Babies!

Several past clients are expecting little ones in the new year! Briana Hicks and Michael Pedicone will welcome their first child any minute now.  Erich Meschkat and Ryanne Meschkat are having a Meschkitten.  And Abby Hatch will have a new sibling, courtesy of parents Robin Hatch and Scott Hatch.

Also, the Misty Martin, Ryan Martin plus Phoenix and Haze Martin welcomed baby Sailor a few months back.  And Mark LaCorte and Jackie LaCorte have their first son, Romeo, as well.

Congratulations, everybody!  I look forward to meeting all of the new little ones.

Sunday morning reading for those that didn't go to Coachella

Two great articles about real estate have appeared in today's Sunday papers.

First is an article re bubble market tactics.  It's by Kenneth Harney for the L.A. Times.  It discusses the pros and cons of escalation clauses, no-contingency offers, and low listing prices to draw lots of bidders.

Next is an article from the esteemed Robert J. Shiller for the New York Times entitled "Why home prices change or don't."  It's a bit wonky, but among other items, it discusses how technological advances in home building have helped keep costs down.  I thought it was really interesting.  

Happy reading or happy hanging out at Coachella.

Coming next week: Perfect Burbank 3+2 with a huge backyard

Ever dreamed of having a house with a huge yard? Look no further -- next week I'll be listing this property at 1429 N. Rose in Burbank.  It will be on the market Tuesday, and available for showing by appointment beginning later that day.  This home is a 3 bed, 2 bath with a remodeled kitchen and baths, central heat and a/c and a huge, 8300+ sf yard.  With a yard this size, you can build a home addition, put in a pool, have a vegetable garden and still have room to play.  More pics are on my website at JudyGraff.com under "featured properties."  More details will be here and elsewhere in the following days.

Blood sucking vampire realtor and short sales

No change...so far

As we all know, the bailout didn't pass. I keep waiting for the sky to fall, but so far, lenders are still making purchase money loans for real estate. BofA is still giving equity lines of credit. The phones are quiet, and that's about it.

Foreclosures snapped up by...bobcats

Apparently, a family of bobcats have moved into some luxury foreclosed digs in Lake Elsinore. This is from a front page story on today's LAT, but unfortunately the on-line LAT didn't supply me with a link. Sorry. Anyway, there are at least two adults and three bobcat kittens living in the house. Wildlife experts say the cats gravitate to food and water, and this particular house has a koi pond in the back yard. The experts also say the cats will move on when the kittens are big enough to travel. According to the article, the neighbors don't seem to mind the new tenants, either. Personally, I think these animals are there because the got tired of trying to time the bottom of the r.e. market and know a good Inland Empire deal when they see one.

Your house hasn't sold? Maybe that's because it hasn't been shown.

If you are selling your home in the current market, you’ve probably spent lots of time and money getting your house in top condition. But if you have your agent conducting showings for you instead of installing a lockbox, you are not helping your sale.

As part of their services, most listing agent/Realtors in high-end areas set up appointments with buyers’ Realtors and their clients and then meet them at the property. However, it has been harder and harder to get showing appointments lately.

I’ve recently encountered the following:

• In trying to schedule showings of five properties with a day’s notice, only two appointments could be arranged;
• I had to call one agent five times to get one return call for a showing appointment.
• One agent insisted that we meet her at precisely 3:00 pm. While we were there at 3:00, she was 10 minutes late, announced that we only had 20 minutes to see the house, and had scheduled two other showings at the same time.

I could go on, but you get it.

In my opinion, there are only two reasons that a lockbox shouldn’t be installed: 1) if uncontrollable pets are home alone; and 2) if children are home alone. All valuables and collectibles should be removed from premises prior to showing. That’s just common sense.

Electronic lockboxes and key pads are safe and reliable – only licensed agents have them, and they all have a pin code that must be input each time one is opened. Identity of an entrant can be easily, quickly tracked on line. An agent can call the listing agent or occupant to say they will be showing the house at a particular time, and then go to see the property directly. So if you’re a seller, do yourself a favor and have your Realtor install an electronic lockbox. Your number of showings will definitely increase. And the more showings you have, the sooner you’re likely to be in escrow.

Readying a house for sale

From the "Maybe if you don't believe me you'll believe it if you read it in the LAT" Dept.: Here's yet more Sunday reading from the LAT regarding readying a house for sale. While I think the "door" example is a little extreme, this is terrific, accurate information that helps homes sell faster and for more money.

FHA may shut down "gift" programs

For your Sunday reading pleasure, here's an article from today's L.A. Times regarding the charitable gift "programs" that allow sellers to give a lot of money back to buyers. The way it works is this: a seller contributes up to 6% of the sales price to the organization like Nehemiah, which is set up as a charity. Then, for a fee, the charity gives it back to the buyer as a grant for their home. There are restrictions on both sides, of course -- but I've often wondered why this isn't looked upon as money laundering. So this comes as no surprise to me.

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.

Rising Rents - Just as I Predicted

Here's another side effect to the foreclosure crisis -- the cost of rentals is rising. Check an AOL article here. As more people lose their homes and have to rent, and as more renters wait for home prices to drop, rental unit inventory drops and rental rates rise. The statistics are frightening: a prediction of 5% rise overall, with some markets, like San Francisco, going up much, much more.

Good Articles from Sunday's New York Times

Here are links to a couple of good real estate articles in today's (April 13) New York Times Business Section. The first, by columnist Gretchen Morgenson, is entitled "So You Thought You Had an Equity Line" and is about the increasing bank freezes of home equity lines of credit . Yikes. The second is from sometime-tv-star Ben Stein (see my post on him from February), and is yet another call -- from a Republican, no less -- for more regulation of the financial markets.

And, Yes, It Applies to the San Fernando Valley

There's a great post today on Housingchronicles.com about Alan Greenspan. Wordy, but worth it. Check it out at HousingChronicles.com.

Whiplash! Lots of "Pendings" in the Last Day

In the last day, 10 properties have been reported pending in Burbank, from condos to mid-priced homes. This is a lot for even a warm market. The two to the left are both on Maple -- the condo is in the project at 355 N. Maple and the house is in the 700 block. And, nine properties have reported pending in all price ranges in Studio City. Yes, these aren't "solds" -- but this many "pendings" indicate a surprisingly large amount of activity. Could the Spring selling season be better than we think?

Studio City housing prices

Again, from today's LAT: housing prices in Studio City are showing comparative resiliency, especially in the nicer areas of Colfax Meadows and the Hollywood Hills. No surprise -- it's a fabulous area. The median price for 2007 is $982,500.

Info for Foreclosed Pet Owners

Pets of foreclosed-upon owners can suffer, too. Here's a helpful article from the East Bay SPCA for pet owners who are facing foreclosure -- tips, suggestions, etc. I'm sure our local SPCAs will offer similar resources. Thanks, LA.Curbed.com, for running this. (photo courtesy of Icanhascheezburger.com -- okay, so I'm not hip)

Sick of Free Marketers

I've said this before, but I'm sick of free marketers in the blogosphere decrying the newly-passed stimulus package. It will help some people keep their homes. It will help communities fight blight. Houses aren't like some disposable-income consumer item. Is there any awareness, at all, out there that people need a roof over their heads? That a house isn't just an investment but a place to live? Boy, I never thought I'd live to see opinions like these that are pro-homelessness and blight.

Foreclosures

Today's L.A. Times has a great article plus charts on the latest area foreclosure stats. Personally, I'm really tired of all those free market posters out there in the blogosphere that are cheering this development. Yes, some folks scammed a mortgage. But the majority of people being foreclosed are individuals and families that wanted to put down roots in a community, wanted a better living situation, wished to get their kids in betters schools, etc., and just believed the pie-in-the-sky stuff the lending and real estate industries were handing out. Okay, enough rant. I will have a new page on my website shortly that will describe options for those that can't make their mortgages.

Cool, new gossipy real estate blog

I've just discovered Realestalker. It's been out there in the blogosphere, for, like, two years. I know I'm late to the party, but this is Burbank, after all. It's wonderfully gossipy about your favorite celebs and their real estate.