Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Palisades 2003 rollback?

This Pacific Palisades 3 bed / 2 bath 2,054 SF house on a 12,600 SF lot at 1130 El Medio Ave., backing up to undeveloped hills. It was listed 10/22/09 for $1,475K. The big deal is, according to Redfin, that's 20% below its last sale on 8/25/04 for $1,850K. Anyone know details?

"Striking the perfect balance… Serenity and proximity… Ocean and mountains… Experience ocean views from the front and canyon views from the back. This 3 bedroom/2 bath upper El Medio home has been freshened up, yet offers an option for enhancement. Great floorplan, light & bright, hardwood floors, fireplace in living room, floor to ceiling windows, 2 car direct access garage. Back yard with grassy area and deck."

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe they are just being realistic. I count 17 houses currently on the market for less than 1.5 mil in Pacific Palisades. Out of those homes, 4 have been on the market for over 200 days. 5 of the other 17 have either been on the market over 100 days or will reach the 100 day mark in the next three days. The difficulties with jumbo loans and move-up buyers are killing the Palisades market.

blahblahblah said...

The problems in the film industry (I am not in the industry) seem to be a big problem at this price level in the Palisades. I was just at a party there in this price range. 4 sets of married neighbors, all in their 40s, had at least one of the members unemployed from the film industry (3 out of 4 were film editors). 2 were out of work for over a year and thinking about switching industries. All were concerned about making ends meet in the near future.

I work in the banking industry. I have the income and down payment, but am terrified of what the unemployment problems will do to this area. Maybe i am just chicken.


anecdotal, but telling.

Anonymous said...

I'm a film editor in the Palisades...maybe I should be worried.

I believe the market as softened to a point that you can actually buy here. It might be a while before you make good money on the house, but you will not lose.

We're looking to buy another and rent our current house, but I think the rental market in PP is very slow.

Anonymous said...

This particular house borders undeveloped land. Given the wild fire situation in the past few years, fire insurance would be astronomical. The price reflects the difficulty these days in acquiring insurance for such homes.

Anonymous said...

"I believe the market as softened to a point that you can actually buy here. It might be a while before you make good money on the house, but you will not lose."

Never say never.

Anonymous said...

I think PP is vulnerable.

At least in North Santa Monica when you call the police they show up quickly.

PP is part of the city of LA so the cops always come late if they come at all

Anonymous said...

We saw the open house last week. We asked the realtor why the seller was willing to take such a huge loss (we assumed it was pre-foreclosure, short-sale something...who takes that kind of loss?) She said that the owners also own a house in Montana and just wanted to move there and could afford the loss. Seemed a little strange.

Anonymous said...

Makes sense to me - you see this behaviour a lot among realistic sellers.

Just sell and get market value - don't hold on forever with a zombie listing

People are waiting for the sellers in the 90402 to start doign this

So far, the sellers of low end homes in the 90402 have capitulated and you can buy a low end home for 1.4

The nicer newer two level homes have not yet capitulated. You just have to wait

Anonymous said...

I live in PP and it has plenty more downside to go. There are not many sales despite what the realtors say (compare the sales numbers from 2 and 3 years ago) and there are literally more houses being taken off the market and not selling than closing. Depending on how long you've owned your house you may be able to rent it and not get killed but maybe not... And if you think I'm wrong, just go look at what you can rent for 4 or 5k that they're asking 1.8 million for (for 6 months+) The math just doesn't work anymore than it did in Vegas and Phoenix it just takes a little longer for the people here in PP to lose all their savings.

Anonymous said...

1.4 (which PP is already below) is not capitulation, it's just another stop on the way down...

Anonymous said...

What can I rent for 4k ?

Explain - can I rent a 3 bedroom two bath?

Anonymous said...

I am looking to rent in North Santa Monica

2009 Montana has been featured on many other Westside Re blogs

it is now for rent

Has anyone else looked carefully at the rental market between 16th and 26th and between San Vicente and and Wilshire?

What is the cost of a nice rental with three or more new bathrooms and a new kitchen?

How much will I pay per month for this

I guess 2009 Montana is much bigger than any condo but it has no land so you can't really compare it to a SFR

It should rent for some where between the rental price of a 4 thousand sq foot condo and the rental price of a new 4 thousand sw foot house

Really hard to determine the right price

Can anyone help with this

Anonymous said...

This may shed some light on what can be expected in the Pacific Palisades housing market over the next few years. http://mhanson.com/blog

Anonymous said...

Anonymous who wants to rent for 4K.
I don't know the market in the area you are looking for, but in the 90024 in Westwood, precisely in the corner of Eastborne and Fairburn, there is a very decent to nice 3 bed 2 bath with a yard and a den renting for now for 4,500 (down recently from 4,750 and before that, a couple years ago, it went for over 5k). It's been vacant quite a few months. Still too expensive for me (or can I just be cheeky and offer 3k?). Check it out. Maybe they'll rent it for 4k.

Anonymous said...

That looks nice thanks - it is one block from the giant Warner music complex right?

that house looks good - you can walk to a lot of very interesting retail and restaurants - thanks for the heads up

Also - someone that works in Century city has a much easier commute if they live in that house vs living in PP

From PP hellish commute
From this house dream commute

Anonymous said...

What are rents like in Sunset Park vs in the 90402?

I am talking apples to apples - same house

Reason I ask is I just read on another blog evidence - bulletproof evidence - that the sale prices in Sunset Park are way more bubbly than sale prices N of Montana


________

But the truth is that certain neighborhoods are up a hell of a lot more than others

For example, 90402 North of Montana is only up around 50% in the last 20 years (yes, you read that right)

This translates to appreciation of less than 2% per year for 20 years. Look it up - the same house that sold for $900 thousand in 1989 sells for $1.4 million today.

COMPARE that to Sunset Park in Santa Monica where a house that was $300 thousand in 1989 is selling for $900 thousand today. I mean with actual dollars changing hands (market in Sunset Park is more liquid than in 90402)

The difference is staggering. We are talking prices in sunset park today of 3x 1989 vs 90402 prices at 1.5x 1989

I humbly submit to you that Sunset Park is a much bigger bubble than the 90402

Anonymous said...

Well said anon 11:01. Anything in reach with a 729K superconforming loan is still bubble city.

Anonymous said...

Yes
plenty of people can put 200k down and borrow 729

that means they have 929 to spend

They rush to bid 929 thousand on even the worst of the worst in Sunset Park - their logic is that they want a decent primary school for their kids - even if they know the middle and high schools are not up to par, they drop the 929 in order to get the decent primary school

I am not saying they are smart and not saying they are stupid, but they are buying up like mad the houses in SP

So yes, SP houses are up 3x from 1989 to today.

This may be crazy, but there it is. You want to talk bubble, forget the other neighborhoods. Look hard at SP!!!

Anonymous said...

Why is SP overvalued VS 90402 in your opinion....??

same school district, so same middle and high school. Elementary school is the only one that really differs and they are all okay (800+ API scores, etc.)

So why pay $2m in 90402 when you can pay $1m in 90405?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous who's looking for a rental. Good luck!! I rent in the same area and have been looking for another affordable rental with 3 bds. Found one for about 3K (not in Westwood) and my landlord lowered my current rent so we would stay put. Odd, how these things work. Now the other place looks expensive!!

Anonymous said...

12:39
Help me out - what are you paying right now to rent in SP?

I want to know how much I can rent a house in SP for.

I would never buy in SP - the gangbanger shootings freak me out (I almost took my kids to Virginia Park the day of the last murder there)

But renting in SP is ok for now.

So tell me what I can rent for

Anonymous said...

I rent south of Ocean Park in SP....better topography, no gangs, safe parks and views of the city/ocean. You do get a bit of plane noise from SM airport.

I rent for $4.5k month....

Wooster said...

2114 Hill is for rent for like $3k/month.

Anonymous said...

Dude, if your scared of Virginia Park in the day time, you really need to move to a gated community in Iowa. Why do you continue to post this nonsense about gangs in SP. Its totally absurd.

Anonymous said...

Dude, a teenager was shot in Virginia Park. That teen is now dead. Read the news before posting

Anonymous said...

the sm-13 gang (pico neighborhood) and the bloods in Oakwood (Venice) are heating up again. While these usually are retaliation hits....not good to be around their turf when they are going after each other!

Anonymous said...

I viewed the 1130 Medio house and I find it very hard to believe that anyone ever paid $1.8+ for it, even in the frenzy of a few years ago. I believe that was an insider transaction. That said, there is clearly a softening in the PP housing market.

Anonymous said...

1130 El Medio opened escrow today.