LA Real Estate: What You Can Get in the Valley Compared to the Westside
June 14, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · Leave a Comment
Here’s some interesting real estate market data for the general Westside of Los Angeles as well as the Valley communities south of the 101 freeway.
I only picked 5 cities in the valley including Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Tarzana and Woodland Hills. For the Westside, I chose Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica.
If we look at the statistics of what’s been sold in the last 2 months in the valley: We have 370 homes sold, average days on the market is 70, average price is $800,000 and the average price per square foot is $330. If we compare those numbers to the Westside we have 156 homes sold, average days on the market is 70 as well, average price is $2,400,000 which is triple the price of what you can get in the valley and the average price per square foot is $725.
Once again this is general information but useful to know. For 15 minutes more of driving, you can get twice as much as you would on the Westside.
Great Tennis Club and Junior Tennis Camp at the Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, California
June 5, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 2 Comments
One of my favorite tennis clubs to go to in the valley is definitely Braemar Country Club. It has one of the nation’s largest and most diverse tennis professional staffs teaching courses for all ages. Their training options includes a junior development program with over 200 children active on any given week on a year round basis and over 30 classes for adults, targeted for specific levels each week. Whether you’re an adult, junior, beginner, or advanced, Braemar has the right coaching program. Private lessons can even be scheduled at your convenience.
With over 20 tennis courts, Braemar provides the flexibility to accommodate its members whenever they want to play tennis. They’re open Monday thru Friday from 6:30 am – 9:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday 6:30 am- 8:00 pm, which is great for me since I’m able to still stop by after work and play tennis even if I work late.
Here’s a Few of the Programs Currently Available
Junior Program Class Levels
Tots: Ages 4-6, initial experiences
Star 1-3: Ages 7-12, beginner and intermediate levels
Teen Tennis: Beginning and intermediate classes for teenagers
Star 4-5: Advanced drills and coaching for players experienced in USTA Satellite and Open tournaments and/or High School Team Tennis
Complimentary “Quick Fix” Adult Tennis Clinic
Every Saturday morning one of the pros will help you to improve your game. Stay ten minutes or stay the full hour! There is never a charge.
No sign up necessary… just stop by Court 1 at 10:30 am!
Adult Tennis Clinics:
Designed for every level and every desire.
LEAGUES
USTA Team Tennis
These players participate in three USTA League Tennis national divisions – Adult, Senior and Mixed Doubles with each level winner advancing toward the final goal – National Championships. Individual sections offer additional league opportunities including Super Senior Doubles (age 60 & over), Mixed Senior (age 50 & over) and Combo Doubles where the combined NTRP ratings of the doubles team determine the level of participation.
World Team Tennis
This format features co-ed teams competing in six sets – men’s and women’s doubles, men’s and women’s singles, and mixed doubles. The unique WTT format, which is also played in the Professional League, includes no-ad scoring, substitution and coaching.
Braemar Tennis Club Men’s and Women’s Interclub Leagues
Doubles matches are played on a specific day
Singles matches are played at a mutually agreed time
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Great Deal for a First Time Home Buyer in Mar Vista, California for $385,000
June 1, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 1 Comment
 This charming 1bd/1ba cottage style home is perfect for your first time homebuyer. Bonus room is great for an artist’s studio or home office. Property is zoned R3 for multifamily development opportunity. Large rear yard offers ample parking and many possibilities for entertaining or creating a tranquil backyard getaway. Great access to 405 freeway and local Mar Vista neighborhood. |
The Famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in the Heart of Hollywood
May 25, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 1 Comment
If you are visiting LA, you may want to take some time and see the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in the heart of Hollywood.
It was once stated that “to visit Los Angeles and not see the Chinese Theatre is like visiting China and not seeing the Great Wall”. This famous Theatre had its Grand opening on May 18, 1927 and since that time has hosted too many movie premieres and movie star appearances to count.
Probably one of the coolest attractions from this theatre is the cement handprints and footprints of all the famous movie stars thru time.
You can also enjoy this little video showing what the place has to offer.
Another Deal in Pacific Palisades
May 18, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 1 Comment
Partners Trust’s Philippe Rodrigue finds another great real estate deal on a home in Pacific Palisades.
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Why You Love the Riviera Country Club and the Pacific Palisades
May 18, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 3 Comments
Why you love the Riviera Country Club and the Pacific palisades. Few interviews with different people explaining what they love the most about the Palisades.
Bel Air Real Estate Market Update
May 18, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 1 Comment
Partners Trust’s Philippe Rodrigue delivers the real estate market statistics for the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air.
Bikram Yoga Provides Toughest Workout Ever
May 18, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · 1 Comment
Looking for a great workout? I strongly recommend a Bikram yoga class. It is easily one of the hardest workouts I have ever done.
After finishing the class, I was actually so tired I barely made it home. The hour-and-a-half classes take place in a swelteringly hot room (around 100 degrees) and consist of twenty-six different challenging postures. Bring a tall bottle of water to class with you — you’ll need it.
The specific series of postures are designed to warm and stretch muscles, ligaments and tendons, in the order in which they should be stretched.
The founder of the worldwide Yoga College of India was Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury, born in Calcutta in 1946.
Did you know that Mr. Bikram practiced Yoga at least four to six hours every day at Ghosh’s College of Physical Education in Calcutta? Six hours a day! The hard work paid off since, at the age of thirteen, he won the National India Yoga Championship. Pretty impressive.
For more information about the Bikram Yoga and locations around the world, please visit their website. (Their main site is in Beverly Hills at Wilshire and Robertson — however, they are moving further south next month.)
Check out my video below of my painful but worthwhile experience.
Do you know of any other exercise regiments as intense as this? Let me know in the comments so I can put my body through even more pain once I’m done being so sore.
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A Day in the Life of a Realtor: Going Out on Caravan
May 18, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · Leave a Comment
To be a successful real estate professional, you need to know your inventory. For us here on the Westside of Los Angeles, that means we need to be familiar with the available properties on the market in all of the different neighborhoods – from Culver City to Malibu to Venice to Beverly Hills and everywhere in between.
We have different resources to keep us updated on new homes coming onto the market from our colleagues to the Multiple Listing Service (which we call the MLS). But the best – and really, the only – way to truly become well-informed on these available properties is to go on Brokers Caravan.
What is Brokers Caravan, you ask? It’s basically Open House for Realtors and it typically takes place every Tuesday from 11am to 2pm, when Realtors traverse across the Westside looking at those new homes that might end up being perfect matches for their clients.
This is the time of the week that is set aside specifically to get out of the office and actually experience these houses and condos that have hit the market. Just like most buyers wouldn’t dream of purchasing a home without first walking through the house to get a feel of the property, agents need to go through a similar process so they can relate to their clients whether or not they feel that this one particular home could be a match. A good Realtor will know their client’s taste and their must-haves when looking at homes on Caravan and be able to focus their client’s search on only those that have the best chance of being the right fit.
And while you might think otherwise, Realtors aren’t superhuman; they, too, get exhausted walking through and studying dozens of homes in a matter of hours. Just look at the toll it can take on even the most dedicated, hardworking agents:
It’s all worthwhile, though, when you walk through that home and you know exactly for whom it will be a solid match. Do you have any other questions about how Realtors learn about all of the properties available in your market? Feel free to ask them in the comments below.
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Good Deal on a Home in Beverly Hills
May 18, 2010 by Philippe Rodrigue · Leave a Comment
If you look at the real estate market in the flats of Beverly Hills, there are great deals to be found. But, how do you know when you’ve found a deal? Let’s start by taking a look at the real estate market statistics.
There are currently 21 homes on the market right now under $7,000,000, with six in escrow and six others sold in the last three months. And if you are looking for a big lot – i.e. something above 30,000 square feet – and you’re interested in just buying the dirt, the average price per square foot in the Beverly Hills Flats is around $220.
Now that we know the averages, we can take a look at specific homes to see how they fare in relation to the overall market trends. Let’s take 618 N. Beverly Drive, which is listed at $6,499,000. It has a lot size of 35,960 square feet. So when you do the math (don’t worry, I brought a calculator) the price per square foot come out to $180. Now that’s 18% below the fair market value based on what’s been sold in the last three months and the average lot size.
Keep your eyes peeled and you’ll find that when you crunch the numbers, there are many more deals out there on the market.
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