LA Westside BlogPOINT

2ND ANNUAL CATALINA ISLAND FLYING FISH FESTIVAL

Celebrate the annual return of Catalina Island’s famous Flying Fish with a four day festival of family fun, May 28-31st. Enjoy the Taste of Avalon, the Casino’s 80th anniversary dance with Good Vibrations, the Flying Fish Parade and more. Get information today!

Visit their website for more info and go have some fun!

April is showing indications in some market segments that market vitality is on the rise.  Overall, we're seeing a surge in Open House traffic along with an increase in multiple-offers on listings that are reasonably priced from the start.

I've also heard that title and escrow companies have begun to rehire personnel to deal with the increase in activity.

Now back to those market segments with notable changes, which I'll list:

Beverly Hills SFR - Median Sold Price is up 14% over April '08

Pacific Palisades SFR - Median Sold Price is up 20% over April '08

What's also interesting is that in some of the micro-markets, there's a trending back towards a state of equilibrium, which is a balance of inventory and demand with Month's Supply of Inventory (MSI) as the metric.  Generally, about 5-6 months of inventory is considered a balance between a buyer's market (7+ MSI) and a seller's market (4 and less MSI).  Consider these April stats:

Brentwood SFR - 8 MSI (J-26, F-17, M-10)

Brentwood Condo - 5 MSI (J-22, F-10, M-7)

Santa Monica SFR - 8 MSI (J-19, F-21, M-9)

Santa Monica Condo - 5 MSI (J-10, F-9, M-6)

I'm not saying the worst is behind us, but on the other hand, these are indicators that seem to mesh with what's in the media suggesting the 'bottom' may be approaching sometime this year.  For a look at how the other micro-markets performed, click the Market Sales Data tab on the Menu Bar.

 Source:  CLAW/MLS

  Information not guaranteed. © 2008 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors
                          (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce welcomes spring the healthy way, by rejuvenating mind and body at the annual Beverly Hills Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo on Sunday, April 26, 2009! Visit the Expo to benefit from the expertise, advice and product samples that promote a healthy and happy lifestyle for the entire Beverly Hills Community.  Admission is free to the public.

The Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo benefits attendees of all ages by providing a great array of valuable and interesting products, services, activities, and information related to their overall welfare. From nutrition and beauty tips, to fitness demos and pertinent health information, this Expo is an event not to be missed. 

Health, Fitness & Beauty Expo
Location: Along Civic Center Drive
adjacent to Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market
Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time: 9 AM - 1 PM

On Sunday, March 15th the Los Angeles Police Foundation will hold its 2nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Hike & Beach Party to benefit the Juvenile Impact Program. Around 300 LAPF supporters will gather at Gladstone’s of Malibu for a beautiful day of hiking and St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

Wendy Burch of KTLA’s Morning News will emcee a brief program including word from Chief Jim McDonnell, Mayor Riordan, Councilman Tom LaBonge, and LAPF board member and Hike Chair, Eddie Kislinger.  Drop by and join in the fun!

The St. Matthew's Parish School Fourth Grade Class is hosting the 34th Annual Palisades Hunger Walk on Sunday, March 22nd.  Registration is at 12:30PM at the Palisades Library - 861 Alma Real Drive and the 5K Hunger Walk starts at 1PM. 

The entire community is invited to join in with the school along with other area schools, churches and organizations and unite under the theme 'Vote To End Hunger'.  Get healthy and beat-down hunger - a winning combo if I ever saw one!

Now you have an opportunity to correctly dispose of all those electronic discards that you weren't quite sure of where to dump.  Paul Revere Charter Middle School (my alma mater) is hosting an e-Waste Recycling Fund Raiser on Sat., March 7th from 9:30AM to 3:30PM.  Their address is 1450 Allenford Avenue in Brentwood and the event takes place in the Front Circular Driveway.  Televisions, monitors, computers, printers, telephones, cell phones and just about anything you plug in is welcome.  Help the environment and the school earn money from e-Waste recycling.

When's the last time you've taken a stroll along Santa Monica's most infamous landmark?  If you haven't been there in a number of years, you should make a point to re-discover all that it has to offer, because you'll find there's alot more available than what you may remember.  For those that haven't been there, you really should take an afternoon and go exploring.  

The Pier (site of my very first job at age 12 at Minnie's Restaurant) features a broad range of activities.  From playing games and riding the new roller-coaster to taking in the breathtaking views of the beaches, there's fun for the whole family. To learn more about what's available, visit them at http://www.santamonicapier.org/fun.html. 

A recent article in the California Real Estate magazine presents the issue of Have We Hit Bottom Yet?  The answer is two-part.  It's 'yes' if you're talking annual home sales and 'not yet' if you're looking at median home prices as stated in the 2009 Economic Forecast published by the California Association of Realtors. 

Our current dilema is certainly not the first stroll down misery lane.  Going back as far as 1970, California has recovered from two significant downturns.  The first was between 1978 and 1982 and featured a 61 percent plunge in sales that was driven by double-digit interest rates that put mortgages out of reach.  The second was between 1988 and 1994 and was sparked by a national recession that raged between 1990 and 1991.  Compounding the issue were massive job losses statewide in defense, aerospace and finanacial services.

It's important to note that market performance varies drasticallly by city and even between Zip codes.  What ultimately matters is the trend in local or micro-market prices (see my Market Data section).

The author concluded that 'timing matters a lot less if you are buying a home you are going to live in for seven or ten years'.  Further, timing the market may be neither possible nor advisable.  It could well make sense for buyers who adopt a long-term strategy to go ahead and buy when they find a home that both meets their needs and is affordable, as it just may not be available six months down the road.