Jodi Summers = Santa Monica Real Estate

SANTA MONICA IS CHOSEN AS ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST LOVED DOWNTOWNS

January 20, 2012 on 6:46 pm | In Fascinating Information, Fun, Of Local Importance, Uncategorized, WOW | 3 Comments

By Jodi Summers

Everybody loves Santa Monica. Of latest accolades, Forbes has selected Santa Monica as one of America’s Best Downtowns.

Forbes chose the country’s most alluring downtowns with the help of travel experts from Frommer’s and Livability, a travel and analysis site that focuses on mid-sized or smaller towns. Criteria included shops, restaurants, proximity of parks and cultural options. Winning cities included Chicago, IL; Portland, OR; Savannah, GA; Greenville, SC; Winston-Salem, NC; San Antonio, TX, Kansas City, MO; and Indianapolis, among other.

“We embraced the subjectivity that is inherent in a list like this, while still striving for benchmarks and criteria that we think make a great downtown,” notes John Hood of Livability.

Among those criteria they considered: entertainment options, navigability, attractive architecture and a thriving downtown.

Santa Monica was chosen because we offer both a lively downtown and a sensational location. Here we sit on one of the most enviable stretches of the California coastline, with a luxurious new mall and revitalized downtown laden with high-end shops and inventive restaurants. Forbes also appreciated our mix single-family homes and apartments, as it ensures that a lively mix of people can live and work near the downtown area.

“All of Santa Monica is pretty walkable and compact,” confirms Jason Clampet, senior online editor for Frommers.com. ”You’ve got a great six blocks or so of shopping, with a mix of local stores, boutiques and chains “Unlike most of the rest of the region, you can really walk around and get by without a car, and it has some of the best views in the Los Angeles area of the ocean.”

Over the past several years, Santa Monica and her various entities earned more than 50 awards and honors.

“We recognize that such esteemed accolades don’t come easily,” said Mayor Richard Bloom. “To be distinguished as ‘the best’ by so many discerning publications and organizations is a true testament to the standard of excellence our city and our tourism community maintains.”

http://www.smdp.com/Articles-local-news-c-2012-01-18-73318.113116-Downtown-among-nations-most-alluring-.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngiuffo/2011/10/14/americas-best-downtowns/

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=3537

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http://downtownsm.com/images/resources/Night.jpg

http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Eric_B/SantaMonica.jpg

BUYERS AND SELLERS HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE REAL ESTATE MARKET

January 11, 2012 on 12:56 am | In Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Statistics, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

By Jodi Summers

Here is the great divide. If you’re a homeowner considering selling in 2012, you’re probably pessimistic about getting the price you need or want, and therefore it’s possible you won’t even try to sell. But, if you’re a buyer, you’re very attracted by 30-year fixed mortgage rates now below 4% and home prices hovering at the bottom of the market…the issue is that there are very few choices.

Look at Santa Monica, as an example; contrasting Dec-10 vs. Dec-11, the number of for sale properties is down 32%.

A new study by the Research Institute for Housing America concludes that nearly 80% of consumers surveyed believe it is currently a great time to buy a house, but more than 92% of homeowners think it’s not a great time to sell. This profound market fissure caused by owners’ fears and hesitation is known as “negative selling sentiment.”

Many owners “have not adjusted their price expectations downward” to keep pace with local declines in property values after the mortgage bust,” summarizes Syracuse University economist Gary Engelhardt.

This lack of vision is why sellers believe their property is more valuable than its actual market worth. For example, the study concluded that people who had purchased their homes in 2007 or later thought their homes were worth about 14% more than their actual sales value. People who bought homes before 2002 overvalued their houses by about 12%. This unrealistic perception of value is motivating only people who need to sell, to sell.

Look at these trend numbers in reference to Santa Monica. When contrasting Dec-10 vs. Dec-11, the average months supply of inventory in Santa Monica is down -4.1% to 5.6 months of inventory. (Market parity is 3.7 months).

Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin, a national realty brokerage in Seattle, said the shortages of listings in some markets are the product of owners “waiting for better times to sell.”

The current forecast call for the state and the region to experience slow growth in the new year. The rest of the United States, as well as California’s international trading partners, coupled with increased consumer purchases will combine to generate faster growth in 2013.

Despite a modestly growing GDP, the nation’s labor market remains mired in a long slump. 2012 mark the fourth year in a row with an unemployment rate exceeding 9%, the worst performance of the postwar era.

“Put simply,” UCLA Anderson Forecast Senior Economist David Shulman offers, “there are currently 25 million Americans looking for fulltime work.”

While the U.S. may anticipate job growth at the rate of 150,000 per month in 2012, total payroll employment will still be three million jobs below the 2007 peak and real personal income is still below the level reached in 2008. We are getting there… but we still have a long way to go.

“The United States is facing an unemployment crisis in a slow growth economy. A modestly growing GDP on the order of 2% will not be sufficient to lower the unemployment rate much below 9% through 2013,” Shulman concludes. “The economy will be sustained by modest increases in consumption and business investment along with the beginnings of a housing recovery in 2013.”

California is expected to see employment growth of 1.4% and 2.1% in 2012 and 2013 respectively, deduces the forecast. Payrolls will grow less rapidly at 1.2% and 2.0%. Real personal income growth is assumed to be 3.9% in 2011, followed by 2.6% and 2.1% in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The unemployment rate will hover around 11.6% through 2012.

Because of sobering statistics like these, the number of properties for sale in Santa Monica is down 32% and the number of sold properties is down 10%.

We’re here to help you with your commercial and investment property needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

http://uclaforecast.com

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20120101,0,6342117.story

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-housing-prices-20111228,0,541656.story

http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x38937.xml

https://www.terradatum.com/agentmetricsonline/agentmetrics_online.td

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/07/ucla-state-job-market-stay-upward-track/

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/california-the-golden-state.jpg

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http://www.vicar-rep.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/buyers-sellers.jpg

http://sum2llc.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/jobgrowth.jpg

BUYERS AND SELLERS HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE REAL ESTATE MARKET ~

www.SantaMonicaPropertyBlog.com ~

Jodi Summers~

The SoCal Investment Real Estate Group ~

Sotheby’s International Realty ~

jodi@jodisummers.com

SANTA MONICA REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ JANUARY 2012 > HMMMMMM….

January 2, 2012 on 2:54 am | In Fascinating Information, For Your Purchasing Pleasure, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Statistics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

by Jodi Summers

Believe it or not, California may finally have turned the corner to a recovery. The job market is slated for slow but steady growth over the next two years, according to the latest UCLA Anderson Forecast…but, expect our sluggish housing market to continue, with no dramatic growth until 2013.

“The end of a recession does not mean ‘recovered from a recession,’” observes UCLA senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg. “It only means the contraction has ended. The pain remains real and persistent until solid and sustained gains occur.”

We’re seeing a sluggish housing market locally in Santa Monica. Comparing Dec-10 vs. Dec-11, the median sold price is down 1% from $923,000 to $915,000…a drop of $8,000, or -1%.

As usual, Santa Monica is above average in our recovery. Feel good about this. In Los Angeles, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index recorded a monthly decline of 1.5% in home prices in October after sliding 0.8% in September. Year over year, L.A. prices are down 4.9%, as measured by the index. San Diego was down 4.5% from October 2010. In San Francisco prices have fallen 4.7% from a year earlier. The median home price in California in November was $244,000, down 4.3% from a year earlier. Nationally, there have been price drops in 19 of 20 cities since September. Overall, the price index slipped 1.2% month over month and fell 3.4% compared with October 2010.

But, the experts are hopeful. “Have we turned the corner in the Golden State? Perhaps we have,” predicts Nickelsburg. “The last two months have yielded both job growth in excess of the U.S. rate and job growth which is widespread throughout the state.”

Echoing the forecast’s 4^th quarter growth, home sales n Santa Monica also picked up in November and December after an October lull. Comparing Dec-10 vs. Dec-11, the number of sold properties is down 10% from 50 to 45.

The UCLA report notes that since July, job growth throughout each major region of California has outpaced the national average. San Diego County, Orange County and Ventura grew at an average rate of 2%, compared to the U.S. average of 1%.

“In coastal California export and technology growth has been the key to recovery,” Nickelsburg notes. “A resurgence of investment and exports in 2012 will continue to drive the coastal economies.”

We may be recovering, but even real estate on the coast is weak. Looking at Dec-10 vs. Dec-11, the number of under contract properties in Santa Monica is down 33%…expect it to remain in the low.

The current forecast is for the recent surge in employment to abate while slow growth persists on average through 2012. The rest of the United States, California’s international trading partners and increased consumer purchases will combine to generate faster growth in 2013.

http://uclaforecast.com

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20120101,0,6342117.story

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-housing-prices-20111228,0,541656.story

http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x38937.xml

https://www.terradatum.com/agentmetricsonline/agentmetrics_online.td

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4075

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/07/ucla-state-job-market-stay-upward-track/

http://jonkeegan.com/images/sm_beach_postcard.jpg

YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT > 50 TRUTHS ABOUT THE AVERAGE AMERICAN

December 21, 2011 on 12:47 am | In Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Statistics, Uncategorized, WOW | 3 Comments

edited by Jodi Summers

If you want to know about the average American, you need to wade through a wad of demographic information, or find someone who has. We took the easy way out. New Strategist Publications was good enough to compile this list of 50 facts we’d all like to know about the average American. It’s a rather entertaining list, and we’d really appreciate your feedback…

1. The average American makes $735/week.

Current Population Survey

2. The average American has $34 in his/her wallet.

Survey of Consumer Payment Choice

3. The average American spends $69 a day.

Gallup

4. The average American has a job (58%).

Bureau of Labor Statistics

5. The average American is worried about being able to maintain his/her standard of living (58%).

Gallup

6. The average American lives in one of the top 50 metropolitan areas (54%).

2010 census

7. The average American is a homeowner (65%).

2010 census

8. The average American lives in an 1,800 square foot house.

American Housing Survey

9. The average American lives in a house built before 1975.

American Housing Survey

10. The average American household is air-conditioned (87%).

American Housing Survey

11. The average American household has a net worth of $96,000.

Survey of Consumer Finances

12. The average American household is $75,600 in debt (including the mortgage).

Survey of Consumer Finances

13. The average American has less than $100,000 in savings (54%).

AARP

14. The average American does not directly own any stock. (Only 19% of households own stock directly.)

Survey of Consumer Finances

15. The average American has been to college (56%), but does not have a college degree.

Current Population Survey

16. The average American often or always recycles (64%).

General Social Survey

17. The average American believes the effects of global warming have already begun or soon will (53%).

Gallup

18. The average American owns a desktop (59%) and/or laptop computer (52%).

Pew Internet & American Life Project

19. The average American used the Internet today (59%).

Pew Internet & American Life Project

20. The average American says he/she is in very good or excellent health (56%).

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

21. The average American is overweight (63%).

National Health Interview Survey

22. The average American eats at least two snacks a day (65%).

USDA

23. The average American drinks alcohol regularly (52%).

National Health Interview Survey

24. The average American goes to the doctor at least twice a year (65%).

National Health Interview Survey

25. The average American has employer-provided health insurance (56%).

Current Population Survey

26. The average American household spends $3,126 a year out-of-pocket on health care.

Consumer Expenditure Survey

27. The average American is taking at least one prescription drug.

Health, United States

28. The average American sometimes or often has trouble sleeping (55%).

General Social Survey

29. The average American is currently married (51%).

Families and Living Arrangements

30. The average American has never divorced (only 21% have ever divorced).

Survey of Income and Program Participation

31. The average American thinks hard work is the way to get ahead (70%).

General Social Survey

32. The average American does not know which political party controls the House of Representatives (62%).

Pew Research Center

33. The average American has a landline telephone (70%).

National Health Interview Survey

34. The average American has a cell phone (87%), but does not own a smart phone (only 35% own one).

National Health Interview Survey, Pew Research Center

35. The average American watches 2 hours and 49 minutes of television a day.

American Time Use Survey

36. The average American has two or more children (57%).

General Social Survey

37. The average American favors spanking children, if necessary (69%).

General Social Survey

38. The average American was born in-state (52%).

American Community Survey

39. The average American’s parents were born in the United States (78%)

General Social Survey

40. The average American’s grandparents (all four) were born in the United States (59%).

General Social Survey

41. The average American household owns two vehicles.

Consumer Expenditure Survey

42. The average American household owns at least one pet (62%).

American Pet Products Association

43. The average American pays his/her credit card bill in full each month (54%).

National Bureau of Economic Research

44. The average American believes in God without a doubt (59%).

General Social Survey

45. The average American believes in evolution (56%).

General Social Survey

46. The average American favors the death penalty (68%).

General Social Survey

47. The average American wants the government to spend more on education (74%), health care (60%), and the environment (60%).

National Opinion Research Center

48. The average American thinks the government’s number-one priority should be to help keep and create jobs in America (51%).

Economic Mobility Project

49. The average American says the economy/jobs will be the top issue in the next election (60%).

Kaiser Polls

50. The average American believes the honesty and ethical standards of Congress are low (57%).

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

* And a bonus fact from an anonymous source:

51. The average American is a woman (52%).

Want more cool statistics For more about the average American? Check out the 10th edition of The American Marketplace: Demographics and Spending Patterns.

http://www.newstrategist.com/store/index.cfm/feature/57_15/50-facts-about-the-average-american.cfm

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http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/01/09/Dad_071211015942773_wideweb__300x375.jpg

http://francisanderson.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/50s.jpg

http://cdn.financialsamurai.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Average-female-Height.jpg

http://thechiclife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/IMG_1114-tm.jpg

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POST RECESSION STATISTICS: WHITE PEOPLE LOST LESS

December 9, 2011 on 12:21 am | In Fascinating Information, Market Trends, Statistics, Uncategorized, WOW | 5 Comments

edited by Jodi Summers

The explosion of the housing market bubble in 2006 and our painful recession that followed from late 2007 to mid-2009 (and then some), has taken a far greater toll on the wealth of minorities than whites. A Pew Research Center analysis of newly available government data concludes that since the recession, the median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.

These lopsided wealth ratios show the largest disparity since the government began publishing such data a quarter century ago. The gap is approximately twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the recent recession.

Declining home values were the principal cause of attrition in household wealth among all groups, with Hispanics hit hardest by the meltdown in the housing market. From 2005 to 2009, the median level of home equity held by Hispanic homeowners declined by half — from $99,983 to $49,145 — while the homeownership rate among Hispanics fell from 51% to 47%.

For white homeowners, the drop was from $115,364 in 2005 to $95,000 in 2009. Among black homeowners, it went from $76,910 in 2005 to $59,000 in 2009. Additionally, there was little or no change during this period in the homeownership rate for whites and blacks. Homeownership it fell from 47% to 46% among blacks and was unchanged at 74% among whites.

Here’s a sad truth: from 2005 to 2009, inflation-adjusted median wealth fell by 66% among Hispanic households and 53% among black households, compared with just 16% among white households. As a result, the typical black household had just $5,677 in wealth (assets minus debts) in 2009. The typical Hispanic household had $6,325 in wealth and the typical white household had $113,149.

More shocking information: Approximately 1/3 of black (35%) and Hispanic (31%) households had zero or negative net worth in 2009, compared with 15% of white households. In 2005, the statistics were 29% for blacks, 23% for Hispanics and 11% for whites.

These findings are based on the Pew Research Center’s analysis of data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), an economic questionnaire distributed periodically to tens of thousands of households by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is considered the most comprehensive source of data about household wealth in the United States by race and ethnicity. The two most recent administrations of SIPP that focused on household wealth were in 2005 and 2009. Data from the 2009 survey were only recently made available to researchers.

Read the full report:

http://pewsocialtrends.org/2011/07/26/wealth-gaps-rise-to-record-highs-between-whites-blacks-hispanics/

http://www.builderonline.com/builder-pulse/hispanics-lose-biggest-in-home-equity-fallout.aspx?cid=NWBD110727002

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2069/housing-bubble-subprime-mortgages-hispanics-blacks-household-wealth-disparity#wealth

SANTA MONICA REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ DECEMBER 2011 > DEFYING THE TRENDS

December 1, 2011 on 3:43 pm | In For Your Purchasing Pleasure, fUNNY...mONEY, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Statistics, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

By Jodi Summers

Residential Real Estate in Santa Monica is like a game of Chutes and Ladders … some ups, some downs. Our game on the West Side tends to be somewhat more entertaining and contrary than most of the rest of the real estate market. For example, in California in October, sales volume is up, prices are down. Locally, volume is down prices are up.

More details. Statewide, October sales of existing single-family homes climbed up by +8.5% compared with a year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors (CAR).

In Santa Monica, November sales of residential real estate slide down 23% vs. the year prior, according to Clarus Market Metrics..

Throughout California, the median price continued its decline, falling by -8.9% over the year to $278,060. Nov-10 vs. Nov-11 in Santa Monica, the median sold price is up 3% > from $827,000 to $853,000 > a gain of $26,000. Congratulations to all who have profited.

Here’s what happened around the rest of Southern California:

* Los Angeles County: unit sales edged up by +1.0% over the year to October, but the median price fell by -7.8% to $307,970.

* Ventura County: existing home sales jumped by +14.9%, while the median price declined by -6.5% to $399,160.

* Orange County: sales fell by -3.7%, while the median price dropped by -6.7% to $484,390.

* San Diego County: unit sales edged up by +1.7%, but the median price was down by -7.1% to $357,380.

* Riverside County: sales of existing homes dipped by -0.7% and the median price declined by -4.6% to $195,760.

* San Bernardino County: sales increased by +4.3%, while the median price fell by -5.8% to $132,210.

Statewide, the price decline from September to October was 3.3%. CAR notes that an autumn decline is typical, but the recent noteworthy slip is due, in part, to the lower Fannie, Freddie and FHA conforming loan limits that launched October 1st. The lower loan limits make it more difficult to obtain financing for higher priced homes > thus the bungee fall in sales volume in Santa Monica (from 48 units during 9-11 to 30 units in 10-11).

Fannie + Freddie shift have resulted in a change in the mix of sales price points to the lower end of the price spectrum, thereby pushing down the median price. Pocket economics.

Other curious coastal real estate contrasts:

The inventory of unsold single-family detached homes in California was 5.3 months in September, down from 6.2 months in October 2010. Los Angeles County found itself with a 5.7 month supply of single-family homes in October (compared with 6.4 months a year ago). In Santa Monica, we’ve dropped from 7.3 months of inventory in 11-10 to 4.7 months in 11-11, an impressive slide of 36%.

Santa Monica is a microcosm of the West Side. Buyers are complaining that they do not have enough property options because the number of properties for sale is down 32%.

There’s not enough real estate for sale. Let the idea warm you like the morning sun. If you have been thinking of selling residential real estate, now is a great time because of the lack of options. Seller / buyer market parity @ 3.7 months of inventory. Santa Monica currently sits @ 4.7 month stockpile of residential real estate. We are closing in on a level and balanced real estate market. Yeah!

We’re here to help you with your property needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.