Evan Gould

Click the graphic above for the latest market info. It's time once again for the Thursday market update for the Cliff May Ranchos neighborhood in Long Beach. The Ranchos is a mid-century modern ranch house neighborhood, located on the eastside of Long Beach. It is centrally located and provides easy access to Orange County, the South Bay, and central Los Angeles. It has been a few weeks since I ran this update, and there have been a few changes. If you are interested in looking at any of these homes, or have any questions about these homes, please call my cell or e-mail me. First of all we have some price changes. 3230 Stevely is now reduced to $610,000. It originally came on the market in January for $669,000. Don't get your calculator out, I'll do the math for you; it is about 91% of the original list price. The "Tuscarranean" remodeled home at 7219 Lanai also was reduced from $775,000 to $699,900. Hey look! That is about 90% of the original list price. <!--more-->New to the market is 3229 Kallin Ave. It is a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home about 1,537 square feet. It has some upgrades and has a nice location in the neighborhood. All for the price of $639,000.Also new to the market at $649,000 is 7209 Lanai. This is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home. This nicely remodeled home has a pool. It sold a year ago for $650,000. Does that mean this neighborhood is in high demand? Are prices bucking the market trends in LA county? Or is it overpriced? e-mail me at evan.gould@homes4hipsters.com and let me know what you think. Moving on, the home at 3225 Roxanne is pending sale again. It was pretty rough and listed for $580,000. Check back here for the final sales price. 3150 Pattiz is also in escrow. Listed way back in August 2008 for $629,900; the current list price is $599,000. The recent sales of 3 bedroom, 2 bath homes are mean averaging $550,000. Let's see where this one lands. Check back here for the fial sales price.3120 Volk is also in escrow. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in 1575 square feet was listed for $599,000. They are still accepting back-up offers, so it's not to late to snag this one. What do you want to bet the offer on the table is for hmmm... $550,000? Realtors have been busy actually closing some deals! 7232 Metz closed for $535,000. That is 95% of the original $559,000 list price. Nice little savings. And to round out the update this week, the home at 3120 Karen (3 bed/2bath, pool) closed for $590,000. That is a 10% saving off the original $649,000 list price. Thanks for reading, and I'll update you again next week.

Click the graphic above for the MLS listings, or if you have any questions e-mail: evan.gould@homes4hipsters.com . Looks like it is time for another Cliff May Ranchos market update. As a refresher, this mid-century modern neighborhood is located on the Eastside of Long Beach, near the corner of Spring and Studebaker, across from El Dorado Park. Lots of great '50's era mid-century houses with open floorplans and huge patios to take advantage of California sunshine. New to the market this week is 7219 Lanai Ave. Remodeled in 2006, this 5 bed, 3 bath home has been expanded from the original 1,268 square feet. It is now a two story home in about 2,800 square feet. Along with the extra square footage, the home boasts travertine floors, and elaborate wrought iron details throughout. This home has been "Tuscanized", so very little of the original mid-century flair is left. But hey, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, two extra bedrooms, and a price of $775,000 rarely seen in the neighborhood since the peak of the market in 2005/2006. Good luck! The very original home at 7232 E. Metz is in escrow. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1130 square foot home was listed for $559,000. Check back here for the final sales price. Finally, the home at 7115 Metz closed escrow. The list price was 575,000, and the final sales price was $550,000. So, some savvy shopper was able to snag this 3 bed, 2 bath fixer for 96% of the list price.

The Galaxy Towers (2999 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach) is a 20 story condominium building built in 1967 by the architects Hugh and Donald Gibbs. Typical of late mid-century modern architecture, the Galaxy is steel, concrete, and glass. I really like the painted blue steel panels and blue tinted glass that clad the building. Despite that this is the only 20 story building in a neighborhood of two story homes, I think the blue tones help the Galaxy blend into our beautiful SoCal skies. The Galaxy Towers condos are 2 and 3 bedrooms units with 2 baths floor plans of 1,510 square feet. Because of the cross shape design of this building, the units do not share a common wall and have views from three sides. Add to this the large balconies, and you have one of the coolest seaside condos in California. For pretty good prices, too. The only unit for sale is this 3 bedroom unit on the eighth floor listed for $560,000. If you are interested in seeing this unit or have more questions about the Galaxy, please call my cell 310-351-9798, or e-mail: evan@midcenturylongbeach.com. What perspective! Perfect Symmetry! Repeating patterns. This place has some style!

Click the graphic above for the latest market info. Wow! Busy week so I am a little late with the Cliff May Ranchos market update. And it appears that some other Realtors were busy putting 3025 Roxanne, Long Beach into escrow. As you may remember, that home is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in pretty original condition. The landscaping was old-fashioned, and the kitchen needs to be blown up, and rebuilt from scratch. It will be interesting to find the final sales price of this home. Of course, you can always check back here for current sales data, or e-mail evan.gould@homes4hipsters.com with any questions!

Click the graphic above for the latest market update! Not much movement in the Cliff May Long Beach market this week. To begin, the listing at 3150 Pattiz expired. Originally listed way back in August 2008 for $629,900, this home experienced a couple of price reductions, and finally exited the market a week ago @ $599,900. The home last sold in June 2006 for $640,000. The market giveth, and the market taketh away. What a cruel god these market forces! It may still be in escrow, but the MLS listing shows it as expired. The other action this week is the home at 3225 Roxanne which was pending sale in December, is now back on the market at $580,000 and looking fabulous... not! Just took a swing through this one and it is torn up. The garage has been divided and a rec room now occupies the halved space. The carpet is atrocious. The kitchen is in original condition, but the bathrooms have been poorly remodeled. Every room and surface needs to be redone. The exterior features that California dreamy patio area that opens to the living room. However, being north facing, and having an overbearing awning system, the space was dark, cold and rather unattractive. Oh yeah, don't miss the dilapidated sailboat in the neighbors' front yard, which kinda' looks like your front yard because there is a shared fence across the front of the two houses. I really don't mean to tear this listing apart, but for my money (and yours), I would buy the exact same home at 3025 Roxanne for $515,900 or even the mostly original with the right upgrades and 200 square feet larger home at 3138 Studebaker for $539,250.