Just Listed!

 

10824 Lawler St. Los Angeles,  Ca. 90034

 

 

 

 

 

This spacious home features 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. The permitted bonus room off of the detached garage has a custom built in work space great for a home office. Updated in all the right places the home retains its classic charm while meeting the expectations of today’s buyers.

 The kitchen was updated with custom cabinetry and top of the line tile, Bosch stainless steel appliances, eat in kitchen plus a formal dining room. Both bathrooms are tastefully updated with custom tile work, modern sinks and vanities, the shower has an over sized shower head and glass enclosure.

 Hardwood floors on the first floor, copper plumbing, coved ceilings and ceiling fans throughout. The master suite on the 2^nd floor has a balcony with tree top views and en suite bathroom.  Custom painted inside and out, the exterior was done using a beautiful smooth stucco finish. Close to great schools & shopping. Totally move in ready on a cul-de-sac street.

Offered for $910,000.

Westside Mini-Market Update:

Sept. 2012 to Sept. 2013:

Westwood: Median Sales Price: Up 25% to $1,567,500
Brentwood: Median Sales Price: Up 22% to $2,180,000
West L.A. : Median Sales Price: Up 16% to $775,650
Venice: Median Sales Price: Up 14% to $1,405,000
Palms/Mar Vista: Median Sales Price: Up 18% to $905,000
Santa Monica: Median Sales Price: Down 1% to $2,187,500
Culver City: Median Sales Price: Up 17% to $757,250

(Please let me know if your area is not included in this list and I'll send it to you right away!)

7 Things Homebuyers Hate:

1. Haunted-House Landscaping

Unless you're preparing your home for Halloween if your yard looks like the set of a Tim Burton film -- before Edward Scissorhands has done his handiwork -- you need to tidy up or face rejection by buyers who will drive by and never come back.

 

2. Your Personal Paint Palette

Paint over colors that reflect your taste but may put off potential buyers, such as a scarlet-red accent wall, a lemon-yellow child’s bedroom or a forest-green den. "Fun colors are for living, but neutral colors are for selling," explains home stager Chrissie Sutherland, of Ready Set Stage, in Greensboro, N.C.

 

3. Popcorn-Finished Ceilings

If you've lived with a popcorn ceiling, you know that it accumulates dirt, defies cleaning and is hard to paint. Worse, if your home was built prior to the mid-1980s, it may contain asbestos. (It was banned in ceiling products in 1977, but existing supplies may have been used later.)

 

4. Wall-to-Wall Carpeting

Buyers these days expect hardwood floors, even in starter homes. If carpet hides your home's floors, remove it to expose them, even if the wood isn't in the best condition. If you don’t have hardwood, you may want to consider having it installed in a first-floor living area. 

 

5. Brass Fixtures

From switch plates to chandeliers, builder-grade, shiny yellow brass is out. Replace it with chrome- or satin-nickel-finish fixtures for a contemporary look, or an oil-rubbed bronze or black finish to update a traditional room. This is a pretty straightforward do-it-yourself job.

 

6. 'Crystal' Faucet Handles

Acrylic knobs in the bathroom look cheap and can be hard to grip by young, aged or soapy hands. Replace them with a faucet-and-handle set that matches the existing fixture's configuration (centerset or widespread) and meets the standard of the Americans with Disabilities Act with flipper- or lever-style handles.

 

7. Vanity Strips

Nothing says 1970s like a Hollywood-style strip of bare, round lights over your bathroom mirror. Replace it with a fixture that includes a shade for each bulb in a style and finish that complements your faucet set.

 

 

Just Sold Culver City Home

Just Sold!

 

Great house for a great price.

 

5038 Sawtelle Blvd. Culver City, Ca. 90230

 

 

 

If you're thinking a making a move call me for a private no obligation consultation!

 

 

Amanda Contreras

Rodeo Realty

310.694.4819

thecontrerasgroup.com

 

Real Estate Market Update

 Data Quick reported median home prices earlier in the month up 23% year over year for April and 3.3% higher in April over March for Los Angeles. Most major US cities showed similar gains. May figures will be out around the 10^th of June.

 From what we are seeing on the street, I would not be surprised to see a 4% increase from April to May and 25% year over year! Inventory rates are still at all-time lows with a 2 month supply or less in most areas in Southern California.

 For comparison sake, we were at a 4 month supply in 2006 the last time which was an all-time low at that time and the supply levels peaked at about 18 months in 2008. With record low inventories we did reach sales figures with the most homes sold in 5 years.

 This means that homes are coming on the market at a very good rate, but selling very quickly so the inventory levels are not able to increase. It does not look like there is any end in sight, at least in the next year or so.

 At some point prices will increase to a point that inventories will rise and prices will level. I would not be surprised if they go up another 20-35% before we see that! I’d expect to be there by mid-2015.

Open House 4715 Lindblade Dr.

First weekend open!

Saturday, April 6th 11:00 - 2:00 & Sunday, April 7th 2:00 - 5:00.

 Best buy in Culver City, 3 bedroom 2 bath home for $699,000! This home won't last long!

 Hope to see you there.

For more information visit:

www.4715lindblade.com

New Culver City Listing

Best buy on the Westside! Fantastic 3 bed 2 bath Culver City traditional home for sale $699,000. View property website for details!

 http://4715lindblade.com/

Call me for a private showing!

Economic Update

Economic Update for Week Ending 3/22:

The federal reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke announced this week that the fed will continue bond purchases to keep long term interest rates down until substantial improvement in the employment market is seen. With that said 226,000 jobs were added in February and over the last 5 months the average has been 200,000 jobs added per month. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.7%, the lowest level since 2008. Bernanke also said that when the fed decides to pull back that they can act quickly and begin buying bonds again if the economy stalls. His suggestion of pulling back on bond purchases and letting long term interest rates rise to market levels mark a change in the long term foreseeable future comments made earlier this year. I believe we will see interest rates rising soon, as all indicators including employment have shown gains above what has been expected. This could begin as early as the next fed meeting.

In other news Cyprus had a run on its banks, which while newsworthy, had no impact on our economy or markets. Had it not been slow news days this would not have had much coverage as Cyprus is such a small economy. As far as home sales news: US home resale's were up 10.2% and the median price index showed a 11.6% year to year increase for February, lower than California but huge for US! Home builders reported that they can't find land to purchase and cannot get zoning and building approval quick enough to meet demand.

Mortgage rates this week fell back toward historic lows after moving up a week ago. The average rate on 30-year loan fell to 3.54% this week, from 3.63%, a high for the year last week. The rate on the 30-year conforming loan has been below 4 percent now for a full year. The 15-year conforming loan averaged 2.72% this week, down from 2.79% last week. The lowest mortgage rates in decades are spurring more home purchases and refinancing. The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales increased 0.8% in February from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million. That was the highest sales pace since November 2009, when a temporary tax credit for home buyers had boosted sales. However, some people still are unable to take advantage of the low mortgage rates, either because they can't qualify for stricter lending rules or they lack the money for larger down payment requirements. First-time buyers made up just 30% of sales in February. In more stable economies, they make up more than 40% of sales. This is also because of such high investor demand out bidding first time buyers. These investors often buy with cash which makes a buyer with a loan contingency less attractive.

Economic Update March 15th

 Mortgage rates sharply rose this week as positive job reports suggest the economy continues to recover. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.63 percent for the week ending March 14, up from 3.52 percent last week but down from 3.92 percent a year ago. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans hit a low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971 of 3.31 percent during the week ending Nov. 21, 2012. For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 2.79 percent, up from 2.76 percent last week but down from 3.16 percent a year ago.

 Rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans hit a low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1991 of 2.63 percent during the week ending Nov. 21, 2012.  For five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, rates averaged 2.61 percent, down from 2.63 percent last week and 2.83 percent a year ago. Rates on one-year Treasury-indexed ARM loans averaged 2.64 percent, virtually unchanged from 2.63 percent last week, but down from 2.79 percent a year ago.  Rates on one-year ARM loans hit a record low dating to 1984 of 2.52 percent during the week ending Dec. 20, 2012.

Tagged as: economic update, los angeles, mortgage rates, Rodeo Realty

Highest Return on Home Improvements

Thinking of doing some improvements to your home? If you're thinking of selling your home in the near or maybe distant future you may be wondering what's the best use of your money.

 Real Estate Agents rated improvements on the exterior of your home the best use of your money with the highest return on your investment.

 You've heard of location,location, location.....well this is true however think curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal! When thinking of selling your home it's all about creating an inviting exterior, making an investment in enhancing the curb appeal. Since this is the first thing buyers see before they'll even decide to go inside of the home it's imperative to impress them from the get go.

 Some of the most simple and least costly exterior improvements can recoup more than 70% of the cost it did to make them upon selling your home. The improvement that had the lowest return was remodeling a home office which was less than 44%.

 The 2013 National average cost-to-value ratio rose 60.6% which put an end to a 6 year decline. California was one of the top 5 states leading the way in this improvement with an average cost-to-value ratio of 71.2% due to our strong resale values.

Here's a look at the top 5 cost-value ratios for improvements in California specifically Los Angeles real estate:

• Entry Door Replacement: recouping 85.6%

• Deck Addition: recouping 77.3%

• Garage Door Replacement: recouping 75.7%

• Window Replacement: recouping 73.3%

• Siding Replacement: recouping 72.9%

All my best,

Amanda