Newsletters Category

September 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: So . . . back early in the year, did anyone envision what would transpire during the past 6 months?  Between the virus, the demonstrations, the civil (and often uncivil) unrest as reported on the news, and now the election, you’d think that nothing else was going on.  Of course, we all know better, and one thing that has been going surprisingly strongly is the real estate market.  Nice transition, eh?  You can imagine what it’s like showing houses...Continue Reading!

July 2020 Newsletter

 Dear Neighbor: I’m sure real estate is all you’ve been thinking about the past few weeks, right?  No?  Well I have, and how to get houses sold given the [ahem] current situation.  This is when having been in this business 35 years helps.  While challenges and roadblocks periodically appear, they also have in the past, and knowing how to work around them for the people who need to sell in times like this is why my clients appreciate me.  I don’t...Continue Reading!

May 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: I’m sure you can use a little humor right now, so here is a little:  you may have heard that the King of Spain has been quarantined on his private jet.  So it is true that the reign in Spain stays mainly on the plane. It sure is a different world than it was even 45 days ago, isn’t it?  To listen to the news or read the paper, you would think nothing is going on in the world except...Continue Reading!

March 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: Out here in the real estate world, interest rates are still holding in the mid to high 3%’s for a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan.  You can get the high 2%’s for one that is fixed rate for 5 to 7 years, but it then goes to adjustable.  To me this doesn’t make sense unless you just can’t qualify at the 3.75% 30 year fixed.  Interest rates are so low these days and it makes sense to lock them...Continue Reading!

January 2020 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: I can hear Barbara Walters now – “This is 2020”.  In honor of 2020, let me be the first to employ hindsight in looking at the rather interesting real estate market in 2019:  at the beginning of 2019 we were just minding our business when the market got extremely active – by March or so there was almost nothing for sale and what there was was often selling at aberrantly high prices.  This came upon us unexpectedly and, if you’re one of my recent customers,...Continue Reading!

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...Continue Reading!

September 2019 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: I have a number of new listings that have come on the market since my last letter, black and white flyers for which are included.  I’ve also got a couple more coming up in PVE and RPV under $1.4 million, so please call me if you or anyone you know might be interested.  It’s generally better to get to them before the world at large finds out, and this is your chance. The market has slowed noticeably in the last...Continue Reading!

July Newsletter

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     July, 2019   Dear Neighbor: Well, I guess predictions that interest rates were on a long-term increase turned out not to be quite true.  Rates on purchase money loans for homes are now right around 3.875%, about .5% lower than they were a couple of months ago.  Wait long enough and they’ll be paying you to take the money. I’ve got 3 great listings coming up: 344 Via Almar, PVE is a 2642 square foot 4 bedroom 3 bath house in lower Malaga...Continue Reading!

May 2019 Newsletter

                                                                                                                                                                  May, 2019 Dear Neighbor: Palos Verdes (and surrounding area) real estate prices continue on a slow, barely perceptible downward trend.  The data and news in the press are all over the place (the parameters are often set to fit the story), but that’s the big picture.  One reason the trend is so slow is that there continues to be a shortage of houses for sale, which is supporting the prices.  Interest rates hover generally the low 4%’s, though you can beat...Continue Reading!

March 2019 Newsletter

                                                                                                                                                                  March, 2019 Dear Neighbor: The word is out!  Did you see USA Today Online where Palos Verdes Estates was ranked the best city in California in which to live?  Not one of the top 10, or top 5, but the best.  Housing prices are currently on a very slow downward trend.  There is still a shortage of homes for sale, which is working against an otherwise more rapid decline.  Remember the “no doc” loans of the early 2000’s, where the lender just...Continue Reading!