Palos Verdes Real Estate

July 2015 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor:

The real estate market is showing some signs of cooling as I write this.  Normally the first sign is that listings begin to sit on the market longer than before, often because sellers, thinking the market is so hot they can name their price, do so and things begin to slow down.  Interest rates have begun to creep up (now over 4% — I can hear the snickers – “4%?  That’s usury.  Throw the bums in jail!”), which normally causes a frenzy among those not wishing to have the train leave without them.  While there is some of that, I also suspect buyers don’t want to be caught at the peak of the market.  If you’re a seller, of course, that’s where you want to be “caught”.

My seller at 4120 Via Solano, PVE, who was just coming on the market when I last wrote, benefitted from this:  we had 3 offers within 3 days and the house sold over the asking price.  This was an untouched 1951 2 bedroom 1 bath Valmonte home, a lot like the one my parents built at 4205 Via Pinzon in 1949.  It will have closed escrow by the time you get this.

If you talk to Realtors these days (and I know you would never talk to any but me . . . .) they will tell you that the lenders have more neuroses than at any time in memory.  While the interest rates are great, trying to get from application to loan funding is like Mr Toad’s Wild Ride.  The after-effects of the 2008 meltdown are still being felt and, for example, you can’t qualify for a loan just on assets – you have to qualify on income, notwithstanding that you could have bought the place for cash.  And it is very difficult to get the old Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) that banks used to beg you to take.   I had a sale close last week that was nearly run off the rails by the sudden appearance of a 60-day old letter from an attorney saying that he was going to file a slip ‘n’ fall lawsuit.  No lawsuit, mind you, had been filed in that time, and the worst case liability was well-within the HOA insurance coverage, but it was enough to send the underwriter into paroxysms and the process into the ditch.  We scrambled around and found a lender for whom logic trumped panic, processed the loan from start to finish in 3 weeks, and it all ended well.  This, by the way, is when you’re happy to have a realtor who knows where to go when this sort of unpredictable stuff happens.

As of this writing, I am #4 in number of sales in PV year to date.  I know, I can hear you — #4.  Big deal.  But that’s among thousands of agents in the South Bay who do business in Palos Verdes, not to mention the many hundreds who specialize here.   And remember that I’m not, like most other top agents, some aggregation of agents combining sales under my name or license.  When I say I’m #4, that’s I, singular.  Those around me have assistants, sub-agents, secretaries – you name it.  But that is actually a major reason for my success – every client gets my full attention, and the escrows all close.  Heck, I am typing this letter.   So if you want one of the crème de la crème who still provides personalized, face to face service – no bureaucracy, minimum drama, and a level of competence that even other agents rave about, call me – 310 613-1076.  I personally answer the phone.  And check out my website:  www.DanaGraham.com – click on Testimonials in the upper right to see what my clients say.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Sincerely,                                                                                                                                                                        Dana H Graham

DRE #00877973

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2015 at 9:24 am and is filed under Buyers, Everything I've Written, Newsletters, Real Estate General Info, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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