Dana Graham

Myths and Misconceptions Category

Real Estate Myths and Realities — Back By Popular Demand 8/8/25

I will be giving this talk 8/8/25 at 4 pm at Hesse Park in RPV.  This is a distillation of 40 years of experience in the residential real estate business.  If you're on the fence, there will be FOOD!  Room was packed last time.  Love to see you there. Continue Reading!

My Talk on Real Estate Myths and Realities — see link below to excepts from that talk

If you're interested, here is a link to excepts from that talk.Continue Reading!

Things You Always Wondered About Palos Verdes

I wrote this in 2007, but to make it easier to find, I've moved it to the top of the heap: A lot of things have happened in Palos Verdes during my 77-year residency some of which, distressingly, are now ancient history. I see a lot of misinformation on websites by realtors attempting to portray themselves as Palos Verdes experts, but I am here to say that I witnessed most of the following myself and this is how it was.  I am...Continue Reading!

Potential Buyers Won’t Take a Shower at Your House

When you get ready to sell your house, you obviously want to do it right.  You will get advice from all directions, most of it well-meaning.  Some of the advice I see, however, after almost 30 years of doing this, I disagree with.  Here is what I tell my clients prior to going on the market: 1)  Make sure that all legal issues (title, loan, etc) that could throw a monkey wrench in the sale are cleared; 2)  It is important to bear in...Continue Reading!

March 2017 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: The real estate market continues to have a shortage of houses for sale, which has driven prices to record levels.  Any house under about $2.5 million that has not sold within a month in this market needs to have its price seriously examined.  You will see reports in the media that “Pending home sales fall to lowest level in a year” or something close to that.  The reason is not that the market is slow as you might infer;...Continue Reading!

Stale Listings

My clients lately have gotten my "Stale Listing" speech, which goes like this:  the market has been going bananas for about 18 months.  Whenever this happens, the idea seems to settle in that a seller can pretty much name his price and buyers will beat a path to his door.  There is no shortage of current examples.  If this isn't a sure sign that the market is about to slow down, it certainly contributes to it.  Buyers look at the "comps"...Continue Reading!

May 2015 Newsletter

May, 2015 Dear Neighbor: I’m not sure if the entire market is going crazy or just my share of it.  In my last letter I mentioned that there were not a lot of homes for sale.  That continues to be true, with the only ones not selling being those who, trying to take advantage of the market, have overshot the mark on the price.  Speaking for myself, I can hardly get my listings on the market before I have really good offers. ...Continue Reading!

November 2014 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: The market continues as before.  I would say it’s about a 7 on a scale of 10.  I sense, though, that many buyers think the market has peaked or is about to.  The argument for buying now remains low interest rates – just over 4% for 30-year fixed.  I’m telling you, we’re all going to look back on this as the good old days. The subject this month is the agent you hire.  Hire me.  OK, letter’s over.  But seriously,...Continue Reading!

September Newsletter

Dear Neighbor: After a brief lull, the market has resumed a fairly active pace, though not quite as crazy as last Spring.  The difference this time is that the market is more price-sensitive – you can’t just put a house out there at any price and expect activity.  This is normally an indication that buyers think the market is close to topping out.  If anyone has a logical explanation for these seemingly random spurts, please let me know. Out here in the...Continue Reading!

July 2014 Newsletter

July, 2014 Dear Neighbor: After about 8 months of frenetic activity, the real estate market has slowed somewhat, which you may remember I predicted a few months ago.  Prices have risen significantly in the last year or so but, at some point, affordability plus some sellers over-shooting the mark on price causes the sort of slowdown we’re now seeing.   This will be picked up by the media in about 60 days, so you can expect to still hear breathless reports of huge...Continue Reading!