Palos Verdes Real Estate Blog

There were 23 homes on the January 31, 2012, Palos Verdes real estate Broker’s Tour.  We currently have 192 single family Palos Verdes homes for sale ranging in price from $759,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 to $10,500,000 in Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (the low in Eastview is $497,000).  There are 53 Palos Verdes townhomes for sale priced between $171,000 and $2,595,000.  My favorite Palos Verdes homes today were:

Georgiana Rosenkranz and Barry Host’s (South Bay Broker’s, Inc.) 2204 Via Acalones, Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 4 bath, 3,039 square foot home for $2,375,000.   This custom Monte Malaga home was rebuilt in 2001 and features lovely ocean views, a spacious gourmet kitchen, a large master retreat w/ vaulted ceilings and a sparkling saline pool & spa.  Michael and Nadia Foster’s (RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty) 4166 Rousseau Lane, Palos Verdes Peninsula 90274 (above right) is a 5 bedroom, 4 bath, 3,515 square foot home for $1,568,000.  This bright spacious Academy Hill home features city views, a gourmet kitchen, great room w/vaulted ceilings & skylights, and solar heated pool – all on a 1 acre lot.

Betty Coull, Heidi Agid-Mackenbach and Frank Fountain’s (RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty) 41 Santa Barbara Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes 90274 (above left) is a 5 bedroom, 5 bath, 3,732 square foot home for $2,298,000.  This exquisite traditional Island View home features a gourmet kitchen, elegant master suite, and a pool/spa.  Tim Foley’s (Prudential California Realty) 66 Eastfield Drive, Rolling Hills 90274 (above right) is a 5 bedroom, 7 bath, 5,734 square foot home for $4,595,000.  This completely remodeled Rolling Hills home features panoramic views, a gourmet kitchen w/2 islands, a master retreat w/views and private park-like yards.

Photos courtesy of CRMLS

I am happy to report that appraisals are coming in at sales price for Palos Verdes homes that I have sold this past year.  After the new Fannie Mae appraisal changes, we were all experiencing appraisers from out of the area being assigned to Palos Verdes real estate appraisals and they were coming in low as they did not know the area.   This was true for both Palos Verdes homes sales and refinances.

Yesterday, a LA Times article regarding appraisal fee disclosure discussed the issue of who is actually getting paid for these new higher priced appraisals and where the appraisers are coming from.  Why would you care about that?  Because, the appraisers are sometimes getting paid only half the fee (and to find appraisers who will work for that lower fee, they were coming from out of the area)  “…while the balance flows to an enterprise you have never heard of — an appraisal management company — that assigns the job to the appraiser.  That management company, in turn, may be a wholly owned by or in a joint venture or affiliate relationship with your lender, which may be pocketing a significant portion of your appraisal dollars.”  Click here to read entire article.

Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may require the appraisal fee be broken down to indicate how much is actually going to the appraiser and how much the appraisal management company is taking.  A decision should be made before summer.

Sales for Palos Verdes real estate single family homes in the first 26 days of January have decreased compared to sales to date for this time last month (37).  20 Palos Verdes houses have been reported as sold to date since January 1, 2012.  (It may take an additional week for some sales to post after the actual close of escrow).  The average sales price for single family Palos Verdes homes for January to date is $1,596,809 which is up from last month’s average of $1,462,000.

In January 2012 to date, the highest priced Palos Verdes home sold for $7,000,000 in the city of Rolling Hills; it was a fantastic, gated equestrian estate with a 1o,000 square foot home with 5 bedrooms and 7 baths with unobstructed, panoramic ocean, coastline and city views, a home theater with 120″ screen with stadium seating (& it’s own kitchen), elevator, work-out room, a separate guest house, pool/spa, and barn, all on a 4.4 acre landscaped lot.  The lowest priced Palos Verdes home sold to date in January for $655,000 and is located in the Palos Verdes Drive North neighborhood of Rolling Hills Estates; this home has 1,472 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on a 18,950 square foot lot and was a short sale.

We currently have 195 active single family Palos Verdes homes for sale priced between $759,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes and $10,500,000 also in Palos Verdes Estates (the low in Eastview is $497,000).  To view Palos Verdes real estate statistics from October 2010 through December  2011, click here or on the “Statistics” tab above.

There were 31 homes on the January 24, 2012, Palos Verdes real estate Broker’s Tour.  I was able to see 13 homes today in the allotted two hours.  More than half the homes on tour today were new listings; we are happy to see our inventory increasing.  We currently have 204 single family Palos Verdes homes for sale ranging in price from $725,000 in Rolling Hills Estates 90274 to $10,500,000 in Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (the low in Eastview is $597,400).  There are 51 Palos Verdes townhomes for sale priced between $171,000 and $2,595,000.  My favorite Palos Verdes homes today were:

Rick and Kitty Edler’s (Peninsula Sotheby’s Int’l Realty) 2240 Via La Brea, Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (above left) is a 5 bedroom, 7 bath, 5,084 square foot home for $3,299,000. This Monte Malaga masterpiece features panoramic Queen’s Necklace ocean/coastline views, a gourmet kitchen, a luxurious master suite and a pool/spa. Kathy Trutanich’s (RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty) 3 Pleasant Hill Drive, Rolling Hills Estates 90274 (above right) is a 5 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,430 square foot home for $1,299,000.  This sprawling one-level remodeled Palos Verdes Drive North home features a beautiful kitchen, a home theater, central air conditioning and is zoned for horses.

Cindy Chew’s (Coldwell Banker-PV/Beach Cities) 32 Strawberry Lane, Rolling Hills Estates 90274 (above left) is a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, 3,246 square foot home for $1,950,000.  This fabulous Palos Verdes Drive North equestrian estate features a 20×50 meter dressage riding ring, steel barn, solar heated pool and cabana on a 50,090 square foot lot.  David Clayton’s (RE/MAX Execs South Bay) 27514 Fawnskin, Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 (above right) is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,701 square foot home for $799,000.  This immaculate Peninsula Center home features an upgraded kitchen, an oversized two-car finished garage,  and a beautiful pool and yard area.

Photos courtesy of CRMLS

Spring selling season for Palos Verdes real estate will be here before you know it and now is the time to get your house prepared.  Below is an article with some great suggestions:

7 Tips For Staging Your Home

by: G. M. Filisko, published: March 19, 2010

Make your home warm and inviting to boost your home’s value and speed up the sale process.

1. Start with a clean slate
Before you can worry about where to place furniture and which wall hanging should go where, each room in your home must be spotless. Do a thorough cleaning right down to the nitpicky details like wiping down light switch covers. Deep clean and deodorize carpets and window coverings.

2. Stow away your clutter
It’s harder for buyers to picture themselves in your home when they’re looking at your family photos, collectibles, and knickknacks. Pack up all your personal decorations. However, don’t make spaces like mantles and coffee and end tables barren. Leave three items of varying heights on each surface, suggests Barb Schwarz of www.StagedHomes.com in Concord, Pa. For example, place a lamp, a small plant, and a book on an end table.

3. Scale back on your furniture
When a room is packed with furniture, it looks smaller, which will make buyers think your home is less valuable than it is. Make sure buyers appreciate the size of each room by removing one or two pieces of furniture. If you have an eat-in dining area, using a small table and chair set makes the area seem bigger.

4. Rethink your furniture placement
Highlight the flow of your rooms by arranging the furniture to guide buyers from one room to another. In each room, create a focal point on the farthest wall from the doorway and arrange the other pieces of furniture in a triangle around the focal point, advises Schwarz. In the bedroom, the bed should be the focal point. In the living room, it may be the fireplace, and your couch and sofa can form the triangle in front of it.

5. Add color to brighten your rooms
Brush on a fresh coat of warm, neutral-color paint in each room. Ask your real estate agent for help choosing the right shade. Then accessorize. Adding a vibrant afghan, throw, or accent pillows for the couch will jazz up a muted living room, as will a healthy plant or a bright vase on your mantle. High-wattage bulbs in your light fixtures will also brighten up rooms and basements.

6. Set the scene
Lay logs in the fireplace, and set your dining room table with dishes and a centerpiece of fresh fruit or flowers. Create other vignettes throughout the home—such as a chess game in progress—to help buyers envision living there. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light.

Make your bathrooms feel luxurious by adding a new shower curtain, towels, and fancy guest soaps (after you put all your personal toiletry items are out of sight). Judiciously add subtle potpourri, scented candles, or boil water with a bit of vanilla mixed in. If you have pets, clean bedding frequently and spray an odor remover before each showing.

7. Make the entrance grand
Mow your lawn and trim your hedges, and turn on the sprinklers for 30 minutes before showings to make your lawn sparkle. If flowers or plants don’t surround your home’s entrance, add a pot of bright flowers. Top it all off by buying a new doormat and adding a seasonal wreath to your front door.

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who occasionally rearranges her furniture to find the best placement—and keep her dog on his toes. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

In a prior article, “How Did 2011 Palos Verdes Homes Sales Compare?”, I gave preliminary statistics for the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula.  Now we will look at those final numbers as well as the individual neighborhoods.  The chart above can be enlarged by clicking on it or go to the “Statistics” tab above and scroll to bottom.

561 single family Palos Verdes homes sold in 2011 compared to 530 homes sold in 2010 – a 6% increase.  Average sales price for single family Palos Verdes houses sold in 2011 increased slightly from 2010 – $1,358,845 in 2011 compared to $1,350,120 in 2010 – a .6% increase.  Average square foot price for Palos Verdes houses sold in 2011 was $476 compared to $488 in 2010 – a 2.4% decrease.  Some areas of the country do not use square foot prices as they are not always a reliable number as smaller homes sell for more per square foot, there is not additional valuation for extra land and the house may actually be larger/smaller than the square footage shown.

The city of Rolling Hills posted the largest gain in average sales price – $3,112,778 for 2011 compared to $2,036, 336 in 2010.  The Monte Malaga, Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Drive North, Palos Verdes Drive East, Mira Catalina and Palos Verdes Drive South neighborhoods also showed small gains in average sales price.   The Silver Spur neighborhood posted the largest decrease in average sales price – $837,146 for 2011 compared to $956,856 in 2010.

Mira Catalina posted the largest gain in average square foot price for Palos Verdes homes sold – a 12% increase from $401 in 2011 compared to $448 in 2010.  Rolling Hills, Palos Verdes Drive South, and Peninsula Center also showed gains in square footage price.  Silver Spur showed the largest decrease in square foot price (12.2%) from $493 in 2011 compared to $433 in 2010.

Lunada Bay/Margate posted the largest number of Palos Verdes homes sold in 2011 – 70 houses (62 houses in 2010).  Palos Verdes Drive East posted the biggest gain in home sales – 58 in 2011 compared to 36 in 2010.  Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Drive South, West Palos Verdes, Country Club, Silver Spur and Eastview RPV also had an increase in number of homes sold in 2011 compared to 2010.

2011 information on median price for Palos Verdes homes sold as well as total valuation of Palos Verdes real estate and highest/lowest home sales can be obtained by clicking here or going to my prior post, “How Did 2011 Palos Verdes Homes Sales Compare?”.

There were 25 homes on the January 17, 2012 Palos Verdes real estate Broker’s Tour.  I was not able to see all of them; my favorites are below and today there were several homes with interesting features.  We currently have 191 single family Palos Verdes homes for sale ranging in price from $759,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 to $10,500,000 in Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (the low in Eastview is $539,000).  There are 54 Palos Verdes townhomes for sale priced between $187,500 and $2,595,000.  My favorite Palos Verdes homes today were:

George Fotion’s (Call Realty) 1444 Paseo Del Mar, Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (above left) is a 5 bedroom, 4 bath, 4,652 square foot home for $3,100,000.  This gorgeous remodeled lower Lunada Bay home is just steps from the ocean bluff and features a workout room, a pool and a lighted sports court.  Joanne Stasio’s (Prudential California Realty) 3133 Via La Selva, Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (above right) is a 3 bedroom, 4 bath, 2,884 square foot home for $1,635,000.  This custom-built Spanish-style Valmonte home features a private courtyard entry, a gourmet cook’s kitchen, and a wood trellis covered patio w/built-in BBQ area, fire pit, plus a putting green.

Carol Hobaugh’s (RE/MAX Execs) 6550 Verde Ridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 (above left) is a 5 bedroom, 4 bath, 3,255 square foot home for $1,100,000.  This beautifully upgraded Los Verdes home features a remodeled gourmet kitchen, and family room and a bonus room, and gated access to Hesse Park from the backyard.  Richard Vickers’ (Prudential California Realty) 1200 Via Gabriel, Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (above right) is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2,039 square foot home for $1,195,000.  This Monte Malaga home was nearly 100% rebuilt foundation to ceiling in 2007 and features cathedral ceilings, Brazilian cherry wood floors and secondary radiant floor heat in all bathrooms!

Photos courtesy of CRMLS

As part of selling Palos Verdes real estate, I keep updated on area statistics, Palos Verdes homes for sale, new software, etc.  Today, I attended a class which showed us new features of our Multiple Listing Service which included searching for specific data in several different categories.  I looked at distressed properties sales in Palos Verdes to see how it compared to Los Angeles County, the State of California and nationally as reported in a recent LA Times article (click here to view article).  As you can see from the chart above, only .5 – 1% of Palos Verdes homes are in foreclosure.

71 Palos Verdes homes (all categories, including condominiums and townhouses) are in Pre Foreclosure which means a Notice of Default has been filed.  11 of those homes are currently listed for sale and 3 more are in escrow with pending sales.  107 Palos Verdes homes (all categories) are scheduled for Auction which means a Notice of Trustee sale has been filed.  10 of those homes are currently listed for sale and 7 more are in escrow with pending sales.  44 Palos Verdes homes (all categories) are REO properties which means Real Estate Owned (the bank has already foreclosed).  7 of these homes are currently listed for sale and 4 more are in escrow with pending sales.  The middle chart indicates the number of Palos Verdes houses in foreclosure and shows there are 50-100 in zip code 90274 and 100-150 in zip code 90275.

We are very fortunate that the number of Palos Verdes real estate foreclosures is less than both Los Angeles County and the State of California.  That lower rate of foreclosures is one of the reasons our real estate market more stable.

Charts courtesy of CRMLS – Realist Tax

December 2011 statistics for Palos Verdes real estate show a slowdown from November but on track compared to December 2010.  Both pending sales and the number of Palos Verdes homes sold in December 2011 was  less than the prior month.  47 Palos Verdes houses sold/closed escrow in December compared to 50 single family homes sold in November.  December 2011 sales (47) are almost exactly the same as December 2010 (48).  41 Palos Verdes houses had pending sales in December compared to 50 homes in November.  Inventory of active Palos Verdes homes for sale was 172, continuing the seasonal reduction in inventory (216 in October).  It is interesting to note that in December 2010 there were 236 active Palos Verdes homes for sale – this year less choices for buyers and the lowest inventory in recent memory.

In December 2011, average sales price for Palos Verdes homes sold was $1,462,000 compared to $1,116,000 for November.  10 Palos Verdes houses that sold in December were $2,000,000 or higher.  Price per square foot for Palos Verdes houses that sold/closed escrow in December was $449 which increased from $439 in November.  Average days on market in December increased to 97 days from 79 days in November for properties sold that month.  Months of inventory (months it would take to sell existing inventory at the current rate of sale) fell to 3.7 months for December compared to 4.3 months in November putting Palos Verdes real estate below the “normal market” range (a good thing) which is 6 months.   Entire charts can be accessed by clicking here or on the “Statistics” tab above.

Currently, there are 185 single family Palos Verdes homes for sale.  78 Palos Verdes houses are in escrow (35 homes have pending sales and 43 homes are accepting backup offers).  Additionally, 7 homes have sold/closed escrow in the first 11 days of January at an average sales price of $1,179,429.

Chart courtesy of Trendgraphix, Inc.

There were 34 homes on the January 10, 2012 Palos Verdes real estate Broker’s Tour.  I was not able to see all of them but my favorites are below and today it was all about the view.  We currently have 183 single family Palos Verdes homes for sale ranging in price from $600,000 in Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 to $10,500,000 in Palos Verdes Estates 90274 (the low in Eastview is $539,000).  There are 51 Palos Verdes townhomes for sale priced between $187,500 and $2,595,000.  My favorite Palos Verdes homes today were:

Chris Adlam’s (Peninsula Sotheby’s Int’l Realty) 6454 LeBlanc Place, Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 (above left) is a 5 bedroom, 7 bath, 5,551 square foot home for $3,500,000.   This custom built Monaco home features stunning 220 degree panoramic ocean views, a spectacular chef’s kitchen, a handsome library/office and a spa.  Kirby and Haley Larson (RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty) 32332 Phantom Drive Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 (above right) is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,922 square foot home for $1,050,000.  This remodeled Ladera Linda “resort living” home features a gourmet kitchen, ocean views from nearly every room, and a hillside viewing deck.

Judy Henry’s (RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty) 5357 Bayridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 (above left) is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,628 square foot home for $989,000.  This Silver Spur home features breathtaking Queen’s Necklace ocean/coastline views, recently refinished hardwood floors and a usable 1/3 acre lot.  Vicky Longley and Katie Muck’s (RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty) 26608 Fond Du Lac Road, Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 (above right) is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,682 square foot home for $945,000.  This Silver Spur home features unobstructed 180 degree city/harbor views and a newer red tile roof, garage door, driveway, windows, appliances and furnace.

Photos courtesy of CRMLS