PCH Estates

Cliffside Real Estate

Robert.Edie — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:07:57 +0000

How the newly passed Fiscal policies might affect property owners in America?

In order to determine the new policies affect on real estate, we first have to understand them.

Here are the major things in the deal that you need to know about:

Income taxes: The Bush-era tax cuts will remain permanently in place for the vast majority of Americans. Those individuals who make up to $400,000 a year—or families making up to $450,000—are safe. However, those who make more will see their tax rates increase from 35% to 39.6%.

Capital gains taxes: The tax, which is paid on the sale of stocks, real estate, and other capital assets, will increase from 15% to 20% for individuals making more than $400,000 or families making more than $450,000.

Congress’ salaries: Obama had initially lifted the pay freeze, but it will be reinstated. No raise for you, John Boehner.

Tax break extensions: Tax breaks, largely for middle-class and low-income Americans, were extended for five years. That includes the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax credit.

Unemployment benefits: Extended for one year.

Estate taxes: Estate taxes will increase from 35% to 40%. The first $5 million is exempted for individual estates. The Dems originally wanted the rate to be 45% and the exemption to be up to $3.5 million.

Farm bill extension: The bill, extended for nine months, removes the looming threat of a big rise in the price of milk.
“Doctor Fix”—The legislation staves off scheduled cuts to doctors’ Medicare payments for a year. Initially there was going to be a 27% cut in reimbursements to doctors treating Medicare patients.

Here’s what’s NOT included:

The sequester: The sequester—or automatic spending cuts—still has not been addressed and has been put off for two months. Congress still needs to decide what to do about cuts to defense spending and other government programs. This will be a major point of contention, especially with the new Congress.

The debt-ceiling: The $16.4 trillion debt ceiling still must be dealt with, and as of now, has not been extended. The country hit its debt ceiling limit on Monday. The new Congress must come up with a “extraordinary measures” in two months or a government shutdown looms. Until then, the Treasury Department will come up with temporary measures to keep the country up and running.

Payroll tax cut: The 2-percentage point cut to the payroll tax expired at the end of 2012 and was not renewed. That means the Social Security payroll tax will increase from about 4% to 6.2%. That’s approximately $1,000 more for a typical family earning $50,000 a year

Bouncing Back in 2012

Robert.Edie — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:41:59 +0000

After a soft 2011, the luxury home market made a comeback in 2012, driven by growing buyer confidence, strong foreign demand, low mortgage rates, more realistic sellers and sharp drops in the number of home listings. Sales of homes priced at $1 million and above rose by 9% in the first nine months of 2012 compared with the same period one year ago to the highest level in four years, according to DataQuick MDA, a real-estate data firm that tracks public records in the 98 largest U.S. metro areas.

Still, many homeowners are finding that their homes are worth less than the peak values of six years ago. That has likely prompted some to hold their properties off the market. The supply of million-dollar-and-above homes being offered for sale dropped by nearly 8% this year, according to Realtor.com. Also, banks are taking back fewer foreclosed properties. Nearly 2,000 million-dollar homes went through foreclosure this year through October, down by 33% from the same period last year and by more than half from 2010, according to Zillow.

That has left more buyers chasing fewer homes, giving some sellers the upper hand.

“There’s a real shortage of inventory throughout our markets in the United States,” says Kathy Korte, chief executive of Sotheby’s International Realty Inc. “We have many more buyers than the high-end homes that we have to sell.”

At the current sales pace, it would take nearly 12 months to sell the supply of million-dollar properties available for sale in October, down sharply from 21 months one year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. The supply shortage is becoming particularly acute in the West, where the supply of million-dollar homes stood at just six months in October.

In California, some 18,760 previously owned homes sold for more than $1 million in the first nine months of the year, a 14.8% increase from last year and the highest level since 2007, according to DataQuick. “Buyers had better come to the table prepared,” says Jan Spak, the real-estate agent with Rodeo Realty in Los Angeles who represented the McWethys. She says 2011 was “lethargic,” adding, “We didn’t have a lot of inventory, but then, we didn’t have a lot of buyers.”

This year, bidding wars have become commonplace in affluent California markets from Brentwood to Palo Alto, where new land is scarce and where investors have pushed up prices by making all-cash offers to buy older homes that can be torn down and rebuilt.

Those disappointments are helping to create urgency among buyers. “When you have 25 offers on a property, you now have another 24 buyers who didn’t get that home,” says Jeff Sposito, president of J. Rockcliff Realtors in San Francisco’s East Bay. “They realize very quickly that prices aren’t going to get any better.”

To be sure, many sellers are finding that their homes aren’t worth anywhere near what they fetched at their peak, and sales are rising from extremely depressed levels of the past few years. Sales of $1 million properties for the first nine months of the year were nearly half of what they were in at the peak of the housing boom in 2006. Lending standards are still conservative. Banks generally require at least 20% down payments and excellent credit and are thoroughly scrutinizing a borrower’s income and the property appraisal.

“The big difference this year was that the Americans finally got off the fence,” says Sally Daley of Daley and Company in Vero Beach, Fla. Europeans and Canadians had accounted for the bulk of her sales in 2011.

Few luxury markets did as well this year as those benefiting from the technology stock boom in the Silicon Valley. Atherton, Calif., topped the list of the most-expensive markets in the U.S., with an average home value of $3.77 million, up 18% from one year ago, according to Zillow. Values rose by 20% in Los Altos, Calif., to $2.16 million, and by 19% in Marin County’s San Anselmo, to $2.17 million.

Highest Lease of the Summer

Robert.Edie — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 02:55:58 +0000

SOLD: $300,000 per month

23402 Malibu Colony Road, Malibu, California 90265

Ultimate Malibu Colony estate on rare double lot. Prime oceanfront home offering the best in luxury beach living. Designed for entertaining and lounging, this exquisitely furnished 6 bedroom, 6 bathroom masterpiece boasts an open patio with spa and outdoor bbq, bar, flat screen, and fire pit, steps from sun deck to white sand beach, exceptional great room and gourmet kitchen with hardwood floors, sumptuous oceanfront master with office, huge closet & deck, detached 2-room guest cottage, lush courtyard & deluxe media system thru-out. 3 car garage.

Highest Sale of the Summer

Robert.Edie — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 02:32:32 +0000

SOLD: 34,500,000

9577 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California, 90210

Its no surprise that the highest sale of the summer for residential real estate was in Beverly Hills, CA. This exceptional home was bought by foreign investors and the transaction was closed in less than a month. With ultra high end real estate trading at ultra high prices its hard to argue that the real estate market hasn’t taken a turn for the better. Congratulations to listing agents Joyce Rey of Coldewell banker and Mauricio Umansky of The Agency and to selling agent Joan Cohen of Sothebys; quite an exceptional accomplishment.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION: The epitome of European elegance with over 36,000 square feet of exquisite designs with hand painted detailing & state of the art electronics. Commercial level systems, exceptional new construction on nearly two acres of unparalleled quality. Delicate hand carved imported limestone exterior, onyx marbles, marble columns, antique mirrors, exceptional french moldings with 24 karat gilt, bronze beveled double paned windows & doors. Fabulous master suite with huge dressing areas, luxurious baths & separate sitting rooms. Tournament play tennis court, expansive pool pavilion entertaining area with beautiful gardens. Opulent two story circular entry with a magnificent skylight. An entertainer’s paradise, extraordinary scale. No expense has been spared in this famed 3 level french palladian residential estate.

Robert L. Edie
310.717.1795

Recovery or Recession?

Robert.Edie — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:18:44 +0000

Data, data everywhere, but what should you believe? Are we on, in the middle, or at the tail of a deflating real estate bubble? Is there a Florida real estate bubble?

There is A LOT of conflicting data emerging about the 2012 real estate market and 2012 real estate transactions. Case-Shiller has emerged as the leading index of real estate values. The Q4 2011 S&P/Case-Shiller index (1) shows continuing declines in real estate values with quarter over quarter declines of 1.1-1.2% and annual declines of 3.0-3.4%. RealtyTrac is the leading source of foreclosure data. On January 12, 2012, RealtyTrac published (2) surprisingly good news showing a 33% decline in the number of homes in foreclosure from 2010 to 2011.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence is projecting a modest 4.7% increase in real estate transactions with a 2.0% increase in real estate values in 2012 vs. 2011. But, on December 19, 2011, NAR was forced to re-state historical homes sold data (3) due to “upward drift” of their core homes sold benchmarks, which historically have been based on feeds from the multiple listing service (MLS).

So what should you believe? Nearly all data on real estate transactions and real estate values is historical; it does not forecast the future and may not reflect the situation in your local market. Real estate is inherently local, so if the national real estate market is in decline or on the mend, what does that say about your local market? Does a national real estate bubble portend a Florida real estate bubble? Or a bubble in Fort Myers, or Sanibel Island specifically
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The largest real estate social network ActiveRain Corp surveyed 1,835 real estate agents and real estate brokers in the US and Canada to understand if the real estate market and economy are poised for recovery in 2012, both nationwide and in local markets.

Top Ten Mistakes Sellers Make

Robert.Edie — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 05:01:49 +0000

Legal mistakes are not all that you have to watch out for. Emotional Mistakes can be just as costly. If you’re currently a seller take a look at the most common Emotional Traps listed below and ask you’re agent for their opinion if you need an outside perspective.

Emotional Trap #1: Pricing High

Youʼve loved your home. You may have raised kids or started a marriage there. Everywhere you look, you see history, memories, and the reasons you fell in love with the place. I guarantee you: Buyers canʼt see these. Remember: What you may think is an amenity might not be for a buyer, too. It could even be a negative. Distance your emotions from the list price. Try to think of it as a business deal and as a house, not your home.

Emotional Trap #2: Hovering at Showings

Sure, there may be times when you need to be there. But 9 out of 10 times, youʼre only going to make buyers uncomfortable, get your feelings hurt when the buyers donʼt like something, or take each minor complaint as commentary on how youʼve treated the place. Perhaps worst of all? You might prevent them from giving the agent honest feedback that would help you and your agent sell your home faster. This really makes buyers feel like they are in someone else’s home and you want them to imagine that they are in their new home! Emotions sell (or prevent sales!)

Emotional Trap #3: Turning Down the First Offers

Some of the sweetest interest in your home is going to happen in the first 14 – 21 days itʼs on the market. If offers come during this time, consider them seriously! The longer it sits, the more likely it is youʼre going to face price reductions. Donʼt get cocky early on when offers come in and think there will be a steady stream. You might end up selling the home to these same people for less down the line. Not to mention your holding costs as you remain on the market and your house or condo becomes “shop worn” to other buyers and Realtors. Your first offer is often your best offer. Realtors know this from years of experience!

Emotional Trap #4: Feeling Insulted by Negotiations

This may sound crazy, but when youʼre in the middle of a sale, itʼs a very real phenomenon. Remember: Theyʼre not buying you, theyʼre buying the house. Negotiations prove the buyer is serious, so unplug from the nitpicking fast. I’ve seen more offers go sour over people’s feeling getting hurt because the offer was too low. How dare they! That buyer is trying to test the waters and strike the best deal they can. Respond reasonably and likely they will see things your way without all the drama and you both get to where you need to be to get it sold!

California Housing Comeback?

Robert.Edie — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:57:03 +0000

A Southland home sales recovery gained steam in February as a record number of deep-pocketed investors snapped up distressed properties at bargain-basement prices. With so many purchases of low-end homes, median prices remained in a slump. The influx of cash from speculators helped push February sales to their highest level for that month in five years, real estate firm DataQuick reported Wednesday. The increase was fueled by purchases of properties costing less than $200,000. Sales of homes costing more than $800,000 sank.

The activity on the low end helped push the region’s median price down 3.7% from February 2011. At $264,750, the median — the point at which half the homes in the region sold for more and half for less — is now just 7.2% above the market’s 2009 bottom, reached during the worst of the financial crisis.

In related news, the foreclosure picture improved throughout California last month, according to Irvine data tracker RealtyTrac.

In Los Angeles and Orange counties, all forms of foreclosure filings fell 18% in February from a year earlier. Filings include notices of default, notices of foreclosure sales and repossessions. Foreclosure filings dropped 11% in the Inland Empire and 9% in San Diego County over the same time period. Nationwide, February filings declined 8% from a year earlier.

Longtime Los Angeles real estate agent Leo Nordine said Southern California’s housing market has probably hit bottom, but he added, “prices are going to be flat as a pancake this year.”

Investors seeking to refurbish foreclosed properties and either resell them to first-time buyers or rent them out were flooding the real estate market at an unprecedented level, Nordine said.

“I’ve never seen it like this before,” Nordine said. “There are so many investors buying right now it’s insane. The top 1% is buying up all the real estate.”

Inside The Mind Of Today’s Buyers

Robert.Edie — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 21:37:53 +0000

In related news, the foreclosure picture improved throughout California last month, according to Irvine data tracker RealtyTrac.

Longtime Los Angeles real estate agent Leo Nordine said Southern California’s housing market has probably hit bottom, but he added, “prices are going to be flat as a pancake this year.”

Investors seeking to refurbish foreclosed properties and either resell them to first-time buyers or rent them out were flooding the real estate market at an unprecedented level, Nordine said.

“I’ve never seen it like this before,” Nordine said. “There are so many investors buying right now it’s insane. The top 1% is buying up all the real estate.”