Tuesday, November 25, 2014

High-end home sales are surging in Southern California

My website: www.sandralew.com

Beach close properties are still the hottest!! While housing market is a bit sluggish the high end is hopping!! The number of homes bought for $2 million or more in recent months has been the highest ever on record. Low mortgage rates and wealthy international investors contribute as well as does doing well. California's real estate market is a bargain compared to New York or London.

Quotes:
"High-end home sales are surging in "Silicon Beach," too, with tech entrepreneurs and Bay Area transplants scooping up multimillion-dollar homes in Santa Monica, Venice and Marina del Rey. Many of the buyers work in the area, said Miller, and prefer walkable neighborhoods, relatively close to work, to the traditional hubs of Westside glitz."

 "Then there's the formerly sleepy South Bay. The average sales price in Manhattan Beach through the first nine months of the year topped $2.2 million, said Barry Sulpor at Shorewood Realtors. That's up from $1.85 million in the same period last year. Even empty lots in the beach town's "Tree Section" are going for $1.3 million."

As you get closer to the beach prices go higher. There seems to be no end in rising prices for the high end market.

High-end home sales are surging in Southern California

Luxury home sales sizzle 

 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

5 Real Estate Predictions for 2015

My website: www.sandralew.com

Good news! The US economy is predicted to have a 3 percent growth rate in 2015. Consumers are more upbeat and businesses confident which help foster improving economic growth.This optimism produces positive effects on our economy by adding more and higher paying jobs which provide the financial support for a continued sunny housing outlook.

5 Real Estate Predictions for 2015

Expect the home-purchase market to strengthen along with the economy in 2015, according to Freddie Mac's U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for November.

"The good news for 2015 is that the U.S. economy appears well-poised to sustain about a 3 percent growth rate in 2015 — only the second year in the past decade with growth at that pace or better," says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist.

 "Governmental fiscal drag has turned into fiscal stimulus; lower energy costs support consumer spending and business investment; further easing of credit conditions for business and real estate lending support commerce and development; and consumers are more upbeat and businesses are more confident, all of which portend faster economic growth in 2015.

And with that, the economy will produce more and better-paying jobs, providing the financial wherewithal to support household formations and housing activity."

Freddie Mac economists have made the following projections in housing for the new year:
  1. Mortgage rates: Interest rates will likely be on the rise next year. In recent weeks, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has dipped below 4 percent. But by next year, Freddie projects mortgage rates to average 4.6 percent and inch up to 5 percent by the end of the year.
  2. Home prices: By the time 2014 wraps up, home appreciation will likely have slowed to 4.5 percent this year from 9.3 percent last year. Appreciation is expected to drop further to an average 3 percent in 2015. "Continued house-price appreciation and rising mortgage rates will dampen affordability for home buyers," according to Freddie economists. "Historically speaking, that's moving from 'very high' levels of affordability to 'high' levels of affordability."
  3. Housing starts: Homebuilding is expected to ramp up in the new year, projected to rise by 20 percent from this year. That will likely help total home sales to climb by about 5 percent, reaching the best sales pace in eight years.
  4. Single-family originations: Mortgage originations of single-family homes will likely slip by an additional 8 percent, which can be attributed to a steep drop in refinancing volume. Refinancings are expected to make up only 23 percent of originations in 2015; they had been making up more than half in recent years.
  5. Multi-family mortgage originations: Mortgage originations for the multi-family sector have surged about 60 percent between 2011 and 2014. Increases are expected to continue in 2015, projected to rise about 14 percent.
 Source: http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2014/11/18/5-real-estate-predictions-for-2015

Thursday, November 13, 2014

The 10 most expensive real estate markets in the US

My website: www.sandralew.com

California's peninsula on the bay area as well as Newport in Southern California made up the nation's top 9 out of 10 real estate markets for being the most expensive. Actually California made a virtual sweep for top markets that had at least 10 listings for 4bedroom, 2 bath homes which the study was based upon. Many high tech companies are located in these areas which continue to contribute to have positive economic effects. Location matters...

The 10 most expensive real estate markets in the US

 Robert Frank - CNBC November 13, 2014

Visions of America | UIG | Getty Images
 
If you think Apple or Facebook stock is expensive, look at the price of real estate near their headquarters.

Los Altos, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is now the most expensive real estate market in the country, according to a new report from Coldwell Banker. The average four-bedroom, two-bath home in Los Altos costs $1,963,100—about 30 times the average cost of a home in Cleveland, the country's most affordable market.

"The continued success of many tech companies throughout Silicon Valley has brought markets such as Los Altos into focus," said Joe Brown, managing broker of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Los Altos.

In fact, California has a virtual sweep on the 10 most expensive markets in the country, claiming all but one of the top 10 spots. Granted, Coldwell didn't include New York City in its data, so the results are skewed.

But the list shows just how big the economic ripple effects of the tech boom have become in California.

10 most expensive real estate markets in the U.S.

Rank
City
Average price
1 Los Altos, CA $1,963,100
2 Newport Beach, CA $1,904,083
3 Saratoga, CA $1,867,980
4 Redwood City/Woodside, CA $1,430,329
5 Los Gatos, CA $1,307,408
6 San Francisco, CA $1,294,250
7 Sunnyvale, CA $1,267,185
8 Moraga, CA $1,129,300
9 San Mateo, CA $1,093,346
10 Wellesley, MA $1,090,089
Source: Coldwell Banker
 
For the report, Coldwell Banker pulled average listing prices of four-bedroom, two-bathroom real estate properties on coldwellbanker.com between January 2014 and June 2014. Markets without at least 10 four-bedroom, two-bathroom listings on the website (such as New York City) between January 2014 and June 2014 were excluded from the ranking.  
 

Friday, November 7, 2014

Developer selectively signing up tenants for El Segundo mall

My website: www.sandralew.com

El Segundo has another new mall coming to town next summer.  "This is a really affluent, educated, sophisticated pocket of Southern California " which borders on Manhattan Beach thus developers have found it challenging to find the right mix to appeal to the area that already offers so much.
This new location is between two existing established malls (one across Rosecrans in Manhattan Beach Mall and the other just to the North in El Segundo Plaza) and down the street (Rosecrans) from several mid to upper scale restaurants. This rules out a number of stores/restaurants... The selective list of signed tenants thus far are Lucky Brand, Atheleta, Mendocino Farms, Superba Food & Bread, ShopHouse and True Food Kitchen. Looks to me like the mix should be another success!

Developer selectively signing up tenants for El Segundo mall

Developer is signing up tenants for El Segundo mall 

Federal Realty Investment Trust is building the Point, shown in an artist's rendering, at the northeast corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue. (Federal Realty)

By Roger Vincent; November 5, 2014 5:00 am

An $80-million outdoor shopping and dining complex under construction in El Segundo has signed up nearly half of the tenants expected for the mall when it opens next summer.

Federal Realty Investment Trust is building the lushly landscaped center, called the Point, at the northeast corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue that it hopes will become a meeting place for South Bay families and workers.

As designed by Architects Orange, the Point will include a large outdoor grass courtyard, a children's play area, casual seating and fire pits.
So far, the developers have selected a mix of popular but not nationally prevalent eateries, retailers and an exclusive fitness studio.

It has been challenging to find tenants likely to appeal to the demanding South Bay audience, said Jeff Kreshek, head of leasing on the West Coast for Rockville, Md.-based Federal Realty.
"This is a really affluent, educated, sophisticated pocket of Southern California," Kreshek said.
Athleta, an upscale fitness fashion brand for women owned by Gap Inc., will sell apparel and gear for yoga and seasonal sports such as swimming and running. Athleta will also offer free in-store fitness classes with local instructors.

Los Angeles denim and fashion giant Lucky Brand will open its largest store in the country at the Point in what is intended to be a first-of-its-kind flagship location, Kreshek said. Also on the fashion front will be a location of Orange County retailer No Rest for Bridget, which specializes in trendy, affordable apparel for career women.
For diners, the mall landlords have signed Los Angeles artisan sandwich maker Mendocino Farms and Superba Food & Bread, a coffeehouse, wine bar, restaurant and marketplace created by the founder of Pitfire Artisan Pizza.

True Food Kitchen, created by boutique restaurant group Fox Restaurant Concepts, will offer dishes based on the principles of doctor and author Andrew Weil. Another Fox Restaurants eatery will be North Italia, a traditional Italian restaurant.

ShopHouse, which was developed by Chipotle, will serve an Asian interpretation of fast food. Other retailers are in negotiations for the remaining space, Kreshek said.

"We are trying to curate the right mix of tenants," he said. "We expect to open very close to full."

Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-el-segundo-tenants-20141105-story.html