Lately there has been so much information in the news about the real estate market and how depressed it is.  However, people are still selling their properties and new properties are being listed every day.  So, how do you sell your home in this market? As a seller you must take into consideration that we have a different type of real estate market than the last couple of years.  This is a buyer's market, which means you need to think of your home more like a commodity and less like a unique item.  While everyone feels their home has special qualities that make it stand out from other properties in their area, a buyer's market doesn't allow for a seller to use these qualities to price their home higher than the home next door.  How do you present your home to help the buyers feel like t... 06/25/2008

  Thinking About Buying in Malibu? (edit/delete) Now is the time.  If you have the money and you are thinking about it, you should seriously consider it.  We are in a buyer's market and it does not come along too often, perhaps every 15 years.  Opportunity is knocking and it is knocking hard!  Don't let this opportunity pass by.  Purchase in this market and you will be giving yourself high-fives in 3 years as the cycles reflect.   Contact me for Malibu Listings and home buying. http://westsidehomefinders.com/home.asp ginnymcgonigle@westsidehomefinders.com 06/24/2008

On March 8th I posted an article on my free Wordpress.com blog about a new record price being set for a monthly rental in Malibu. (click here to read it)The L.A. Times read it and called me to do an article on leases in Malibu and ran it on March 24th on the front page. (article)On May 7 Le Figaro, a major French newspaper, ran an article about Malibu being the St. Tropez of California and quoted me again! The funny part was I never said an of that! I did say that Malibu was resilient to economic downturns in the real estate market but the rest is creative writting! (article) 05/25/2008

In its 4th year, CineMalibu movies in the park will kick off the summer on Saturday, May 31st with a showing of "Everyones Hero," an animated baseball movie. To preview the finest Real Estate in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Burbank please visit my website. When you are ready to view homes or have any questions regarding selling your home, please contact me. There are several new events added to the calendar this summer, such as a "live" Marionette show for kids, an outdoor performance by the Malibu Symphony Orchestra, and a surprise event to be announced. Click the link below for more information. Online: Summer Calendar of Events Contact: Amy Crittenden E-mail: acrittenden@ci.malibu.ca.us 05/24/2008

Tiles personalized by Malibu residents and other Legacy Park supporters will be unveiled at a ceremony on Saturday, March 29, at 11:00 a.m. at the corner of Cross Creek Road and Civic Center Way. Malibu is one of the most desireable areas in the world! To preview the finest Real Estate in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Burbank please visit my website. When you are ready to view homes or have any questions regarding selling your home, please contact me. The tiles, which raised nearly $70,000 for the Malibu Legacy Park Project, will be installed along the sidewalk on the west side of the recently revitalized Cross Creek Road or as part of the inlaid tile mediallion at the corner of Civic Center Way. The medallion was designed by Janine Waldbaum of M... 03/29/2008

Join us for the annual Egg Hunt and fun filled day at Malibu Bluffs Park. Kids ages 1 to 10 are welcome, please bring your own basket to collect eggs. Saturday, March 22 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Malibu Bluffs Park (24250 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu) Free egg hunt, crafts & games! Bounce House Tickets $1.00 Please bring your own basket Egg Hunt Schedule Ages 0-2 at 12 noon Ages 3-5 at 12:05 pm Ages 6-7 at 12:10 pm Ages 8-10 at 12:15 pm Questions? (310) 317-1364 Click here to download file (PDF format - 73kb) Click Here to Download the Adobe Acrobat PDF file viewer To preview the finest Real Estate in Beverly Hills, Malibu, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Burbank and Pacific Palisades please visit my website. When you are ready to view homes or have any questions regarding selling your home, please ... 03/21/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com The gilded age continues! For $150,000 per month, with a two month minimum, you can rent the ultimate get away house. The home, located on Cliffside Drive on Point Dume, has 4 bedrooms and 8 baths with enough interior space to park a few Gulf Stream V's. There is a direct trail to the beach and you can run around the property naked if you please because you will have total privacy. You are going to have to cough up a nice security deposit of $300,000 which means you'd better be ready to cut a check for $450,000 to move in for the first month. Let's work with smaller numbers ya'll can grasp. It's only $200 per hour or $5000 per day. Considering that the Presidential Suite at Shutters in Santa Monica is $3500 per night, renting t... 03/14/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com Is there anything affordable in Malibu you ask? Yes. You want to roll big because....well, that's how you roll, right? You just want to say "I live in Malibu..right above the beach". Not much cash? OK! Here's your answer...Mobile homes. Big ones with ocean views, the sound of waves to put you to sleep, and a tricked out golf cart with surfboard racks and a 2 inch lift. The price may sound high but you'll be watching the same sunset over the water that several celebs watch from their $15,000,000 homes on the same bluff just a block away. Malibu has two mobile home parks. One at Paradise Cove and the other, known as The Point Dume Club, on Point Dume. Between the two parks there are currently 5 mobile homes for sale above $1,000,0... 03/13/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com It may not be a huge number but being only a month old with that kind of traffic makes me happy! I’m averaging about 125 views a day and 500-600 when outside blogs or web pages pick up my articles. The LA Times called the other day and said they had been reading my blog and wanted to do an interview. I was thrilled! The article should be out on March 23 in the Real Estate section. Maybe I’ll pass 10,000 by the end of the month! 03/11/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com Over the weekend, several blogs and newspapers were reporting that Nancy Daly Riordan sold her home on Carbon Beach for a price in the vicinity of $62 million dollars. This would be a record sale for Malibu shattering last year's record sale of Johnny Carson's home on Point Dume at $35 million. The Real Estalker is reporting that the deal may have fallen through and the original Canadian buyers, may possibly be Russian. The 12,785 sq.ft. house sits on a triple lot on "Billionaires Beach", aka Carbon Beach, in the heart of Malibu. It may have been in escrow, but even with high end transactions, you might as well translate the word "escrow" to mean "a big maybe." Even if the deal fails to happen, you can bet everyone else on the b... 03/06/2008

Little League opening day ceremonies will be held at Malibu Bluffs Park on Saturday, March 1 at 10:30 a.m. At 11:00 a.m., there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Bluffs Park playground. Parking will be available in the vacant lot adjacent to the park. Malibu is one of the most desireable areas in the world! To preview the finest Real Estate in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Burbank please visit my website. When you are ready to view homes or have any questions regarding selling your home, please contact me. For additional information, contact Recreation Manager Amy Crittenden. Contact: Amy Crittenden E-mail: acrittenden@ci.malibu.ca.us Phone: 310-456-2489 x337 02/25/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com No, you can't buy a home, condo, or trailer but you will get a one-month lease on a prestigious beach with neighbors who are on the paparazzi hit list. Yes, spring in near and Malibu Mega Beach House leases are just about to go up on the auction block for the who's who to fight over.March Madness in Malibu has nothing to do with sports and more to do with people scrambling to secure the best beach leases. "Players," not on the ball, who don't secure a lease early may be forced to "slum it" on lesser "$50k per month" beaches where your neighbor's private 4th of July firework show may only last a paltry 30 minutes instead of an hour and the caviar might be California paddlefish not Russian Sevruga. Life's tough ain't it? I predict... 02/24/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com If you thought Malibu real estate prices were sky high how about a 1800 Sq. Ft. town house on the Upper East Side for $64 million! The pricey abode has 30 rooms, 15 bedrooms, 17 bathrooms, 17-foot ceilings, and a rooftop garden with grand views. If it sells it will break the previous record high sales price set by the sale of the $53 million dollar Harkness Mansion on East 75th Street. Malibu's highest price listing comes in at $75 million. The recent sale of a Carbon Beach home in the $55 million dollar range sets a new beach-side sales record. There are two large projects being built now that could turn in to Malibu's first $100 million dollar listings if the gilded age continues. New York real estate companies are claiming th... 02/21/2008

By The Malibu Real Estate Blog Themaliburealestateblog.com The growing demand for high-end finished products in the Malibu real estate market continues to be met with new homes like this. Listed at $25,000,000, this stunning East Coast traditional sits on the cliffs of Point Dume above the Pacific Ocean. The home sets a new record asking price for this section of ocean view bluff and will most likely elevate the value of all the neighboring properties when a sale is finalized. The home was built by Albino Construction, known for building the highest quality homes that are almost always purchased by celebs or entertainment titans. It features 7 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms with 8756 Sq. Ft. on little over one acre of prime Malibu soil. There is an infinity edge pool, expansive ocean views, ... 02/17/2008

click on a picture for more information and price MUST SELL! A Malibu Bay Club ocean retreat with cash flow! Stunning ocean views from this two level remodeled condo with granite kitchen and granite bathroom w/spa tub. 1 bedroom, 1 bath on the main level, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom on lower level. You can live in one and rent the other. Complex amenities include pool, spa, paddle tennis and private beach. Tenant Occupied. Need 24 hours notice to show. Malibu is one of the most desireable areas in the world! To preview the finest Real Estate in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Burbank please visit my website. When you are ready to view homes or have any questions regarding selling your home, please contact me. 02/05/2008

Chew on this.......There are currently 6 mobile homes for sale in Malibu that are asking over $1,000,000. The highest price coach goes for $1.8m. and during the last 3 years there have been almost a dozen sales over $1m! The HOA's or "space rent" will run almost $2000 per month and you will need to get tags each year with the DMV! What gives you ask! Your green buys blue............ocean views that is. In these price ranges you are paying for big 180 degree ocean views.We have two mobile home parks in Malibu that are both located on hundreds of acres of prime real estate nestled up to the beach. Both Paradise Cove and The Point Dume Club sit on bluffs directly over the Pacific Ocean. Many of these mobile homes have ocean views that rival the $20m homes along PCH and both have roads or t... 02/01/2008

Click on picture for more information and price Incredible deal on this house with totally separate lot next door. Large 4 bedroom house (2540 Sq.Ft.) Needs love! Panoramic ocean/bay/Catalina Views! Almost 5 acres total land. Gated private drive. Minutes from city or Valley. Potential galore. Motivated seller wants all offers. Perfect for contractor/investor. Plenty of room to roam with yard, spa and land. Horses ok! 2.5 car garage! Two large decks, 1st floor concrete slab deck, 2nd story large wood patio with storage & breathtaking views! Malibu is one of the most desireable areas in the world! To preview the finest Real Estate in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, and Burbank please visit my website. When you are ready to view homes or have any questio... 01/28/2008

Yes there are a lot of foreclosures going on in many parts of California. But again the Westside and Malibu seem to be a shelter in the storm. Check out these stats from the TerraFirmaLA Blog. FORECLOSURES – June 1-Dec. 31, 2007 Valley areas not doing so well Woodland Hills (91364, 91367) – 100 foreclosuresTarzana (91356) – 69 foreclosuresEncino (91316, 91436) – 54 foreclosuresSherman Oaks (91403, 91423) – 43 foreclosuresStudio City (91604, 91602) – 32 foreclosuresWest Hollywood (90046, 90069) – 27 foreclosures Areas doing well Miracle Mile (90036, 90048) – 7 foreclosuresBeverly Hills (90210, 90211, 90212) – 3 foreclosuresBrentwood (90049) – 6 foreclosuresBel Air/Holmby Hills (90077) – 11 foreclosures Prime areasSawtelle/West L.A. (90025) – 6 foreclosuresWestwood (90024) – 11 foreclosu... 01/25/2008

Here are the top ten sites for December. Realtor.com is leading with Trulia recently passing up Zillow and looking to gain ground. Why is this important? Because everybody starts online when it comes to finding a home. 85% this year will and I estimate that the number will rise to 95% in next few years. Realtor.com gets 5 million hits alone each month. If you are going list your home you better have an agent who has a foot in the internet arena. I personally have my listings at 4 of the sites mentioned above. One advantage Prudential has is that we have signed a deal with Yahoo, as you may have seen the recent ads, and we now exclusively get all leads generated online. If someone does a search in Malibu and needs more information our office at Cross Creek gets the call, even if the list... 01/20/2008

Check out these recent headlines: "Location! Location! Location! - Better Schools Mean Higher Property Values" (USA Today), "House Buyers are Willing to Pay for a Good Education,"(The Wall Street Journal)If the quality of a school directly affects the value of local real estate, then Malibu High School has just given the local housing market a big boost. Coming in 98 out of the 100 highest ranking schools in the nation and 23rd in California, parents now have even more reason to move to Malibu. Don't forget, we are talking about a public school with no tuition! Many parents in the surrounding communities often send their children to private schools that can run anywhere from $10,000-$20,000 per year. That's a lot of money that can be applied toward a mortgage for those wanting to move t... 01/15/2008