By SIMON CONSTABLE 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 …
Why There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Real Estate Market
“Down” and “depressed” – according to the news, that’s the real estate market these days. And thanks to continuing tight credit and sluggish job growth, the United States isn’t likely to see anything like a booming real estate market for many years. But although reports about today’s real estate market sound grim, here’s something …
Real Housewives’ Kyle Richards moving to new Bel Air home Real
Fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will soon be seeing Kyle Richards and her husband, Mauricio Umansky, in a new $3 million home. The couple closed on the 6,500 home in Bel-Air Thursday. It has seven bedrooms, a pool, sports court, theater and billiards room. The couple plans on remodeling their new home. Guess …
Leasing is in fashion among wealthy house hunters
Niche data and anecdotal evidence point to a surge in high-end rentals. Instability in housing prices is one reason the rich are shying away from purchases. By Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times April 14, 2011 Real estate agents have been hustling lately but not necessarily to sell homes. Instead, leasing is in vogue, particularly …
Valuing A Real Estate Investment Property
Arthur Pinkasovitch, provided by From a quantitative perspective, investing in real estate is somewhat like investing in stocks. In order to profit in real estate investments, investors must decide the value of the properties they buy and make educated guesses about how much profit these investments will generate, whether through property appreciation, rental income …
Economic Improvement Leads to Increase in Home Sales
LOS ANGELES (April 14) –Improvement in the overall economy and favorable market conditions led to increases in both the median price and home sales in March, according to data from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 514,090 units …
Dennis Quaid’s Los Angeles Equestrian Retreat Receives $3M Price Cut
Actor Dennis Quaid’s home first hit the Pacific Palisades real estate market in March 2011 with an asking price of $16.9 million. Recently the home was dropped a whopping $3 million in price, down to $13.9 million, which makes sense as median Los Angeles home values have dropped 7.5 percent year-over-year. Despite the significant price …
Another Nicolas Cage Foreclosed Home | Sale Pending!
Nicolas Cage is now well-known for his financial troubles and they continue to roll in. Most of his real estate assets are being put up for sale by Citibank from failure to pay mortgages. Now he has property in the Hancock Park community of LA on the selling block. Purchased for a whopping $2.7M in 2001, …
Real Estate Outlook: Existing Home Sales Fall
After gains in the last few quarters, existing home sales slipped in April according to the National Association of Realtors. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the market is underperforming. “Given the great affordability conditions, job creation and pent-up demand, home sales should be stronger,” he said. “Although existing-home sales are expected to trend up …
Hot Spot Highlight! The LA Flea Market
The LA Flea Market offers gourmet food trucks, vintage modern furniture and more at Dodger Stadium’s new outdoor shopping bazaar! Sometimes living in a city means battling traffic and smog and other times it means hunting down and taking advantage of great local attractions and this is a great one! Last Sunday, rather than the …
Finally…Single Family Home Foreclosures Start to Fall!
In Los Angeles, the sale of homes in some stage of foreclosure declined in the first three months of the year, but they still accounted for 28 percent of all home sales – a share nearly six times higher than what it would be in a healthy housing market. Foreclosure sales, which include homes purchased …
Charlie Sheen’s Beverly Hills Mansion For Sale
Guess someone isn’t “WINNING!” anymore… Former “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen has listed his residence in Beverly Hills’ gated Mulholland Estates for $7.2 million. The Mediterranean-style mansion was designed for entertaining and is touted as having spacious public rooms, a screening room and balconies and terraces off the front. The 7,924-square-foot house, …
LA Homebuilder Havnanian Reports Decline in Spring Orders
LOS ANGELES — Homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. is expected to report fiscal second-quarter results after the stock market closes Tuesday. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: How new home orders and closings fared during the February to April quarter, which coincided with the traditional spring home-selling season. Homebuilders had hopes for a pickup in home sales this …
Raphael Soriano’s ‘Gogol House’ For Sale in Los Feliz
Lauded architect Raphael Soriano’s 1939 ‘Gogol House,‘ located in the Franklin Hills area of Los Feliz, is on the market. The three bedroom, three bath home is one of only twelve standing and intact structures built by Soriano, making it a precious piece of Los Angeles architectural history. Soriano helped to define the mid-century modern …
Ellen and Portia’s Beverly Hills Mansion Up for Sale | Check out their $60 Million Pad
LAST week the couple announced they were selling their palatial Beverly Hills pad – for a whopping $60 million no less – and now you can see exactly why the price tag is so high. SEE INSIDE ELLEN AND PORTIA’S HOME HERE The couple only bought the property four years ago and have expanded their …
The ‘Ultimate’ List of the 10 Most Expensive U.S. Homes for Sale
The editors of luxury real estate magazine Unique Homes released their list of the 10 most expensive homes for sale in the United States this week. Topping the list for the third consecutive year at $150 million is Aaron Spelling’s “The Manor” in Holmby Hills, Calif. In second is Suzanne Saperstein’s $125 million Fleur de …
Scandal Safari | TMZ Launches Hollywood Tours
In-N-out Burder on Sunset Boulevard. Photo: Getty Images Lance Richardson heeds warnings not to feed celebrities on Hollywood’s latest tour. “DON’T be hating on me because I’m publicizing my new album,” the man says as I try to deflect an aggressive sales pitch on Hollywood Boulevard. He feigns hurt, throwing his arms up. Then he …
Christian Audigier’s House Comes With a Rolls-Royce Freebie | Talk About Perks!
French designer Christian Audigier (Ed Hardy, Von Dutch and his self named line Christian Audigier) has put his somewhat eccentric house on the market, and the new owner will get the Rolls Royce Phantom 5 thrown in as an added bonus. This large (nearly 8300 sq. ft.) Hancock Park house in LA has an asking …
World’s Most Expensive Cities 2011
No. 1: Tokyo Quick lunch: $20.80 Beer at a bar: $10.56 Kilogram of rice: $9.80 Dozen eggs: $4.50 Movie theater ticket: $23.80 Although the consumer price index in the Tokyo area has been falling since 2009, according to data from Japan’s statistics bureau, the city remains the world’s most expensive. While housing costs are …
CLOSING COSTS GETTING smaller
Federal regulations are helping to reduce the amount new homebuyers are paying come closing time. The average cost of closing on a mortgage has fallen by 7.4% over the past year, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com. At the end of June, a homebuyer looking to close on a $200,000 mortgage with 20% down …
NEW RULES FOR SHORT SALES MAKE IT EASIER FOR BUYERS & SELLERS
Starting November 1, 2012, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will implement new short sale guidelines to make the approval process easier for eligible borrowers. The changes will require a streamlined approach with documents, leading to a reduction in documentation requirements. For example, borrowers who are 90 days or more delinquent and have a credit score …
Homeowners Insurance in L.A. an Absolute Necessity
It’s tempting to blow off homeowner’s insurance, until the day that you wish you had it. Homeowner’s insurance is an expense that some just don’t see the need for, and as it turns out, the majority of Los Angeles homeowners may never see a true benefit from their homeowners insurance. But for the unlucky few …
SURF’S UP ! well…a little bit…
A wave of activity has swept across the real estate market in southern California, which has added value to Real Estate in Los Angeles. The momentum has propelled the prices of for-sale and rental properties upwards in spite of the struggling nationwide economy. According to DataQuick, recent gains in the median sale price of homes …
To Permit or Not to Permit
It’s not uncommon to find Los Angeles real estate that has been remodeled without permits. Times are tough, and some sellers are cutting corners and while most unpermitted renovations tend to be small and safe (new bathroom tiles, kitchen cabinets, paint, etc.) bigger projects and additions without the right paperwork might be troublesome, especially for …
5 Reasons for Living in Hollywood
There really is nowhere else in the world like Hollywood. Those who own Hollywood real estate live in the heart of Los Angeles with easy access to all of the amenities one could ever wish for. 1. Attractions Hollywood is full of exciting attractions, beautiful hiking trails, and historical landmarks. The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard …
The Incredible Shrinking Inventory
SHRINKING INVENTORY GOOD NEWS FOR SELLERS One of the sobering fundamentals shaping real estate this summer is shrinking inventory: The supply of houses for sale has fallen significantly in most areas compared with a year earlier, sometimes dramatically so. In Los Angeles, available inventory is 49% lower than it was last summer, San …
Real Estate Fantasy and Facts
First the Fantasy, at least for the majority of us – One of Los Angeles’s most storied properties has hit the market for $150 million. The current Owlwood, which sits between Sunset Boulevard and the Los Angeles Country Club in Holmby Hills, was once three ridiculously over-the-top, celebrified estates, including Jayne Mansfield’s famous Pink Palace …
Los Angeles City accuses U.S. Bankcorp of being a “slumloard”
Los Angeles has sued U.S. Bancorp accusing a unit of the fifth-largest U.S. commercial bank of becoming one of the city’s biggest slumlords and blighting the city by allowing hundreds of foreclosed homes to fall into disrepair. Los Angeles City alleges that U.S. Bank NA has taken title to more than 1,500 foreclosed …
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