As reported on the Herald Online, Redfin’s Local Insights report as summarized below is based on stats compiled from the Multiple Listing Service, agent interviews, and public sales record data. The report states that Los Angeles real estate is moving towards becoming a more balanced market, and in this transition, it is moving away from a intense seller’s market.  Median sales prices between June 2013 and July 2013 rose nearly 26% due to low inventory and increased demand, which resulted in bidding wars. The Los Angeles real estate market has been inundated with foreign buyers, investors, flippers and first-time home buyers since last year, mid-year, due in part to low mortgage rates and rising home prices. Although this frenzied buying pace has begun to slow down, Los Angeles County r... 08/19/2013

      DataQuick reported that Southern California’s July home prices remained flat, as compared to June as interest rates rose and more houses went on sale. The six county region median sales price was $385,000 for both June and July. The median price is over 25% higher as compared to last year in July. Many are questioning how long these home price gains will continue. Prices have risen quickly this year in part due by an improving economy, investor demand and low inventory. Buyers purchased a reported 25,419 new and resale single family and condominiums. John Walsh, the President of DataQuick believes the increase in activity is due to the rising inventory of homes for sale. Economists believe that price increases will begin to moderate as more owners put their homes on the market and... 08/16/2013

  As reported in the LA Times last month, a report released by global real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis stated that the Chinese will be spending billions of dollars on U. S. real estate within the next few years. Realtor.org reported China as being the top three foreign buyers in real estate. The top three countries of choice for these Chinese buyers are the United States, Canada and Australia. Particular cities of choice where they are on quite the spending spree in the high-end market are New York, San Francisco and Los Angles. According to the Chinese real estate website Juwai.com, in 2011, Chinese buyers bought over $10 billion of U.S. real estate and they account for 9% of foreign U.S. house buyers. These Chinese investors see real estate in the United Stats as a big bargain, due ... 08/12/2013

  We’ve all seen some seen some pretty bad paint jobs on houses before, but this one is raising a lot of negative attention. One homeowner in East Hampton, N.Y., greatly upset his neighbors when he posted a sign outside his house stating; “Help paint a starving artists house. Throw a pint.” His whole house, even the windows and doors are now covered with splashes of paint. One angered neighborhood told the East Hampton Patch that it degrades the whole neighborhood and everyone’s property value goes down. He asked, “Why would you buy a house next to him?” The homeowner was issued notices of violation by town officials over the state of his property months back. The homeowner did not respond and he is not required to go to court. This is not the first time this particular homeowner has ha... 08/06/2013

  According to California Home & Style blog, the top five California Beach Escapes are Cayucos, Santa Barbara, Sonoma Coast-Bodega Bay, Coronado Island and last, but not least, Malibu. Santa Barbara, a.k.a. the “American Riviera” is about one hundred miles north of Los Angeles. Some of Santa Barbara’s best know beaches areEl Capitan Beach and State Park, Goleta Beach, Leadbetter Beach and Hendry’s Beach, to name a few. Santa Barbara is also famous for its outdoor recreation, wineries, dining and restaurants. (Photo courtesty of Flikr.com) Cayucos, the coastal town located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco is known as one of the “last California beach towns.” It remains relatively untouched by major development and continues to hold its small town charm with its boutique stor... 07/23/2013

  As reported on the LA Weekly blog by Dennis Romero, Los Angeles real estate today is mirroring the market in 2006. All cash offers, investors flipping properties, multiple offers, over-asking offers… Real estate broker Red fin says things cooled off in May this year, slightly. It was reported that Los Angeles real estate showed just over 86.1% of listings had competitive bids in May versus April’s 86.2%. What does that mean? 8 to 10 listings are seeing multiple offers. Los Angeles was only beat out by San Francisco. Orange County came in third, followed by San Diego. Los Angeles and Orange Counties faced competition on more than 8 out of 10 offers. Los Angeles real estate competition saw just a .1% drop from April to May in the rate of offers met by other bidders. 07/22/2013

The 5 Hottest LA Real Estate Neighborhoods Los Angeles County real estate has been on fire. Experts are saying that economic recovery does not even come close to explaining the ridiculous levels of interest in home buying. Cash is king and bidding wars are common. Many will be surprised to learn that some of the hottest areas with some of the highest price increases do not include a Malibu 90265 zip code or a Beverly Hills 90210 zip code.  According to a report by Redfin, the five hottest Los Angeles real estate neighborhoods just so happen to be inner city communities. From June 2012 to June 2013, these areas reported the highest increases per square foot. Check out their top five listed cities. Top Los Angeles Real Estate City #5 – Mid-Wilshire The median price per square foot is $551... 07/17/2013

Bank of Books, Malibu, CA 90265 As many independent bookstores and chain bookstores have been closing over the years it is a pleasure to report that another independent bookstore has opened in Malibu, CA and is going on their sixth month of existence! I was at Point Dume in Malibu and needed a great cup of coffee and look what I found as a bonusJ. The best part is after a bit of research I discovered that not only do they sell used but new books as well. Since Malibu is about 18 scenic miles on the Pacific Coast Highway and there is another independent bookstore at the other end this makes perfect sense. Many locals would not want to drive all the way to the other end of Malibu to go to a bookstore. Hence it makes perfect sense to open one here at Point Dume. Point Dume VillageHeathercl... 06/30/2013

  Who is the Mystery Man in the Scottie Pippen Malibu, CA  altercation?   As most of you heard on the news that Scottie Pippen former Chicago MBA player , a  Michael Jordan’s team mate of the Dream Team, was involved in some altercation outside Nobu’s Parking lot in Malibu.  As some of you know NOBU is a great Sushi Restaurant (of Matsuhisa the Uber Chef and De Niro the actor’s fame).   Everyone has been focusing on Pippen, NOBU and now Celebrity Attorney Mark Garagos. There are various versions of what happened in this great Ocean View Malibu Restaurant’s Parking lot. No one took a picture of the mystery man. No one knows his name. Well thanks to a local Realtor Endre Barath, Jr. who happened to be in Malibu, CA and had camera in handJ here is the picture maybe or maybe not J Is this t... 06/27/2013

Sick Sea lions in Malibu, CA Update!!    As most of you remember in March, Sick Sea lions have been washing up the coast of California, from San Francisco to Southern California Beaches. This has been going on for the entire month of March & April. Totally devastating and a sad occurrence, I almost did not want to write about these occurrences since it is so depressing. (Ultimately I did not until now)   All the news media have picked up these occurrences, the sea lion incident in Laguna Beach with the former US Representative’s daughter and husband the Astronaut Mark Kelly having their dog loose, not on a leash that killed the sea lion pup made the internet. Ironically the focus was on the celebrity status of the owners rather than focusing on the problem of why are Sea lion pups washi... 06/23/2013

Truth in the Media: Miami Heat pops 100 bottles of Dom Perignon worth $100,000. NOT!!!   As most of you know I have been an advocate of Truth in the Media. So you can imagine my outrage when I heard that the Miami Heat popped 100 bottles of Dom Perignon worth $100,000. Ok first my reaction was why waste a nice luxury Champaign for showering each other (see link http://bossip.com/602970/makin-it-rain-on-them-hoes-championship-miami-heat-team-popped-100-bottles-of-pricy-dom-perignon-after-their-win-worth-100k-in-the-club/ )   Ok now let us look at the Truth. Enclosed here is a picture of a vintage 1993 Dom Perignon at today’s market price it is worth around $360 per bottle.  As most of you will guess they probably had at best 2003 Vintage. So my best guess is around $160 per bottle. OK no... 06/21/2013

  According to a recent report from Coldwell Banker Previews International, Malibu placed seventh on the list for the number of homes selling for ten million or more.  Malibu places among one of the top places the richest of the rich love to live, as well as Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Bel Air. Coldwell Banker Previews International reported that from January 2012 to December 2012, Beverly Hills tops the chart with twenty-one homes sold at ten million or more. If you’re in the market for Malibu real estate, we have inventory (on-and-off market). Click here for more information. Top ZIP Codes for Sales of Homes $10 Million of More ZIP Code Location Homes Sold 90210 Beverly Hills, CA 21 81611 Aspen, CO 16 93108 Montecito, CA 15 90077 Bel Air, CA 10 33139 Miami Beach, FL 8 90049 Brentwood... 04/14/2013

Malibu, CA what is the Luxury Real Estate Market like? Often times I get asked what is the Malibu Luxury Real Estate Market like? First I am thrilled that I get asked, unlike two years ago no one really asked me, now it is back in the everyday conversation. Second I smile everything in Malibu is Luxury Real EstateJ The better question is:  how  is the Real Estate Market on the Beach Side  or conversely how is the Real Estate Market on the Land Side of Malibu? So instead of giving generalizations, like many people like to do, I prefer to give factual information. These numbers are taken from the Multiple Listing Service covering the period of January 1st, 2013 to January 31st, 2013. I have separated the statistics based on the Ocean Side vs. the Land Side. Now you tell me what you think ... 03/22/2013

  Sunset Mesa, a community that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and basques under the California sun, has many attributes that draw in its residents. In the beginning, there were two housing developments, Sunset Mesa & the Pacific Riviera. Sunset Mesa eventually took full title, as “mesa” means “table” in Spanish, and it best describes the plateau that is carved into the cliff that has panoramic ocean views. The mansionization that has occurred and plagued some nearby communities has been effectively prevented due in large part to the strict CC&Rs regulating the Sunset Mesa community. Keeping trees trimmed and running underground utilities help protect views. There are about fifty-three condominiums and about five hundred single-family homes. When originally sold, they were built as track h... 03/20/2013

  The travel service website, Gogobot.com, has listed fifteen of the most popular beaches in the world. Malibu’s Point Dume State Beach ranked fourteen out of fifteen. La Jolla Shores in San Diego topped the Best Beaches list.    1. La Jolla Shores, San Diego, Calif., U.S.2. South Beach, Edgartown, Mass., U.S.3. Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil4. Baker Beach, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.5. Lanikai Beach, Kailua, Hawaii, U.S.6. Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia7. Baga Beach, Goa, India8. Konyaalti Beach, Antalya, Turkey9. Coney Island, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.10. Boulders Beach, Cape Town, South Africa11. Kaanapali Beach, Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S.12. Playa de la Concha, San Sebastian, Spain13. Lake Como, Italy14. Point Dume State Beach, Malibu, Calif., U.S.15. Siesta Key Beach, Fla., U.S. 03/15/2013

Day in the Life of a Relocation Realtor in Malibu, CA.  BTW Malibu AAA is the Best! To give a quick background, I was out with Relocation Clients from China and we went to Malibu looking for homes. They were in my Lexus RX and we just arrived at our second appointment to view a home. This great home was listed at $2.8million. The home had a fantastic panoramic ocean view hence it was a priority to see it. Instead of being met by the agent, the sellers were going to show us the home. (Bit surprised that in this price point the listing agent would not take the effort to show us the home, but that is another subject). Once the sellers realized that there were two children with us and one child was about 3.5 years old and the other was 1.5 years old. Needless to say they did not want the ch... 03/07/2013

  Two great Malibu beach properties came on the market today. One Malibu Road beach home for sale and lease and one lease on in Malibu Colony. Additional information on each unique property listed below. Inquire with any of our 4 Malibu Real Estate agentsfor additional photos/info on these or any other Malibu properties. We are here to assist you finding your dream home. 24956 Malibu Rd., Malibu, CA 90265   3B/3B | $8,499,000 | MLS #13-655727               This is a classic mid-century modern home located in front of  Malibu Road’s  ”Pelican Rock.” The main house features two bedrooms and a den, two bathrooms and an outdoor shower, living room with fireplace, kitchen and dining area. The master bedroom has a private deck. There is a third detached one bedroom, one bath guest house with ... 03/06/2013

  Simi Valley, CA – March 2, 2013 The Malibu Association of Realtors (M.A.R.) Board Members showed their support this past Saturday, March 3, 2013 at the Pacific Legal Foundation’s 40th Anniversary Gala, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Those M.A.R. supporting members included past president Bobby Lehmkuhl, current president Matthew Ogden, board directors Rick Wallace and Brant Didden, and Executive Director, Susan Manners.                               The Pacific Legal Foundation is on of the oldest libertarian/conservative public interest law firms in the United States. It is a non-profit organization and was established for the purpose of promoting and defending economic and individual freedom in the courts. Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys support private property ... 03/05/2013

  One of Malibu’s highly desired neighborhoods, Malibu Country Estates, is centrally located, adjacent to Pepperdine University, and is a short drive to the beach, Cross Creek, Malibu Legacy Park, the Lumber Yard and Malibu Canyon. Some notable Malibu Country Estates neighborhood highlights include storm sewers, streetlights, a voluntary HOA, public water supply, and a semi-dedicated reclamation plant, which is shared with Pepperdine University.  Another additional perk is residents have option to join Pepperdine University’s Crest Membership with allows access to the Olympic-sized pool, tennis courts and track. As of  2/5/13 (as compiled from the MLS), there are currently two active listings and one pending. There were four sales in 2012. Details can be seen below. Bobby Lehmkuhl, with... 02/05/2013

Harry & David: have you used them?The best fruit hands down! Over the years I have received gifts from my clients and friends from Harry & David. I was always very happy with the size condition and taste. The other day we sent some gifts to my clients, so Diane wanted to know what they looked like from close up; since it has been a while since we received some gifts, she wanted to see what they looked likeJ. So we decided to go to the nearest Harry & David Store and look at the items from close up. Long & short of it, next thing you know we could not help ourselves and treated ourselves to a gift. You tell me where we went wrong? The items were 50% off normal price and the fruit looked so goodJ The fruit also tasted very good as well!    http://www.harryanddavid.com If you are a consume... 01/21/2013