the numbers are in...

Los Angeles Magazine, one of our cultural mainstays, has just come out with their take on the current housing climate in the city of Angels. It follows a writer's hunt into our deflated market through the ominous, underbelly of foreclosures and short sales - and finds herself canvassing a world which proves to be much more competitive and taxing than she's anticipated.

More relevantly, the article lists the "new desirables" that are budding in the city. Their key criteria; price/value, access to nature/lifestyle and quality public education (we all have friends paying $20,000 a year for their 2nd graders to learn cursive). The neighborhoods they describe are the most promising in terms of potential and payoff - places that are quickly bracing to come into their own when the market returns to a less apoplectic state. The big winners in our vast city - Silver Lake and Mt. Washington. Eagle Rock and Echo Park are also top finishers, along with Redondo Beach and Alta Dena.

And while you may not be shocked to learn that Malibu and Westwood still posted annual gains over 10% in 2007, you might be a bit more surprised to know that 3rd place went to Downtown. And, in our opinion - its surfeit of inventory and burgeoning scene are daily making downtown a better investment - and a better life.

Salud,
the LA home...

If you want to check out the entire article...
http://www.lamag.com/article.aspx?id=13874

Pithy pathy pathos...

Our beloved Jonathan Gold has hit us again. The only writer ever to win a pulitzer for food reviews happens (thankfully) to find the city of angels to be his gastrointestinal muse... I think last year he did 100 must have's in LA - and this year he's out with his 99 Essential LA Restaurants...

Amongst them, within jaunting distance...LA MILL
"The past year has seen a lot of fascinating new restaurants open in Los Angeles, but the most interesting of them all may be a coffee shop in the restaurant starved heart of Silver Lake...easily the most exciting cooking at this price point in Los Angeles."

If you're diligent about keeping a copy of the article around (or access to it) - this little list could provide respite and adventure for years to come for stranded Angelinos wondering where else we might be able to eat on a Wednesday night when our neighborhood Thai, Italian and Indian joints have all seem to have lost their flair...

For the vital stats on the other 98, check out the full article.
http://www.laweekly.com/2008-11-13/eat-drink/jonathan-gold-s-99-essential-la-restaurants/

Cheers...
the LA home

Echo Park stakes its claim...

Well kids, the American Planning Association has come out with it's annual, 'Great Places in America' list. They pour over the nation and compile the ten most interesting streets, neighborhoods and public spaces in the country. Santa Monica Beach made it to the top 10 'public spaces' list (the only other nod California got from any category), but the real surprise came a bit further east - Echo Park was named one of the 10 most exciting neighborhoods in the country. Nestled comfortably between downtown and Silver Lake, the APA lauded its 'vibrant mix of cultures, incomes, architecture, and social activism'.

A few other highlights they neglected to include...

Some of the best carnicerias (and pupuserias) in the city
The tightest jeans on men over 20
The best Thai massage in LA
The best East side neighborhood for riding bikes (and having company while you do)
The undeniable and indelible intersection of hip and heartbreak
The most stunning stretches of Victorian homes on the West coast
Antique stores that also sell groceries
The finest collection of ma & pop hardware, coffee and book stores in the city.
One of the last bastions where one can go the public pools and tennis courts and get it for $2 (or less if you have your library card).
Former home of Steve McQueen, present home of the Dodgers.

We're not the type that likes to gloat in those, 'I told you so' moments... but on occasion you have to.

Feel free to check out the details...
http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2008/echopark.htm

cheers...
the LA home

some closure on foreclosures...

There's been a lot of foreclosure talk lately and we wanted to give a snapshot of our vantage point.

Yesterday, our team went downtown to one of the massive foreclosure auctions in LA. 7,000 people were there to bid on 600 properties throughout California. Some general impressions...

First, their taste in music is inspiring. Neil Diamond's 'Coming to America' kicked off the party and conjured a strong sense of the American dream - and the certainty that in mere moments through the riches of real estate equity, we would all soon be transformed into something more than we were upon arrival.

Of these 600 properties - maybe 25 were in LA. Of these 25, about 3 were in a neighborhood that you might consider living in. might consider. Trust us, the viable options were not abundant.

The bid prices were not fire-sale savings. When you're paying $375,000 for a $400,000 loft and then you have to pay auction fees, it's not worth it. Because, on top of everything else, odds are that 90% of the time you're not going to get the property you want.

We spent three hours strategizing, stretching and preparing for one specific property we wanted to buy - a 4-plex in Koreatown. When it finally came up on the list for auction, they announced that it had been 'removed from the list' - and then they moved on. We sat there with our bidding paddle clenched in our fist, distraught, knowing that we would never even raise it. All of our labor was for naught.

Trust us, we're able to find better values on the public market (where one can still find short-sales and foreclosures and not have to deal with the uncertainty and the risk of an auction). At the auction, there are no protective contingencies, no inspections, only adrenaline bidding. For us, we will not be buying in this medium. This is not the place you'll your next home - or a 4plex in K-Town.

for what it's worth...
the LA home

The history of Interest Rates and the Present Numbers...

There's no shortage of news about the housing market. We just wanted to take a minute to lay out the numbers in a way that doesn't happen too frequently.

The California Association of Realtors reports that this year (at the close of 2007), the number of housing sales has dropped 25%. This is the information that we are barraged with daily. In 2006, 475,000 single family homes were sold in California, in 2007 - 367,000 (thus the 25% drop). Scandal, tradegy, crash and downward spiral, no? Maybe not. Let's look at another trend (one that matters more to us as investors and home owners). The California Assocation of Realtors (CAR) also predicted that the price of the average home would drop 2% in 2007 - it, in fact, rose 3.2%. Who is the information most terrifying for? Realtors. For them it's a challenge because there is 25% less volume happening. For us, as owners and buyers, this is good news - because it means our investment is still increasing in value. We are still making money daily.

We don't want to overwhelm with too many numbers and statistics, but keep this in mind - CAR does predict that the average price in Southern California will drop 4% in 2008 - the last (and first - if it's ends up being true) year that the median price will go down. Glance at the interest rate chart above; we are still admist the lowest interest rates of the last 30 years.

Consider this - if you're looking for a $750,000 home and you want to wait because you anticipate the market dropping - and let's say, it does in fact drop the predicted 4% - your $750,000 home is now buyable for $720,000. If, while you wait out the price reduction, the interest rate changes (by a meager 1/2 point increase) - it would have been cheaper to buy the house for $750,000 than the reduced house for $720,000. Paying a 7% loan on a $720,000 home is more expensive than paying a 6.5% loan for a $750,000 home.

What's it all mean? You don't have to take our word for it, but for us, 2008 is about buying. If you're someone who wants to wait on the sideline and see what shakes out, that's a legitimate gameplan - but if you know anybody who wants to sell, send them our way - because we're in the market to buy.

Cheers... the LA home

the real state of real estate...

"The goal of owning a home seems to be getting beyond the reach of more and more Americans. The typical new house today costs $28,000." Business Week 1969

"The median price of a home today is approaching $50,000. Housing experts predict price rises in the future won't be that great." 1977 National Business

"The Golden Age of risk free run-ups in home prices is gone." Money Magazine 1985

"A home is where the bad investment is." San Francisco Examiner 1996

No one is claiming that we're still in the growth market that we've been in the last several years (at least no one here is saying that),
but we just wanted to take a step back and have a macro-moment...

Sounds for the track...

I don't know about you, but the insistent road-trip existence of life in LA demands an occasional refreshening of the personal soundtrack to help bring novelty to familiar streets...

and so we've begun our mixed tapes...

For those of you who've received our first, here is who you're listening to...
Band of Horses
Sufjan Stevens
Jarabe de Palo
Feist
Andrew Bird
Sinatra
Beck
The Cave Singers
Kings of Convenience
Broken Social Scene
The Decemberists...

And here is what people are saying;
"It's like being back at prom, the night Brian Covalt broke my heart."
"You know how sometimes you're so relieved you're not 16 anymore, every time I listen to this album is one of those times."

For those of you who haven't gotten one, you know where to find us...