Whittier, CA

Two nights ago my daughter's high school volleyball team traveled about 45 miles to play in a playoff game. We had beat this team last year in the playoffs, but just barely. This year they were "gunning" for us. Their coach told them at the beginning of the year that their only goals was to beat us this time and send us home losers.

Our team was more mature than last year, and it showed. The girls played smart and didn't get rattled. The result was that our girls were victorious, sweeping the other team 3 straight games. As parents and friends poured out on floor to congratulate our kids, I couldn't help but notice the reaction coming from the other team. Girls with tears streaming down their cheeks - parents with tears streaming down their cheeks - a home crowd slowly stumbling out of their own gym, not wanting to believe that the season was over. In all athletic events there will always be winners, and of course there will always be losers.

Wouldn't it be nice to go into a game knowing that the outcome was already known, and that you were on the winning team? It may seem farfetched, but it has happened before, and will happen again! When you are on "God's Squad", the outcome is already decided. We are "victors in Christ", and the result of winning is that we get to go to Heaven when we die. It does not mean we won't get banged up during the game, or get penalized or tackled for a loss. That's part of the game. It does mean that when the final whistle blows, we are going to the greatest victory celebration of all.

Live To Give.

Hi again - This is Scott. Heather is busy doing her "real estate thing" while I hide out in the computer room at her office. We attended an awesome office seminar this morning on "Best Year Yet - Planning For 2010". The office manager here is very good at motivating the crew, and he is constantly coming up with great tools to offer to us.

God offers great "tools" also. Like prayer,faith, hope, fellowship and of course His Word. Yet these are tools that I often forget to use. When my world seems to be coming apart, I either panic or just feel like running away. Then God invaribly lets me know that I am already the victor in the battle, and I just need to be confident in that. And then I remember everything I am thankful for, and the list seems to grow and grow with every one I add.

Thanks for nothing? No, thanks for learning that nothing happens to me unless it's already passed through God's "filter". He protects me from 99% of the junk the world throws at me, but the 1% is meant to be used to test me, strengthen me, and enable to help others "going through it".

Live To Give

Even during these tough, economic times, the City of Whittier has good news to report: Besides the possible development of the Fred C. Nelles site (almost 74 acres of land) and the changes in Uptown Whittier (Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital with its estimated $5mil investment for interior and exterior improvements as well as the new construction of "Amber Blu", a restaurant and dinner theater North of "Crepes & Grapes"), the City has been able to introduce the brand new Affordable Home Ownership Program (AHOP) for the new home development site called "The Gables of Whittier".

Under this program, moderate-income households will have an opportunity to get a "silent" second loan in order to purchase a home with an affordable first mortgage (very much like the programs already in place in cities like Long Beach and Lakewood).

As with most of these programs, certain income limitations apply and program specific requirements have to be met in order to qualify. The following are the generalized criteria potential buyers have to meet (according to the Whittier Redevelopment Agency):

1. The Program Participant must not have owned a home for a three-year period.
2. The Program Participant has to attend a mandatory education course for homebuyers.
3. The Program Participant has to be able to qualify for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage for the maximum mortgage amount fixed by the Program.
4. The household size of the Program Participant must fit the available unit size.
5. The Program Participant must have a minimum of 3% down payment and be able to pay for the closing cost on the first mortgage.
6. The property has to be used as a principal residence.
7. The Program Participant has to maintain property insurance.
8. The income guidelines have to be met.

If you would like to find out more about this special program and see the exact income guidelines, and requirements, you can download the program specifics (including the application) at http://cityofwhittier.org/ and click on the "Affordable Home Ownership Program" tab on the right.

I just got off the phone with a representative of the Community Development Department, and at the current time, the program only extends to "The Gables of Whittier". The developer has set 24 units (of a total of 96) aside for the Program, there is no technical deadline, you can apply as long as they are still for sale.

Any questions, I'm here for you

Sincerely,
Stephanie Schroeter-Frymyer
Your Local RE Specialist
DRE # 01390458
www.SereneFoundations.com

Welcome to the beautiful City of Whittier! If you haven't been to our city, you should definitely come visit. Whittier is in full swing of creating a literal "Restaurant Row" in Uptown Whittier and there are many new stores popping up on popular Greenleaf Avenue, such as the new construction of "Amber Blu", a restaurant and dinner theater on Greenleaf North of "Crepes & Grapes" (a wonderful restaurant itself with delicious French cuisine: http://www.crepesandgrapescafe.com/).

Besides the new restaurants, Whittier is also seeing additional business coming in via the Whittier Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital (http://www.whittierpres.com/) which is taking over the building on the corner of Greenleaf and Bailey for their Administrative Offices (estimated $5mil investment for interior and exterior improvements).

Pictured to the left, is the "official" entry point to Whittier's Uptown area, the corner of Greenleaf and Penn. Just a couple of buildings up the road are the popular "Whittier Village Cinemas" (http://www.whittiervillagecinemas.com/) - Morning Movie Matinees are great at just $5 per ticket!

To give you a little bit of an idea of what Whittier has to offer, I put together a photo tour of many of Whittier's "hot spots" :-) Enjoy!

The beautiful, recently remodeled Transportation Center on Greenleaf

Welcome to Uptown Whittier!

Famous Whittier College! Pictured here is the Ruth B. Shannon Center for Performing Arts.

The Whittier Radisson

Welcome to Historic Whittier (Painter, North of Hadley)

Beautiful Penn Park! Ideal for family outings and wedding photos!

One of the many access points to beautiful Friendly Hills!

Whittier's best known fountain:
"Whittier Welcomes You!"
(Colima & Mar Vista)

Come visit Whittwood Town Center! Great stores like Kohl's, Sears, JC Penney, Target, Cost Plus Worldmarket, See's Candy, Whittier Shoes and so many more!
For a complete directory visit http://www.whittwoodtowncenter.com/

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Whittier! Stay tuned for more!



Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!!!
Stephanie Schroeter-Frymyer
Your Local Real Estate Pro
http://www.serenefoundations.com/
DRE # 01390458

This Market Report is for the Whittier, California neighborhood known as Whittwood. Here is information about Whittwood homes for sale, as well as homes that have sold in Whittwood.

First, let me tell you what part of Whittier I am talking about. The Whittwood area is bordered on the west by Colima Road, on the north by Whittier Boulevard, on the east by First Avenue and on the south by Lambert Road. Basically, the Whittwood neighborhood is centered around the Whittwood Town Center, south of Whittier Boulevard. All homes referenced in this article are within this Whittwood neighborhood.

This Market Report on Whittwood Homes for Sale will focus on Single Family Residences in this Whittier, California neighborhood.

As of today, there are 3 Single Family Residences for sale in the Whittwood area.

Seven homes are currently in escrow.

Two homes were sold during the month of October.

The average home in Whittwood that sold in October took 32 days to sell.

The average home sale price was $398,750, or an average cost per square foot of $305.56.

Over the past six months, 31 homes were sold in Whittwood, with an average sale price of $378,690, a cost per square foot of $259.91, and 31 days to sell.

It would take 1.5 months, at the current rate of sales, for all the current Whittwood homes on the market to sell.

A Sellers’ Market is when there is less than 5 months of supply. Whittwood is currently in a very strong Sellers’ Market. This Sellers’ Market actually applies to all homes for sale in Whittier, CA that are priced under $500,000. Whittier homes for sale that are priced above $500,000 are more plentiful; and the higher the price, the more advantageous it is for the buyer being able to have more leverage and less competition from other buyers.

If you own a home in Whittwood, it is a very good time to sell. Demand is high, and there are lots of buyers in this price range looking for their first home.

Below are details of Whittwood Home Sales over the past year.

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Thank you for reading this Market Report on Homes for Sale in Whittwood, Whittier, California. If you like my blog, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed to get the latest Whittier and Southern California real estate news from Bob Willis.

For Whittier real estate, see Whittier Welcomes You, or my other website about Southern California Real Estate. Want to have MLS access to beat other buyers to your dream home? Sign up with no obligation at my ListingBook website.

I provide service for Whittier real estate, as well as for La Habra, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs.

I can be reached via email at bob@willisrealtor.com or by phone at (562) 639-9400.