Archive for the ‘San Fernando, Santa Clarita’ Category
September 1, 2008
Got plans for the weekend? If you think you’ve got what it takes to work the runway in fabulous style, actress Jenny McCarthy is hosting an event at the Westfield Topanga in Canoga Park on Saturday, September 6th.
Besides being a part of this celebrity hosted event, if you’re one of the top five catwalkers deemed to be Westfield’s “Most Stylish Shoppers”, you’ll also win $1,000 in free stuff and certificates.
The event takes place from noon to 2 pm at the lower level Center Court. You can register online at the Westfield Topanga site.
And in case all that shopping doesn’t wear you out, here’s some real estate in Woodland Hills you might want to check out nearby the mall.
Best Buy: 22322 Vanowen St./4bd, 2bth/$149 per sq. ft./3,365 sq. ft./$500,000
New On The Market: 22400 Califa St./3bd, 2bth/$316 per sq. ft./2,084 sq. ft./$659,000
Foreclosure: 6415 Ponce Ave./4bd, 2bth/$352 per sq. ft./7,492 sq. ft./$589,000
August 31, 2008
I have my favorite areas in the Valley. West Hills is one of them. Much of the area has unpretentious, tree-lined neighborhoods with single-family homes built in the 1950′s. Many of the schools are good. (At least at the elementary level grades.) And part of West Hills is even zoned for the Las Virgenes School District.
So for this weekend, I thought I could share some of the homes that are dropping down in price in the area. Redfin currently shows the median list price of a single-family home to be $454,500 with an average cost per square foot of $300. The sold median price is $442,300. And the average sold cost per square foot is $282.
7042 Semrad Rd./4bd, 3bth/$565,999 to $544,999
8346 Natalie Ln/4bd, 2bth/$689,000 to $620,000
8720 Moorcroft Pl./5bd, 5bth/$949,000 to $869,000
It’s true. The good deals will still go quickly. I originally noted 23442 Vanowen as a great deal from a purely cost per square footage standpoint ($264 per square feet). As I was reviewing this post, it was removed from the marketplace.
August 29, 2008
There’s a real estate company that specializes in a particular type of home – they call it “home as art”. Deasy Penner & Partners represents properties throughout Southern California. Granted, many of the homes on this real estate site aren’t affordable for most people (try 6.5 mil in the Palisades).
But surprisingly, there are a few more reasonably priced homes listed by Deasy Penner in the Valley (as well as some pricier ones.) Styles range from traditional to modern. Let’s take a look at what’s available. Any of these strike your interest?
Sherman Oaks: 13470 Margate Street/3bd, 1.75bth/$599,000
Valley Village: 11663 Margate Street/2bd, 1bth/$699,000
Woodland Hills: 4766 Natoma Avenue/5bd, 3bth/$1,075,000
Encino: 4310 Bergamo Drive/5bd, 4bth/$1,999,000
Incidentally, Curbed LA wrote about a mid-century Studio City architectural home. In case you wanted to know more about its history, this 1.65 million dollar home once went for $920,000 five years ago.
August 28, 2008
No doubt about it. In many areas (especially in the Valley), prices in real estate are still dropping. But when will it bounce back up? Back in June, I wrote a little blog referencing an article from Bloomberg.com. The article stated that we might not be at the bottom yet, but we may be seeing a shift in the real estate market in the near future.
Well now, the Daily News reports that due to the number of foreclosures in the San Fernando Valley (844 in July), home ownership has been changing hands at an increased rate from 2007. Below is an excerpt from the article:
It’s that kind of activity that resulted in 1,321 new and previously owned homes changing hands in July, up 5 percent from the 1,262 sales recorded a year earlier and 14 percent more than in June.
The July total is the first annual upswing since September 2005.
Daniel Blake, CSUN’s director at the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center also had this to say:
“That march of increased sales means there is … mortgage market money to be had, and that’s an encouraging sign,” Blake said.
It may also indicate that the prices will bottom out later this year or early in 2009, he said.
Whoa! That fast? I’m rather skeptical. I do think prices will be bottoming out in the next few years, but as early as the end of this year or 2009? I will believe it when I see it. Take a look at the charts for Sherman Oaks, for instance. The sales prices show a steady downward decline, but no indication of leveling off yet. What do you all think? Please drop a line.
And now, I’ll leave you with a five properties under 500K in Sherman Oaks to consider.
14842 Hartsook St./2bd, 2bth/$460,000
14751 Killion St./3bd, 2bth/$470,000
4616 Norwich Ave./2bd, 1bth/$465,000
14335 Magnolia/2bd, 1.75bth/$490,500
4818 Noble Ave./2bd, 1bth/$499,000
August 25, 2008
If you’ve read most of my previous posts, then you’re probably aware that I’m not a huge fan of the LA Unified School District. However, not all the schools are bad. And in the Valley, there are certainly a good number of educational gems that can be found.
In my conversations with other parents, I’ve found that it’s all too common for folks to move to an area specifically for the school system. That’s just one way to look for a neighborhood and house if you’re not planning on sending your kid/s to private school.
I’m checking out the areas around Woodland Hills for myself, but for today, I thought I’d take a look at Tarzana as an example of how I’d go about searching for a home in a good school district. (If anyone here wants to share his/her own story about home shopping by school district please do!!)
The Redfin search features are a great tool. I used it to sell my home and I’m using it to gather information for great areas for a new home. But I don’t do my entire search there. Here’s how I go about the whole process.
1. I decide what area I want to live in. Let’s look at Tarzana.
2. I head over to GreatSchools.net and input Tarzana in the search function. Whalah! I get a list of schools and immediately see that Wilbur Elementary School (Greatschool score: 9) and Nestle Avenue Elementary School (Greatschool score :8) have high scores and thus, are desirable for me to send my kid to.
3. I click on Wilbur Elementary School first and click on the map this school feature. Now I know where the school is located and where I want to live.
4. I head back over to Redfin.com and do a search for homes in the neighborhood around the school. I decide that I don’t want to spend more than, let’s say $750,000, and I input that in the maximum price criteria. I see a few possibilities.
5400 Crebs Ave./3bd, 1bth/1,037 sq. ft./$579,000
5503 Beckford Ave./4bd, 3bth/2,183 sq. ft./$629,900
5316 Mecca Ave./3bd, 3bth/2,548 sq. ft./$690,000
5. The home on Mecca Ave. is my favorite, but then how do I know it’s really in the Wilbur Elementary School district? I input the address in the LAUSD school finder page. And I find out the house is in Nestle Avenue Elementary’s school zone. So, the search continues!
Happy shopping!
August 23, 2008
Is it worth it to own a home these days? According to authors Gary and Margaret Smith, the answer is yes. Their book, “Houseonomics: Why Owning A Home Is Still A Great Investment”, dispenses advice for anyone considering the purchase of a home.
According to the LA Times book review, “Houseonomics” authors tell readers that home ownership is a great investment because of the home dividends earned. The Smiths, educated in economics from Yale (Gary) and Harvard (Margaret), explain that house dividends are the amount of money homeowners save by putting money towards their home versus rent.
Here’s a snippet from the review.
In fact, they contend that for most people in most places, now is a good time to own a home. In some areas of the country — such as Indianapolis, Atlanta and New Orleans — homes can even provide double-digit after-tax returns.
How can this be? Gary Smith and Margaret Smith, who hold doctorate degrees in economics from Yale and business economics from Harvard, respectively, said the home dividend was the amount homeowners saved by investing in their own homes instead of renting. This dividend is calculated by determining the market rent for the same type of home, subtracting costs for mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance and maintenance or homeowners association fees, and then adding in any tax savings.
What do you think? Is home ownership worth your while and why or why not?
And now, let’s take a look at some deals south of the Boulevard in Woodland Hills.
4731 Cerrillos Dr./5bd, 4bth/$219 per sq. ft./3,192 sq. ft./699,000
4953 Medina Dr./4bd,3th/$227 per sq. ft./3,406 sq. ft./$774,777
21420 Marchena St./4bd,4bth/$228 per sq. ft./3,130 sq. ft./$715,000
August 22, 2008
I’m a big fan of the Inhabitat blog. They’ve got loads of info on all things green and design-related from the latest in solar handbags to prefab architecture.
A recent sneak peek at their site brought me to their post about Freegreen. It’s a company offering free (yes, that’s right) house plans that range from modern to traditional. Well, the standard stock plan is free, but if you want to customize the final product, you’ll pay a fee. It could be anywhere from $100 for changing a few window locations to a few grand for everything from orienting the plan to the site and adding another story.
I really like the concept (and their suburban loft), but I wonder how effective this online design service is when the construction of a home requires so much coordination and is dependent on many site specific factors. Anyone have an opinion?
Woodland Hills might be a prime candidate for the resourceful individual who wants to try building his/her own home from scratch. There are a fair number of lots for sale, starting at $50,000 and going up from there. Though flat lots are much easier and cheaper to build on, they’re also harder to come by at an affordable price.
For those of you who couldn’t possibly deal with the hassle of construction, here are a few homes in Woodland Hills to consider.
Just Listed: 24106 Victory Blvd./2bd, 2bth/1,152 sq. ft./$400,000
Reduced: 22627 Clarendon St./3bd, 2bth/1,302 sq. ft./$539,000
Bang For The Buck: 5216 Sale Ave./4bd, 4bth/3,666 sq. ft./$180 per sq. ft./$659,900
August 21, 2008
Last time I wrote a post, I took a look at some of the information that Redfin’s neighborhood pages yielded in the LAX area. I’ll now be covering real estate for Woodland Hills and its surrounding communities.
I thought I’d familiarize myself with my new area and (conveniently) bring you along for the ride.
First, a very brief history. I did a little investigating and found out that Woodland Hills is the site where the treaty to end the Mexican War was signed. This event allowed California to become our 31st state. (Who knew?)
Let’s take a look at the 91367 zip code, the part of Woodland Hills that sits north of Ventura Boulevard and is generally more affordable than “south of the Boulevard.” According to our neighborhood pages, the most expensive home in the area is $4,800,000 (yikes!) and the least expensive home is $175,000.
The current average listed price per square foot is $342, while the average sold price per square foot is $302.
Just for kicks, let’s also look at the DQ News stats. Year-over-year prices for single-family homes have dropped 26.5% for July from 2007 to 2008. But their median price is at $319 a square foot for July in the 91367 zip code.
Is anyone here shopping in this area? If so, drop a line and let me know if you’re looking for specific information. I’ll do my best to accommodate where possible.
July 21, 2008
Quietly, almost imperceptibly, the Bank-Owned shingle is cropping up along with For Sale signs in desirable neighborhoods throughout Sherman Oaks. Though I feel a bit self-conscious parking and stepping out of my car on a fine Saturday afternoon to photograph these properties, neighbors rarely appear to question my presence. 
One who does is using the drive of the foreclosed 2-bed, 2-bath house at 14842 Hartsook St. to detail and polish her gleaming black Cadillac. She says it lends the property some class; given its condition, she may be right. We have a friendly chat and she tells me the gate is unlocked and invites me to step in and look around the grounds. We commisserate about the sad invasion of McMansions in the neighborhood and hope this tasteless trend has run its course. Listed for just over two weeks on the market at $460,000, this fixer-upper will take a lot more spit and polish than the neighbor’s Caddy to shine again.
About a mile east on Hartsook, this attractive pool home at 13920 has been on the market for $694,900 only a month but is already accepting backup offers. From the street, at least, it looks cheerful, well-maintained and ready for occupancy, indistinguishable from the neighboring homes. To the buyers it must appear to be a bargain compared to the $959,000 it sold for in August 2005. We’ll see – ask them again in another three years if they still think so.
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Just a few blocks north of Notre Dame High School and across the street from Millikan Middle School is this 3+2 REO at 5146 Sunnyslope Ave. foreclosed on by the lender last January for $685,000. It apparently failed to find a buyer conventionally in the months since then and now appears to be set for public auction. The signage tells the story.
The news here is that these properties are all located in the midst of attractive, desirable Sherman Oaks communities that heretofore have seen few, if any, foreclosed homes for sale.
They won’t, however, be the last.
July 15, 2008
The Wall Street Journal yesterday published this no-nonsense piece directed to today’s would-be home sellers in what is no doubt the worst market in at least 20 years.
The conservative Journal, which normally likes to find some topspin on even the most bearish stories, pulls no punches with this one. It is unequivocal, seeing no relief on the horizon.
“…don’t think this is just a momentary lull, a short slowdown before the market recovers and then takes off again. What you see today is the market you have, for now and, quite possibly, for a long time to come.”
Whew! That’s not far short of the gloomy view I projected just a few days ago in my last post on Redfin, Why I May Never Buy a House Again.
The WSJ piece lists seven points, some of the common “fix and clean up” variety. But I consider two of the points absolutely critical, which I’m summarizing and quoting from below:
3. PRICE IT CHEAPLY
…you must set your price below comparable nearby properties. Look at the asking prices of neighboring houses, and set your price to beat them. If prices in your area are generally down 20% from where they were at the bubble peak in 2005, then price your house 25% to 30% below its peak bubble value. Your area down 40%? Be prepared to take just half of what the house was worth three years ago.
7. TAKE THE OFFER.
If any qualified buyer comes in with a reasonable offer, be prepared to accept it. … Negotiate, of course, but recognize that the buyer has a lot more clout than you do. Your house, as wonderful as you think it is, is worth only as much as someone is willing to pay for it. And that, unfortunately, will probably be a lot less than you think.
Two other points stressed in the article are also, in this market, highly recommended:
4. HIRE A TOP REAL-ESTATE AGENT.
I never thought I’d say this, and it’s probably biting the hand that feeds me, but these are crushing times for selling a home. As the article says:
Ask … for the local real-estate office’s top salesperson. All offices have one or two sellers who greatly outperform their colleagues. That’s who you want.
6. PLAY THE BANKER.
If you have no mortgage you have to pay off, your strongest selling point might be your ability to finance all or a substantial part of a buyer’s purchase….Worst case? Your borrower defaults and you take the property back. And sell it again.
All great advice. And in the end, the Journal characteristically does find some lipstick on this pig:
“Hey, it could be worse,” writer David Crook opines. ”You could be selling a Hummer.”
