About Whittier's Friendly Hills

The Truth Hurts (Especially When You're NOT Telling It)

I had a Listing appointment with a very nice woman a few weeks ago. She invited me into her home and let me share ALL of the information that I had for her home. Finally, came the BIG Question: What is my home worth? I gave her the value range for her home ending with an estimated List price.

She was exstatic. Why? Because she said that I was the first Agent (out of 3) that gave her the FULL information regarding her home. Her complaints were as follows:

1. The other two Agents had left out the lowest Comps for her home. (She already had a complete set of her own!)

2. One of the Agents actually laughed at her when she asked about the "omitted" property saying that it was NOT a real sale (when it was a REAL sale)

3. Both of the other Agents bad mouthed the other Agent AND myself.

LISTING TIPS:

1. Give ALL information for a home (even when it does NOT line up with your view of the home's value).

2. Never laugh at another person EVER. It is just plain rude and should NEVER be done.

3. Do NOT bad mouth the competition because it makes people look classless and insecure.

In this case, the truth hurts because the other two Agents were not telling it. Our Sellers have access to more information than ever before. Trying outsmart our Sellers is NOT a wise thing to do...EVER. It is bad business and it is bad Karma. What say you?

Mark Velasco-Southern California Realtor (LA County)

www.SanGabrielValleyHomeSearch.com

Search MLS: Arcadia, San Marino, South Pasadena, Downey,& Whittier, CA What is my home worth?

Do you remember that movie "Forrest Gump"? How slow and deliberate Forrest was in everything he did? I had a chance for that this past holiday weekend when my husband and I drove up north to visit his parents.

I'm not good with long drives (this one was 7 hours), so I kept myself busy by surfing the internet, completing some RE stuff, and chatting with a relative for about 2 hours. The next thing I know, I'm there! Then I have to start over again and try and unwind. We were in a small town in California's Gold Rush country, and the sky was this amazing shade of blue. We could actually see stars at night, and the quiet was deafening.

But I was still anxious. My Blackberry didn't get any internet service, as well as my laptop. I had to bug my husband to drive to the only Starbuck's for miles around so I could check my e-mails. I just knew someone was going to e-mail me about wanting me to sell their 5 million dollar estate overlooking Malibu. NOT!

How can we be so used to going 90 miles an hour that when we get a chance to "Gump It" we can't?

Live To Give

SEARCH FOR HOMES HERE!!!

Driving through Friendly Hills feels a little bit like driving through a beautiful country setting - lush, green landscaping, large front yards, beautiful homes, winding roads at times, just a very serene setting. As all other parts of Whittier, Friendly Hills has also seen a change in property prices, and this blog will focus on price changes, days on market and sales history in this particular part of town.

Currently, there are 28 active Single Family Homes for sale in Friendly Hills - ranging from $499,000 ($340.15 per sqft) to $2,200,000 ($415.02 per sqft). The days on market range from 2 days to 591 days.

Friendly Hills Homes for Sale (status June 23, 2010)
Total active Friendly Hills Homes for Sale: 28
Total Friendly Hills Homes in Back-up offer status: 2
Total Friendly Hills Homes in Pending status: 6

Property prices have dropped in the Friendly Hills area of Whittier but compared to many other parts of town (and other cities), there were very few Short Sales and REOs. How did the decrease in property values effect Friendly Hills homes?

Even though an average sales price is an interesting number, however, it is not suitable to detect a trend - the reason why is because sales volume in Friendly Hills is typically not very high, so the lack of data may scue the numbers. For example, in one given month there might only be one sale, let's say the house sold for $2mil. The next month, there is also just one sale, this time, a property sells for $650,000. Does this mean property prices dropped dramatically? No, the second home that sold was probably a lot smaller ... A better indicator of true value in this case would be the average price per square foot. In order to really see a trend, I have compiled sales numbers for Friendly Hills homes from January 2007 through May 2010, and here is the result:

Friendly Hills Sales History, Price per Square Foot

The tallest spike was in March of 2007 at $584, however, this number is based on only one sale in that month. A more accurate figure would be the one for August of 2007, with 6 sales, at $391 per sqft. The current average price per square foot (for the month of May 2010) is $273 ($317 for April 2010).

As you can see in this graph, there are up and down months, but the trend since January 2007 has been an overall moderate (compared to other areas and cities) decrease in the price per sqft, so purchasing a home in the Friendly Hills area appears to be a solid investment.

Would you like to know more about Friendly Hills Homes and Friendly Hills Homes for sale? Please feel free to contact us and request a FREE list of all current Friendly Hills home listings, without any obligation.

Want to learn more about Whittier, Whittier neighborhoods, Whittier schools, and Whittier parks? Looking for a home in Whittier? Start your Whittier home search here! Thinking about selling your Whittier home or maybe relocating to Whittier? You will find everything on our state-of-the-art website!

Thanks so much for visiting our Whittier area Real Estate blog! Stay tuned for more Greater Whittier Area Real Estate updates! Our business greatly depends on referrals so if you like us, please tell your friends and family about us, it is truly appreciated.

Warm regards,
Stephanie & Shirley

Stephanie Frymyer & Shirley Williams
The S & S Team
"Your Local Property Pros"
562-355-8120 & 310-308-6107
DRE# 01390458 & DRE# 01456658
http://yourlocalpropertypro.com/

Stephanie Frymyer
Realtor, SFR, ABR, SRES
DRE 01390458

Shirley Williams
Realtor, SFR, SRES
DRE 01456658

Main Street Realtors

How To Work With Million Dollar Clients:

What is the difference between a $100,000 home and a $1,000,000 home. Okay...yes...there are lot of nicer amenities.

What is the difference to the Realtor? Yes...instead of a $3,000 commission, there is a $30,000 comission. The KEY is to GET YOUR MIND OFF OF THE COMISSION!

If we treated each and every client like a Million Dollar Client, then we will have Million Dollar Referrals. This may come in the form of ten $100,000 referrals or two $500,000 referrals.

My point is that our Clients who feel Valued and Respected will give you the Referrals that you need to thrive in this business.

ALL Clients (rich or poor) can tell if you are working your "tail" off to give them the best possible service.

Have fun, work hard, and the money will take care of itself.

Best Of Luck To You All,

Mark Velasco-Southern California Realtor (LA County)

www.SanGabrielValleyHomeSearch.com

Treat Your Customers Right or Someone Else Will

Tonight after our couple's group at church, Tania and I went for a late night massage. We ordered a basic massage. They assigned us our location and then offered an upgrade "at a special rate." Tania and I refused because the special #2 is just like the special #1 (except double the price).

She insisted that we would love it. We had it before and we didn't. STILL she insisted that we upgrade. I was almost inclined to walk out (right then). My wife said a firm NO!

Half way through the massage...are you sure that you wouldn't like special #2?

This is a place that Tania and I go once or twice...okay...sometimes three times a month. We are now looking for a new massage place. Upselling is one thing...Pig headed is another. Give the customers what they want and they will ALWAYS be back for more. Try pushing them to get something they don't want?

No Thank You! Treat your cusomers right or else someone else will ;-)

Best of Luck to You All,

Mark Velasco - Southern California Real Estate (LA County)

www.SanGabrielValleyHomeSearch.com