Palos Verdes Real Estate

November 2019 Newsletter

                                                                                                                                                         November, 2019

Dear Neighbor:

Greetings from out here in the trenches.  Did you see the recent article in BusinessInsider.com on the Top 10 zip codes where the wealthiest millennials in the country live?  According to the article there are 618,000 millennial millionaires in the country and, as you might expect, the bulk of them live in Silicon Valley and the surrounding area, but it was #10 and #1 on the list that got my attention:  #10 was 90275, which the article called Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates, so I’m not sure the author really understood Palos Verdes, but it was interesting nonetheless.  The article called it “Los Angeles County’s hidden, rural, coastal gem”, which would get no argument from me.  On the other end of the scale at l#1 was Traverse City, Michigan.  Traverse City, Michigan?  Traverse City is on the upper reaches of Lake Michigan and is pretty remote.  It’s closer to Green Bay, Wisconsin than it is to Detroit or Chicago.  I understand that many millennials work from home via the internet, but in an area where $500,000 will buy you a “luxury home”, I just found it interesting that Traverse City would come in at #1.

We are currently in year 11 of what historically have been 7- to 10-year real estate cycles.  The market slowed noticeably over the Summer and Fall.  Sales have now picked up a bit, primarily because sellers have reduced their prices to match the current market or took that into account when putting their house on the market recently.  Of the 133 PV homes currently on the market over 60 days, 88 have reduced their prices.  The 133 includes some who have recently gone on the market at current prices.  Not helping are the limit on tax deduction for interest paid to loans under $1 million, and the $10,000 cap on property tax deductions.  The message here is that the prices that looked possible last Spring are no longer in the cards.  As I have said before, If you plan to sell your house in the next year or so, I would advise doing it sooner rather than later.

I suppose by now you have heard that the governor, in what can only be described as a desperate attempt to address the ”housing crisis”, has signed a law that basically wipes out local city zoning by allowing owners of any lot in the State to construct up to 2 additional dwelling units (ADU’s) regardless of current zoning.  It also removes setback requirements so that the construction may go right up to the lot line.  This overrides any existing city zoning.  I don’t need to tell you what a threat to our neighborhoods this would be.  The State Constitution gives cities the right to determine their own zoning, so this looks unconstitutional on its face.  It apparently required some back-room sleight of hand to enact.  A number of California cities are preparing to challenge this in court.  I will be following this and will update you via this letter.  I will also have updates on my website:  www.DanaGraham.com.

I hope you have a lovely holiday season and don’t hesitate to call me at 310 613-1076 if you want to discuss any of the above or anything else.                              

                                                                                                                                        Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                        Dana H Graham

                                                                                                                                        DRE #00877973                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

This entry was posted on Friday, November 1st, 2019 at 7:49 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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