Charles Song
Recent posts
April 24, 2008
Glendale is all abuzz these days with the Americana at Brand and its imminent May 2 debut. Now that the beans have been spilled on Americana’s pricing– from the $700’s to $2 Million+ for one of the 100 Excelsior condominiums, the city has an entirely new top market condo category entirely stemming from the Caruso development. To better put things in perspective, Americana’s bottom offerings in the range of $700,000’s used to be the absolute top end of the market. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who doesn’t thinks this all sounds a little crazy. But it’s crazy that’s marketable. I think that’s part of Caruso’s genius. One can only imagine how traffic will permanently be affected in the city as Brand and surrounds were already certified nightmares on the last few of my visits, before Americana and its projected 20 million annual influx have descended upon (the project is expected to be even more popular than The Grove, so they say) the streets. Back to the condos, here’s Rick Caruso’s take on living at the Americana in this News-Press article, “Americana condos aiming high”:
It’s a different world now out there because there is nothing like the Americana or the Excelsior to compare it against, not only the quality of the units and the way they’re fitted out, but also to be in the environment where you’ve got the restaurants, you’ve got a park to be at, and it’s all in this beautifully landscaped, safe environment
The piece briefly mentions the fact that the same $2-million investment for one of the top end properties “could fetch some of the most luxurious single-family residences, equipped with pools, private yards and up to five bedrooms in the Glendale hills“, which is both completely true (some of them are listed below for your comparison) and perhaps irrelevant all at once.
Chances are, serious applicants for residency have long since come to terms with the fact that they find appeal in life above a shopping mall; a fabricated main street; a place that the New York Times (describing The Grove) describes as “everything that is horrible and spectacular about our brand-saturated American lives.”
By the Numbers
Americana at Brand “Excelsior Home” largest floorplans
Beds: 2 - 3 / Baths: 2.5 (dependent on floorplan)
Year Built: 2008
SQ.FT.: 2,500 - 2,600+ (dependent on floorplan)
$2-million range residences in Glendale currently on market:
1562 Arundle PL
$1,945,000
Beds: 4 / Baths: 3.5
Year Built: 2005
SQ.FT.: 3,779
$/SQ.FT.: $515
1255 Swarthmore DR
$1,999,000
Beds: 5 / Baths: 5.5
Year Built: 2008
SQ.FT.: 4,705
$/SQ.FT.: $425
1330 Balmoral DR
$2,049,000
Beds: 5 / Baths: 5.5
Year Built: 2000
SQ.FT.: 4,679
$/SQ.FT.: $438
photo credit: ryan cole
April 17, 2008
Beautiful looking house ain’t it? Problem is it’s not the house for sale in the listing, 152 W Norman. Spotlighting another house to sell your property isn’t just a bad decision, it’s a misleading one– even this particular listing is really only marketing its lot. Yep, it’s a nearly $2 million dollar teardown in Arcadia, no– a nearly $2 million dollar teardown flipper. Last sold just 2 months ago at $1,350,000, the sellers are now chasing a lovely 40% appreciation.
The listing has since been wisely updated to remove the above and other ambiguous photos.
Just down the street at 177 W Norman, you get pretty much a real life preview of everything the sellers of 152 is asking us to envision: A brand new mansion nigh-on 7000 square foot, on a massive lot. It’s asking an extra $1.1 million, but the difference of course is here the “custom dream home” is actually included in the price.
April 14, 2008
Cindy recently spotlighted a price increase strategy in her neighborhood as “wacky”– well, the wackiness certainly isn’t contained on the west side.
Let’s look at 905 E Harvard, which in late March saw the price raised from $385,000 to $405,000 on its old listing– which was pulled in favor of a refreshed, photo-less spot, complete with a revamped price of $489,000! If there is some justified reason in which the asking price has gone up $104,000 in a span of about two weeks, it can’t be derived from the insanity of charging $699 per square-foot for this tiny piece of Glendale, as there is yet another listing for this house at $400,000. Confusion as a new marketing tactic perhaps?
1141 Armada, a teardown lot in north west Pasadena really takes the cake though, recently upping the listing price to $800,000 from $475,000– a nearly 70% price increase.
GLENDALE
905 E Harvard ST
Old price: $385,000
Now: $489,000 (27% increase)
Beds: 2 / Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 700
$/SQ.FT.: $699
344 N Maryland AVE #302
Old price: $300,000
Now: $320,000 (6.7% increase)
Beds: 2 / Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 988
$/SQ.FT.: $324
PASADENA
1028 Glen Oaks BLVD
Old price: $1,600,000
Now: $2,000,000 (25% increase)
Beds: 3 / Baths: 3
SQ.FT.: 2,557
$/SQ.FT.: $782
1141 Armada DR
Old price: $475,000
Now: $800,000 (68.4% increase)
Beds: 2 / Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: 1,674
$/SQ.FT.: $478
April 7, 2008
Proof is in the numbers– home prices are still falling across the foothills. Culling stats over a period starting early February from Altos Research, here’s what’s happened in the following cities:
GLENDALE
Median Home Price: -2.2%
Price Per Square Foot: -3.1%
Median prices in Glendale saw a steady week to week decline, falling from $783,814 to $766,477. The average $/sq.ft fell from $447 to $433.
PASADENA
Median Home Price: -3.5%
Price Per Square Foot: -3.2%
In Pasadena, the median single family home price is now under $700K, shedding more than $25,000 to $692,318 during the past two months. Price per square foot has dropped $15 to its current median of $460. In contrast to what’s happened in the other two cities, inventory has held steady, creeping up only slightly to 471 on the market.
ARCADIA
Median Home Price: -1.2%
Price Per Square Foot: +1.9%
To what many might suspect, median price have fared better in Arcadia, where it’s traditionally been higher. It currently sits at $972,295. Foreclosures have not hit the city nearly as hard as they have in Glendale and Pasadena. The average price per square foot has even managed creep up during this period, with a decrease in days on market.
March 31, 2008
A little after a month on the market, the sellers of 1806 Coro, a mid-century upper Rossmoyne ranch, have made a rather necessary adjustment in price, shedding 16% off asking. It may need work yet, as there are no shortage of competing mid-$400/sq.ft neighborhood offerings stacked against its $555/sq.ft.
A short flight east to Arcadia, where 1147 Volante has recently taken a $274,000 price-cut– a sum just shy of what was last paid for the property in 1988. The listing describes what seems to be a bit of a fixer, with words like “blank canvas” and “options” tipping about sans interior photos. On the western edge of “Peacock Village” (a nice community profile here), the seller has just gotten a whole lot more motivated.
GLENDALE
1806 Coro TER
Old price: $1,195,000
Reduced to: $999,000 (16.4% reduction)
Beds: 3 / Baths: 4
SQ.FT.: 1,800
1833 Kirkby RD
Old price: $349,000
Reduced to: $299,000 (14.3% reduction)
Beds: 1 / Baths: 1
SQ.FT.: -
PASADENA
1700 Whitefield RD
Old price: $1,039,000
Reduced to: $895,000 (13.9% reduction)
Beds: 6 / Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 3,004
70 N Craig AVE
Old price: $898,000
Reduced to: $788,000 (12.2% reduction)
Beds: 3 / Baths: 2
SQ.FT.: 2,204
ARCADIA
1147 Volante DR
Old price: $1,249,000
Reduced to: $975,000 (21.9% reduction)
Beds: 3 / Baths: 1.75
SQ.FT.: 2,436
March 28, 2008
It’s a sort of a tailor-made human interest story born of the housing crash: buses of of cheerful folk looking for a slice of the American Dream off the backs of those who are living the nightmare. It’s no wonder that the likes of “60 Minutes”, “Nightline” and CNN have all helped to propelled Stockton realtor Cesar Dias and his “RepoHomeTour” concept to national attention.
From the foreclosure capital to our backyard– LTV Real Estate of Pasadena has franchised Dias’ repo tour concept, becoming the first in Los Angeles county to adopt in earnest. (Dias’ goals of franchise-ation touched upon previously here on Sweet Digs in “All Aboard the Foreclosure Bus!“) A $20,000 fee buys the franchisees “a logo-wrapped used bus, training and marketing materials and a Web site“, reports Melissa Pamer in this Pasadena Star piece, a fascinating chronicle of the tours which have already begun charting caravans of deal-seekers and speculators around the San Gabriel Valley.
The bus-tour concept, Dias said, is “kind of the darling of real estate right now.”
But he also noted he’s been called an opportunistic “vulture” for taking advantage of people losing their homes.
“If we weren’t doing this, this market would still be in doom and gloom,” Dias said. “This is business. We have to survive either way.”
Back in Pasadena, LTV CEO Cesar Haro is forecasting declines in this area will mirror those which have befallen upon Stockton, and that it will be “happening in two to three months.” No one expects the wheels of the proverbial foreclosure bus to stop spinning anytime soon, but does anyone out there heartedly agree with Haro’s prognostication?
March 21, 2008
The are two marketing angles utilized for nearly every home in this Glendale neighborhood flirting with historic status. “Panorama” and “city views”, are words ably espoused of the prized lines of sight afforded by the advantageous hillside altitude. Even the street names themselves serve to freely advertise, with “vista” and “view” aplenty here. The other most touted asset is the sparse density of the community in the form of buzzwords like “private”, “tranquil” and “secluded”.
The homes nestled in Rossmoyne’s winding ridges are spacious (often 3000+ sq.ft.) with a high area median in excess of $1 million. Helping to uphold the bar are beauties like 1515 REMAH VISTA DR (pictured), a gorgeous custom built mansion fairly quickly sold to the tune of $3,250,000, walking away with only a minor 1.3% hit on its original asking. The sellers managed to move all 6034 square foot for an impressive $539 a pop. Though remodeled in 06, it doesn’t quite explain how the previous owners managed to snag the property for $190,000 only 8 years ago. Some other past Rossmoyne sales to peruse:
917 MOORSIDE DR
LAST SALE: $450,000 (02/08/2008)
BEDS: 4 / BATHS: 2
SQ.FT.: 2,293
933 MISTY ISLE DR
LAST SALE: $1,290,000 (01/23/2008)
BEDS: 5 / BATHS: 4
SQ.FT.: 2,992
910 CHUDLEIGH LN
LAST SALE: $1,125,000 (12/27/2007)
BEDS: 4 / BATHS: 4
SQ.FT.: 2,917
1535 RIDGEVIEW DR
LAST SALE: $1,100,000 (12/31/2007)
BEDS: 4 / BATHS: 3
SQ.FT.: 2,517
March 21, 2008
Who is Rick?
Well, I don’t know, actually. However, his namesake has graced a certain burger stand in a little corner pocket of Pasadena’s Walnut and El Molino Ave. since 1964. Rick’s Drive-In is a down-home dive, a sort of greasy mecca that compels folk to ode in tribute of their thick cut fries, burgers, and potato + burrito concoction known as the Spuderito– none of which will cost you more than pocket change. A prime walk-up to cure your hangover, it’s an old spot that looks like a postcard from the past, an image that is wildly at odds with the looming luxury condo and apartment megaplexes that have sprung up all around it. In mid-2006, owners Ralph and Mary Lou Fonzo were notified that the property was sold to make way for more of them.
The Fonzos have tried unsuccessfully throughout the years to purchase the property on which the drive-in sits, and now have little say about the future of their business.
Fast forward a year– things in the real estate market soured quickly and the prospect of development on this block became much less attractive than it was only a few months ago. The condo onslaught had been postponed indefinitely and for now, Rick’s is spared of the wrecking ball. Still, we all know the deferment is likely to be anything but permanent. The owners haven’t ceased their search for another site to buy or lease, and they want to stay in Pasadena. (A website http://www.ricksdrivein.com was set up in outreach for public support). A place like this simply cannot survive for much longer, it’s not what the city has in the cards for the future of the Playhouse District. Like Bungalow News, which recently shuttered after nearly 50 years in business in Pasadena, take it as a last stand of sorts to the homogenization taking hold of the neighborhood; the antithesis to the upscale Roy’s opening not far away.
March 14, 2008
A long history of losing NIMBY battles have only bolstered the residents of Glendale’s Pelanconi neighborhood, who once again find themselves throwing down the gauntlet– not against scantily clad Spartans, but a 300-unit apartment complex in push for development on Grandview Avenue. This project would be seated next to Pelanconi Park and be marketed as a “potential haven for employees at the nearby DreamWorks and Walt Disney Co. studios” reports the latest by Glendale News-Press. From their previous article chronicling the story:
Pelanconi residents fought for years to get the city to expand a multimillion-dollar landscaping project along San Fernando Road to more closely resemble what was originally promised more than 10 years ago. Many area residents also still resent the approval of an at-grade rail crossing for Flower Street that they opposed, an issue they say exemplifies a consistent push from the city to accept whatever comes their way despite neighborhood consensus.
“Down here, you don’t even count anymore,” said (resident) Terry Larson….
Though the Tuscan-style luxury apts. would likely, to some extent, ‘beautify’ the existing site, displacing Glendale Career College and a Toxic Substances Administration center, one resident counters that the current buildings are “part of the neighborhood and it complements the area.” Not exactly the most convincing defense; all things considered, you would think most would lean preference toward neighboring a new apartment building as opposed to anything labeled “toxic”.
On the other hand you certainly have to sympathize with a neighborhood leery of encroaching densification and the lovely traffic traffic that comes with. It’s not an uncommon situation for many Southern Californian cities struggling with the challenge of new housing. It will be interesting to see what sort of compromise, if any, will be reached. A community meeting this coming Monday will allow for public input on the project.
March 13, 2008
Peter Viles of L.A. Land gave Arcadia a nod in his blog posting yesterday about the holding pattern in the high end market amidst foreclosure meltdown, with Dataquick pointing to a year to year price increase of +6.8% for January. (Though it was the 91006 zip code cited…..by the same token, the 91007 portion of the city has suffered a dip of -8.2%…. a tale of two markets indeed)
This newly listed 307 E Colorado BLVD caught my eye for its $859,000 asking which yielded a bottom-of-the-market $265/sq.ft. This early 90’s stucco wonder is brethren to countless others from the building boom from the turn of that decade: distinctively indistinctive, built large to appeal to the changing demographical influx. It comes in at 3,243 sq.ft, with 5 bed/4 bath and definitely trends against what a fairly spacious single family home typically goes for in the city. Let’s stack that against the the current average asking for properties in the 3000-3500 sq.ft range, which comes in at $1,513,915. So it was with only partial surprise to see the very same property featured today on the Arcadia Housing Blog as an exemplification of lending stupidity. It’s a great blog with a close analytical eye on the real estate happenings in the city. Check it out!
Similar story: also in the “Highland Oaks” neighborhood and also freeway-adjacent is 35 E Forest AVE, a 3050 square-footer coming in new on the market at under $1 mil. A micro-fluctuation or indications of a leaking Arcadian bubble?
