Palos Verdes Source

This has been such a “full” year and as it draws to a close I want to share my thoughts on 2008. Even though many of us have experienced some negative impact from the financial issues of our country and the world, I wanted to pass on a comment from my Yoga teacher. “These are first world problems,” she says. She is right. People in other countries would gladly trade places with us. We live in a safe environment, we have comfortable homes, we are warm, we are well fed and really have all our basic needs met.

And so I want to finish off this year in a moment of gratitude for all that I have – radiant health, unlimited love, fabulous family, wonderful friends, lots of laughter, a lively-bustling real estate career with honest/fun/motivated clients, financial security and a beautiful location in which to live and work.

May your New Year be filled with joy and gratitude.

I thought it would be fun to go through 2008’s Top Tuesday Tour Tips for Palos Verdes real estate and pick my favorites, tell you why and give you an update on those properties.

My favorite listing is my own listing at 838 Rivera Place, Palos Verdes Estates; it is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 3,025 square foot home for $2,449,000 (original price was $2,499,000. This Lunada Bay home is lavishly remodeled with a private courtyard entry and panoramic ocean/Catalina views from nearly every room. It is a great alternative to a Terranea casita (and less expensive) and you can use it 365 days a year! (view more photos by clicking on the link above) This home is currently on Hold for the holidays.

Lisa Hawk’s 43 Misty Acres, Rolling Hills Estates, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 2,881 square foot home for $1,719,000. This single level home located in The Ranch (gated community) is one of my favorites as it has a great backyard – very large with pool, barbecue area, gazebo, private driveway and 3-car garage. This home has a bright open floor plan and is currently Active (for sale). Kitty and Rick Edler’s 209 Rocky Point Road, Palos Verdes Estates, (above right) is a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2,720 square foot home for $3,399,000 (original price $3,750,000). This Lunada Bay home sits at the ocean’s edge overlooking the bay, has a pool and is needs to be updated – but look at that view and bluff property too! This home is currently in escrow and they are taking Backup offers.

James Sanders’ 3900 Via Nivel, Palos Verdes Estates, (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2100 square foot home that was originally listed for $1,249,000 and sold in October for $$1,005,000. I thought this was a very good price for a Valmonte home of this size with a pool – only negative was that it was on the corner of Palos Verdes Drive North. Gary Myer’s 32759 Seagate Drive, Penthouse G, Rancho Palos Verdes, (above right) is a 2 bedroom, 1.75 bath, 1,506 square foot condominium that was originally listed for $1,395,000 and sold last week for $1,100,000. This Bay Club penthouse was an ocean front unit with a 180 degree view, was completely remodeled and would be perfect for either weekend getaways or full time living.

Some photos courtesy of MRMLS

Are You Confused About Plastics? That is the questions posed in an excellent article from C.A.R. Newsline from California Association of Realtors. I was confused and found this article informative and I pass it on to you:

You’re not alone. Experts have reached a consensus and recommend that you avoid these varieties — identified by a triangle and number on the bottom of most containers — for the following reasons:

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) commonly contains di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), an endocrine disruptor and probable human carcinogen, as a softener.

#6 Polystyrene (PS) may leach styrene, a possible endocrine disruptor and human carcinogen, into water and food.

#7 Polycarbonate contains the hormone disruptor bisphenol-A, which can leach out as bottles age, are heated, or exposed to acidic solutions. Unfortunately, #7 is used in most baby bottles and five-gallon water jugs and in many reusable sports bottles.

Palos Verdes Estates City Council has selected a “combination of caissons and tiebacks to create a wall that will support PF Drive West” reports the Palos Verdes Peninsula News. The road has been affected by the landslide above Bluff Cove. The caissons will be 53 feet deep; the tiebacks are horizontal wires used to reinforce the caissons for stability. The cost could be up to $1.2 million.

No start date is given for this project but it is projected to take 3 months to complete. I believe the city has to get funding from Los Angeles County for the majority of the funds. During construction they plan on keeping Palos Verdes Drive West open with one lane servicing traffic which means delays. Via Montemar has been suggested as an alternate road during that time.

For background and more information on the Bluff Cove Road Repairs, see my original post which can be accessed by clicking here.

Conforming interest rates are the lowest they have been in 4 years! And there has been much talk on both the network news and in print of the Federal Reserve lowering the rate to zero percent. Now, don’t get too excited – this does not mean that you and I can get loans for zero percent. This Fed Rate is the rate that banks charge each other.

This appears to be in step with the Federal Reserve’s desire to get the mortgage interest rates down to a target of 4.5% before the next wave of mortgage resets. This will allow borrowers to refinance at a much more affordable rate thereby avoiding short sales and foreclosures.

Actually you can get 4.25% conforming loans right now if you want to pay 3 points (not too many do). We will probably see 4.5% with one loan point for conforming loans soon. Now, if we can get the Fed to invest in jumbo loans (the Treasury has been buying conforming mortgage backed securities) it will help Palos Verdes real estate.

After hearing from an agent in Northern California that their appraisal guidelines had been changed, I called Robert Riede from the Appraisal Connection (310-768-8700) to get the latest on our appraisals here for Palos Verdes real estate.

Robert confirmed that lenders had really tightened their guidelines for appraisals with most lenders requiring at least 2 comps from the last 90 days. Some lenders are even requiring time adjustments for all comparables even those during the last 90 days. Typically these adjustments are 1/2 percent to 1 percent per month on the Peninsula. The lenders are being very conservative. In some cases they may even require 2 separate appraisals.

In my opinion, this impacts both buyers and sellers who may have to go back to the negotiating table if the lender requires that the comparables, in effect, be discounted. I look forward to the pendulum swing coming back to the center soon.

Statistics for single family homes for the month of November for Palos Verdes Real Estate are now available. To date, our prices have remained fairly steady with only 2.9% decrease in average price since January 1, 2008, compared to average 2007 sold price. Average price per square foot since the first of the year is down 5.8% from average 2007 square foot price. The median price has decreased 4.7% compared to 2007 median price. 2007 and 2006 both showed increased sales prices. We are fortunate that our real estate values on the Peninsula have not been tracking the rest of the country.

For the month of November, there were 23 closed escrows (21 in October) and 15 pending sales (24 in October). Active homes for sale have ben reduced to 239 (264 in October). Average price for homes that closed in November increased to $1,434,000 from $1,227,000 in October. Average days on market in November decreased to 61 (from 94 in October). Months of inventory (how many months it would take to sell existing inventory at the current rate of sale) decreased to 10.4 months (from 12.6 in October). Entire charts can be accessed by clicking here or on the “Statistics” tab above.

Currently, there are 241 single family homes for sale on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Additionally, 26 homes have pending sales, 17 homes are in escrow accepting backup offers and 13 homes have sold/closed escrow in the first 12 days of December.

Today, there were 15 homes on the Palos Verdes Real Estate Broker’s Tour. We currently have 242 active single family homes for sale in Palos Verdes ranging in price from $709,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes to $18,900,000 in Rolling Hills (the low in Eastview is $599,00). There are 67 townhomes/condos for sale priced between $269,000 and $2,000,000. My favorites were:

Rick and Kitty Edler’s 4124 Via Nivel, Palos Verdes Estates (above left), is a 5 bedroom, 5 bath, 3,422 square foot home for $2,495,000. This beautifully remodeled Valmonte villa has a large open family kitchen,multiple patio/veranda areas and a 500 square foot finished attic. Young Ok Lee’s 38 Hillcrest Meadows, Rolling Hills Estates (above right), is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,329 square foot home for $1,395,000. This one-level Hillcrest Meadows home has a family room, separate office and pool.

Cheryl Rau and Robin DeBraal’s 43 Coronel Plaza, Palos Verdes Estates (above left) is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,670 square foot home for $1,075,000. This Monte Malaga home features a gorgeous remodeled kitchen and is across the street from a park area. Cheryl Bakotich’s 30535 Miraleste Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes (above right), is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,255 square foot home for $995,000. This Miraleste home has a beautiful kitchen with granite counters & travertine floors plus a fabulous ocean/harbor/city light view.

Photos courtesy of MRMLS

As reported by Bloomberg, the Federal Reserve bought $5 billion of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank corporate debt under a new program aimed at reducing mortgage costs. Fed Chairman Bernanke finds it “encouraging” that his plan announced last week has already spurred a drop in loan rates.

Treasury Secretary Paulson is considering using purchases of home loan securities to force loan rates as low as 4.5 percent, a government official said on condition of anonymity. If true, this should allow more buyers into the market.

Today, I had High Tea at Trump with friends as our pre-Christmas celebration. This is my third tea at Trump National and I have to say they are doing a better job. Gone are the tea bags on a plate to choose from and instead there was a tray of little cannisters with bulk tea to choose from. After sampling the aromas of their new Naja Teas, I chose “Mix & Mingle” which was an organic black tea, toasted coconut, chocolate, vanilla and roobios; it was smooth and almost creamy – very delicious.

Trump has also improved on their sweetened whipped cream served with their scones. Proper English High Tea requires Devonshire or Clotted Cream which was not served today but an interesting blend of sour cream (or cream cheese) lemon spread was tasty.

High Tea at Trump has been expanded to daily service (with two days notice 310-303-3260) between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. excluding Sundays. It was a mini vacation from real estate and business and a leisurely visit with good friends.