Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

This past week I have seen Fin Whales in the channel to Santa Catalina Island. One evening during sunset a large group was splashing and creating huge boils as they raced towards the cliffs of PV. My friends and I believe they were chasing squid.

Palos Verdes is famous for hosting Grey Whales from November to April. The Palos Verdes Interpretive Center is a great focal point and the museum is nice too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE6IayHV0V0

I shot this video the next eve and put together some music that I produce here at my home studio.

Enjoy, and please do your best to make a difference in conservation.

I need an energy drink, or maybe eight hours of solid sleep would do the trick. Suddenly, past clients, new customers and contacts from the past decided this was the week to move their status from inactive to hot buyer. Think of the Morton Salt slogan, "When it rains, it pours." I never really understood what that had to do with salt, but I do understand the concept when it comes to buyers!

Who turned the buyer spigot on? Did the media finally decide to feature some of the positive housing news instead of the grim? Like a simmering volcano, the pent-up demand for housing can only smolder so long before it unleashes itself with unstoppable force, and there's no putting the top back on the mountain or the buyers back in wait and see mode.

The hot spot in my local housing market is still the under $1M crowd. Those properties are flying off the shelf, often with multiple offers. My buyers lost in a multiple offer frenzy in Eastview earlier this week. Another first time buyer's offer was unable to compete with an investor's cash, and at the sales meeting our broker reported open house attendees exceeded 250 at one under a million dollars beauty in Torrance. That's close to a stampede and I'm sure the agent felt a need for crowd control!

We're ready. My licensed assistant, and all things techie expert, is moving up to buyer's agent. We're hoping there will be enough new inventory to satisfy this enormous buyer appetite. Homes for the holidays is exactly what many buyers are hoping for.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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Palos Verdes Homes for Sale - Palos Verdes Houses
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The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has settled a lawsuit brought by local residents opposed to the expansion plans of the St. John Fisher Catholic Church which now clears the way for the Church to commence their expansion plans.

(Paul Penzella/Staff Artist)

The settlement resulted in only minor changes to the planned expansion, including moving the main sanctuary building 20 feet away from the adjacent street. The church will construct a 17,000-square-foot sanctuary with a 74-foot lighted cross. The current sanctuary will be turned into an athletic and activity center, and several other buildings will be torn down or modified. The expansion is expected to cost approx. $20 million.

St. John Fisher Catholic Church administrator David Kurt shows a model of the proposed new sanctuary in Rancho Palos Verdes. (Steve McCrank/Daily Breeze Staff Photographer)

Sometimes, balance finds us.  I never set out to be an either/or agent; I am neither a buyer's agent nor a seller's agent, I am my client's agent.  Without adhering to a strict agent type-casting identity, when I look back on closed transactions for the year they are always astonishingly balanced.  This year is following the same pattern.  As a matter of fact, as of this moment my business is in perfect balance:  50% sellers and 50% buyers.   

I absolutely love working with both sellers and buyers.  There is a symbiotic relationship between the two.  My prospective buyers feed my sellers' pool and my sellers often become my move-up buyers.  They all become my clients, and because of the extended relationship we have, I am already familiar with their needs and housing goals.  I've always felt being both a buyer's agent and a seller's agent makes me a better agent.  I know having a history with my client's is an advantage for them, and it certainly is advantageous for me.

I look at hundreds of listings each year for my buyers, at the same time I am keeping my finger on the pulse of local prices and value for my sellers.  It's a cinch to price a home when you have looked at every competitor in the neighborhood.  Likewise when I list a home I usually have a buyer or two to invite to the first public open house or sneak preview.  If my listing is not the perfect match for a buyer I usually have a suggestion of another home that will better suit their needs.

Working with sellers and buyers puts you one move ahead when playing the real estate matchmaking game.  In the competitive field of real estate it adds depth to your prospective client base, a sharper edge to the agent's knowledge of the local market and a dash of confidence to the foundation of our business--the clients.  It also graces you with many long and rewarding relationships, and after all is said and done, real estate is a relationship business.

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Homes for Sale - Palos Verdes Houses
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Realtor Blog
Palm Desert Area Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Coastal Homes

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The Eastview neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes posted some almost unbelievable real estate activity for September 2009.  If you are still of the opinion you can get a steal in this popular neighborhood check the numbers below:

Active Listings:  6 Single Family Homes are for sale priced from $599,900 to $919,000.

Pending Sales:  15 Single Family Homes are in escrow! 

September Sales:  3 Single Family Homes closed escrow:  Highmore Ave. - $629,900.

Macarthur St. - $735,000;  Sparta Drive - $810,000.

I showed a new bank owned listing in the neighborhood yesterday.  There was a parade of ongoing showings while I was at the property.  My guess is the bank owned property will soon join the other fifteen Eastview homes already in escrow and some lucky buyers will call it home!

Previous Palos Verdes and San Pedro Market Reports

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle - Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Find Norma on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Email Norma

Palos Verdes Homes for Sale - Palos Verdes Houses
Palos Verdes Horse Property - Palos Verdes Realtor Blog
Palm Desert Area Lots for Sale - Homes with Views in Palos Verdes
Palos Verdes Coastal Homes

Subscribe via ActiveRain - Subscribe via Email - Start your own blog on activerain!