Think it would be cool to own commercial property in L.A.'s arts district? You will need deep pockets.

Wouldn't it be cool to own a warehouse in L.A.'s arts district? Close to funky restaurants, art experiences, and hipsters?  Think of the businesses you could start! Be warned: what was once really cheap -- that's the reason the artists moved there in the first place -- is now super expensive.  Warehouse property is now selling for $600-$700 a square foot.  If you want to lease a warehouse there, it will cost you about $1.75 per square foot per month.  I think we all need to find a new, cheap arts district.

Los Angeles, Easter Sunday, -- what I saw

I had the opportunity to be several places in L.A. this past Sunday and only a few of them were real estate-related.  However, all of the places made me realize why I love Los Angeles.

First, there was Lake Hollywood and the Lake Hollywood Park.  It was a beautiful day in a fabulous urban setting, and one of Councilman Tom LaBonge's staffers (Silvan?) was handing out Griffith Park hiking maps.  LH park is an off-leash dog park and several animals were enjoying the warm weather with their human companions.

Later, we drove through Elysian Park on our way downtown.  This is the best way to get downtown, IMO, unless there's a Dodger Game.  Then, traffic really chokes up.  Anyway, there were thousands and thousands of people and families enjoying barbeques and picnics throughout the park.  The smell of grilling meat wafted around, and in addition to people and cars, there were lots of volleyball nets, bounce huts, ice cream trucks, small soccer games... It was more crowded than I've ever seen it; the picture above is NOT a good representation.

When we arrived downtown, several streets were blocked off.  Oh no! Crime scene? Terrorist activity? Laker victory? But no -- it is the annual Sikh new years' celebration parade.

Not to gush, but where else can you go to find this kind of weather, scenery and culture?

My property showings on L.A.’s “Eastside”

Thanks to a couple of my buyers, I've been spending a lot of time in what's being called the Eastside lately. (Check out the Echo Park post below.) This past Sunday, I showed property in Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington, Highland Park and Glassell Park. I had never shown property in the last two communities but I had a great time and really learned a lot about the areas. I was very delighted by what I saw and intend to get to know these localities more in the coming months.


Yes, some of the neighborhoods are “transitional” but they offer good housing stock at affordable (at least for now) prices. The gangs that were so prevalent in years past seem to have moved out. The flippers have gone through these neighborhoods and have worked their magic, too. And neighborhood amenities are increasing, too – cool coffee houses, restaurants, small retail, farmers’ markets, etc. (We could barely move through Atwater Village as the streets and sidewalks were so crowded.) Cons: the schools aren’t all that, and buyers would have a helluva commute if they work on the Westside.

Here are the highlights:

Decorating trends (above) The flippers are hiring stagers. Now, I love staging but I’ve seen a lot of it in recent weeks and it’s beginning to look the same. It’s all modern or semi-modern furniture with pops of color, folk accent pieces, and no window treatments. Not a bad thing, but..

Another trend: forget yards; it’s all rock and bark now.

Most disturbing/interesting trend: crazy chicken pictures as art.  I saw these in at least two houses.  Sigh.  Just another next big thing that I'm not cool enough to know about.

Coolest location: 1316 Highgate Ave., Highland Park, listed at $499k (above). This 3+2 flipped craftsman is in a charming, wooded hillside neighborhood.  You'd never guess that you could almost walk to downtown L.A. from here.


Nicest view: 3600 Maceo Street, Mount Washington, listed at $440,000 (above). This 2+3 is actually in Cypress Park and close to Glassell Park. At the top of its big terraced backyard, it overlooks the entire L.A. river area from downtown to Elysian Park to Glendale. And you have your own bare hillside right next door.

As you can tell, I get really excited about discovering new neighborhoods. IMO, these areas present excellent options for buyers looking for affordable price and revitalized neighborhoods.

Thinking of buying a condo downtown? You may want to hold off for awhile.

Here's an excellent guest post from Blogdowntown about the future of the condo/loft market in downtown Los Angeles. The author, Fred Cordova of Colliers International, states that there will be deals to be had there -- but not for another 12 to 24 months.

IMO, the market for downtown L.A. condos and lofts has always been naturally limited because downtown is so family-UNfriendly. But, then, maybe that's wrong. After all, being family-unfriendly has not hurt the real estate market or prices in NYC or San Francisco.

Answer to condo/loft glut: lease 'em, don't buy 'em

Here's an article in today's LAT that says many of the recently rehabbed condo/loft building developers are now leasing their units because they have been unable to sell them in the current market. You don't say. The article says it is happening in downtown L.A. and to a lesser extent, Hollywood and the SFV. Wow. What a surprise. I have been wondering for a long time when this trend was going to end -- this is not a city like NY or San Fran where mixed-use happened because there was no other kind of use -- people have tended to live where they worked in those cities because, well, for many decades there was no other viable place to live or way to get to other housing. They didn't move downtown from the suburbs because for many decades, there were no suburbs. Our current move-into-an-urban-area-from-the-burbs trend is the reverse of what has occurred in the past.

While I think urban living is a fabulous idea for many, I also think the market for buyers has been more limited here due to there being no schools and few essential services (grocery stores) available anywhere close to the condo/loft communities.

And this trend also tells me that developers, inspite of whatever research they may do, are as susceptible to fads as anybody else.

But hey, if I was 25 and had lots of money, I bet a downtown loft would be a really cool place to live!

My Downtown Trip

The husband and I spent two days at the L.A. Convention Center this weekend. The occasion was Book Expo America, the annual publishing business trade show convention. It rotates cities (NYC, D.C., LA, Vegas) every year and this year was L.A.'s turn.

This was my second BEA convention and my first trip to the L.A. convention center in many years. The crowd seemed to be about half that the NYC BEA had last year, and I'm told that NYC publishing industry people don't like to come to L.A. because of the vast distances, lack of public transport, etc. For me, I think the Convention Center has a really confusing layout. And believe it or not, it needs more Starbucks and eating options.

I worked downtown for many years and really enjoyed the area even before it was gentrified. It has truly changed since then and I can sorta see what attracts people to expensive lofts. What is still missing, though, seems to be essential services: drug stores, grocery stores (I didn't see the new Ralphs), dry cleaners, street parking, mechanics. Are they out there?

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."