Santa Monica Property Blog

2009 IS ABOUT HOW TO GO GREEN

2009 IS ABOUT HOW TO GO GREEN

In 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org) plans to focus on why homeowners and multiunit property owners should go green.

“The message is…why to go green and how to go green,” confirms Nate Kredich, USGBC’s vice president of residential market development.

In 2009, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit plans to collaborate with local green home building programs and select 20 to 25 local home builder associations across the country to spread the green message.

Already the USGBC has successfully organized initiatives in New Mexico and Texas. Also in the first quarter of ‘09, USGBC expects to offer training courses to certify LEED for Homes accredited professionals.

Some statistics…since January 2008, 1,028 homes have received LEED for Homes certification with an additional 3,261 homes registered and awaiting certification. Notably, 45 percent of the certified units, which includes both single-family and multifamily homes, are affordable. Santa Monica’s Colorado Court is a fine example of green affordable housing.

USGBC also launched its REGREEN initiative, which includes guidelines for greening renovation projects. These guidelines are available
for free download online @ www.regreenprogram.org.

Sustainable development is also catching on in the multifamily sector,
“Multifamily is a market that knows LEED already as they have participated in the new construction program,” Kredich says. “They are starting to look at LEED for Homes as another option.”

The USGBC recently launched a new mid-rise test pilot initiative. The program will certify four- to six-story buildings that previously received certification
under the LEED for Homes initiative.

LEED for Homes Certification Breakdown
Certified: 24%
Silver: 40%
Gold: 22%
Platinum: 15%

Info courtesy of

http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/news/us-green-building-council-unveils-2009-plans.aspx

http://www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory

http://www.car.org/newsstand/crem/current-issue/october2008/235686/

WHERE IN THE WORLD DOES REAL ESTATE COST THE MOST?

WHERE IN THE WORLD DOES REAL ESTATE COST THE MOST?

In 1998, Moscow was in crisis…very much like the rest of the world is right now. A decade ago in Moscow, 100,000+ Russian citizens took to the streets as a slew of banks–and the life savings of millions of citizens–went bust.

But, the global commodities boom of the past decade has made Russia flush with cash; the ruble has appreciated 8% against the dollar since January. And Moscow has become the most expensive city in the world to live.

As Forbes magazine reports, in Mercer’s 2008 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, Moscow tops the list with a score of 142.4, up 6% from last year–and 42% higher than New York, the most expensive city in the U.S.

Moscow is followed closely by Tokyo; London; Oslo, Norway; and Seoul, South Korea.

Forbes notes that New York fell from No. 15 to No. 22, because of the dollar’s recent woes. Los Angeles is the second-priciest city in the U.S., No. 55, on the world list - behind Lagos, Nigeria (No. 30); Almaty, Kazakhstan (No. 44); and Zagreb, Croatia (No. 49).

“The decline in the ranking of all U.S. cities is due to the weakening value of the U.S. dollar against most major world currencies,” says Mercer’s Mitch Barnes, a principal at the firm. “The dollar has been declining steadily for the past several years, which has resulted in an overall decrease in the cost of living in 19 U.S. cities, relative to other major global cities studied.”

Get the original @

http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/23/cities-expensive-world-forbeslife-cx_zg_0724expensivecities_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000

WHERE DOES YOUR HIGH SCHOOL RANK?

WHERE DOES YOUR HIGH SCHOOL RANK?

Newsweek has ranked the top 1,300 U.S. high schools. Our local Santa Monica High School ranks in the top 15% at #200.

Where does your alma mater rank?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/201160

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

THE HISTORY OF THE FINANCIAL BUBBLE

Allegedly, the first recorded speculative financial bubble occurred in the Netherlands in the 1630s when, according to Wikipedia, tulip contracts sold for 20 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. When tulip prices came crashing down so did the economy, according to reports that have not been sufficiently documented for historians to conclude exactly what occurred.

sources:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/2229214461/

http://www.inman.com/news/2008/10/23/dutch-toughen-downturn

VENICE IS 3rd ON FORBES 10 BEST “SUBURBS” TO SELL A HOME

VENICE IS 3^rd ON FORBES 10 BEST “SUBURBS” TO SELL A HOME

Prices in Berkley are up 9% this year, making Santa Monica’s kin city top on

Forbes’ Ten Best Suburbs To Sell A Home. Our fair Venice is third on that list, with the Dallas suburb of Bedford, Texas in 2^nd position. Kennesaw, Georgia and Montclair, NJ, round out the top 5.

Berkeley was selected as Forbes’ 2008 best suburb to sell a home because
Properties are sitting on the market for 73 days on average, the lowest of any area with positive price trends within the confines of the country’s 75 largest Census-defined metro areas. Only 37% of sellers have been forced to reduce their prices, one of the lowest rates in the country. Prices are up 9% this year with homes selling for a median price of $790,986.

Forbes notes that the only housing-market problem Berkeley seems to have involved four protesters who illegally occupied a tree from the beginning of the year through September. Authorities finally cut off the tree huggers food and water supply, forcing them from their oak home.

Venice is considered a suburb because it’s located 16 miles west of Los Angeles.

The impressive details are:

Median home price: $1.5 million
Median days on market: 95
Current inventory: 94
Year-over-year price change: 14%
Percent of sellers decreasing prices: 43%

 Altos Research analyzed information about the suburbs in the country’s 75 largest Census-defined metro areas based on the last 90 days of sales activity. Since a metro area can contain hundreds of suburbs, the analysis was narrowed it to those cities with an inventory of at least 75 homes on the market.

Info courtesy of 

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/06/homes-sellers-suburbs-forbeslife-cx_mw_1106realestate.html?partner=alerts

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=569 Slide show @

http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/06/homes-sellers-suburbs-forbeslife-cx_mw_1106realestate_slide_3.html?thisSpeed=15000

GREEN CONTRACTOR STATISTICS

GREEN CONTRACTOR STATISTICS

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), more than
1,000 builders, remodelers, and other members of the home building industry
have earned the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, an
educational recognition introduced in 2008 by NAHB. You can locate a CGP at
www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory.

In related news, NAHB surveyed its builder members and found that 89 percent
of respondents reported installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting
in their projects; 64 percent are using recycled and recyclable products;
and 50 percent are using substantially more insulation than required by
building codes (this number increases to 70 percent for West Coast
respondents).

http://www.car.org/newsstand/crem/current-issue/october2008/235686/

HUGH EVANS’ ROOTS

 Jodi,
I was looking on the internet to see if there was any information on my great uncle, Hugh Evans, when I came across you article “Local Realtor Speaks Out.”  I was happy to see that you identified Hugh as one of the movers and shakers of Santa Monica in the 1930s.  His father-in-law, Alfred Morgan, my great grandfather, built a beautiful house at  435 Georgina and then, due to my great grandmother’s failing sight, built a new house (with the bedrooms downstairs) up on 24th and Margarita across from Hugh and Muriel’s place. Hugh’s garden comprised of almost the entire block and it was for this that he became so well known.  I was born in Santa Monica in 1949 and have many found memories of their place. He too was a Realtor, as I’m sure you know, and when he lost his fortune in 1929, set out to establish his new career in horticulture. His sons, “Bill” (Morgan) and “Jack” (St. John) joined him and became well regarded for their own work. My mother and father now live in the Elliott Morgan family house on Palisades ave. Nothing has really changed in it since the twenties.  Most of it functions  more as a  museum than a home.

LMB

~~

Funny, the information on your great uncle, Hugh Evans, originally came from the following article: 

This majestic Eucalyptus deanei tree is the tallest and most massive specimen in the country. Although eucalyptus trees were originally imported from Australia, their presence in Southern California has been well documented since the late 1800s. Santa Monica has a long history of planting, retaining and studying Eucalyptus trees and is featured in the book “Eucalyptus Cultivated in the United States” (c) 1902. This species of Mountain blue gum is native in two distinct places, both of which are in Australia: the first location is central New South Wales in the valleys of the Blue Mountains of Sydney; the second location is in south-eastern Queensland. Its normal growth pattern is straight, tall and fast. The bark is a cream or dark gray color and sheds in plates, strips and ribbons to expose new colors of gray, fawn and yellow. Juvenile leaves are almost rounded (which is why it’s sometimes referred to as a round-leaved gum). Adult leaves are shaped like a lance. It is the dominant species in the Blue Gum forest and Blue Gum Swamp.

The report to the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission notes, that both “Exceptional Trees of Los Angeles” and “Trees of Santa Monica” have confirmed, that this tree was planted in the 1920s by Hugh Evans. Mr Evans was a well-known Santa Monica Horticulturist in the early part of the 20th century. He was the proprietor of Evans Rare Plant Garden in Santa Monica and was well regarded in the field of tree care. Mr. Evans spoke at the first annual Western Shade Tree conference, held in 1934 at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica.

ON DECK FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT: COLLAPSING FORECLOSURES AND RISING HOME VALUES

ON DECK FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT: COLLAPSING FORECLOSURES AND RISING HOME VALUES

 Recently, the Today Show, NBC’s traditionally reliable source of information, reported that nearly 20% of homeowners are upside down in their mortgages. Forget how we got there. What the next president inherits is a state of panic where people don’t know how they are fiscally going to make it through the next phase.

It is critical that the next president – be it John McCain or Barak Obama, takes an optimistic view that the housing market can indeed be fixed. Issues must be tackled piece by piece - rampant foreclosures,

collapsing residential property values, and bad banking judgement. And these elements were part of an even larger governmental issue – what Inman News calls, “too much liquidity chasing bad loans in an unaffordable housing market.”

The economic shift has solved issues of excess liquidity + bad loans. Now the elements specifically affecting the housing market must be tackled. The pendulum of bad banking judgement has now swung to the other extreme, and only the best qualified can get a loan.

On deck for the new administration, to rising foreclosures and collapsing home values into collapsing foreclosures and rising home values. He needs to turn the current wave of fear into optimism.

Inman News has come up with a to-do list for the next occupant of the Oval Office, which includes:

·         Institutionalize loan modification activity

·         Rebuild faith in the secondary mortgage market

·         Expand the Scope of the FHA

·         Bring dignity to renting

·         Re-tool federal housing programs

·         Re-think regulation

·         Beef up RESPA

·         Housing leadership

·         Resist quick housing stimulus packages

Please go to http://www.inman.com/news/2008/10/29/what-next-president-must-do for all the details.