Open Sunday, 2/8, 1-4 pm: 5927 Wilkinson in Valley Village 91607

Check out this great 4 bedroom, 3 bath + den home in Valley Village for $725,000.  It will be open tomorrow from 1 to 4.  I'll be there along with Steve, the sargeant-at-arms.  Wilkinson is 2132 sf (feels bigger), with a fireplace, attached 2 car garage, sunny kitchen with large breakfast area, dining area, newer master suite, lots of closets, laundry room and two patio areas.  The green backyard has mature cypress trees for privacy.  This neighborhood is close to Whitsett and Oxnard, has many close-by mass transit options, and is also really close to houses of worship.  See 5927Wilkinson.com for more pictures.

Long before there was a Studio City, Burbank, Toluca Lake...there was an SFV and here's a link to pictures

Take a look at these pictures from our land.  These are from back in the day when "real estate" meant "farmland" or "belongs to the Catholic Church." Most of these were taken in the 1880s.  Unrecognizable? I'll say.  http://waterandpower.org/museum/Early_Views_of_the_San_Fernando_Valley.html.  Thanks, Melinda, for the heads up!

Like sweets? Around Burbank much? Then you'll love this Sunday reading

Laist.com has the San Fernando Valley on its radar, unlike some other online blogs we could mention.  Today, the article is Sweets Tour of Burbank and here's the link. The photo above is from the pastry case at Portos.

Closed last week: 16909 Flanders, Granada Hills

My listing at 16909 Flanders in Granada Hills closed last Friday for $539,000.  We had it in escrow for $550,000 but the appraisal came in at lower, so everybody took a haircut.  I have a history with this house.  I sold it to the previous seller, sold it for them to the current seller, and now have sold it to future sellers.  In the meantime, I went to a lot of fun parties there and was even naked in the pool (see below -- it was in the line of duty).  If you're a buyer, it's worth it to check out this neighborhood.  The housing stock is really nice, prices are still reasonable and Granada Hills High just won the state academic decathalon.

Yet another reason to love the east San Fernando Valley: 9 most Doom-y statements about 405 Fwy closure

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know by now that the 405 Freeway will be closed for 56 hours in mid-July.  It's being called carmageddon -- lol.  Curbed.LA has compiled the 9 most doom-y statements from public officials and they're doozies!  Oh, I am so not sorry I live in the un-hip part of our region.

14 Reasons why the San Fernando Valley and L.A. are superior to San Francisco and the SF peninsula

I just spent a weekend in Palo Alto and San Francisco visiting my in-laws. Yes, everybody loves San Francisco with its big-city vibe and 20 kinds of olive oil, blah, blah blah, big vacation destination, etc. But really, I missed our land and think we have it all over the SF Bay Area. Here's why.

1. We have more homes for sale. Many more. (Had to get that search term in there, but it's true.)
2. We have Universal City and Disneyland. They have Pier 39. Please.
3. We have less traffic. Really.
4. They have Stanford. We have UCLA, USC and Makeup Art Designory.
5. There, everybody wears hoodies and looks like the Unibomber. We have Aloha shirts and fat kids in baggy, calf-length shorts. Way more cheerful!
6. We have more tattoos and piercings.
7. We have Zankou Chicken.
8. Many of us can see a Costco or Target from our houses. What can they see? The Golden Gate Bridge, maybe? Meh.
9. We have more parking. You can actually turn your car off close to your house here.
10. Housing costs less here.
11. We have more Armenians, and more of every other ethnic group, too. Except maybe Chinese.
12. We have the Lakers. (We'll leave the Dodgers v. Giants argument for another time.)
13. We have The Arclight(s).
14. They have upscale shopping in Union Square and Stanford Shopping Center. We have upscale AND downscale shopping everywhere.

So let's stop with the inferiority complex, folks, and learn to appreciate where we live!

Mark your calendars for this Sunday open house

I'll be holding 4552 Morse, Studio City open this coming Sunday, June 27, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  More info and pictures can be found on my website, but this gorgeous 2+1 features a remodeled kitchen and bath, gorgeous hardwoods, a/c, a walled front patio, big back yard with two entertaining areas, and lots more.  List price is $659,000. 

Burbank Leader on bidding wars

Today, the Burbank Leader picked up the story about artificially-low listing prices and the bidding wars they generate. Here's a quote from the article: "Markets are most tight with moderate- to low-priced homes, or about $500,000, with some agents luring multiple shoppers with artificially low postings and forcing bidding wars that can drive up totals by tens of thousands of dollars, Realtors said." See my previous posts on this subject.

Prediction: While I think we've hit the bottom for most San Fernando Valley real estate, I don't see that we'll have a real acceleration in prices. I do think we may have more inventory, or at least properties staying on the market longer, in July and August.

Rim of the Valley is Safe for Now

A bill that may begin preserving open space in the mountains that ring the Valley was signed into law this past week. Actually, it calls for a study by the Department of the Interior on expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Click here for an article about this from the Burbank Leader.

Brooklyn is cheaper than the San Fernando Valley

Believe it or not, there's a super-affordable home in Brooklyn, NY. Features include Completely redone top-to-bottom, front-to-back!* Tumbled stone entrance walk* Renovated Bath* Renovated Kitchen with newer stove, new cabinets and new stacked washer/dryer* Bedroom with Murphy Bed + 'Built-ins' ... (doubles as a den)!* Walkout to fenced patio* 100 Amp service* 2 Satellite Dishes and Receiver * Window Air Conditioner Available. All this for only $179,900! You can't get a price like that in the Valley yet. Oh, yeah. One other thing. It's 300 square feet on an 800 square foot lot. But it's in hipster capital of the world, Brooklyn! I bet they'd thrown in the window a/c for a full price offer. Thanks, Paula, for the tip.

New Loan Restrictions on New Condo Complexes

This is a rumor, but if it's true, it's not so great news for condo developers: As of May 1, Countrywide will not fund any purchase money loans for condos in developments that aren't at least already 50% sold. For example, if you'd like to buy a condo in a new development with, say, 40 units, at least 20 units need to be already sold for you to get a loan from Countrywide. Okay, you may not want a loan from Countrywide (who would?) but this is just another restriction on your choice of lenders. And if Countrywide is going this way, expect the rest of the lending industry to follow.

Coyote Sighting

We've heard over and over that urban wildlife is getting bolder and less afraid of humans. Here's more evidence. On Friday, at 10:30 in the a.m., I saw a very healthy-looking coyote galloping down Kenneth towards Alameda. That's pretty far into human territory. That's pretty late in the day, too -- usually they're hiding after dawn. He/she was making no attempt to hide, either. Please keep your kitties indoors.

LAT, Downtown and the Valley

There are some interesting stories in the L.A. Times today. The first, on the front page, is about the glut of brand-new downtown lofts. The story is extensively posted upon at both LACurbed.com and LAland.

The second story covers Adam Carolla's view of the San Fernando Valley, complete with "best ofs." Here's a quote from Adam about the usual progression from the Westside to the Valley: "People move here...They get themselves an apartment on the Westside. It's $2,500 a month and they have a roommate...They like to walk to their local coffee shop and say they'd never move. Eventually, they get a little bit older and they say, 'I guess I need to think about buying a house, I'm 37'...Five years go by...because they can't humble themselves to move to the Valley. This is the point where they move...and that's how people end up in the Valley."

Great LAT Articles and My Local Take

There are two great articles in the L.A. Times today about housing and the economy. The first is on the front page. I apologize, but the link wasn't available. It's by Tom Petruno and it's called Cost of Getting By Keeps Getting Higher. I think the spectre of increased inflation scares me more than anything else. The second article, in David Lazarus's Consumer Confidential, is titled Housing Upheaval: a tale of two homes.

Now, not to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, and I know this is anecdotal, but: at our weekly office meeting yesterday, many agents were reporting multiple offer situations and increased traffic at open houses. So, are we seeing a bit of Spring recovery? Is this an anomaly or an uptick?

Good News for a Bad Mall

The Burbank Town Center is the worst mall in the Valley. However, there's good news at the Macy's there (which is, naturally, the worst Macy's in the San Fernando Valley) -- it now features a MAC cosmetics counter! We no longer have to drive to either Glendale or Sherman Oaks for our lip gloss, although we still want to.

R.E. Prices down 11.7% YOY

Thanks to Peter Viles and his LALAND blog for this statistic. Apparently, Dataquick has measured sales data and homes in the area are now selling for 11.7% less than they did at this time last year. From a boots-on-the-ground perspective, that sounds about right. Didn't UCLA's Anderson Biz School predict a 12% drop in prices for 2007 at the beginning of last year?