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international buyers: Do you know what a QR Code is? - 03/20/11 02:53 AM
Do you know what a QR Code is?
Do you know what a QR Code is? The "QR" is an abbreviation for "Quick Response". Are you familiar with its history? The odds are that you have heard of it. If you are like me, more than likely you have seen it and did not think much of it. Well let me give you the history of it here:
 1991 the Swiss Magazine Antrazit publishes an article about a new invention which will simplify putting your website onto Mobile Phones. They claim this can be done in less than five minutes. It … (32 comments)

international buyers: The age old question: What sells a home? - 07/24/10 12:37 AM
The age old question:  What sells a home?  I have read many articles, posts and comments. There is a big school of thought that many agents, brokers believe that the answer is: The Price. I am a firm believer Price is just one of the components. The real reason a house sells is the Realtor®. The Realtor® recommends the price and the marketing strategy.
What is the Marketing Strategy? It is Staging, Open houses, broker's open houses and internet exposure.
Staging is critical, sellers who do not agree to that, I tell them it will take a great deal longer to … (19 comments)

international buyers: Playa Vista Condominium Market Report for June 2010 - 07/03/10 08:15 PM
Playa Vista Condominium Market Report for June 2010. Here we are the Fourth of July weekend upon us; this is a good time to reflect how the Month of June fared with the activity in Playa Vista, CA.
I am encouraged to report; there are 38 Condominiums on the market, for sale. At the same time In Escrow waiting to close there are 16 Condominiums and one still accepting Back up Offers for a total of 17. There were a total of 14 closed transactions. Compared to the previous month the numbers are very similar. There were about four fewer closed … (0 comments)

international buyers: Century City Condominium Market Report for May 2010 - 06/13/10 04:10 AM
Century City Condominium Market Report for May 2010. As we look at the snapshot from May1st 2010 to May 31st, 2010, we will notice that there were 277 Condominiums on the market for sale. This is an increase of approximately 9% from the previous month. I find this very beneficial; it will allow buyers to have a larger selection to choose from.
The gap between the super rich is widening and it is very clear. The highest priced condominium on the market is a Penthouse on Wilshire Boulevard; the asking price is $19,000,000.00. It consists of 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms … (8 comments)

international buyers: Le Belvedere Sold! How exiting! - 06/13/10 02:33 AM
Le Belvedere Sold! How exiting, this home was built for spec. The owner's intention was to build and make a profit. Originally this property was listed for $85,000,000.00 February 2009, then due to lack of activity reduced to $72,000,000.00 and now it has an owner.
Many people are just amazed at the stratospheric prices (and they should).  This market is not affected by the everyday economic turns one would say. (I humbly disagree)There are rumblings on the street, that the seller owed some money and yes it was a "sale", but.... Even if it is false rumors, you have to have … (3 comments)

international buyers: Century City, CA. Condominium Market Report for April 2010 - 06/02/10 02:08 AM
Century City, CA. Condominium Market Report for April 2010. Although you are used to my reports within a few days after the month ends, I am sorry to have this report delayed for many reasons. One happens to be I had such a busy month.
Now with that said let us look at the numbers.
There were 251 Active Condominium Listings. This part of the West Side of Los Angeles is such a desired area, it is seconds from Beverly Hills as well as only six to nine miles to the Ocean in Santa Monica, hence the activity remains strong and … (2 comments)

international buyers: The Ultimate lifestyle in Beverly Hills Just Sold! The Montage Hotel just received a new Owner for one of their Units. - 04/19/10 01:56 AM
Beverly Hills has sold the most Expensive Condominium year to date. Can you guess where it is? Can you guess how much it sold for? To keep you from racking your brains out, let me share with you. The address is 225 n Canon Dr. Unit #8D.
The Ultimate lifestyle is located on the 8th floor of the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. The unit is Walking distance from my office at 166 N Canon Dr. The Montage was built in 2008 and this unit sold for $10,650,000.00. The closing date was April 09, 2010.
What do you … (12 comments)

international buyers: 8413 Grandview Drive, Los Angeles, CA Escrow Closed!Hurrah! - 03/30/10 06:05 PM
8413 Grandview Drive, Los Angeles, CA Escrow Closed! Hurrah!
 As Realtors we encounter many challenges during the normal sales process. Then there are others that become more challenging as Escrow Progresses. This one falls into one of the latter category.
I had an Italian Architect who came to Los Angeles to look for land. We found one and the story got more interesting. He was not buying it by himself, there were three total partners. We opened Escrow and then we had to do the due diligence, which on vacant land is challenging if you are local add the International Dimension, … (0 comments)

international buyers: February 2010, Condominium Market Report for Playa Vista, CA - 03/05/10 07:36 PM
February 2010, Condominium Market Report for Playa Vista, CA
As I was writing my January Market Report, I was lamenting that it appears there is little inventory on the Market. It was not just my imagination, there was very little inventory. Now comparatively there is a lot more.
For the month of February there were 31 Active properties for sale in Playa Vista, CA.
There seemed to be a large drop on the properties that were in Escrow compared to January. February only had two (2) Accepting Backup Offers as well as only four (4) that are pending. Although February is a … (0 comments)

international buyers: Marina Del Rey,CA., Condominium Market Report for January 2010 - 02/05/10 03:48 PM
Marina Del Rey,CA Condominium Market Report for January 2010. I can hardly believe how fast this month went by. Good news was I was busy handling four Escrows and two of them closed. The others I am trying to keep together.
I will not compare  the statistics to last month, since this is a new year, let us see how the numbers are.:
There are as of January 31st 2010  139 Active Condominiums on the Market.
                                                  22 Are accepting back up offers, where the buyer has not removed their contingencies yet.
                                                  33 are Pending waiting for funds to close.
                                                  … (0 comments)

international buyers: Playa Vista, CA.,Condominium Market Report for January 2010 - 02/04/10 03:06 PM
Playa Vista,CA., Condominium Market Report for January 2010. It is a New Year, so I will not look back how we did to the previous months.
Hard to believe, how quickly the month of January went by. I was so busy, had two 9 day Escrows to keep together amongst two others, hence the month went by much faster for me.
Now, let us look at the Results. I am not sure if it is my imagination, the inventory is almost non existant.
There are only 23 Active Listings as of January 31,2010.
There are 9 properties which are accepting back-up … (2 comments)

international buyers: Fantastic Mid Century Home in Tarzana, CA. We will be Open Sunday 1pm to 4pm. - 01/30/10 08:04 PM
I just want to share with every one this great listing in Tarzana, CA. South of the Boulevard in a very desirable pocket. Here is this Mid Century opportunity. First Open House this Sunday from 1pm-4pm
 

As soon as the Virtual Tour is up I will have to do a follow up post. In the meantime if you are in Tarzana,CA Please drop in on my Open House and say hellow. I will be there 01/31/2010 from 1pm to 4pm. If you can not make it  drop me a line.
If you are a consumer  who is considering buying  … (3 comments)

international buyers: Playa Vista Condominium Market Report(2009 Year End Summary) - 01/07/10 06:25 PM
As I am tabulating the year end Playa Vista Condominium Market Report (2009 Year End Summary) I have noticed, how I there are pocket in Los Angeles that maintained their value and other pockets that have lost value. I have been saying all along that Real Estate is very much like the Wine Production. Winery that has a good Micro Climate will command a high price, look at Plump Jack  vs some of the others.
With that said The Median Sold Price by Month as decreased by 18% over December 2008 vs December 2009.
 
 As you can see there are … (4 comments)

international buyers: Century City Market Report Part #2 (2009 Summary) - 01/07/10 04:09 PM
Here is my continuation of the Century City Market Report Part #2 (the 2009 year end summary)
The numbers are very interesting, many people do not understand why this occured. I suspect since the bankes were encouraged to do more short sales in lieu of foreclosures, this in turn created a demand by buyers and at the same time prevented a larger drop in the prices.

The number of Condominiums in Escrow are up by 56% compared to December 2008. Hence I do not anticipate any large drop in price nor demand for the next few months.
 

 As … (2 comments)

international buyers: October 2009 Condominium Market Report for Century City/Westwood ,CA - 11/13/09 05:34 PM
I have been so consumed by three different transactions, that I just did not have any time for  publishing the Market Report for Century City/ Westwood for the month of October. Late as it may be here it is. To make up for the lateness I have made  the following changes  for added value. Let me know what you think:
 
 
I find the numbers are very interesting and telling. My first impression is the Price Drop for starters is very interesting month over month as well as year over year. Also interesting is the  sales volume month over month as … (0 comments)

international buyers: Marina Del Rey, CA Condominium Market Activity Report for September 2009 - 10/13/09 12:20 AM
  Marina Del Rey, CA Condominium Market Activity Report for September 2009
 September was a very busy month for many Realtors in the Marina. Every one I spoke to seemed to be going into or coming out of Escrow. I have noticed many times that it takes two attempts before something closes.
 Looking at the Active Condominiums as of October 1st there has been a nine per cent drop in the inventory. Coming from 184 Active listing to 169 tells a lot, fewer choices in the next few months to pick from.
 The Condominiums that are currently in Escrow consist of 23 … (9 comments)

international buyers: If you had $15,000, where would you invest it, General Motors or Bel Air Land? - 09/26/09 04:38 PM
As we all know there is limited amount of Vacant Land left. Particularly in the Greater Los Angeles area there is less and less of it available. I have been selling these investment lots for over 13+ years it takes a long time to sell, it is not as liquid as Stock, nevertheless I never had anyone loose money on it. Every one has increased their net worth over the years. Including in today's economic times, I found it to be a solid investment.
 The value has been solid and not volatile.  Can you build a home on it? It does … (8 comments)

international buyers: Fantastic 3+ acre of parcel of land at 3460 Beverly Glen Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 - 07/28/09 03:17 PM
Fantastic 3+ acre  parcel of land at 3460 Beverly Glen Blvd, Sherman Oaks,CA. High up in the  Sherman Oaks Hills with panoramic canyon, mountain and valley views. Breathtaking views of the San Fernando Valley. This lot boasts of three level pads and an upaved access road. Pads were cut in the late 1950's Great opportunity to build a magnificent private Estate. Possibly one could go through the process fo subdivison and potentially have three separate one acre private gated Estates.

Call or e-mail me for additional disclosures referrence, geological and topographical reports. If this does not meet your needs call … (0 comments)

international buyers: Playa Vista,CA Midyear Market Report - 07/05/09 05:45 PM
 
As we look at month over month we have seen life come into the Real Estate market. Now let us review and see what the true numbers are vs. the perception.
 
        January           February            March               April                May                June
 
Active:  51                  55                      60                    58                   50                     42
 
Pending:  3                   10                      7                      8                      12                   17
 
Accepting Backup: 2       4                     5                      7                      13                    11
 
Sold:        3                       3                     4                      7                      12                    12
 
As I look at these numbers, I find it very interesting that the active inventory has dropped almost 20 percent from January to June.  The Pending as … (0 comments)

international buyers: Market Report for May 2009, Playa Vista, CA. - 06/03/09 11:19 PM
For those of my readers who are not familiar with Playa Vista, CA, please visit my blog post of earlier (http://activerain.com/blogsview/775995/playa-vista-ca-parks-part-1), This is one of newest planed development in Los Angeles, CA in the past fifty years. Well designed, lots of thought went into the planning and the result a "resounding success".
  What is Playa Vista? By definition it is a mixed development of Luxury Condominiums, Luxury Town homes, Luxury Rentals an affluent blend of young, successful and hip residents.  It is a mini city within Los Angeles, less then two miles from the Ocean. This development took twenty years in … (3 comments)