Lynn LeGlaire

West Hollywood is quite the little city. It's bit of a 21st Century utopia. It's relatively safe, it's clean, and it's known for its tolerance of personal lifestyles. I've lived in WeHo for the past 10 years and I've grown to like it a lot.

It's a flashy part of town--there's plenty of high end restaurants, designer boutiques and some grunge Melrose Ave. shops. There's also Canter's Deli and the Grove. This is all great. The greatest part, to me, is the inimitable community feel of the city. I'm a married woman with 3 kids and I can honestly say this is a family neighbor hood. I like that I can take my kids to the park and my kids will always run into thier friends and I into mine. We meet in the local Trader Joe's or other grocery stores. We invite each other to birthday parties or for dinner at the local hot restaurant. It's fun being in this modern section of town with the throw back to the '50's community feel. It's comforting to know I have people down the street who will help me in time of need or being here for my friend who needs me to meet her kids after school.

I like that the West Hollywood community is organically diverse. My children attend school with "everyone"--all religions, all nationalities, all races, all economic groups, and children raised in homes by parents of all sexual orientations. And it's a natural mix of people and the friendships the children form come naturally too. Maybe it just me looking through rose colored galsses, but I think the children at West Hollywood Elementary School are gentle, understanding and super smart. If you walk areound the shcool, you see a bunch of children engaged in their activies, not teasing harrassing younger students or beating eachother up. It seems that mos tof these kids come from civil homes where violence is not learned.

Thr real estate values have come down a bit as it hs else where in the better parts of Los Angeles County, but not as much as area to the southeast or northeast or the valley. The area is holding it's own.

The area does lack children's facilities, i.e., after school tutoring centers or children's art studios, that sort of thing. But hopefully, with time and lowered rents due to the downfally in commercial real estate, that may change: people will invest in children centers for WeHo parents. That and a charter middle/high school for WeHo families, this will definately be the ultimate in Los Angeles living.

i'm looking forward to the local schools getting more recognition. West Hollywood is a great neighborhood now, wait till the schools catch on. Once the schools reflect the "wealth" of the nighborhood, real estate values will skyrocket.

If you're interested in more information on West Hollywood, please contact me. I love talking about his area and the schools and it's potential.

Lynn LeGlaire

I closed three deals in 2009 prior to April 15. Then I took 3.5 months off. I went to China with my family for 2 months (June and July) and spent the month of May preparing for the trip.

The represented the buyers in the deals I closed before leaving. The properties were all REO's. The bank was powerful. Each buyer accepted the bank's terms and it seems each buyer is very happy with his/her purchase. They feel they got a "deal" even thought they had to do repairs.

Since the beginning of August, I've written three offer: one for an REO and two for normal sales. In all these cases, there were multiple offers where the final price is much above asking price. All prices being under $600,000.00, these properties attract first time home buyers (perhaps Los Angeles is one of the few places where half a million dollars sounds affordable), but once the bidding gets underway, how affordable are those properties? They all need work. One place needs floors and another needs a total renovation. The original list price may have been alluring at 10 or 20 thousand dollars under current comps, but after the bidding starts, where's the deal?, so to speak. Can the first time home buyer who was pre-approved for a $550,000.00 afford the $50,000.00 increase in purchase price in addition to the money needed to bring the property up to living standards (floors or a sturdy deck or a functioning kitchen). I'm not talking about cosmetic issues--these are repairs that need to be done so one can move into the new home. These are properties listed at $550,000.00 and the counter asking for more than $600,000.00. These buyers wouldn't even look at properties at $600,000.00. As their agent, I don't know exactly how to council them. I don't want anyone to stress over house payments. It's true that 20,000.00 amortized over 30 years is not that much, but for people for whom very dollar is accounted for feel oppressed by this slight increase compounded by having to do much needed and rather costly repairs. I want to council, but I just don't know what to say. So, I say what I've always said "think about how much you'd like to have this house and how much it's worth to you and at what monetary point would you say 'I don't want it'." Then I let them give me their final number. I realize I'm complaining about something that we as real estate agents go through, but hey, I've never complained openly. I just go on and find my clients more properties to show. I wonder how other agents deal with this? how do you go about counseling your clients?

On the positive side, I'm interacting with listing agents who are very conscientious and really working hard for their sellers.

I suppose this is just a phase. The tax credit mandates that first time home buyers close on or before November 30, 2009 in order to qualify for the $8000.00 credit. People are in a hurry. It's a good time to sell that beat up house and for a seller to not pay for necessary repairs. At the low to middle range of the market, it's a seller's market, at least for the next couple of months. The LA Times reported that real estate sales have risen 1.9% since May. That makes sense. What happens next ? I'm curious.

Beverly Hills is still hot. Are prices coming down? Perhaps. But as I check the recent solds in the area, I'm surprised at how close the SOLD price is to the asking price. In some cases, for the more expensive condos, there's a marked difference in Sale Price vs. List Price, but in those same cases, it seems that Days on Market was shorter too. Much of the west side seems to be holding its own. Many of my foreign clients are waiting for that perfect deal in Beverly Hills, and they are still waiting. I believe that time is on their side--that eventually, something will pop up that my buyers think is the answer, but when.... Now may be the perfect time to buy.

For properties on the market for several days or months, you see price improvements. To me this is a signifcant sign that the seller is serious about selling. I feel buyers might have a good chance of securing a "deal" on these listings as the seller seems to be quite motivated. I understand buyers who want to wait and see. No one wants to pay $2,500,000.00 for a property that might be worth 20% less in a couple of months. But how long does one want to hang with the 'wait and see" attitude? How long before it's too long? It's a buyers market right now. Buyers can write offers much below asking. Chances are that the seller isn't getting too many offers, so there's little if any competition for the proeprty. Therefore, if the buyer really wants the property, go for it on the buyers terms. Or wait til its too late.