Don't Be Fooled on April 1st!

April 1st, generally known as April Fools' Day, is celebrated all around the world where everyone plays all sorts of jokes, pranks, and hoaxes. In places like the United States, France, and Italy, the jokes continue all day long.

 

From museumofhoaxes.com, the #1 prank thus far is the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest 1957: The respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop. It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, "place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best."

 

For more memorable April Fools' Day jokes, visit http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/

 

Be cautious and beware of what tomorrow brings. Don't be fooled on April Fool's Day! Goodluck :-)

The Coolest House on Caravan!

1940 Calgary Lane
Los Angeles, CA 90077
One of the most desirable gems with Canyon Views. Beautiful remodeled home with top-of-the-line materials.Fabulous master-suite, 4 bed & 2 1/2 baths boasts formal living & dining rooms. Designer granite chef's kitchen w/ Vikings & Subzero Bosch appliances. Elegant slate & hardwood flooring throughout. Great family room which connects to a recreation room w/wet bar. French doors lead to a great entertaining yard with built-in BBQ, spa & waterfall.

Contact: Sandy Feldmar 310-281-3969

Recent Sales Activity Report!

Why 2011 May Be the End of the Housing Crash

From the Desk of Steve Eckhoff....* Article about the current housing market*

 

There might finally be some good news this year about the nation's dismal housing market. Or, at least, the bad news could stop.

Either way, it will be welcome relief for current homeowners as well as for potential real-estate investors. Reasons to be optimistic have been sadly lacking since the housing bubble burst in 2006.

For sure, last week we learned the widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index fell 1% in December, its fifth straight decline. The index tracks 20 major markets.

But that figure belies real reasons to be optimistic, according to some experts. If they are right, it might make sense to jump into real estate. The trick is avoiding getting burned again, and it doesn't necessarily mean owning a home.

First, let's recap the economic signs a bottom is close.

 

Houses Are a Good Deal

Housing is the most affordable it has been in decades, according to analysts at Moody's Analytics. They don't just look at house prices. They also look at incomes.

Nationally, the cost of a house is the equivalent of about 19 months of total pay for an average family, the lowest level in 35 years. Prices usually average close to two years' pay, although that varies nationally.

At the peak, midway through the last decade, a home in Los Angeles cost the equivalent of 4.5 years' pay. The average price has since fallen to just over two years' income now. That's well below its pre-bubble average of 2.6 years. This means average Los Angeles homes are cheaper in "real terms" than they were typically during the period 1989 through 2003.

The opposite is true around the Washington beltway, where it will take 26 months of pay to buy a home, versus the historical norm of 22 months.

In the end, it will be affordability that will drive people to buy homes.

"Pricing is down so much in some markets that when you analyze renting versus owning it makes much more sense to own," says Michael Larson, a real-estate analyst at Weiss Research in Jupiter, Fla.

It is definitely bullish. But what about timing?

"Housing prices will probably bottom in 2011," says Scott Simon, a managing director at money-management firm Pimco in Newport Beach, Calif. He foresaw the housing crash, helping his firm dodge losses that plagued Wall Street.

 

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fall

 

It’s the third consecutive week of declines: Freddie Mac

The mortgage averaged 4.95% last week and 4.97% a year ago.

Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages also dropped, averaging 4.15% for the week ending March 3, down from 4.22% last week and 4.33% a year ago.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.72%, down from 3.8% last week and 4.11% a year ago. And 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 3.23%, down from 3.4% last week and 4.27% a year ago.

To obtain the rates, the fixed-rate mortgages required payment of an average 0.7 point, and the ARMs required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the mortgage amount, charged as prepaid interest.

“Mortgage rates saw an overall improvement this week. Interest rates for 30-year fixed mortgages were almost 0.2 percentage points below this year’s high set just three weeks ago,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac, in a news release. “This means that home buyers could now expect to pay $263 less per year on a $200,000 loan.”

But housing demand remains weak, he added.

“New-home sales in January were near record lows dating back to 1963 when the data began, according to the Census Bureau,” said Nothaft.

“Similarly, pending sales of existing homes fell for the second consecutive month in January, according to the National Association of Realtors,” he added.

The Coolest House on Caravan!

9725 Elderidge Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

* This week's coolest home has a treehouse view from every window with lovely gardens and an amazing pool. Might need some updating, but it is a great value.


Sophisticated 1939 Traditional perfectly sited on private knoll.

Gracefully updated for today's living the home maintains its original beauty & charm.

4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, formal living room, formal dining room, wood-paneled den & large eat-in kitchen.

Features include French Doors, wood-paned windows, hardwood floors and wonderful details throughout.


Mature landscape, magical gardens, fruit trees & bubbling ponds surround stone patios, meandering paths & a sparkling pool w/cabana & bath.

Contact: Jana Jones-Duffy
310-285-7535

TomatoMania! Are you Ready for it?

TomatoMania! is the world's largest heirloom tomato seedling sale. The even takes place in various locations all over, but the nearest one to LA is in Encino. Below is the info:

 

March 25-27 @ Tapia Brothers' Farm Stand

5251 Hayvenhurst Ave.

Encino, CA 91436

 

Open from 9am-5pm with almost 300 tomato varieties and everything you need to have a fabulous tomato season.

 

For the complete schedule and other locations of TomatoMania, visit http://www.tomatomania.com/#

Using another bank's ATM? Fees are increasing!

Think a $2 ATM fee is high? How about $4 or $5?

Currently, banks charge non-customers an average of $2.33 to use its ATMs. Now Chase, which operates the second largest ATM network in the country, is testing the higher fees in two states.

In Texas, non customers are being charged $4 and the fee is $5 for those in Illinoise. The fee for non customers everywhere else remains at $3, which is still higher than the average according to Bankrate.com.

There is no news as to when Chase will roll out the higher fees natiowide. For now, we can only hope that it doesn't come to California anytime soon.

Chase customers are not affected, but are still charged $2 to use an out-of-network ATM.

The Coolest House on Caravan!

1915 Fox Hills Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90025

This is the coolest house this week because I believe it is very well priced and a good value. Located on a great street too!

Charming two-story traditional near Century City and Fox Studios.

In the award-winning Westwood Charter School District, this 3 bedroom 2 bath gem is steps away from shopping, restaurants and theaters.

This house has original charm and is ready for you to make it your own. Separate dining room, large kitchen with nook, central air and heat, large and private backyard with room to expand.

The separate and tranquil master suite has vaulted ceilings, a fireplace, incredible light, a balcony, 2 closets, private bath and room for a sitting area.

Sold as-is. Close to Westwood, Beverly Hills and the Westside.


Contact: Adrienne Tourtelot
310-979-3995

Gross Warns QE2's End Could Sink Markets

UPDATE FROM STEVE ECKHART

~ This is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT 1 page article that I’ve handed out in the last year.  It is a plain and simple discussion about why rates may increase considerably and the cooresponding component that Buyers need to buy NOW. 

Posted by Colin Barr               March 2, 2011

Bill Gross says stocks and bonds could be in for a world of hurt this summer.   

 

 

Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund at investment manager Pimco, said in his March investment outlook that when the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program ends in June, bond yields are likely to go "higher, maybe even much higher."  That will spell pain for bondholders because rising yields reflect falling prices. But it could also spell bad news for stocks, which have risen sharply since the Fed said in August it would buy more bonds to support U.S. asset prices and keep inflation from falling too low.

Indeed, Gross worries that the economic recovery so many commentators are so eager to sign on to appears unlikely to continue without a steady drip of Fed liquidity. That could mean a wild summer as investors adjust to a sobering new reality.

"Bond yields and stock prices are resting on an artificial foundation of QE II credit that may or may not lead to a successful private market handoff and stability in currency and financial markets," he writes.

Gross, who has been urging investors to steer clear of government bonds for most of the past year, reasons that yields will have to rise to keep attracting buyers who up till now have been willing to accept bond returns that are well below their historical average.

Government bonds have rallied in the past week or two along with oil prices and fears that rising costs will short-circuit the global economic recovery, putting the yield on the 10-year Treasury note at around 3.4%.  Gross says that is about 1.50 points below what he takes to be its normal level, judging by history. He says the 10-year Treasury normally carries an interest rate that's about the same as the current forecast for U.S. economic growth.

With forecasters predicting that the economy will expand about 5% in nominal terms, unadjusted for inflation, Gross says, it is clear that the price on government bonds has considerable room to fall.

He doesn't expect it to do so immediately, because for now the Fed is in the market daily buying up Treasury bonds. It has bought 70% of Treasury bonds issued since November, Gross estimates, with foreigners soaking up the rest.

But if QE2 ends on schedule at the end of June, that bid will disappear – and the government will presumably have to offer somewhat higher interest rates to appeal to purchasers who are increasingly concerned about the prospect of inflation down the road.

Of course, Gross has a dog in this fight. He has been paring back on Treasurys himself, in anticipation of a big selloff.

And as plausible as his forecast sounds, some commentators question his reasoning. They note that the private sector is running an enormous surplus -- the counterpart to the oft-discussed public sector deficit -- that will have to go somewhere. Government bonds, it stands to reason, will naturally get their share.

Indeed, Gross even concedes that even if the Fed backs away from Treasury bonds,

Someone will buy them, and we at Pimco may even be among them. The question really is at what yield and what are the price repercussions if the adjustments are significant.

Still, there's no doubting that a sharp rise in interest rates, should it come to pass, would make the oil price runup of the past month look like a walk in the park.

"By eliminating QE II, the Fed would be ripping a Band-Aid off a partially healed scab," Gross writes. "Ouch!"

Jennifer Aniston's Home for Sale

Article by Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times

Actress Jennifer Aniston has listed her Beverly Hills estate for sale at $42 million.

Designed by Hal Levitt, the 1970 house sits on about an acre in the Trousdale Estates area. The indoor-outdoor home of glass, wood and stone was designed for entertaining and for use by an extended family.

The redesigned and expanded interior living space, restored by Aniston and designer Stephen Shadley over more than two years, encompasses nearly 10,000 square feet. The formal living room is paneled in rosewood, a secondary living room has a wet bar, and the five bedrooms and 71/2 bathrooms are complemented by two kitchens, a gym and a three-car garage

 

Water features include a swimming pool, spa, ponds and fountains throughout the property. An alfresco living room, fireplaces and another kitchen are among the outdoor amenities.

Aniston, 42, stars with Adam Sandler in the comedy "Just Go With It" though she is still best known to TV audiences for her role on "Friends" (1994-2004). Among her other film work is "He's Just Not That Into You" (2009), "Marley & Me" (2008) and "Bruce Almighty" (2003).

In an Architectural Digest cover story just one year ago, Aniston declared, "I can't tell you specifically the feeling I had when I walked through the doors for the first time, except to say I knew I was home." She has since told People magazine she is selling the house to simplify her life. Aniston bought the property in 2006 for $13.5 million following her divorce from Brad Pitt. The cost of the architectural renovation and redecoration was not divulged.

Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

The Coolest House on Caravan!

10454 Wilkins Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Amazing Classic Spanish Revival with many original elements beautifully cared for by same family for 50 years.

Coved ceilings, carved arched doorways, original hardwood floors, living room has vaulted ceiling, exposed wooden beams and new, tinted curved picture window.

Large master suite with separate vanity room has new marble flooring and cedar closet.

Spanish tiling in both bathrooms.

Lush and large private yard with fruit trees, birds of paradise, roses and cherry blossom tree.

Contact: Anthony Papillo
310-497-4117

Kelly Slater and the Art of Home Selling

The other day, while I was waiting for my to-go order at Islands, I sat and watched one of the many TV monitors they have throughout the restaurant. I saw footage of surfers attacking giant waves and it got me thinking about the similarities of pricing a home for sale. You’re probably wondering, where I am going with this, but stay with me, I know where I am going.

If a surfer doesn’t paddle out in front of the wave they simply won’t catch it, no matter how valiant the effort. Then they’re forever paddling to try to catch up to it, in essence, chasing the wave. Pricing a home for sale is much the same. If you don’t price a home to get in front of the market, create a lot of interest and activity, and generate offers, you put yourself in the unwelcome position of “chasing” the market. Reducing the price of your home (often several times) in an effort to catch up to a market that has already passed on your home is chasing the market. And in many cases, you ultimately sell your home at a considerably lower price than what it would have sold if you priced it right in the first place.

But what is the right price? This is an age old question and to answer it, it is important to acknowledge the Five Principals of Effective Home Pricing:

1) Like any other commodity, the buyers, not the seller will ultimately determine the sale price of your home.
2) A home buyer values your home based almost completely on “Perceived Value,” not what I like to call, the home seller’s “Experienced Value.”
3) Effective home pricing is the most important and powerful marketing tool.
4) Urgency creates action.
5) The three most important things in real estate. . . Price, Price, Price.
The three most important things in real estate used to be location, location, location, but in today’s world where everyone has access to real estate statistics, pricing is everything.

Every home has its “trigger price.” This is a list price creates sufficient interest and activity so that the home will have an offer in time that is reasonably anticipated in the real estate market in which the home is being offered for sale. The “expected” time on market varies depending on available inventory, economic factors, type of real estate being offered (home, condo etc.), location of property, and lastly, consumer confidence. Where I work, on the West Side of Los Angeles I would estimate our Expected Market Time (EMT) to be two to three weeks.

One thing I can say with great certainty is, if your home is on the market much longer than the EMT, the buying public will perceive your home to be overpriced and they will then wait for you to reduce your price (this is when the sharks start to circle). Now you are in the unenviable position of having to “chase the market” in an effort to get out in front of that wave, which is much more difficult once the wave has passed (see, I did know where I was going with this analogy!).

Finally, one has to determine that Trigger Price, that magical price that gets buyers off the fence and writing offers for fear that if they don’t move fast, they may miss out. To illustrate the principles in determining value lets take two extreme examples of pricing. If you own a home in a neighborhood where most homes are selling between $2.5 and $3.5 million, and your home was similar to these homes, but was listed for $10 million, would you see an offer? Conversely, if your home was listed for $500,000 how many offers do you think you’d have? Twenty, fifty, one hundred? With that kind of “bidding war,” how high would you expect the price to be bid up? The sale price would probably end up somewhere in the range of the other homes in the neighborhood.

I’m not suggesting this extreme of a strategy (although I’ve seen it used very effectively, especially with lender-owned properties) but I am certain there’s a price somewhere in between that would generate the necessary activity to achieve the best price and terms possible. For most home sellers this strategy feels a little like “not having a safety net”, but this is ultimately the best strategy.

To fine tune the list price it is important to consult with Realtors who have “intimate” knowledge of the listings and sales in your neighborhood. Such a Realtor can expertly assess your home’s value as it compares to the recent market activity and come up with the right list price to get your home out in front of the wave of home buyers and accomplish your home-selling goals.

Mickey Kessler is a twenty-year Realtor and Associate Manager at Coldwell Banker in Brentwood 310-367-2322.

The Coolest House on Caravan!

6524 Olympic Place
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Situated on a quiet and prime street (NOT Olympic Blvd.) in historic South Cathay, this classic Spanish Colonial revival home offers a warm and tranquil place to call home.

Pristine original features including intricate crown mouldings, stained glass, and gleaming hardwood floors show the quality of this 1930's beauty. The large living room centers on a gorgeous fireplace.

The dining room is a perfect place to host dinner parties with a charming breakfast room and beautifully tiled kitchen.

The main bathroom boasts the period charm with fabulous deco tile. The second bathroom is wonderfully redone and keeps the intent of the Spanish style.

There are three large bedrooms and a cozy den with fireplace that opens to a patio and expansive yard for entertainment or play.

Contact: Kelly deLaat
310-880-9255