Rodeo Realty

November 3, 2016

Rodeo Realty's Northridge agent Wendy Dern collects 1,000+ pounds of candy to donate to 'For Our Troops'

Rodeo Realty’s Northridge agent Wendy Dern is collecting candy to donate to “For the Troops”. The non-profit organization is dedicated to providing members of the American military with “We Care” packages containing basic necessities, goodies, games and—most of all—a show of support.

For more than 10 years, the Realtor has been organizing candy collections to make sure “For The Troops” has an endless supply of candy on hand, and doesn’t fall short for even one box. Wendy enlists participation from local schools, including Cleveland Charter High School, Nobel Middle School, and Topeka Drive and Gridley Elementary Schools. Through community outreach, she has also garnered support from community members in her farm and local businesses. Striving to increase her success every year, Wendy’s collection now surpasses 1000 pounds of candy!

Thanks to Syd Leibovitch, Rodeo Realty is also taking part in helping Dern with her collection and have made a monetary donation to help “For The Troops”.

Dern will be collecting candy through the weekend and plans on delivering the donations next week.

For more information on ways you can support “For The Troops”, visit www.forthetroops.org

About For The Troops:

The organization has substantially grown in volunteers and donors, and has distributed more than 165,000 packages. They ship year-round to American troops who risk their lives overseas every day—far away from the comforts of home. Each care package is lovingly filled with a variety of items including hygiene products, dvd’s, games and puzzlebooks, magazines, comics, stationary, and more. Candy is used as box filler, instead of packing materials, as an added treat in every box.

November 3, 2016

Home listed by Rodeo Realty's Sherman Oaks agent Derick Vallance featured in Curbed's Pricespotter

Featured Thursday in Curbed LA’s Pricespotter is a property listed by Rodeo Realty’s Sherman Oaks agent, Derick Vallance.

To make things a bit more fun, the online site is playing the home price guessing game!

The objective is simple: Take a look at the four-bedroom, seven bath Encino home and tell them how much you think it’s asking. Leave your comments, and please, no cheating!

For more information on the property and to play the guessing game, click HERE.

October 29, 2016

Economic update for the week ending October 29, 2016

Stocks mixed for the week – While a better than expected U.S. 3rd quarter economic growth figure was released, other news dragged down stocks this week. Mixed quarterly results came in for the third quarter. While financial and health care companies reported better than expected profits, energy companies had disappointing results. Exxon took a huge write down of nearly 20% on new oil reserves based on lower oil prices. Oil dropped as well after several weeks of gains. Fears of higher interest rates weighed heavily on stocks and bonds as investors felt that the 3rd quarter economic growth, lower unemployment, and other data would cause The Federal Reserve raise its key interest rates at the December meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 18,161.19, up from 18,145.71 last Friday. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,126.42, down from 2,141.16 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 5,190.10, down from last week’s close of 5,257.40.

U.S. Treasury Bond yields rise on better economic news this week – The 10 year U.S. Treasury Bond yield closed the week at 1.86%, up from 1.74% last Friday. The 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond closed at 2.62%, up from 2.48% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond yields so we watch bond yields closely.

Mortgage rates just slightly lower this week – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on October 27, 2016 showed that average mortgage rates from lenders surveyed for the most popular mortgage products were as follows: The 30-year fixed rate average was 3.47%. The 15-year fixed average rate was 2.78%. The 5/1 ARM average rate was 2.84%. Rates rose late in the week, so rates will definitely be higher in next week’s survey.

California employers add 30,000 new jobs in September – The Employment Development Department reported that California added 30,000 net new jobs in September. The state’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.5%, as more workers entered the workforce. Employers in Los Angeles County increased their payrolls by 19,400 employees. The unemployment rate in Los Angeles County actually increased slightly to 5% as more workers began the job search. Year over year the unemployment rate is down significantly from 6.2% last September. The labor force now has reached 5.2 million people which is the largest it’s been in 15 years in L.A. County.

American economy grew at 2.9% annualized rate in 3rd quarter – The Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the 3rd quarter toping analyst’s expectations of a 2.5% increase. While this was the best quarter in 2 years, it followed just a 1.1% increase for the first 2 quarters (January to June), the slowest first half since 2011.

Existing pending U.S. home sales up in September – U.S. Pending home sales were higher in September after dropping in August according to The National Association of Realtors. The pending home sale index, a forward indicator of future closed sales is based on new contract signings. The number of new contracts signed to purchase an existing home in The U.S. increased 1.5% from August’s figures. It was also up 2.4% from September 2015. It has now risen on a year over year basis for 22 out of the last 25 months.

Existing home pending sales rise in California – The California Association of Realtors released their pending home sales report which showed both month over month gains, and year over year gains in the number of pending sales. Statewide pending home sales were up 5.3% in September from August’s seasonally adjusted level and up 10.5% from last September. Pending home sales include new contracts signed for existing single family attached and detached homes. September’s pending home sales in the Southern California region were down 4.6% from August’s figures, but up 15.3% from last September.

Have a great weekend!

Syd

October 28, 2016

Rodeo Realty holds pumpkin patch event for the community

Rodeo Realty’s Pumpkin Patch was a great success! The annual event was held outside of the Pasific Palisades office October 15.

Residents stopped by between 12 – 3 p.m. and enjoyed free In-N-Out lunch and also received a free pumpkin! Parents and children also enjoyed cupcakes, cookies and candy!

Below are photos of the pumpkin patch event.

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October 28, 2016

Rodeo Realty proudly supports Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund and congratulates the 2016 Damn Gala honorees

Cyndi Lauper, the True Colors Fund, and some pretty awesome people came together in October for an unforgettable evening filled with revelry, music, food, and performances!

Rodeo Realty is proud to have taken part in the event that focused on raising money to support the True Colors Fund’s efforts to end homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in America. The non-profit organization, co-founded by Cyndi Lauper in 2008, has striven to provide a safe space in which LGBT youth could feel free to express themselves. Through community organizing work, public engagements, public policy, research, and youth collaboration, they hope to not only end LGBT youth homelessness, but to also prevent it from occurring.

Among various supporters, Rodeo Realty was one of the sponsors for Cyndi Lauper’s Damn Gala. Together, President of Rodeo Realty Syd Leibovitch and his wife Linda donated a total of $7,000 to the organization and its event.

The event was held at The Hollywood Athletic Club. Network and Los Angeles LGBT Center were this year’s honorees.

Rodeo Realty proudly supports Cyndi Laurper’s True Colors Fund and congratulates the 2016 Damn Gala honorees.

About True Colors Fund:
In America, up to 40 percent of the 1.6 million youth that are homeless each year identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Yet, only up to seven percent of the general youth population is LGBT. The most cited reason for this disproportionate rate is family rejection due to the young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

October 27, 2016

Rodeo Realty's Woodland Hills agent Herb Lambert named Realtor of the Year by SRAR

The Southland Regional Association of Realtors (SRAR), which has over 9,500 members, honored Rodeo Realty’s Herb Lambert as its 2016 “Realtor of the Year” at their annual Awards Luncheon on October 25. The award is given for service to the association, its members and to the community over the course of many years.

Some of Herb’s contributions include:

31 consecutive years of service to SRAR; 10 years on the Board of Directors, 2 years on the Executive Committee, 2 years as a CAR Director, 3 time Chairman of Professional Standards, Chairman of the Ethics and Arbitration, Grievance, and By-Laws Committees, Chairman and Panelist on many dozens of Ethics and Arbitration Hearings, Mediator of agent commission disputes for more than 25 years, helped create SRAR’s Public Mediation Service, wrote numerous articles on ethics and real estate practices for the Realtor Report magazine, Instructor of Risk Management for SRAR classes, CAR Inter-board Arbitrator, Participant on many SRAR task forces and mentor for many agents throughout the years.

His community service includes being a Volunteer Mediator for LA Superior Court and supporter of numerous charities, most notably, City of Hope.

Rodeo Realty is proud of Lambert’s achievements and congratulates him on his recent award and recognition!

October 26, 2016

Rodeo Realty helping clothing drive collect suits for soldiers

Farmers Insurance® has launched its nationwide “Suits for Soldiers” program to help active duty military personnel transition to civilian work and life.

Rodeo Realty supports its veterans and is helping Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Encino) collect donated suits for the program through a clothing drive.

From October 24 to November 22, residents can stop by all Rodeo Realty offices and drop off gently used and dry cleaned suits for men and women.

The Assemblymember hopes to at least collect 45 suits through the drive.

“Many of our veterans have trouble getting or maintaining employment simply because they are missing appropriate business attire,” states Assemblymember Dababneh. “Together, we can solve this problem. That is why I encourage all Valley residents to participate in the “Suits for Soldiers” clothing drive, so we give a little back to those that have served our country so bravely.”

More than one million military personnel will be making the transition from the military in the next couple of years, according to the Department of Defense office of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and many of these veterans may not own appropriate business attire to go to networking events, interviews or even to work. Each piece of clothing donated brings “Suits for Soldiers” closer to its goal of collecting 50,000 suits that can help create an easier transition for veterans into the civilian workforce.

Donated suits can be dropped off at the following Rodeo Realty locations:

Encino
17501 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316

Northridge
9338 Reseda Blvd., Suite 102
Northridge, CA 91324

Woodland Hills
21031 Ventura Blvd., Suite 100
Woodland Hills, CA 91364

Calabasas
23901 Calabasas Rd., Suite 1050
Calabasas, CA 91302

Beverly Hills
202 N. Canon Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Brentwood
11940 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90049

Pacific Palisades
839 Via De La Paz
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Sherman Oaks
15300 Ventura Blvd. #101
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Studio City
12345 Ventura Blvd., #A
Studio City, CA 91604

West Hollywood
9200 Sunset Blvd., #200
West Hollywood, CA 90069

Westlake Village
100 N. Westlake Blvd., #100A
Westlake Village, CA 91362

October 25, 2016

Rodeo Realty Sherman Oaks' agents help feed hungry, deliver 100 lunches to homeless

Thanks to Rodeo Realty Sherman Oaks, many who struggle with hunger every day unexpectedly received a free meal last week.

Sherman Oaks’ agents took it upon themselves to do something for the homeless and the hungry in the community. Agents kicked off their Wednesday by bringing in food supplies and packing lunches. Together, the office packed 100 Rodeo Realty reusable tote bags with sandwiches, cookies, granola bars, fresh fruit and water.

Agents then delivered and distributed the meals to the homeless all throughout the community.

By giving food to the hands of those who need it the most, agents became more aware of homelessness in the area. Their time and donations is a reminder that it doesn’t take much to make an impact and a difference—an experience they enjoyed and hope others will get inspired to do also.

Statistics
According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, San Fernando Valley experienced an increase in homelessness since 2013 and went from 4,836 homeless persons to 5,216 in 2015. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank reports that 1 in 6 people of L.A. County struggle with hunger—that’s equivalent to the total population of the San Fernando Valley.

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October 22, 2016

Economic update for the week ending October 22, 2016

Stocks up slightly this week – Third quarter earnings season began with mixed results. Several tech companies beat earnings expectations while several very large companies reported earnings that were below expectations. As more companies report the market may move depending on the profit levels. All in all it was a pretty lackluster week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 18,145.71, up from 18,138.38 last Friday. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,141.16, up from 2,132.98 last week. The NASDAQ closed the week at 5,257.40, up from last week’s close of 5,214.16.

U.S. Treasury Bond yields drop this week – The 10 year U.S. Treasury Bond yield closed the week at 1.74%, down from 1.80% last Friday. The 30-year U.S. Treasury Bond closed at 2.48%, down from 2.55% last week. Mortgage rates follow bond yields so we watch bond yields closely.

Mortgage rates up just slightly this week – The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey released on October 20 showed that average mortgage rates from lenders surveyed for the most popular mortgage products were as follows: The 30-year fixed rate average was 3.52%. The 15-year fixed average rate was 2.79%. The 5/1 ARM average rate was 2.85%. I’d expect to see rates just slightly lower next week based on where we were at the end of the week.

California existing home sales up in September – The California Association of Realtors reported that existing single family home sales totaled 425,680 in September on a seasonally annualized rate, up 1.8% from August’s rate and up 0.8% from last September. This marked the first year over year increase in 7 months as extremely low inventory has led to fewer sales.

California’s median price paid for an existing home up 6.1% – Year over year the median price paid for a single family home increased 6.1% in September to $514,320 according to The California Association of Realtors. The median price in September 2015 was $494,670.

Homes on the market remain near all time low levels – C.A.R. also reported that the unsold inventory index in September showed a 3.5 month supply of homes on the market. A “normal” market has a 6 1/2 month supply of homes. I’d expect prices to continue to rise until the inventory level gets closer to normal levels.

U.S. existing home sales up in September – The National Association of Realtors reported that total existing home sales, which include single family detached homes, town-homes, condos, and co-ops, increased 3.2% in September from August levels. Sales year over year were up just 0.6% from last September, but The September figure represented a nice rebound after a disappointing July and August sales level. One key figure in the report was an increase in first time buyers who accounted for 34% of the total sales. That was a 4 year high. Distressed sales accounted for just 4% of sales which is a new low according to N.A.R. The median price for an existing home nationwide increased 5.6% from last September as low inventory pushed prices higher.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Syd

October 21, 2016

Rodeo Realty agents thanked and recognized with 'A Day at the Races'

On Friday, October 14, hundreds of Rodeo Realty agents enjoyed an afternoon of live horse racing and betting at the Santa Anita Park. The day of action packed racing and gourmet buffet was held in The Club Court venue of the racetrack.

Rodeo Realty’s annual ‘A Day at the Races’ is an event put together to recognize and thank top producing agents of the company who are constantly working hard and putting forth every effort in what they do.

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, we look forward to next year!

View photos of the event below:
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