The beauty and magic of the pride of Pasadena, of course the Tournament of Roses aka the Rose Parade (and been there myself many times over the years and took this photo to the right at street level) may or may not at times have much of an impact on home prices in Southern California

The “weather” dividend as it’s also known has come and in someways gone (imho) over the years along with the inflated home prices for our  (mostly) postage stamp size lots right along with our traffic clogging freeways. Yet seeing the sunny skies of Southern Cal has got to be appealing to those in the frozen tundra of the east this time of year. I can only imagine what it must be like to shovel your way out of the house vs. saying “please pass me the sunscreen Wilma…”

Those of us who’ve lived here all our lives at times take our “winter weather” for granted,  yep when it gets down below the 60′s during the day we think we’re freezing, yet that’s almost balmy in Chicago for Jan.  And believe me I know that after visiting the Windy City in early Jan. a couple of years back  locals were boasting about sunshine and 37 degree temps!

So I guess only time will tell if the 2012 real estate market will be much different from 2010 and 2011 which reflected relatively similar numbers for home prices and sales according to the data from the So Cal Multiple Listing Service (one of the largest real estate data bases in the country).

Now for me personally, even though selling So Cal real estate for living has been my livelihood for decades, I think we have more than enough people here right now, I’d just like a few more them to be buying homes at this point. So if you’re interested  contact me, Lynda@PreferreHomeBrokers.com.  However if you’re making the trek out west to the left-coast and need a great (rather immodest) REALTOR, you can contact me too. My company is Preferred Home Brokers and we’ve been representing home buyers and sellers in SoCal communities now for decades in Southern California, the land of sunshine among other things.

So I guess only time will tell if the 2012 real estate market will be much different from 2010 and 2011 which had relatively similar numbers according to the data from the So Cal Multiple Listing Service (one of the largest real estate data bases in the country). Until then…enjoy the weather wherever you are!

Orange County ~ Here’s a snapshot of re-sale home prices per square foot for closed sales in the OC.

Home pricing for Orange County re-sales homes per square foot are for single family homes and condos alike. Comparisons are made between recent closings for the past 12 months ending 9/1/08 vs. 5/1/08.

• Anaheim  ~ $263 vs.$324
• Anaheim Hills ~  $307 vs.$350
• Brea  ~ $ 298 vs. $337
• Cypress ~  $309 vs. $343
• Fullerton ~ $314  vs. $362
• La Habra ~  $282 vs. 341
• Placentia  ~ $280 vs.  $325
• Orange ~ $302 vs.  $359
• Tustin ~  $330 vs. $381
• Yorba Linda  ~ $322 vs. $367

List update as reported by:

• Vicki Lloyd ~ MBA, ACRE, e-PRO, Realtor Lake Forest, California (The Real Estate Professionals)
• Lake Forest – we’re at $290/sq ft vs $329/sq ft.

Data source includes recent re-sale closings through the SoCal Multiple Listing Service, one of the largest MLS organizations in the U.S. which serves Orange County and portions of Los Angeles County. Data is based on closings as of 9/1/08 for past 12 months as compared to closings by 5/1/08. This is an excercise I report on every few months.

It’s important to note this is absolutely raw data, and it’s intended only to be an overview. Obviously so many factors are figured into the evaluation. I.e. location, condition, amenities, etc.

Sales for single family homes in the City of Brea almost doubled in March compared to Feb. 2008.  

Brea is well known for excellence in education. The schools have been a strong asset for residents in our community. It’s often said Brea enjoys bigger city benefits, yet maintains a small town atmosphere. Many of us who live here feel it’s the best of both worlds. 

Single family sales activity for March 2008, prices were from $365,000 ~ $2,950,000.

• 122 re-sale homes were for sale in March, down slightly  compared to  prior months of 134/132/150/156/161/156 respectively.  
• 23  pending sales, went into escrow, almost double from last month at 12 and compared  6/9/9/6/8 in prior months.
• 11 homes closed escrow in March compared to 13/8/8/13/13/23/15, respectively in prior months.
• 28 homes were removed from the market, the listings either expired, were withdrawn or cancelled. Down from prior months.

Condo sales in March ~Condos/town-homes range from $269,000.00 to 550,000.

• 21 condo/town-homes currently for sale, compared to 17/34/29/30/28 in preceding months.
• 2 pending sales (same as last month) went into escrow in March, also compared to 0/3/5/2/5/7 preceding months.
• 4 property closed escrow, compared to 2/0/3/3/2/4/6/4, respectively in preceding months.
• 4 properties were removed from the market, the listings either expired, were withdrawn or cancelled. Also down from prior months.

The majority of Brea homes for sale were priced from the upper $600,000 range to the upper $800,000 range. In March there  were 12  homes for sale in Brea in excess of $1,000.000, including the upper end at $2,000,000+ for 3 custom homes located at the top of North Hills, Brea.

• Brea’s current re-sale inventory stands at 7 months. Meaning at the current rate of sales (based on year-end statistics in 2007) it would take 7 months to sell the  inventory assuming no others (new listings) were added to the existing supply. 

-Data source is the SoCal MLS.

On Brea: ~ Median income for Brea is approximately $85,000 ~ Median age is 35 ~ City size is about 11 square miles.

If you lived in Brea you would be approximately:

• 30 Miles east of downtown Los Angeles
• 39 Miles from LAX ~ Los Angeles International Airport
• 16 Miles from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana
• 10 Miles from Disneyland, the “Happiest Place on Earth” ~ Anaheim, CA.                       

To learn more about Brea take a tour around our city at  All About Brea~ Brea, CA 92821 & 92823 and view Sunset Magazine, Brea The Best of The West and you will see why Brea’s the Place to Be. Looking for family entertainment in the City of Brea? View  Family Fun in Good Old Brea, or visit our City Hall Park, it’s like a step back in time.

Want more on Brea real estate? Contact me, Lynda Eisenmann at Preferred Home Brokers for Real Estate Help, we’re one of longest established real estate companies in Orange County under the same ownership.

Brea is a fine community with a balance of residential housing, business and commercial properties. The City is well known for excellence in education. The schools have been a strong draw for residents in our community.

The real estate report for sales/market activity for October 2007:

Single family homes ~ Pricing ranges from $424,000 to an upper end price of $2.950.000. It could be noted the majority of homes in the City of Brea are priced under $1,000.000.

Single family sales activity for October ~

• 161 re-sale homes currently for sale in the city, up only slightly from the prior month compared to 156 for September. .
• 9 homes sold/entered escrow, as compared to 6/September ~ 8/August, ~ 22 /July ~ 17/June.
• 13 homes closed escrow in October compared the same as September, compared to 23/August ~ 15 for June & July.
• 26 homes were removed from the market, or listings expired or withdrawn for the month compared to 32/September ~ 31/August and slighty fewer than July.

Condo data for October ~ Prices for condos/townhomes range from a beginning price of:$309,000.00 to an upper end of 548,000.00

Condominimum sales activity for October ~

• 29 condo/townhomes currently for sale, compared to 30/September ~ 28/August, which was up slighty from June.
• 5 properties sold and are currently in escrow, compared to the same for 2 for September and August, 5/July ~ 7/June.
• 2 properties closed escrow, compared to 4/September & August ~ 6/July and 4/June.

The majority of Brea homes are priced from the upper $600,000 price range to the upper $800,000 range. Currently there are 19 homes for sale in Brea in excess of $1,000.000. Two custom homes/new construction are in excess of $2,900,000.

To learn more about Brea check out our fine city. Take a look at All About Brea ~ Brea, CA 92821 & 92823 and see why it was named one of the Best places to live in the est by Sunset Magazine, Brea The Best of The West and you will see why Brea’s the Place to Be. Looking for family entertainment in the City of Brea? View  Family Fun in Good Old Brea, or visit our City Hall Park, it’s like a step back in time.

Want to spend a day in Brea? Check out Brea ~ CA as Featured in Westways Magazine  for day tripping around town. If you’re want more on Brea real estate contract me, Lynda Eisenmann at Preferred Home Brokers for Real Estate Help, we’re Brea’s most established real estate brokerage. Those of us who live in and know Brea understand we also have a very strong financial community, see more on Brea business view this,  Brea Means Business for just one example.  And it all of that is not enough here’s a basic overview of Beautiful Brea-Orange Co. CA, 92821.

We’ve all heard horror stories of a “money-pit” right? I’ve recently been working on re-habing a 60 year-old home owned by my family, it’s the same house we lived in when I was a kid. After taking another look at this list, I’d say we got off fairly lucky. Hard to believe, yet we’ve still got a few things in that 60+ year old house that are on this list.

When considering buying an older home here are some things to consider about the average life-expectancy of appliances and components of your home.

Kitchen:
Dishwasher – 19-12 years.
Range – 19 years for gas, 17 years for electric.
Garbage Disposal – 6-15 years.
Refrigerator – 17 years.
Kitchen sink – 8-10 years enamel/steel 25-30 years for cast iron.
Trash compactor – 8-15 years.
Microwave – 11 years.

Baths:
Bathtub – 50 years cast iron, 10-15 years fiberglass.
Toilet – 50 years.
Faucets – 13-15 years.

Exterior:
Roof 15-30 years asphalt, wood shingles and shake.
Central air-conditioning unit – 15 years.
Window unit a/c – 10 years.
Ducts – 30 years galvanized, 15 years plastic.
Garage door opener – 10 years.
Now please keep in mind these are estimates of the “average” life expectancy and many of these items require routine maintenance to meeting these projections.

Miscellaneous:
Wallpaper – 7 years.
Paint – 10-15 years wall and trim.
Carpet – 11 years.
Drywall – 3-70 years.
Furnace – (forced-air) 15-18 years.
Water heater – 11-13 years for gas, 14 years electric.

It’s important to please keep in mind these are estimates of the “average” life expectancy and many of these items require routine maintenance to meeting these projections.

Source: National Association of Home Builders.

As a life-long California resident myself I can only imagine what others may think when they see the photos of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on  New Year’s Day usually with bright sunshine enjoyed by all.   Each year I wonder to myself how many of those folks across the frozen U.S. actually decide to go West.  Based on our continued population growth I’d say plenty.  And that’s where I come in, as a Realtor and broker I work with many mid-west/east coast transplants myself.  If you’re thinking about moving out west,  I’m here to help.

Ready to enjoy the Southern California sunsets for yourself? Check out  homes that deliver those beautiful sunsets… PreferredHomeBrokers.com and search the multiple listing service (MLS) just like the pros. 

3 Wonderful Bedrooms, 2 Baths, Great Yard for the Kids. And oh  yes … sunsets included… 

Lynda Eisenmann ~ Living in So Cal

Pricing for Today’s Market… Or Getting Ahead Of the Pack

When evaluating a property and pricing a home properly how often do you consider  how you will be positioned for competitive properties? In today’s market it’s not enough to look at the comparable sales, while looking at the competition; it’s about getting ahead of it, getting your home home out in front.

Recently while speaking with a seller about a potential price reduction she asked ‘How much of a price reduction do you think we need, $10,000 or more?” and “How do you think that would help?” At that point I decided not to give her the $10,000 figure. I said “Before I answer that, let me take another look again at the competition” and she said “fine”. Now please keep in mind, I felt we had the property priced well from the beginning, however the market was speaking to us both. I remembered something I’ve used very effectively in the past, the importance of positioning vs. pricing. As a seller, you can price it to sell,…or price it to sit with the others, it’s your choice.

On the flip side, in most of the U.S. we’ve experienced an appreciating market for so long, positioning wasn’t a big issue. In fact, if you weren’t at the top of the pricing pyramid you may be leaving money on the table. Yet, in a declining or flat market, the opposite is also true.

After another review (about week four on the market and other area reductions) for my client I found homes in her area were clustered in a similar price range. Her immediate competition (in the neighborhood) was eight other 4 bedroom homes all within about $2,000-$3,000 of each other. After discussion, I suggested she break out of the pack and get ahead of the market and position her pricing just under the competition. That way instead of being in the cluster, she would be ahead of the game. Since prices were continued to soften  in the area, if she didn’t… someone else most likely would. And if they did reduce their price, at that time she would be just following the market downward as opposed to getting ahead of it. She agreed, and positioned herself to be the lowest priced 4 bedroom home for her area. The reduction not a huge nose-dive, yet enough to make a difference by about $5,000. Within about 7 days she accepted an offer not too far off her current asking price and was the only sale in the neighborhood.

So when it comes to pricing remember this important aspect. Thinking of selling? contact Lynda Eisenmann, email: Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com at Preferred Home Brokers.

Another thing to consider, not placing all your eggs in one basket. By that I mean, as opposed to spending $60,000 for every new bell and whistle in your kitchen for example, consider spreading that amount of money around in multiple improvements. Maybe one-half in the kitchen, and then consider bathroom improvements as an example.

Not long ago I was viewing open houses in a desert community looking at condos. While visiting one property it appeared the seller did a huge remodel in one bathroom. Trying to recoup that expense, that property was priced higher than all others based on one room, his bathroom. Now keep in mind the kitchen was still in original condition (except a new coat of paint on the original cabinets) and the other bathroom was still in the same builder condition. That’s an example (as far as I’m concerned) where the seller spent too much money in one specific area/room.

So you can see, in the event you’re selling within five or so years, it’s unlikely you would be able to recoup all your investment in one particular room. You also want the cost and the quality of your improvements to be commensurate with the overall value of your home.

The list below is an analysis of prospective homes improvements and your return on your investment according to the National Association of Realtors. These calculations are based on the average return on improvement projects in the greater
Los Angeles area. They are also based on projects in the mid-range of home improvements.

Window Replacement 111%
Minor Kitchen Remodel 102%
Bathroom Remodel 101%
Major Kitchen Remodel 95%
Roof Replacement 91%
Bathroom Addition 90%
Family Room Addition 86%
Home Office Remodel 80%

Any questions contact me: Lynda Eisenmann, Prefered Home Brokers

Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com