Tracey Thomas Calabasas, CA Real Estate

Several of my clients called me on Friday about the new, mysterious house for sale in The Oaks at Calabasas with the dramatically low price and no picture on MLS. I have all of my buyers set up with automatic MLS listings so they are emailed immediately when a home comes on the market that meets their criteria. The system is so great that every once and awhile my clients will know before me about a new listing. It just so happens that I was out with buyers on Friday and although I did see the notice of the new listing on my phone, I was busy and didn't read the details. It didn't matter, if news is important enough you'll hear it from more than one source and I certainly did.

So yes, there is a bank owned property on the market in The Oaks (REO's we lovingly call them). The house was built in 2006 and has five bedrooms and six baths. The lot is 12,050 square feet and the house itself is 5,353 square feet. Since there are no pictures on the Multiple Listing Service I grabbed my camera and took photos when I was there.

Public records show this home was purchased in March of 2006. The buyers originally borrowed $1,461,292, four months later they refinanced their first mortgage and took out a second mortgage for a total of $2,210,000 (an additional $750k). A year later the house was listed for $2,900,000 (6/15/07) just a few weeks before the July mortgage meltdown. Still not landscaped this house just sat on the market. Even a price reduction to $2,500,000 in August didn't help.

Unfortunately the house was foreclosed on just six months later. One wonders if there ever was a payment made on those new mortgages since the process of foreclosure takes just about six months. The house is now on the market again for $2,100,000. This is the lowest price per square foot in The Calabasas Oaks at only $392.30. But is it worth it? Now that's another question entirely. Following are my viewing notes (kind of like wine tasting notes). I don't usually publish my viewing notes publicly (I send them to my clients only) because as a Realtor we're not supposed to advertise another Realtors listing. But I'm making an exception in this case since they're so juicy.

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Foreclosure in The Oaks at Calabasas

There were thirteen closed escrows in Calabasas during February 2008 with an average sale price of $1,745,692. Currently there are 174 homes on the market and an additional 28 with open escrows. If you take a good look at this chart you'll see that the upper end is moving rather well.

This brisk movement in the upper end is an indication that the rich are getting richer because they are seizing the buyers market opportunity. I have had more buyers in the $2,000,000 and up range contact me since the beginning of the year than I did all of last year. This is any indication that the smart money is on buy now and don't wait until its to late.

There are several spectacular homes for sale in Mountain View, Mountain Park and The Oaks right now. I have been showing several buyers homes in these neighborhoods and the inventory is gorgeous and prices unbelievable. I have seen homes in both Mountain View and Mountain Park for significantly less than $400 a square foot that are updated with pools and views last month. Just a year ago, if you did find a home in one of these neighborhoods for this price it would have needed major work. Homes in The Oaks are selling well with most listed for significantly over $550 a square foot.

Please call me at (818) 652-2937 and I will be happy to share my viewing notes with you. I also track home prices by neighborhood and find that this helps clients make accurate decisions when buying or selling a home in Calabasas. If you would like more detailed information on selling your Calabasas home and moving up please call me for a detailed report.

Developer Victor Girard did his part to improve the appearance of the Far West Valley of Los Angeles and his legacy remains on the winding streets south of Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills. Girard's subdivision in the barren west end of the Valley needed to be dressed up, so he planted 120,000 shade trees and shrubs including seven varieties of eucalyptus, five kinds of acacia, Arizona elms, and Monterey pines. On the corner of what today are Ventura and Topanga Canyon boulevards, he built false storefronts and garish Turkish-style mosque towers to make the community look more established. Folklore has it that he spent time in jail for this "false city".

The town of Girard was born on February 4, 1923, on 2,886 hilly acres purchased from the Brant dairy. The young real estate developer, Victor Girard Kleinberger, came to Los Angeles from Louisville about the turn of the century as an ambitious 18 year old that would develop towns all over the county. He was called a "devious genius, a natural dreamer and big spender". His dream for the west Valley was a little crazy. There was no streetcar access to Girard, as there was to other Valley towns. Girard expected motorists to negotiate Cahuenga Pass plus miles of twisty Ventura Boulevard and pass countless new real estate ventures to reach the 6,000 lots that Girard hoped to sell.

To lure prospects, Girard ran ads emphasizing that his town was closer to the beach than any place in the Valley, since there was a winding road through Topanga Canyon. He also published the Girard News, built stables and a riding club, and opened the Girard Country Club and golf course with a championship size pool and tennis courts. Today the golf course is known as the Woodland Hills Country Club. "Sucker buses' brought potential buyers out to the far end of the Valley, where teams of sales agents put on the pressure.

In 1941, the community was renamed Woodland Hills, an appropriate name because of all the trees that Girard had planted years earlier. There are still a few "Girard" homes in Woodland Hills today. One of them is 21339 Castillo Street, off of Canoga Avenue which is currently for sale. This home was built in 1925 as a two bedroom, one bath cottage. It has been lovingly restored from the bottom up and includes new beams, copper plumbing, and all new electrical wiring.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to own a piece of San Fernando Valley history. We will be hosting an open house this Sunday March 9, 2008 from 2:00-4:00 PM. Please join us for a tour of this wonderful home and guest house.

21339 Castillo Street, Woodland Hills CA - Offered at $749,000

January 2008 wasn't such a great month for Calabasas real estate. But don't panic when you look at these numbers, it's not as bad as it looks at first glance. As I type this article there are 176 homes on the market in Calabasas. This translates into about an eleven months supply of inventory. It's a buyers market for sure! Although the average price dropped about 20% compared to last January's prices it looks like February's numbers will be better. There are currently 19 properties in escrow and several of these are over $2,000,000.

The rain has finally stopped and buyers are out in full force. I have been swamped by buyer calls ready to buy, and they're looking for "deals". My open houses have seen much more traffic and the skuttle butt among most agents is that they are busy too. I have also had several smart move up buyers list their homes because they understand that if they take a 10 or 15% hit on the sell side, they'll make it up plus on the buy side. I agree with this thinking and I'm encouraging buyers who are in a good financial position not to wait to move up. It's possible now to buy a home in Calabasas Park Estates, Mont Calabasas or even The Oaks for under $2,000,000. Just six months ago this would have been almost impossible.

The good news is if you are a first time home buyer and you want to live in Calabasas you can finally buy a home for under a million dollars. There are several homes in the Mulwood section of Calabasas that are listed in the $700,000 to $800,000 range. This is a wonderful neighborhood and is within walking distance to the elementary, middle and high school. There are even a few bank owned properties. If you're interested in a condo there are several on the market from just under $400,000 to slightly over $500,000. Many of these are within walking distance of the Calabasas Commons.

If you are thinking about selling your home and moving up in Calabasas and want to know how this market will affect your move, call me for an in depth analysis of your sell and buy numbers. I'll help you determine if this is the right time to move up or stay put.

January 2008 Calabasas Closed sales by Address

I think it's a great time for move up buyers to buy! "Huh?" you say in disbelief. Here's the math:

You own a home in Calabasas, it would sell for $1,200,000 now, but last year it would have sold for 10% more, say $1,320,000. You're not sure what to do, should you sell now and move up or wait? The house that you want to purchase is currently listed at $1,800,000. Only 2 years ago, this home would have sold for $1,980,000. We really don't know what the market is going to do, but we do know what we have right now.

Calabasas home prices are down approximately 10% from last year.
If you sell your Calabasas home now for $1,200,000 and purchase the larger home for $1,800,000 you'll be spending an additional $600,000 for the new home.

If you would have sold your home in 2006 for $1,320,000 and purchased the larger home for $1,980,000 you would have spent an additional $660,000.

That's a whopping $60,000 more then than now.

What are you waiting for?

If you are a move up buyer, there is not better time than now to put your home on the market and and start looking for your next home. You may not get as much for your house as you would in 2006, but you also won't pay as much for your new home.

Interest rates are the lowest that they've been in four years making it an even better time to make that move up decision.