Stewart Penn - Los Angeles Real Estate

Slowly, slowly equality and justice prevails.

Buried in today's news about the further meltdown of global stock markets and the report that Sarah Palin violated ethics rules, is the liberating news that Connecticut overturned a ban on same-sex marriage.

Connecticut became the third state to legalize same-sex marriage today in a 4-3 decision by the state Supreme Court.

Connecticut joins California and Massachusetts, which became the first state to allow same-sex marriage in 2004.

"This is a very proud day for Connecticut and a very proud day for every American who believes in the promise of equal rights for all," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

The fact that this news was not a huge deal in the greater scheme of today's events shows that this will not effect the core fabric of American Society. This is good news. America has other real concerns, and this subject is merely a topic with which conservatives try to divide our country.

I think this is great news ... and further evidence that gay marriage will not be the cause of the demise of society as we know it.

The euphemistically termed "meltdown" in the financial world is really a crisis of enormous proportions.

"The world's central banks launched a large coordinated attack against the widening global financial crisis, lowering short-term interest rates in unison. The emergency action, which involved the Fed, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and others, is a sign that fears that the financial crisis could cripple the global economy are spreading rapidly" - Wall Street Journal

"Fed Can't Stop the Bleeding. Global Markets Remain Strained" - Fox News

"The US treasury secretary has warned some banks will still fail despite the $700bn government rescue package to shore up the financial system. The UK government has announced a package of measures aimed at rescuing the banking system that makes available £400bn ($692bn) of fresh money - BBC News

"Fed can't save stocks. Wall Street ends a volatile session with losses as investors welcome emergency rate cut but remain wary" - CNN News

"Market turmoil continues despite rates cut. IMF says global economy faces a painful recovery" - France 24 International News

"China cuts rates to ward off slowdown. IMF: World economy to slow sharply, led by US" - China Daily

"Economic Crisis will not be televised. Elite Nightclubs Empty as Crisis Hits Oligarchs" - The Moscow Times

"Blame bad rules, not capitalism" - The Jerusalem Post

These were the headlines splashed across the internet on October 8, 2008.

The harsh reality is that despite concerted and co-ordinated efforts by governments around the world to stabilize the situation, confidence in the global financial system has been smashed. I think it's time for everyone to take a step back from the clear panic in the stock markets, take cognisense that the credit markets do not respond overnight, and give the system a chance to respond to the drastic measures taken by governments around the world.

Remember: "This too shall pass."

I am currently working with a "Professional Organizer" - Rosalind Lakomy, owner of "Clearing Space" - who has been employed to help prepare a condo For Sale. The listing I have was awarded to me by the beneficiaries of a deceased estate.

Rosalind is arranging for all the furniture to either be sold or stored, so that the condo is vacant when I begin marketing later this month. She is also arranging for the condo to be painted throughout, have minor repairs taken care of, and oversee the professional cleaning of the condo.

My assessment is that whoever buys the condo will want to remodel and update the unit, but having a presentable product (albeit dated) will definately help yield a higher price for this property.

The members of the family who have inherited the condo are all busy with their respective jobs and businesses, so they called on the services of Rosalind to ensure the property can be presented as a "fresh clean slate" to all prospective purchasers.

I look at this as a team effort by the owners, the professional organizer and me, the Realtor - and I am confident that I'll achieve a fair price for my clients.

The Westfield Century City Shopping Mall (on Santa Monica Blvd.) has recently installed a simple, yet brilliant system to assist customers find parking in the mall's parking structure.

We've all seen the electronic signs that indicate how many parking spaces are open on each level, but the Westfield Mall has taken this concept further.

Not only do their signs indicate the number of free spaces, but they also indicate where "disabled parking spaces" are.

Now what they've added is a sensor above each parking space with a green, red or blue light to indicate if a space is taken, free, or available for disabled drivers.

So when one turns down a parking aisle it is easy to see where an available parking space is by seeing the green light above a space, eliminating endless driving around the parking structure.

Westfield Mall has also installed self-check-out cashiers in their parking structure, although this system still seems to be causing delays in exiting the parking garage.

SEPTEMBER 2008 - Total Value of Condos Sold: $10,296,500 ($14,828,500)

CONDOS: () Previous Month Figures

Median Price: $640,000 ($544,500)

Average Selling Price: $605,676 ($617,854)

Average List Price: $$634,835 ($644,579)

Therefore, Average Sales Price was 95.41% (95.9%) of List Price

Lowest Price Condo Sold: $310,000 ($370,000)

Highest Price Condo Sold: $875,000 ($1,525,000)

Number of Listings Sold: 17 (24)

MEDIAN SALES PRICES:

August 2008: $544,500 / July 2008: $421,000 / June 2008: $585,000 / May 2008 - $519,000

April 2008 - $516,500 / March 2008 - $615,000 / February 2008 - $618,250 / January 2008 - $620,000

For further information, please contact:

Stewart Penn - Realtor/Broker - " West Hollywood Condo Specialist"