotiations, the agent dropped his commission from 3% to 1.5% in order to get the deal to happen. That’s quite a drop. Incidentally, the realty company has a mortgage company component to it and I wonder if somehow he got some kickbacks.

If anyone has any theories on why he was able to conduct business with such a low commission (other than desperation), feel free to drop a line.

Looking back at the sales process of my home, I started to think about some of the “what if” situations. For instance, I thought about what would have happened if I went for the first bid on my house to come along or if I had decided to go with the first termite inspection report that I got. No, I won’t tell you exactly how much I got for the home. (You can still do the math based on hints below.) But I’ll give a little teaser as to how much money I “saved” by making certain decisions along the way as I sold my home. Here are four of them.

1. What if I had taken the first bid that came along?

I would have sold the house for about $39,000 less than I ended up selling it for.

2. What if I hadn’t called the buyer’s bluff on canceling the deal over flashing?

I would have paid out about $200 more in repairs.

3. What if I had taken the first bid on a termite inspection report?

I would have paid at least $500 more in termite fees.

4. What if I had used an agent who charged me 3% commission versus using Redfin?

I wouldn’t have had the benefit of meeting Redfin’s average savings of over $14,000 .

Total potential “savings” based on these four scenarios: $53,700

Here’s a song by Cold Play that ponders the question of “what if”.

Look for an upcoming post about why my sales price wasn’t really my sales price.

Want to send your kids to one of the best institutions for undergraduate education? Try Loyola Marymount University. Princeton Review has ranked it as #16 in its 2009 edition of the Best 368 Colleges. LMU has also been noted as one of the most beautiful campuses as well.

See what Matt Fissinger, LMU’s director of undergraduate admissions has to say about the campus, according to the Argonaut.

“Our campus is located in Westchester, a friendly, residential neighborhood that is removed from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, yet it offers easy access to all the richness of our most cosmopolitan environment,” said Matt Fissinger, director of LMU undergraduate admission. “Our students enjoy the ocean and mountain vistas as well as the moderate climate and crisp breezes characteristic of a coastal location.”

Even if you don’t have college-aged kids or you’re not heading off to college yourself, you can still plant yourself in this family-friendly neighborhood that’s just a hop, skip, and jump away from the ocean.

As of this posting, current listed homes average $749,000 according to Redfin. Sold homes average $739,250. (The gap between listed prices and sold prices are closing in!) The average price per square foot of listed homes is at $498 a square foot. It’s $473 per square foot for sold homes.

Here are a few homes selling right by the LMU campus.

7823 Kenyon Ave./2bd, 1bth/$699,000

8025 Belton Drive/3bd, 1.5bth/$699,000

7906 Nardian Way/5bd, 5.5 bth/$1,835,000

Incidentally, I wrote a little post about homes selling by LMU in November of 2007. One of them is still on the market!

After all the hoopla over flashing, I thought this post might be a little anti-climatic. Still, I wanted to share some of the points I’ve learned from my experience selling my home in Westchester.

Here’s a little background. I was lucky enough to get into the real estate market right before everything skyrocketed out of control. My three-bedroom, two-bathroom cozy little abode was purchased early in 2002. True. Real estate was on the rise, but I did manage to make a profit. I agreed to an asking price of over 1.5 times what I bought it for.

Soon after I knew the real estate market was plummeting, I put my home on the market. I decided to put my faith in Redfin in order to maximize profits. (But we’ll talk more about some actual figures next time). Keep in mind the following list is from the perspective of someone who didn’t have an agent on site to handle things like showings, etc.

1. In this market, you really have to stay on top of the changes every single week. I was pretty confident I priced my home right – you know, being a Redfin blogger for my own neighborhood and all. Well, that went out the window after two plus months on the market. I did price my home right initially. But prices were sliding steadily, homes were slow to sell, and I needed to be more flexible in price from the get-go.

2. Never do an incremental price reduction when real estate prices are falling. If you have to drop the price, drop it down to the next price point so you can catch the eye of more buyers. (i.e. drop from a $505k price tag to a $495k one, rather than $505k to $501k.) I dropped the price down twice during the sale of my home. The first time, it was a mere 2%. (Nothing happened.) Then I dropped it down another 3%. (The calls came pouring in and one of the original buyers came back with a higher offer.) The last price drop clearly was the winner.

3. Don’t bother with the lookee-loos. You know. The ones who aren’t ready to buy yet, but just want to check out your place. Buyers without an agent probably aren’t ready to buy for many, many months. You’ll know that if they have an agent, they’ve at least been prescreened so they should be able to afford your home.

4. Stay the heck out of the way. I opened my door, let the buyers and their agent in, and made myself scarce outside of the home. This way, I avoided the unwanted game of 20 questions from the buyers (can we say awkward and bad for negotiating karma?). And I avoided the wayward glance sideways of those who exited quickly because they clearly weren’t interested in buying.

Does anyone have a story to share about selling in this market? Please do.

On Tuesday, July 29th, a 5.4 earthquake centered in Chino Hills hit at 11:42 am. Did you feel it?

I was in my Westchester home (46 miles from Chino Hills) at the time and didn’t feel a thing. My neighbors sure did though. (Maybe I was too busy packing boxes?)

So far, I’ve been through two major earthquakes (California native – you guessed it).

In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake measured a magnitude of 7.1. The epicenter of the quake was in the Santa Cruz mountains, about 60 miles southeast of my San Francisco home. If you’ve never been near the epicenter of a quake of that magnitude, let me describe it to you. At the time, I still lived at my parent’s two-story wood frame constructed home. I was on the second floor. I literally saw the walls sway back and forth about a foot and a half to two feet. (Or at least it looked that way.) I thought the house was going to come down. Well, I can tell you, the house is still standing there today and seems to be structurally fine.

In 1994, I lived in a high-rise apartment building in downtown Los Angeles. My memory is fuzzy now, but I think I was on the eighth floor. That was when the Northridge earthquake occurred. It had a magnitude of 6.7 and the epicenter was about 25 miles away. I woke up in the wee hours to hear the sound of crunching metal. The power had just gone out, so all I could do was sit up in bed and hope that the objects hanging from the wall stayed there (they did) and that the building stayed intact (it did).

This topic isn’t specifically related to real estate. But everyone here lives somewhere – an apartment, a condo, a house. And someday, we’ll have another big shake, rattle, and roll. So I thought I’d compile a few resources for what to do so you’re prepared in the event of “The Big One.”

1. The Daily Breeze has a great article detailing all you need to know, including what food supplies you need, how to keep in touch with loved ones, and how to create your own emergency water supply.

2. If you’re looking for what to do before, after, and during an earthquake, FEMA has tips on checking for hazards in the home, what to do whether you’re indoors or out, and what you should do after a quake.

3. If you want a way to teach the kiddies what to do in the event of an earthquake, try the Red Cross for educational materials.

If anyone has an earthquake story to share, please do. I’m sure some of you out there have some interesting ones.

Here are some prices that are shakin’ down in the LAX area.

6660 W. 85th Pl./4bd, 1.75bth/$759,000 to $739,000

5806 W. 74th St./2bd, 2bth/$749,000 to $699,000

6431 W. 85th St./2bd, 1.75bth/$699,000 to $679,000

Yesterday, I wrote about my efforts to get the buyer’s agent to remove all contingencies. Here’s a little update on how it finally played out.

July 26th, 5pm: My agent calls. She has let the buyer’s agent know that I would indeed cancel the sale if they did not remove contingencies as required.

July 26th, 5:30pm: The buyer’s agent calls and then assures me again that the deal will go through. He’ll have the signatures for me at 10:00am on Sunday.

July 27th, 10:15am: I call the buyer’s agent. He says he’ll be by my home in half an hour.

July 27th, 10:45am: I call the buyer’s agent again. Yes, he’s coming, he says. (Perhaps I should put him on speed dial?)

July 27th, 10:55am: I call the buyer’s agent a third time, inquiring about his whereabouts. He says he’s on his way and then hangs up the phone quickly. (Ouch!)

July 27th, 11:00am: The buyer’s agent shows up. He has all the paperwork, but insists on a trade-off. I need to sign for an early closing date in order for him to remove contingencies. He explains the buyers need to close early in order to lock in their rate. Reluctant (as usual), I sign.

From what I understand, the prolonged contingency period seemed to have to do with the buyers getting the loan and/or rate they wanted. Oh, and of course there’s that big deposit they’d have to forfeit once they removed contingencies. If anyone here has a better idea, feel free to drop a line.

Oh, and here are some just-listed properties in the LAX area.

Just Listed in Playa del Rey: 8650 Gulana Ave., #L2168/1bd, 1bth/$329,500

Just Listed in Playa Vista: 13173 Pacific Promenade, #224/2bd, 3bth/$768,000

Just Listed in Westchester: 6431 W. 85th St./2bd, 1.75bth/$699,000

Last week, I wrote about my experience haggling with the buyers over flashing. I got an overwhelming response that I should just pay the few hundred dollars to ensure the sale. And I spent the better part of the day (and the next), blogging about why I felt I was making the right decision in refusing to pay the requested repair costs.

Well, last week on Tuesday, I went into a sudden and sure panic because the buyer’s agent was unreachable for two days. And Tuesday was the deadline to remove all contingencies. Contingencies, in case you aren’t aware, are the items in the real estate deal that must be met for the deal to go forward and close. (Keep in mind I’m not an agent, so if an agent here wants to provide a better explanation, please feel free.)

Here’s a little play by play:

July 22nd, 5pm: My initial confidence over negotiating the repairs fades fast. As of 5 pm on July 22nd, I’m sure the deal is dead. After several attempts by my agent to reach the buyer’s agent, we make the next move. We send over a form called the “Notice To Buyer To Perform”. It basically says, “Respond within 48 hours or we will cancel the sale.”

July 23, 10am: I get an email from escrow saying that the buyer’s paperwork was received on the 22nd. Hold on. Perhaps there’s hope yet?

July 23, 2pm: My agent sends me an email. She asks that I call her. I do and leave a message on her voicemail.

July 23, 3pm: My agent calls. The buyer’s agent is found – in Sin City (Las Vegas). No, he’s not gambling away his yet unearned commission. He’s at a real estate convention. And, his message is that the deal is going forward. Everything, including the repairs that I agreed to make has been passed on to the client. And the buyer is “not happy”, but what the heck – the deal is on. The glitch? He’s not able to remove contingencies until he gets back into the office on Saturday, the 26th because of lack of access to communications. I tell my agent it’s not acceptable and please relay the message.

July 23, 3:30pm: The buyer’s agent calls me. (Wow, suddenly it’s really easy to communicate from Vegas!) He explains the deal will go through. He says he’s good for his word. And he assures me he will send a fax on Saturday morning that removes all contingencies. I accept his verbal promise (though hesitantly).

July 26th, 10:00am: I shoot off an email to my agent to contact the buyer’s agent to remind him to remove the contingencies.

July 26th, 12:30pm: I’m frustrated. There is no fax to be found. I contact my agent again to remind the buyer’s agent about removing the contingencies.

July 26th, 3:30pm: I talk to the partner of the buyer’s agent who assures me she has no idea what they’re doing. (That’s real helpful.) She says she’ll pass on the message.

July 26th, 3:35pm: Quite miffed at the buyer’s agent lack of response, I send an email off to my agent telling her to pass on the word again that they need to remove contingencies ASAP. I even hint that they may be causing the deal to fall through. (I know, I know.)

So what happens? Stay tuned. (I know I am.)

Comments? Think you know what happened? (Please keep them constructive.) Thanks.

Sound the horns. The House passed a bill yesterday that will give $300 billion in housing aid. The funds will help out folks having trouble making their mortgage payments. There just needs to be one more approval – by the Senate – to make this bill a reality.

Assuming the Senate does pass the bill, up to two million homeowners may be able to stay afloat with new, more affordable fixed-rate loans. Here’s a rundown on who qualifies.

1. Applicants must live in their homes.

2. Applicants must be spending at least 40% of their gross monthly income on total household debt.

3. Applicants must have gotten loans between January 2005 and June 2007.

4. Applicant debt must not be more than 95% the appraised value of the home.

(Note: You can’t apply just to get a more affordable loan. Only those who are either in default or up-to-date, but in need qualify.)

Here’s a little snippet from CNNMoney.com.

This is a voluntary program, so lenders holding the original mortgage have to agree to rework a given loan before things can get started. The bill requires lenders to make major concessions, writing down the value of the loan to 90% of the home’s current value. In areas where prices have plummeted by as much as 20%, that will mean a substantial loss for the lender.

But lenders won’t sign off on a workout unless they think that they’ll lose less money on that than they would by allowing a home to go through the costly foreclosure process.

Each loan will have to be underwritten by an FHA lender on a case-by-case basis. That means the banks will do a new appraisal to determine the home’s current value, as well as examine and verify income statements, bank accounts, job histories and credit scores.

To bring this article home, I thought I’d check up on how many homeowners in the LAX area have foreclosed and could have used some help from this upcoming bill. These stats are from the second quarter of 2008.

Playa Del Rey: 5 foreclosed homes

Playa Vista: 8 foreclosed homes

Westchester: 12 foreclosed homes

Oh, and here’s some music to help set the mood.

Ok. So I know this isn’t exactly my area, but I couldn’t resist. There’s been a bit of buzz in recent years about a unique, more affordable way to build your home – with shipping containers. If you follow the latest in residential architecture news, you’ve probably already heard of it. If not, the whole concept might sound downright odd to you.

In comments on a USA Today article, this type of construction has been described as everything from “affordable” and “versatile” to “the new trailer trash”. I, personally think they’re kind of cool looking. I don’t see shipping containers in the finished product, but modern, aesthetically pleasing architecture. Take a look at the photos of this Redondo Beach residence. You may disagree with me – or not. Let me know what you think.

Anyhow, the architect, Peter DeMaria, plans to market the homes at a starting cost of $150 per square foot. Here is a snippet from the article.

With high construction costs throughout California, Anna and Sven Pirkl turned to DeMaria for a lower-cost modern dwelling that used recycled materials for their Redondo Beach lot. DeMaria designed a 3,220-square-foot home on a 8,860-square-foot property for the couple, DeMaria said.

More than a year later, the Pirkls don’t mind that their home, completed in May 2007, stands out in the neighborhood because of its modern design, Sven Pirkl said.

On the outside, the Pirkls didn’t try to hide that their home is made from six shipping containers cut into eight, although the couple did use beige acrylic paint to cover the containers. On the inside, the Pirkl’s home has high ceilings, concrete floors, recycled cotton insulation and walls framed from formaldehyde-free plywood, Pirkl said.

As an added benefit, by retaining many of the features of the containers, the Pirkls won’t have to deal with costly upkeep, he added.

DeMaria is planning to offer the container houses starting at $150 per square foot, or $300,000 for 2,000 square feet, through Logical Homes, a website being launched this month to let customers purchase the homes that arrive on location quickly and need little on-site labor, he said. Costs for a traditional custom home in Manhattan Beach run around $225 to $250 per square foot, he added.

Now let’s move onto some homes that are more affordable (relative to the area, of course) around LAX.

Right now, I’m looking at the average cost per square foot of homes in Westchester. As of this posting, they’re at an average of $475 a square foot for listed properties. Sold properties are at $425 a square foot.

Here are some homes that give you more for your money.

6420 W. 85th Pl./4bd, 2bth/$330 per square foot/$599,000

5575 W. 79th St./4bd, 2bth/$331 per square foot/$750,000

7631 Kittyhawk Ave./4bd, 3bth/$336 per square foot/$729,000