Palos Verdes Real Estate

September 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor:

Don’t look now, but the market is still hot by almost any historical measure.  I say “almost” because I doubt we’ll ever see a repeat of the frenetic pace of the first 6 months of this year.  While there is still a fairly severe shortage of houses for sale, I am no longer seeing the lines of people waiting to buy – only just enough to generally get multiple offers within the first week, but not the crazy numbers we were seeing last Spring.  A couple of examples are enclosed:  204 Via Alcance, PVE sold at well over the asking price before it hit the market, but we only had one offer.  More on that in a minute.  This was one of the most enchanting, captivating (pick your adjective) houses I’ve ever had the pleasure of selling, which had to be seen to be fully appreciated.  Also enclosed is a flyer on 20 Narcissa in Portuguese Bend.  It was an honor to be selected to sell this iconic, stately home, the former residence of famous Cecil B DeMille costume and set designer Ralph Jester.  If you remember the “Bible Movies” that DeMille did in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, you saw Ralph Jester’s work.  Ralph and wife Lois had Lloyd Wright, Jr (son of Frank Lloyd Wright), design this house at the same time he was designing nearby Wayfarer’s Chapel.  We had 6 offers on this house, it sold over the asking price, and is now in escrow.

OK, back to selling prior to hitting the market:  I belong to a select group of the top Realtors in Palos Verdes (there are about 10 of us and you probably know who they are).  Have I mentioned this before?  We meet in a (figuratively) smoke-filled room in a clandestine location every Thursday morning to discuss the business generally, any interesting experiences any of us have recently had, and any listings any of us have coming up.  Generally those in the group and their buyers get a sneak advance look at these properties, with the opportunity to buy them before they hit the market. The advantage to the buyer is obvious; the advantage to you, as a seller is that, with the property scheduled to hit the market within a week, there is buyer motivation to make a strong offer (generally over asking price) if he likes the property, to avoid a “bidding war” should the house go on the market.  As a seller, this is a good way to avoid all the lookie-Lou’s and hordes of realtors tromping thru the house while also maximizing your sale price.  There is no obligation on your part to accept any of these pre-market offers, but these are literally the top agents on the Hill, and we have some pretty good, qualified buyers.  On the other hand, if nothing comes of it, we just go on the market in the normal way, and no one is even aware that that even occurred. 

About the time you receive this I will have 2901 Via Victoria, PVE, ready to hit the market.  This is a 5600+ square foot 6 bedroom 5 bath home on a 28,000 square foot lot with a panoramic view of Santa Monica Bay and the Channel Islands.  The floor plan is such as it could function as a one level house, with 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, and garage all on the main (street) level.  This lovely home was built in 1977 and is being sold by the original owners.  It is completely original, so bring your remodel and decorating ideas.  Asking price will be $2,995,000, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t sell over that.

Give me a call at 310 613-1076 if you’d like to discuss any of the above, visit my website at www.DanaGraham.com, and thank you for your continued support.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2021 at 6:47 am and is filed under Buyers, Everything I've Written, Newsletters, Palos Verdes Information, 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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