Santa Monica Property Blog

HELP SANTA MONICA GET A GRANT FOR GLOW 2010

SANTA MONICA RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – MARCH 2010

By Jodi Summers

Optimistic news on the housing market from two very respected sources – the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Yeah us! According to Forbes, three of the top ten markets where home prices are rising are in California.

Enjoy this fact for residential real estate in Santa Monica – comparing February 2008 to February 2010, the number of under contract properties is up 120%, according to Clarus Market Metrics.

Asking prices on single-family homes have increased as much as 36% from the previous year in some local cities, Forbes notes, an indicator that is “a bounce off the bottom of the bubble bursting.”

In Santa Monica, contrasting Feb. 2008, to Feb. 2010, the median price of for sale properties is down 15% and the median price of sold properties is down 10%.

Three of the top ten markets where home prices are rising are in California. They say it’s because markets in that state were inflated earlier, many were well positioned to make a comeback even before the larger economy recovered. According to the 2010 National Apartment Index Report by Marcus & Millichap, our sister city, San Diego, came in @ No. 2 (behind Washington D.C.) as a residential market to watch due to expectations for resumed employment and household growth. (Los Angeles is @ No. 13, thanks to perceived strengths in our marketplace. )

Forbes notes rising prices in the SoCal cities of Poway and Arcadia, as well as Sunnyvale up in Silicon Valley. You will be delighted to note that in Arcadia, prices increased an average of 28%. Inventory is up, and prices “overall” are on the rise, following “a natural seasonal trend for healthy markets, but it hadn’t been reflected in California since the bust.”

“That natural seasonal stuff didn’t happen in 2008 in the California markets,” observes Michael Simonsen, CEO of Altos Research. “2007 to 2008 was the big bust, so the expected seasonal uptick didn’t happen. It did in 2009.”

In Feb. 2008, we had 10.6 months of property inventory on the market. In Feb. 2010, the average months supply of inventory is down -53.1% to about 5 months. Sages say 3.7 is parity in the marketplace..

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Another infobyte to bolster your confidence in the local residential real estate market - the Wall Street Journal proclaims that shadow inventory is unlikely to hurt the marketplace. Nearly 5 million houses and condos, of which the mortgages are delinquent, will go through foreclosure over the next few years, concludes research by John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc. The study also presumes that there is strong investor demand for these properties, “as long as employment continues to recover and interest rates remain moderate, these sales won’t have much impact on overall prices.”

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We would like your real estate business. If we can provide you with more detailed information, please contact the SoCal Investment Group through Jodi Summers, Jodi@jodisummers.com. We look forward to working with you in your next real estate transaction.

**

http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2010021602?OpenDocument

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/25/housing-sales-decline-markets-equities-real-estate.html?partner=alerts

https://www.terradatum.com/

The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (02/16/2010)

THE FUTURE OF TRAFFIC ON OLYMPIC BLVD

Courtesy of Zina Josephs

Edited by Jodi Summers

The distance on Olympic Blvd., from 26th St. to Centinela (north leg) is 0.64 miles.

The distance on Olympic Blvd. from 26th St. to Bundy Avenue is one mile.

Below are business development projects that are vying to go in near or along Olympic Blvd. in the LMSD zone, between 26th St. and Centinela. Except for Draft Environmental Impact Report figures, the following are “guesstimates”:

1) Agensys, Inc. – Possibly 1,200 daily car trips.

2) Bergamot Transit Village Center — Possibly 15,000 daily car trips

3) New Roads School (aka Herb Alpert Educational Village) – Possibly 1,200 daily car trips.

4) Paseo Nebraska –  Possibly 5,000 daily car trips.

5) Roberts Business Center — Possibly 2,200 daily car trips

6) SMC Academy of Entertainment & Tech – 450 pkg spaces — Possibly 2,700 daily car trips

7) Village Trailer Park — Possibly 2,700 daily car trips

2834 Colorado Creative Studio Project — 1,796 new daily car trips, according to the Draft EIR

This adds up to: 31,796 daily car trips.

As of 2006, Olympic Blvd. had: 33,880 daily car trips between between 26th & Centinela.

Now add the following:

9) Bundy Village & Medical Park – LMSD-adjacent, at Olympic & Centinela — 20,073 daily car trips, according to the Draft EIR.

The grand total is: 85,749 daily car trips.

That’s about the total number of residents we currently have in Santa Monica — it’s an astronomical amount of traffic – and impossible to integrate into our road capacity.

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Info courtesy of Zina Josephs of the Friends of Sunset Park community group.

http://www.piercemattie.com/blogs/olympic.gif

SANTA MONICA CREATES COMMUNITY WITH THEIR GARDEN SHARING REGISTRY

SANTA MONICA CREATES COMMUNITY WITH THEIR GARDEN SHARING REGISTRY

edited by Jodi Summers

Here’s a great idea for Santa Monica property owners with a small area in your yard that you’d like to transform into a productive and beautiful garden, but lack the time and expertise? Consider sharing your soil with an experienced gardener by listing your space on the city of Santa Monica’s new Garden Sharing Registry.

Once registered, you’ll be able to choose from a list of avid gardeners. Together, you and your
gardener will structure a sustainable partnership that makes sense to both of you, including type of gardening project, how the cost of seeds and supplies will be handled, supply storage, length of commitment and availability. Property owners provide land and water, while gardeners do the work. Together, you share the crop!

Bountiful benefits include home-grown produce, fresh herbs, fragrant flowers and a deeper connection with the community around you. Signing up is simple – just complete an application online at
http://communitygardens.smgov.net or call (310) 458-8573.

THE GREENEST CITIES IN THE WORLD

THE GREENEST CITIES IN THE WORLD
 
Edited by Jodi Summers
 
We like lists, it means a lot of research has been done. Today’s dynamic list is from Reader’s Digest;
 they have come up with a list of world's greenest, most livable cities. To compile this list, they have an
alyzed data from two top sources covering 141 nations. We’ll give you the top 26 greenest cities
(as 26 happens to be San Francisco), the rest you can find @
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/best-places-to-live-green/article45734.html

1. Stockholm, Sweden

2. Oslo, Norway

3. Munich, Germany

4. Paris, France

5. Frankfurt, Germany

6. Stuttgart, Germany

7. Lyon, France

8. Dusseldorf, Germany

9. Nantes, France

10. Copenhagen, Denmark

11. Geneva, Switzerland

12. Zurich, Switzerland

13. Glasgow, United Kingdom

14. Barcelona, Spain

15. New York, United States

16. Brussels, Belgium

17. Hamburg, Germany

18. Hong Kong, PR China

19. Newcastle, United Kingdom

20. Tokyo, Japan

21. Helsinki, Finland

22. Washington, D.C., United States

23. Chicago, United States

24. Vancouver, Canada

25. Dortmund, Germany

26. San Francisco, United States

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Sources:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/04/0406_liveable_cities/image/7_frankfurt.jpg

http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/best-places-to-live-green/article45734.html

http://www.primetravels.com/PackageImages/699/Stockholm-Sweden_03-360a032607.jpg

http://highendfood.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/frankfurt_skyline.jpg

http://mamofrizzi.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/tb_copenhagen_denmark.jpg

http://www.bertgulick.com/images/05/copenhagen-denmark.jpg

http://www.iho-ohi.org/wp-content/brussels-belgium.jpg

http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01253/Hotspots%20in%20Europe/BrusselsCityImage.jpg

http://wallpapers.free-review.net/63__Shibuya_Tokyo_Japan.htm

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/3771/eiffeltower2cparis2cfrawo0.jpg

http://www.spa.ucla.edu/up/webfiles/tokyo-shinjuku-45_4.jpg

http://paaia.org/galleries/default-image/san-francisco.jpg

http://www.namss.org/images/AC2008/SanFrancisco.jpg

SANTA MONICA PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – FEBRUARY 2010

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

By Jodi Summers

CONDOS

This month we start with condos because the news is good!

Oh, what a difference two years make. After languishing for much of 2008 + 2009, the Santa Monica condo market is showing signs of recovery. Since prices dropped so low, people pulled their properties from the market, waiting for signs of strength. Clarus Market Metrics reports that contrasting January 2008 vs. Jan 2010 volume of for sale properties is down 29%. Meantime, thanks to government incentives, condos are selling in Santa Monica. The number of sold properties is up 12%.

As far as price dips go, you’ll notice that the condo market comparison is not quite as severe as the single family market. Weigh Jan-08 vs. Jan-10 - the median price of for sale properties is down 13%, BUT the median price of sold properties is up 8%. So, if you think abstractly, it’s a drop of 5%. And we saw increases of 400% in the past decade, right?

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Another bright spot in the Santa Monica condo market is that the average months supply of inventory is down -12.3%.

SINGLE FAMILY

The nicest thing we can say about the Santa Monica single family real estate market this month is that, n contrasting January 2008 vs. January 2010 is that the average months supply of inventory is down -35.6%.

Now keep in mind, like the unemployment figures in this grueling recession, that doesn’t necessarily mean sales are up, it just means that sellers have stopped trying

From Jan-08 vs. Jan-10, the number of for sale properties is down 19%…and here’s an interesting caveat, the number of sold properties is up 27%… and here’s why…

Clarus Market Metrics points out that if you compare Jan-08 vs. Jan-10, the median price of for sale properties is down 14%, and the median price of sold properties is down 47%.

So, now is the time to sell only if you need to.

Away from the beach, in the more afford end of the real estate market things are looking brighter. The California Association of Realtors (CAR) recently released their December 2009 report for existing home sales and prices in California. Statewide, sales of existing single-family homes rose by +1.7% (compared with December 2008) to 558,320 units (seasonally adjusted, annualized rate) while the median price increased by +8.4%. The was the second consecutive year-over-year price increase (in November prices rose by +4.7% for the first time since August 2007) and was the largest year-over price increase in three years. On a month-over basis, December marked the tenth month in a row to see an increase in median price (+0.8%). In Los Angeles County, unit sales during December rose by +4.3% over the year. The median price increased by +4.9% to $353,560.

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We would like your real estate business. If we can provide you with more detailed information, please contact the SoCal Investment Group through Jodi Summers, Jodi@jodisummers.com or call 310.392.1211. We look forward to working with you in your next real estate transaction.

**

http://www.cirbdata.com/

https://www.terradatum.com/

http://www.globest.com/news/1590_1590/washington/183353-1.html

http://www.SoCalGreenRealEstateBlog.com

http://www.laedc.org/eedge/index.html#1

http://www.iamnotastalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/img_18842.jpg

10 AFFORDABLE REMODELING PROJECTS

IDEAS TO SPRUCE UP A PROPERTY AND ALLOW FOR A QUICK SALE

Edited by Jodi Summers

Judicious home remodeling is still worth the investment, according to Remodeling magazine’s annual “Cost vs. Value Report.” They suggest these 10 big-impacts, low-cost remodeling projects -

1. Tidy up kitchen cabinets.

Advice: Add rollout organizing trays so when buyers peek in, they feel like there’s lots of room for their stuff.

2. Add or replace tile.

Advice: By retiling very inexpensively, you make a room look way cleaner that it was. Go to a discount tile store, buy $1 to $2 tiles and replace a dated backsplash or upgrade bathrooms.

3. Add a breakfast bar.

Advice: When a wall separates a kitchen from a family room, cut out an opening to create a breakfast bar.

4. Install granite tile instead of a slab.

Home owners can put in 12-inch granite tiles for about $300 in materials and get very high impact for little money.

5. Freshen up a bathroom without retiling.

Put in a new medicine cabinet for $100 to $150, light fixtures for about $100, a faucet for $50 to $75, and a vanity for $200 to $300. Put in a glass shower door. A French door adds a lot of panache and elegance for $250, and people will notice the door.

6. Freshen up the basement.

If home owners have cement block or poured concrete walls in the basement, suggest they have a contractor fill in cracks with hydraulic cement and then paint with waterproofing paint.

7. Add a room.

Look for large spaces that can be enclosed to create a new bedroom for just the price of creating a wall.

8. Spruce up cabinet fronts.

Update tired kitchen cabinets. Reconditioning is the least expensive move for under $1,000. Take out the nicks and scratches, recondition it with oil, and put new hardware on.

9. Replace light fixtures.

Replace overhead light fixtures in a foyer and in bathrooms and kitchens - this provides a lot of pop for a little money.

10. Tech-up the garage.

Replace the garage door opener with a remote touchpad entry system. The cost is about $425, but looks like a high-end system.

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http://www.realtor.org/rmohome_and_design/Articles/1001_costvsvalue_2009

http://img.alibaba.com/photo/208919614/Integrated_kitchen_cabinet_KC_030.jpg

http://freshome.com/2008/03/19/bathroom-vanities/

http://www.strawsticksandbricks.com/images/categories/multi%20pic.jpg

http://www.homesecurityinformation.com/ideas/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/garage-door-keypad-lock.jpg

FYI – NEW MULTIFAMILY LEGISLATION FROM SACRAMENTO

FYI – NEW MULTIFAMILY LEGISLATION FROM SACRAMENTO

By Jodi Summers

Legislators in Sacramento were more interested in finding was of shrinking the new $7.4 billion deficit for the 2010-11 budget than they were in thinking about the hit that apartment building owners have taken in the multiunit marketplace this downturn.

Fortunately, the more ominous legislation affecting multiunit properties has been shelved until next year, but, as a local multiunit property owner, we know you want to know what has passed and what is on the horizon.

Passed

* Assembly Bill 1020 (Emmerson, R-Redlands): Limits fees that may be imposed by local and state government and preempts local health departments from adopting any new or additional safety standards on top of federal guidelines regarding public swimming pools. Brings state regulations in line with federal law regarding anti-entrapment devices in pools.

* Senate Bill 120 (Lowenthal, D-Long Beach): Allows a tenant or occupant who has paid utilities in place of a landlord in order to prevent him or her from being shut off to deduct that amount from rental payments.

* Senate Bill 290 (Leno, D-San Francisco): Extends a Jan. 1, 2010, sunset period for a 60-day termination notice requirement for tenants who live in a property for longer than one year.

Be Aware of

* Assembly Bill 473, from Assemblymen Bob Blumenfield, D-Van Nuys, will require owners of properties with five or more units to arrange for mandatory recycling services.

* Assembly Bill 479, introduced by Assemblyman Wayne Chesbro, D-Arcata, will require local governments in large counties to adopt mandatory recycling laws for commercial properties.

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http://www.carealestatejournal.com/newswire/index.cfm?sid=&tkn=&eid=905490&evid

http://www.consrv.ca.gov/smgb/PublishingImages/CaliforniaStateCapitol02.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2006/12/the-governator—64_1280.jpg

http://www.greentechforum.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/california_state_flag.png

http://www.limitstogrowth.org/WEB-Graphics/CaliforniaPostcardGreetings.jpg

http://forcechange.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/cfl-float.jpg

More than $1Trillion Invested In Green Development

More than $1Trillion Invested In Green Development

By Jodi Summers

Did you know that Toyota, Boeing and Samsung have each invested more than $4 billion in green technology? They’re part of a growing trend. Experts say that more than $1.248 trillion has been invested in green projects since 2007. Tallies are now available from the Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard, which tracks private investment in companies growing the green economy globally.

This newly calculated number shows $1,248,740,645,993.00 in total investment in solar, wind, geothermal, ocean/hydro, energy efficiency and storage, and agriculture  since 2007. The details indicate how investors and entrepreneurs are leading governments in promoting sustainable growth.

The scoreboard, posted by Ethical Markets Media and The Climate Prosperity Alliance

indicates which investments have been publicly announced and committed by major companies for 2010 and beyond. For example, the Egyptian company Desertec, is behind a 400 billion Euro plan to power Europe with sunlight from North Africa and the Middle East. If their project goes as planned, Desertec could supply 15 percent of Europe’s power needs by 2050.

“Private capital investment is now leading globally in promoting technological innovation and resource efficiency that will accelerate environmentally and socially sustainable industrial growth and economic development throughout the world,” noted Dr. Marc A. Weiss, Chairman and CEO of Global Urban Development and Chair of the Climate Prosperity Alliance.

The Climate Prosperity Alliance uses the Climate Solutions 2 computer model of Australia’s Climate Risk Party, concludes that if $1 trillion is invested every year for the next 10 years can assure the global transition to sustainable prosperity and job growth.

Check out the Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard @ http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/wp-content/uploads/Global-Climate-Prosperity-Scoreboard.pdf

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http://greeneconomypost.com/over-1-trillion-invested-in-green-since-2007-6922.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%29#ixzz0ZcXw0j5h

http://greeneconomypost.com/over-1-trillion-invested-in-green-since-2007-6922.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE5B10JG20091202?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/wp-content/uploads/Global-Climate-Prosperity-Scoreboard.pdf

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_naalMdATcl8/SkfBq4wjMkI/AAAAAAAAAIs/3orGtK1ww14/s400/booker-28060_1_1432371c.jpg

http://ec.europa.eu/cyprus/images/drought.jpg

http://www.sodahead.com/living/this-is-what-a-trillion-dollars/question-288213/?link=ibaf

http://lbslibrary.typepad.com/.a/6a00e008d6ce2788340120a5293a61970b-800wi

http://www.theodoresworld.net/pics/0309/climateplanImage4.jpg

REGISTER YOUR CELL PHONE ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST

REGISTER YOUR CELL PHONE ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST

By Jodi Summers

Cell Phone Numbers Go Public this month….meaning cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive annoying sales calls on your cell phone…and YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.

To prevent this, call the National DO NOT CALL list number from you cell phone. That number is - 888-382-1222.

Registering will block your number for five (5) years.

FYI - You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.