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Carol Wolfe dishes on Bidding Wars in the Valley

Shortage of homes for sale in San Fernando Valley triggers bidding wars

 A shortage of houses for sale in the San Fernando Valley is triggering bidding wars, quick sales and an investor feeding frenzy, according to real estate agents.
With prices low after the market crash, more homeowners are reluctant to sell – and with banks still stinging from the foreclosure crisis, financing is harder to come by.
At the same time, the lower prices and rates are luring more buyers into the market. The result: Not nearly enough homes are on the market to satisfy the demands of a growing pool of homebuyers and investors, driving prices back up and limiting selection.

After 37 years as an agent, Carol Wolfe with Rodeo Realty in Encino, can’t recall seeing a market like this. She’s personally trying to buy a 1,126-square-foot three bedroom, one bath fixer upper in Lake Balboa listed for $245,000 to either flip or rent out.

The seller has 34 offers and on Tuesday instructed all the bidders to submit their last, best offers.
“All of the offers are cash. There are so many investors out there that it’s crazy,” she said. “I put my offer in at $310,000 and I probably won’t get it.” A few weeks ago she had a listing in the 4400 block of Azalia Drive in Tarzana priced under the market at $599,000 and held a broker’s open house – used to introduce other agents to the property – on a Friday morning. More than 200 people showed up and the property attracted multiple offers. It’s now in escrow for $715,000, she said. “That was crazy. The buyers will bid up the price if you price it right,” she said. That’s the market’s up side. The flip side is that listings are hard to come by. Wolfe is used to handling between 10 and 20 listings at a time. She currently has two because of the tight inventory. At the end of March there were just 1,875 houses and condos for sale in the San Fernando Valley, according to the Van Nuys-based Southland Regional Association of Realtors, a scant 2.8 month supply at the current sales pace.That’s the lowest since the start of the downturn in 2007. Inventory peaked at 7,730 properties in October 2007 and has been steadily falling since then. The record high inventory is 14,976 properties in July 1992 as the Valley’s aerospace sector was shrinking and the record low is 1,492 March 2004 as the market was hot and credit easy. The Realtors group started tracking the combined house and condo inventory in January 1986.

To read the whole article visit link below: http://www.dailynews.com/business/ci_20631926/shortage-homes-sale-san-fernando-valley-triggers-bidding

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China USA Business Summit from Greg Moesser

Greg Moesser, from Rodeo Realty’s Beverly Hills office attended the China-USA Business Summit last week. He met with high level Chinese officials and entrepreneurs to speak about Los Angele’s luxury real estate market. (see photo attached).

As the only standing private transnational exchange organization in the United States and China, China-US Business Summit has been providing project matchmaking and exchange on trade and culture for enterprises and investors from both countries year by year. Its comprehensive upgrade this year has aroused highly concern of the political circles, business circles and academic circles in China and America. By now, the Summit has received the official replies of participation, telegrams and notes of congratulations sent from Mr. Qiu Shaofang, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, Mr. Jin Deben, Secretary General of China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Ed Royce, US Congressman, Mr. Michael Honda, US Congressman, Ms. Judy May Chu, US Congresswoman, Mr. Bob Huff, Senator of US California, Mr. Curt Hagman, California Congressman Mr. Brian Sandoval, Governor of Nevada, Mr. Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas City, Mr. Bob Foster, Mayor of Long Beach City and Mr. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.

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Hancock Park Chandler Estate For Sale

The iconic mansion once home to Norman and Dorothy Chandler is now back on the market and listed for $11.25 million. The estate is one the great Los Angeles historical landmarks. From having hosted many social events,  fundraisers and parties, this iconic estate stands on its own. Even United States presidents such as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon were frequent guests of the Chandler’s. This almost 10,000 square foot estate,  nestled on an almost one acre lot, was once referred to as the White House of the West. 


Josh Flagg and Joe Babajian co-listed the property.  

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All Things Social Media

    KEEP IN TOUCH WITH RODEO!


In addition to the updates found on the Rodeo Realty Blog, there are other great ways to keep in touch with all things Rodeo. You can follow us on Twitter via @RodeoRealty_Prez for links, reports and news. You can also “LIKE”  us on Facebook for more exclusive updates, photos and news. We also just joined Pinterest, our virtual board for all things real estate, check them out here RodeoRealty does Pinterest.



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Syd Leibovitch on Top Agent Magazine April Cover!


Syd’s words:
“I guess I’m good at driving people around and showing them homes,” he says. “I think everyone would rather own a home than rent a home, and everyone who owns a home would rather own a better home. Anyone who has money to invest would like to invest in real estate, so it’s really not very difficult.”

“I think one of the reasons for our success over the last 5 or 6 years has been that we aren’t doing what other companies are doing,” Leibovitch says. “Everyone has been crying the blues about the economy and taking things away from their agents. They panicked, and their agents ended up thinking it was worse than it really was. We, on the other hand, were showing our agents what a tremendous opportunity this was to make money.”


To read the whole article visit here!
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Growing Trend: Solar Power Housing

Net-zero-energy homes are increasing in popularity in the United States. With an increase in energy costs, the green building trend has blossomed, making accessible, affordable home-efficiency building technologies key attributes for some potential home buyers. These homes use solar energy to achieve net-zero energy use vs. consumption, and thus achieve a year-end positive energy generation-to-use balance.

The Drantch Group, Aaron Scott and Dan Drantch of Sherman Oaks are representing the first solar power housing development, The Village, in the Valley. Located on 1221 block of Pierce Street in Pacoima, the development consists of 57 solar powered homes with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. The Village is being built in four phases, with homes selling in the $275,000 to $309,900 range. The trick to selling in this market is finding an affordable price point, president of California Homes Builder, Shawn Evenhaim states. The first phase of 12 homes has been sold and the 13 homes of phase two are 85 percent completed and nine of those homes are in escrow. Phase 1 completed in February and phase 2 is expected to be completed this March.

The Village development ceremony took place at the end of February and in attendance was the Los Angeles City Officials, Mayor Villaraigosa, Rodeo Realty’s Aaron Scott and Dan Drantch and the California Home Builder team.

Homeowners pay a fixed power fee of $49 a month for 20 years. Each homes also receives a $10,000 solar incentive from Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the homeowner receives this credit for the power the home generates. Homeowners will save 5-15% right away on their electricity and those savings will increase overtime, pending the price of fossil fuel.
This growing trend of energy-efficient solar power homes are providing homeowners affordable homes with some relief on rising energy costs by giving back to the power grid.

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Linda Ballou Travel Column: An Outdoor Day in Calabasas

Linda Ballou is a seasoned real estate professional with Rodeo Realty, and an outdoor adventure-travel writer.
On her days off from helping clients buy and sell homes, she explores the trails and eateries in the Santa Monica Mountains, Valley Hillsides and along the shores of Malibu. In her Great Outdoors Column on Examiner.com, she shares her favorite outdoor activities in Los Angeles, Ojai, Santa Barbara and more.
Check out her latest post titled “Outdoor Day # 23-Mind Sailing in Las Virgenes Open Space Nature Preserve.” 





After your hike, why not stop in for a visit at Rodeo Realty Calabasas office across the street from Sagebrush Cantina?

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