Dana Graham

Palos Verdes Information Category

July 2022 Newsletter

                                                                                                                                                   Dear Neighbor: As you know, if you read these letters regularly, I have been predicting the imminent end of the crazy, partially Covid-induced real estate market of the last 2 years.  The combination of a shortage of homes for sale due partially to concern over Covid, with the persistently low interest rates and, until about a year ago, booming economy, extended the normal real estate cycle beyond the normal 9-10 years, resulting in a run-up in prices to historic highs. ...Continue Reading!

LA VENTA INN IS UNDER ATTACK!

  No, this is not some story about a Japanese submarine off-shore shelling La Venta in 1942.   YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS, BUT LA VENTA INN IS STILL UNDER UNRELENTING ATTACK BY A COUPLE OF NEIGHBORS who, with misinformation, have stirred up the others.   I am sorry to have to put this out there again, but just when we all thought there was an agreement 2 months ago, which La Venta had bent over backwards to achieve, the goal posts have...Continue Reading!

March 2022 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: For reasons those of us out here in the trenches have a tough time understanding, the real estate market is still strong.  I know this sounds like a broken record (is that still a useful metaphor?).  You can say it’s because of a shortage of houses for sale, but that wouldn’t be the case if they weren’t selling the minute they hit the market, or before.  Clearly there are still, despite record high prices, more buyers out there than...Continue Reading!

Just Listed in Ridgegate! This sold instantly way over asking with 6 offers.

28005 Ridgecove Court is a lovely 2 bedroom 1.5 bath townhouse in highly desirable Ridgegate.  Located in the center of the complex, there are two spacious bedrooms upstairs with a full bath, including separate tub and shower and lots of closets.  The lower (main) level includes living room, kitchen with dining area, and guest bath, all with newer hardwood laminate flooring.  The kitchen features newer appliances as well as an entrance to the private patio and the two car private...Continue Reading!

First Time For Sale Since New — Via Palomino!!

I remember in 1960 when my dad and I walked over from our house on Via Pinzon and looked at this then-vacant lot.  My mom had just had her 3rd baby and we needed a bigger house.  It was the most lovely setting among City parkland, trees, and lots of flat land.  But we needed a new, bigger house faster than we could build one from scratch, so we bought down on Via Almar.  Fast forward 3 years and my...Continue Reading!

January 2022 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Whew!  We made it thru 2021.  The media continues to report brisk real estate sales but, as I’ve mentioned before, the media doesn’t know what they’re talking about.  The data they use is 2-8 months old and reflects what was going on then, not now.  I just heard 2 days ago that October business was up.  It kind of depends upon how you define “October business”.  They are talking about escrows that closed in October, which therefore generally went...Continue Reading!

November 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Out here on the front lines, real estate trends often become apparent before the pundits and the press pick up on them.  As I’ve pointed out before, what you read in the press is generally written by reporters not directly involved in real estate.  Not being “in the business”, they tend to use data on closed sales which, by definition, reflects what the market was 60-120 days ago – escrows average about 60 days in length, and the price...Continue Reading!

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...Continue Reading!

A Rare Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr, House For Sale! Closed Escrow over asking price.

In the pantheon of great 20th Century architects is Frank Lloyd Wright, Jr, designer of the iconic Wayfarer’s Chapel and of the 3 remaining Palos Verdes homes of his creation, of which 20 Narcissa Drive is one.  Being offered for sale for the first time since being designed and built in 1949 for Cecil B DeMille’s famous costume and set designer Ralph Jester and his wife Lois, this masterpiece of mid-Century organic architecture sits on grounds of 35,000+ square feet...Continue Reading!

July 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: To the amazement of many, me included, the real estate market continues to be red hot.  Demand exceeds supply, although it’s not clear to me that supply is any longer as constricted as it was during Covid.  Many people are deciding to sell now while the market is hot and prices are high, and retire to an area where the cost of living is lower.  As I’ve said before, I’ve seen markets similar to this in my 36 years...Continue Reading!