Home Sales Up in Southern California
When reading the national news about real estate, there is one phrase you should stay away from: housing market. How is that? Because talking about the housing market is like talking about the weather. You can say the weather’s nice where you may live, but clear across the country, things may be very different. And that’s exactly what’s happening with the housing market today: it’s picking up in some areas, and other areas it’s down.
In Southern California, the numbers are looking good. And what’s best about that is if numbers are good in Southern California, that means good things for other markets. SoCal dropped first, so it is the first to recover. There is ample evidence in that sales were up in January for the seventh straight month and up over a year ago. That’s not just a blip on the real estate radar screen, that’s actual progress.
The inevitably bargain shopping has finally started in Southern California. You’d think with interest rates being so low and home prices being low that it would inspire more people to start home shopping, but people have been understandable reticent to jump into the market. As this article shows:
A total of 15,227 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the six-county Southland last month. That was down 23.6 percent from 19,926 in December but up 52.5 percent from 9,983 in January 2008. A decline of 20 to 30 percent between December and January is normal.
Last month’s sales were the highest for that month since January 2006, when 21,895 sold, and were 16 percent below the average January sales total since 1988, when DataQuick’s statistics began.
So if you have been thinking about buying a home, but are concerned about the climate, just know that home sales are regaining strength in Southern California again. It’s not just good news for home sellers and real estate agents, but for the prospects of the entire state.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
Living in the Hollywood Hills for Cheap
Perhaps that title is a misnomer – real estate in the Hollywood Hills is not cheap, by any means, but by no means either are homes in the Hollywood Hills priced unreasonably as well. The trouble is that it’s the biggest home sales that get the most attention. And I may be guilty of doing that myself on this blog. The homes that go for 20 or 30 million are just awe-inspiring. The reality, though, is that there are plenty of homes five million dollars and below, with real estate in the Hollywood Hills available for under 1 million.
That last fact is something that surprises a lot of people, as they think the Hollywood Hills are the top echelon of Los Angeles real estate – even above real estate in Bel-Air. The truth is that the Hollywood Hills are far more varied than a neighborhood like Bel-Air, which doesn’t have houses beneath a certain price level. In this way, the Hollywood Hills are similar to a neighborhood like Brentwood – a place that can have fantastically lavish homes a few miles from a small two-bedroom house.
Hollywood Hills is similar and it’s a mistake to think of the “Hollywood Hills” as one central entity. It’s actually a very varied region with large-scale mansions and smaller hillside homes. Given the fact that homes in the L.A. basic can go for a million dollars, there’s no reason to think that a home in the Hollywood Hills is automatically out of your price range, because it may not be – but it will have a better address with more privacy and a better view than many other expensive neighborhoods in Los Angeles.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
Brett Gurewitz Selling His Hollywood Hills Home
When is punk rock no longer punk rock? When Brett Gurewitz, guitarist from Bad Religion, lists his Hollywood Hills home for close to $3 million dollars. I don’t begrudge anyone’s success in the least, but it is fairly amazing that one of the first punk bands is now living large in one of the most exclusive areas of Los Angeles, if not the world. Most of the celebrity homes you’ll see are for movie stars, fashion designers, and more-traditional rock stars, but everyone wants to live in the Hollywood Hills when they reach a certain level.
It is further proof that the Hollywood Hills is attractive to all types of people with all sorts of tastes and artistic personalities. In some sense it’s like Venice up the hills, for people who can afford this style of real estate. In “New York, New York” the line is, “If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere,” and the Hollywood Hills is proof that you’ve made it as a dweller in Los Angeles.
It just has a more spirited feeling than other areas with high-end real estate in L.A. Not to downplay a neighborhood like Beverly Hills, which is of course fabulously nice, but the Hollywood Hills has an extra cache – partly due to the name, which gives it a sense of being part of the entertainment industry, but also because of its variety of homes, the views, and the eclectic nature of the residents. It’s prized real estate for a reason – one of the most coveted real estate sections in all the world.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
Celebrity Homes in the Hollywood Hills
If you’ve ever been in interested in celebrity homes that go up for sale in the Hollywood Hills, you should check the L.A. Times Hot Properties Archives. It has a frequently-updated list of homes that go on the market, as well as homes that have been bought or rented in the Hills. Some of the figures will make you gawk – such as Courtney Love’s home, which she is renting for $20,000 a month.
Another site that is, well, obsessed with celebrity homes is the Real Estalker, which blogs regularly about the goings-on in the celebrity real estate market. Now, these homes aren’t just a curiosity, it can actually increase the value of your home if it was once owned by a celebrity. It turns the home into a cultural artifact. Imagine being able to tell prospective buyers, “Cary Grant lived here,” or “Harrison Ford” lived here. It will immediately make the home more attractive, and in this market that is very important.
It will also give you a sense of how homes are priced in the Hollywood Hills, and whether or not certain sellers are struggling to find a buyer. Yes, even celebrities have trouble selling homes. If nothing else, these sites offer a window into the lifestyles of the rich and famous – but if you’re actively in the market for a luxury home in the Hollywood Hills, and you’re concerned about dropping home values, a celebrity-owned home is a good investment. And just as the number of rooms will increase a home’s value and price, so will the cache of the particular celebrity who once owned the home.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.
Why Live in the Hollywood Hills?
Let’s say that you have five million dollars to spend on a home – obviously this puts you in the top echelon of L.A. real estate and you will be able to afford a home in most every area of Los Angeles – save the homes that can go for $30,000,000 that do exist in the city – in the Hollywood Hills and elsewhere. Why exactly should you choose to buy a home in the Hollywood Hills and not another luxury area, such as Bel-Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills, or other high-end neighborhood.
For one, it depends on where you must commute for work, so if you work in an around Hollywood, then it makes living in the Hollywood Hills an easy decision. As nice as the neighborhoods of Malibu or Pacific Palisades are, the commute from those areas to the heart of Los Angeles can make it seem like you’re living in a distant part of the city, even if it should only be a 20 minute drive. The traffic in Los Angeles is getting worse, not better.
Other areas like Bel-Air are certainly magnificent, and not a far drive from the Hollywood Hills, so it really comes down to your personal preference. There is a certain “feeling” to the Hollywood Hills that is unlike any other hillside neighborhood in Los Angeles. It feels both urban and entirely removed – as homes in the hills have such sparkling views of the L.A. city. You can at once feel apart of the city, but also a measure of privacy – something which is obviously prized by celebrity homeowners. This is the main selling point for the Hollywood Hills over other regions of L.A. – the view and the perch, which can really make you appreciate living in Los Angeles to a different degree than some other luxury neighborhoods in the city.
About Susan Andrews:
Susan Andrews is a top producing real estate agent at prestigious Beverly Hills real estate firm, Hilton & Hyland. She specializes in Hollywood Hills, West Hollywood and Los Feliz real estate. Susan can be contacted at 323.829.8811 or by e-mail regarding her properties.