A Look at This Week's Sales
There are 100 listings on the market in La Canada this week. 7 of them are new listings:
Hilldale is above Billy's in Montrose, the second to the last house on the street before you head down hill towards the movie theaters. Alta Canyada is a very nice house, but has power lines just east of the property line. Parkman sold in 4/07 for $1,067,000 after being listed for $995,000. The owners redid the kitchen and in did cosmetic work, hoping to add $300,000 in value. This is a very tough market on listings like that one. Descanso is another re-do. Very nice kitchen but small bedrooms. Louise sold in '05 for $1,575,000 and came back on the market in 7/07 for $1,995,000. It has been off and on the market since then and is now priced at $1,895,000. Richmond sits on a nice 19,000 foot lot and has a guest house (included in the total square footage of 3300). Hill was on a month ago with another agent at the same price. In my opinion it is really overpriced. I'm guessing my opinion was shared by the first agent so the Seller moved on to another agent who told him what he wanted to hear. Not really the most effective way to sell a house in this market.
We've had 7 homes go into escrow in La Canada this week:
Wiladonda had 2 price reductions before selling. Conle is in Sagebrush but sold in less than a month. Inverness, the short sale, sold in '02 for $899, then again in '05 for $1.4 (great year to sell!). It came on 9/07 for $1,895,000 and has ridden the market down on its way back to the bank. It is now in escrow, subject to approval from the bank. Lanterman sold in a week-no surprise there. Viro is in escrow again after falling out last week. Beulah is finally in escrow after 8 months and one price reduction($100,000). Flintridge Avenue is in escrow. The buyers are a La Canada family moving up from a smaller home in Flintridge (theirs will be on at the beginning of June).
We had 4 home close escrow:
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Orange Tree, a tiny house near the freeway. Daleridge closed after 6 months on the market. Mellow is one of the few that has closed over asking. It was listed for $959 and sold with multiple offers. Mariners View also sold quickly.
Today I met with clients who brought along a "business associate." Without introducing himself, he approaches me and asks if I know that La Canada has fallen in value more than any other place in the nation (my clients are looking to buy in La Canada). The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I was beyond angry and felt as if he had insulted one of my children. This is where I live and work and raise my children. And I refuse to negotiate with misinformation, ingnorance and arrogance.
I paused before responding, then asked him where he got his information. After much debate he finally admitted that he had gotten the information from "his people." OK. So...some of his people read one statistic that puts La Canada prices at 30% below where they were in the same month last year and that brands us the lowest in the nation. Never mind that even in the high times, prices were skewed up or down 20% by one sale. The same is true today, but I realize how perception is king and reality isn't very important. When buyers want to buy, they haul out whatever statistic justifies their rock bottom price. In areas like La Canada, sellers rarely have to sell so many transactions never get past the first counter offer. I'm not trying to be a Pollyanna. Our market has definitely gone down and will probably continue to go down for a couple of years. However, the investment fundamentals of La Canada remain unchanged. The City remains a wonderful place to live with excellent schools and a high quality of life. If he is lucky, my new friend will someday figure that out.
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