Palos Verdes Real Estate

January 2017 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor:

Happy New Year to you all!  The only thing that has changed in the real estate market since I last wrote is that interest rates have risen to the low 4%’s, which I know seems downright usurious these days.   There is still a dearth of homes for sale in Palos Verdes, which has supported prices at near-record highs.

For the past 3 years the market in Palos Verdes has gone crazy from January thru June and then levelled off.  Prices did not decline afterward and prices are now at or near all-time highs.  I haven’t found anyone who can explain it, but one factor might be people waiting over the holidays to put their house on the market.  There has been such a shortage of homes for sale, that the relative glut in January might have fueled all that activity.  So we may be seeing that annual glut by the time you receive this. 

Predicting where the market is headed is always dicey, though there is no shortage of predictions.  This year, as is usually the case, the predictions are generally for more or less continuation of the same, with a gradual rise in interest rates to around 5% by the end of the year.  As you understand, and all else being equal, the higher the interest rates, the lower the sale prices, so that interest rate trend may exert a downward force on prices which, nonetheless, are predicted to rise during the year . . . though possibly not as much as they might have with a continuation of 3.75% interest rates.

I have (or soon will) several lovely homes for sale – 28643 Blythewood, RPV, and 1790 E Burnett are enclosed.  The latter is a stunning 1919 Craftsman in the Historic District of Signal Hill.  The owner bought the original house in nearly tear-down condition, but in two and half years brought it back by pouring a new foundation and rebuilding it with the highest quality and with the last degree of Craftsman authenticity, but with all modern conveniences.  With an 8-car garage and an unobstructable view from Belmont Shore to Redondo Beach, you really have to see it to believe it.

For this month’s PV history, here is something real specific:  did you ever wonder how Via Palomino became such a prestigious, desirable street?  After all, there is nothing intrinsic that dramatically sets it apart from other charming Valmonte streets.   My theory is that the early homes built on Via Palomino were palatial relative to many other early Valmonte homes, and that set the tone.  One of those early, impressive homes of which I have specific knowledge is 3405, built in 1937 by Dr Dennis and Hazel Littlefield Smith.  Dr Smith was an ophthalmologist while Hazel was the daughter of a wealthy Michigan lumber baron (if you’ve ever heard of the Grand Trunk Railroad running from Chicago, up through Michigan and down to Detroit, Josiah Littlefield was one of those who built it, to get his logs down to the Detroit River).   The whole story is too long for this letter, but visit my website:  www.DanaGraham.com “The Things you Always Wondered About Palos Verdes” for the whole story.  I was born in that house in 1947 . . . so I’ve lived in Palos Verdes longer than any other agent I know of, and have been in this business 32 years.  Knowledge of the area and the market are crucial in the agent you choose to sell your house, for reasons that are probably self-evident.  But when you decide to sell your house, whoever you choose, be sure to pick someone that actually does business in Palos Verdes.  Ask them for a list of homes they’ve actually sold here.  There are countless agents from off the Hill trying to “break in” and, while you might like to help them, the stakes for you are simply too high.

Give me a call at 310 613-1076, and thank you for your continued support.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                         Dana H Graham

This entry was posted on Friday, January 13th, 2017 at 2:30 pm 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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