So here we are again, the end of another year. For me I will be completing my 32nd year in “the biz”. Wow, where did 32 years go?  I started when my son was a baby ( he’ll be 32 next week). I remember having  a client come sign his escrow papers at my home while Daniel played in his playpen.  Do young mothers have playpens anymore? I rarely see them in the homes I walk through. Why all this nostalgia? Well, it’s about real estate and the market and my personal experience with it.

When I first purchase my starter home in 1978, I remember telling my parents that this little 2 bedroom 1 bath would  be worth $100,000 one day.
My mother blew me off and said, “No way in hell.” She could be very strong with her opinions. So, 3 years later I sold it for 145,000 and made my next move closer to the beach.

I’ve seen market after market go up and down through the decades.
One thing I know for sure is that it will eventually go up again. Why wait?
If you own a home and the market is down, that means you can buy your next “step up” home at a low price. Buying a home for your family is not necessarily to look at as an investment but as a place to live, raise your kids and enjoy your life.  If someday it’s gone up in price…yahoo!
Remember, it’s your home!

In 1982 I got stuck in a 3 bedroom 1 bath home. My kids stayed there until 1992. The market rose a little through the years and then I was able to sell it in a lousy market and buy a larger home in a lousy market that finally allowed my 12 year old and my 7 year old to now have their own rooms.
Did they turn out wrong because they shared a room for numerous years?  I don’t think so.

Although our little house was small, it was our home. It was more about location than anything else for us. We lived in a 1000 sq. foot, 3 blocks to the beach, town and school.  It actually made my life simpler since on the weekends, we didn’t have to pack the car! Oh, let me see….What do they say?  Location, location, location!

So today I look at my real estate.  I don’t have a lot but what I do have makes me happy. Isn’t that the real quest in life?

This market is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. No craziness like 2005, lowest rates ever and softer prices. Will it go up again?  Likely but it will be many more years, in my opinion. So for most of you, stay put. For others, it’s time to take the plunge to the better, bigger home.
Come in, the water is warm.

Ok….so now we are already almost thru with the first quarter of 2009 and the market is all over the place.  On the positive side, here is some of the “scoop” we have either experienced ourselves or we have heard thru the real estate grapevine.

A few things have gone pending on THE STRAND in Manhattan Beach.  3404 The Strand (listed by Shorewood Realtors Rosanna Libertucci) was dropped from 6,5 to 5,5 and it quickly went into escrow.  A few buyers did not act quick enough and were desperately disappointed that they lost out.  So much so, that one set of buyers called the actual buyers and asked them to turn it over to them.
Another Strand listing was on the market for a short time listed at $10,500,000 (1716 the strand listed by South Bay Brokers).  It just went into escrow last week.

Now another interesting case.  A duplex sat around in the market for a couple of months.  The seller dropped the price and BOOM here comes the buyers.  One buyer, once again, acted quickly and secured the property.  One buyer was bummed out and offered the seller a bigger price in which the seller came back to the original buyer and offered him a check to walk away. Wow….can this really be happening in this market and economy?  The buyer said no.  He wanted to stay in the deal and so all continued to go forward.

In Hermosa, there is a great piece of property located at 225 25th Street (listed by Kevin Klien).  Definitely dated but very clean.  It has an ocean view, full lot size and a very nice structure.  Priced at 1,395,000.  Decent price and in my mind not a steal but a good value.  One week later, 5 offers and we were told that 2 were over full price.
Is this 2005?  I don’t think so but it shows to go ya that special properties in the Beach areas still can draw a crowd.

The negative part of this market is the listings that are coming on and the sellers are still asking too much money for what they are.  This makes the market look like we have a glut of listings and that nothing is selling.  What sells in this market are realistic priced homes.  There are still so many unrealistic priced homes out there now that will not sell until reality kicks in.

We have had many conversations with our sellers that if you don’t need to sell, now is NOT the time to go on the market with an unrealistic number.  Some listen, some don’t.