Inspirational Thought

"A mind that is stretched by a new experience
can never go back to its old dimensions." 

- Oliver Wendell Holmes 

American writer and professor at Harvard, 1809-1894

New Listing: Beautiful Home at the top of Pacific View Estates

Four bedroom, 2.5 bath + den/office on over half an acre at the top of Pacific View Estates. Large, private yard, plus views of mountains and ocean. Near hiking trails. 

 467 Surfview Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Offered at $2,175,000

For pictures and information of this and other wonderful properties 

please go to Michael Edlen's Featured Homes webpage

New Listing: Panroamic Mountain and Ocean Views in the Palisades

Panoramic mountain and ocean views from light, open and airy 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath single-level home

950 Glenhaven Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

 Offered at $2,000,000

For pictures and information of this and other wonderful properties 

please go to Michael Edlen's Featured Homes webpage

“Wait-and-See” Buyers May Lose Out

By Michael Edlen, Real Estate Consultant

Published in Palisadian-Post and Santa Monica Mirror

Real estate agents have seen increasing numbers of prospective buyers repeating what has become a familiar pattern.  In the current slower market, many buyers hesitate to make a purchase decision even when their search criteria have almost all been met by a property they have viewed. However, many prospective buyers may look back with regret if they are not prepared to make offers when a home meets their needs.

Of course this reluctance has served well from one point of view. Clearly prices have been in a downward trend for quite a while even in relatively stronger market areas such as the Westside of Los Angeles. 


However, it has long been noticed in real estate as well as other financial arenas that no one “rings a bell” at the bottom of the market. In some neighborhoods the bottom may already be occurring, despite the overall general news and market statistics. In fact, it is not uncommon for there to be multiple offers in some of the more desirable areas when a home is priced very competitively. In recent months we have had multiple offers on two of our listings north of Montana, both of them sold for more than the list price.

Another example occurred in the Palisades with a new home that had been on the market for several months. The seller finally decided to adjust the asking price by approximately 10% with the intent to make it extremely attractive to buyers so that at least one of the prospective buyers with a “wait-and-see” attitude might be incentivized to present an offer. Within a few days three buyers wrote offers, and within the week it was sold at a higher price than the reduced price point. One of the unsuccessful buyers was very sorry they lost out because they waited too long to decide. This put them in the middle of a bidding war that they lost in the end. During the two-week contingency period they even offered to increase the price.

Many buyers seem to feel that nothing is well-priced today, and eventually can be purchased for lower prices. While this may be true of some listings, those which are well-priced to begin with are sold rather quickly even in this slower market. Moreover, decisive buyers usually do not regret negotiating the best terms on purchasing a home that meets most of their criteria. A client of ours recently thanked us for encouraging them to move forward rather than continuing on the sidelines in the hopes that an even better opportunity might show up. They also benefited from their timely decision because of the historically low cost loans still available.

No one has an infallible crystal ball to know when the best timing for a purchase will be. However, unless someone intends on selling within a few years, odds are that they will look back and feel good about having bought sooner rather than later.

For more articles about the home buying and selling process and current real estate trends see MichaelEdlen.com

Palisades Housing Market Update 10/20/10

As of today there are 149 homes for sale in the general Palisades market area, which is slightly lower then last year at the same time.  At the current rate of sales per month, there is now approximately seven-month inventory of homes for sale, which reflects the market which is almost in balance between buyers and sellers.

There are 38 homes in escrow, with a median list price of $2,200,000 and there have been approx 200 sales so far this year with a median price of $1,950,000. (Which is about 5% lower then last year at this time)

There have been several cases of multiple offers in the past month.  For example, about seven of the current escrows involve multiple offers! (Which is close to 20% of those in escrow)

The Palisades’ areas with the greatest number of sales so far this year are the Highlands, El Medio to Marquez area, and the Alphabet Streets.  Prices have ranged this year so far from $635,000 to $26,000,000!

The above summary verifies that the Pacific Palisades remains robust in homes sales, and decidedly is a market that could be moving up at any time in the near future. 

Inspirational Thought

"It is better to try to light a candle than to curse the dark."

                                            -ancient Chinese proverb

Now There is Help in Remembering Song Lyrics

Every once in while most of us have three or four words running through our heads - a little snippet that pops up from song from the past. And sometimes it drives us batty wondering what the name of that song was!

At Lyreach all you need to do is enter the words you are hearing - and Shazam - the program will give you all of the possibilities that contain that phrase (from their collection of more than 470000 song lyrics).

Just click on the song you want more lyrics from and you're in business. And, of course, this neat service is on the house!

Ideas Worth Spreading are featured at TED.com

Looking to enrich your mind? Many regularly visit this amazingly rich trove of "Ideas Worth Spreading". This non- profit organization presents on line videos from their conferences that bring together people from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment, and Design and more.

You can listen to the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the "talk of their lives" in just a few minutes. They make these enriching (and often very entertaining) talks available to the world without any cost. There are now more than 700 searchable titles available -- with more added each week.

Check out TED.com

New Listing: Breathtaking Andalusian Estate Masterpiece on Amalfi Drive

Breathtaking masterpiece with stunning and dramatic architectural details in Riviera Palisades. Private & tranquil Andalusian estate that has been featured in several publications, including Architectural Digest. 

581 Amalfi Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

 Offered at $14,000,000.

For pictures and information of this and other wonderful properties 

please go to Michael Edlen's Featured Homes webpage

Inspirational Thought

  “Know what your values are and then stick with them…Don’t let people talk you out of what you know is right.” 

- Flip Saunders

Short Sale Opportunities

Beautiful Short Sale Just Three Blocks from the Village

637 Haverford Ave., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 - $1,900,000

 Set on tree-lined street just three blocks from Village shops, restaurants, schools, etc. with private grass yard and plenty of room for a pool. 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

 Ocean View Short Sale

 269 Monte Grigio Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 - $1,299,000

Lovely front patio and romantically-landscaped yard with ocean and mountain views. Overlooking the Getty Villa and surrounded by many mature trees.  3 bedrooms 1.75 baths.

Rustic Canyon One-of-a-Kind

 35 Haldeman Road, Santa Monica, CA 90402 - $2,295,000

 Gated privacy in tranquil Rustic Canyon setting surrounded by mature trees with expansive panoramic views. 5 bedrooms (master on lower level), 4 baths + office.

Free Home Inventory Software

At What You Own you can find free software to assist in taking inventory of your possessions.  It is an easy to use interface that will organize your inventory by room and category.  You can add multiple pictures of your items, rooms and household as you go along. When you are done, you can save your file and print a report.  

Home Inventory Software Example

This software seems to be a great way to be prepared in case you suffer a loss from a fire, hurricane, burglary or other disaster.  Feel free to leave feedback about your experiences with home inventory here on Michael Edlen's Real Estate Blog.

Inspirational Thought

     “The fact is that you deserve all the good things in life that you can possibly imagine…as long as you achieve them by doing or contributing something of value to other people and to your world.”

- Brian Tracy