Dana Graham

Everything I’ve Written Category

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

2110 Lincoln, Torrance

January, 2012:  This lovely condo in Old Torrance sold in less than a week.  I barely had time to get it on this site before it sold.  Why did it sell so fast?  The seller took my recommendations, it was realistically priced, the owner had it in immaculate condition (see pictures), and it was not a short sale or foreclosure.  2 bedrooms, 2 baths, high ceilings, private 2-car garage + storage room, laundry inside the unit, and convenient to schools, shopping, commuting. ...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

A Look Back at Hindsight

As an amateur historian, it has always amazed me how often other historians, let alone non-historians, engage in hindsight when assessing past actions and events.  This is so pervasive that I have decided that the various forms of this need to be categorized and named.  I have modestly christened this the Graham Hindsight Scale, which currently runs from 1 to 4, tho I reserve the right to modify or expand it as I discover examples of other types of hindsight. ...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

Just Listed: Fully Remodeled Old Torrance Condo

Tired of sharing the laundry with 20 other people?  Tired of parking in that dingy subterranean garage?  Sick of having no storage space?  Frustrated with making offers on short sales that never happen? This is like a breath of fresh air!  Just listed is this really lovely 2 bedroom 2 full bath top level condo a short walk from picturesque Old Torrance.  Especially nice and unusual features of this unit, apart from its being completely remodeled and in move-in condition, are...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

January, 2012

In 2011 Palos Verdes sales continued at about the same pace as last year, aided by a continuance of historically low interest rates in the 4%’s.  However, the average sale price in Valmonte , for example, dropped from $1,482,438 to $1,209,634, and the average sale price in dollars-per-square-foot (if you’re into that sort of thing – I’m not – see below) dropped from $632 to $506.  A cursory look might lead one to conclude that prices in Valmonte had dropped...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

It’s Not Rocket Science

I'm talking about real estate.  The basic process of buying and selling a home is not rocket science, brain surgery, or astrophysics.  It doesn't even involve knowledge of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion.  So why does the realtor you choose matter?  Heck, why not do it yourself?  See how tense Kepler looks in this picture?  He was probably in the middle of an escrow, had figured he was smart enough to handle it, and had just listed with someone who left...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

Everyone Walks on Water

If you've ever interviewed realtors, you know that all of them leap tall buildings, walk on water, and heal the sick. The vast majority of realtors are competent which, for what you pay in commission, you have a right to expect.  I would suggest, however, that you ought to get more than "competent".  When I got into this business 28 years ago, not having been happy with my realtor, I began with a clean slate:  if I were the client (which...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

November, 2011

I’ve been doing this a long time, and one of the things I am noticing in the current market is that quite a few unsold listings are coming up cancelled, withdrawn, or expired, only to be re-listed shortly thereafter by another Realtor.  While I’m sure there are occasionally other reasons, I suspect the majority are due to the notion that another Realtor might be able to sell the house where the first one didn’t. There is a fundamental misconception behind this...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

September, 2011

I’ve been in this business since the early 1980’s.  Never in that time have I seen a market where the agent you have makes a bigger potential difference in the outcome.  The world is in seeming turmoil with the Arabs rioting, the national debt rising, money markets in a constant state of flux, buyers aren’t sure they should be buying, sellers aren’t getting the prices they imagined their homes were worth a few years ago, the gnomes in Sacramento gleefully...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

July, 2011

While prices in Palos Verdes have held up reasonably well throughout the current financial "crisis", sales since the first of the year have slowed compared to the same period last year.  In Valmonte, whereas we had 25 sales between January and July 2010, this year we have had 16.  On the entire Peninsula there were 241 sales first half of 2010, with 196 during the first half of 2011.  By "sales" I mean properties going into escrow, not those that...Continue Reading!

All articles I’ve written on real estate for the last 10 or so years. Earlier than that, I’ll have to mail them to you

Somali Pirates

I am sure this must be in the planning stage, but we've all heard of "bait cars" used to catch car thieves, right? What we need now are a few "bait boats" (if the fishing industry will loan the term), modeled along the lines of the WW 1 British Q Ships. Disguised as innocent, vulnerable merchantmen, they would lure a German U-boat within range, then drop the gunwales and blast the sub out of the water with previously concealed deck...Continue Reading!