Category Archives: Real Estate

The Real Estate Resurgence of Glassell Park and Highland Park

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Real estate in Northeast Los Angeles has been booming for years. We hear about it on television and in the news. Rarely does a news story get published where the term “Gentrification” is used to describe areas such as Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington and Highland Park, regions where home values have spiked. Is it something home-buyers and home sellers need to know?
By definition, “to gentrify” is to improve a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. The middle class, or Bourgeoisie, is attempting to emulate upper-class standards. In the U.K., the gentry refer to people of high social position, specifically the class of people next below the nobility. Therefor the gentrification of an area is a process whereby those of lower socioeconomic status are forced out of a region in order to make it more attractive to the people of higher socioeconomic standing. Taking deteriorating inner city homes away from working class families to be renovated and sold to the privileged is also known as progress, or gentrification.
That is precisely what is occurring in the once run down neighborhood of Highland Park. This ongoing restorative transformation has helped to eradicate crime and strengthen the local economy. Juice bars and yogurt shops have sprung up in place of derelict Laundromats and liquor stores. Local businesses are now thriving, where the windows were once boarded up and car carcasses rusted.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood of Glassell Park, where police not long ago bulldozed suspected gang homes in a dramatic crackdown on crime. Soon after, investors began investing in fixing up Glassell Park’s hillside view homes and property values began to rise with new shops and restaurants appearing in direct proportion.
At one time, Eco Park stood as the poster child for gentrification in Los Angeles. This forgotten slum went through a complete metamorphosis in the 90’s, turning it into one of the most sought after areas east of downtown. With Echo Park as a model, the restoration movement has continued its march east, rehabilitating other areas, such as Highland Park and Glassell Park, with great potential.
One telltale sign of the up and coming neighborhood is what is known as the Starbucks phenomenon. If this “7-eleven” of coffee houses has chosen to plant its green lady logo on the block, you can bet your bottom dollar that the ‘Hipsters are coming or more likely, the Hipsters have already arrived. This of course means that property values are climbing. In the historic region of Highland Park, York Boulevard is now book ended by Starbucks. Having a Starbucks on the corner is clear evidence that a moneyed community is on the rise. The values of homes for sale in Highland Park are absolutely exploding.
Another way of measuring affluence is by exploring the high volume of trendy restaurants, bars, and art galleries not to mention the cafes populated by too cool for school patrons everywhere. This enclave has become a hot spot for exotic dining among foodies and the like. Good eats just seem to go along with gentrification. That is one of the advantages. Today you can find French, Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and a wide variety of Vegan food in this once neglected district. It has become an amazing multi-cultural mecca. One more example of economic growth is improved public transportation. Business people can commute from paradise to downtown by train in a matter of minutes.
The median price for a house in Highland Park is now approaching seven hundred thousand. In relative terms, this area is still a bargain in Los Angeles’ exorbitant housing market. As the beautification of these older neighborhoods flourishes in NELA, the real estate naturally becomes more desirable and the property values escalate.

Glassell Park Real Estate – What the Numbers Tell Us

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Real estate in Glassell Park, a hillside neighborhood adjacent to red-hot Mt. Washington and Highland Park – is in high demand. Prices for Glassell Park real estate are rising and the inventory of homes is shrinking, creating a seller’s market. But why is this happening now when the area was undiscovered for so long? Let’s look at what the numbers tell us about this special community.
Glassell Park is a moderately diverse neighborhood located in Northeast Los Angeles. Glassell Park resides south of Glendale, west of Eagle Rock and northeast of Mount Washington. This neighborhood is quite hilly and provides its residents with astounding views. During the housing boom of 2000 a large group of middle-class people moved to Glassell Park because of the inexpensive cost and abundance of Craftsman homes. The average temperature for the hottest month of the year, July, is 73 degrees. The average temperature for the coldest month of the year, December, is 57 degrees. January is the month with the most precipitation at 4.6 inches.
Area Vibes awarded Glassell Park a livability score of 72, very livable, which is higher than the national average of 70. Walk Score says that Glassell Park is a 61, with a transit score of 44 and a bike score of 38. Therefore, Glassell Park is somewhat walkable, and some errands can be accomplished by walking. There is some public transportation with a score and not many bike lanes.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 23,467 residents within the 2.75 square mile neighborhood. This equates to 8,524 people per square mile, which is average density for Los Angeles. The ethnicity break down was as follows: Latinos: 66.1%, Whites: 13.7%, Asians: 17.4%, Blacks: 1.4% and others 1.4%. 51.5% of its residents were born abroad with the highest two being Mexico, 49.3% and the Philippines, 16.2%. The average age for residents was 30; this is average for the city and county of Los Angeles. 19% of the residents who are 25 and older have earned a four-year degree. There was 4.8% of the population listed as veterans.
The median household income in Glassell Park was $50,098, which is an average figure for the city and county of Los Angeles. The average household size is higher compared to most parts of Los Angeles at 3.3 people. This is 21% higher than the national average. Renters reside in 56.2% of the housing stock; this is 55% higher than the national average. Owners are the remaining 43.8%, these figures are 30% lower than the national average.
According to Zillow, Glassell Park homes are valued on average at $713,700. This is a 9.3% increase from last year and they expect it to raise another 2.6% next year. The average price of homes on the market is $675,000; this is 148% higher than the national average. The market health is rated at 3.8 out of 10 in comparison to other markets across the county. The average price per square foot is $499, which is higher than the Los Angeles average of $448. The current market temperature is “cool” which is ideal for the Buyer’s market. The average price of rent is $2,900, which is 33% higher than the national average.
When buying and selling real estate in Glassell Park, buyers and sellers should consult an experienced real estate agent who specializes in the area.

Mt Washington Real Estate: A Look at the Numbers

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For many years – decades, in fact – the LA district of Mount Washington was one of the hidden treasures of Los Angeles neighborhoods. All of that changed during the real estate boom of the mid-1990’s and since that time, the run on Mt. Washington homes for sale has been akin to the California Gold Rush. Homebuyers, investors, home flippers and creative types of have been snapping up Mt. Washington real estate as fast as they can. Let’s look at what the facts and the numbers tell us.
Mount Washington is located in Northeast Los Angeles just south of Eagle Rock, west of Highland Park and Northeast of Cypress Park. This mountainous community is located in the San Rafael Hills. Every house is situated on unique and hilly terrain. This eclectic community is home to many styles of houses, which allows people to build on lots of all shapes, sizes and slopes.
The various styles include: Cottages, Midcentury Moderns, Spanish, Hillside Midcenturies, Historic Craftsmen, Tree House Cabins, Bungalows and Craftsman Bungalows.
According to the LA Times, the population of Mount Washington was 13,531 people in 2008. With its 1.85 square mile radius there were 6,878 people per square mile. This is about average for Los Angeles County. The average income in 2008 was $57,725 and 2.9 people per household size. Both of these numbers are average for the county.
Even though the houses are on hills, Mount Washington is surprisingly accessible for walking, biking and public transportation. According to WalkScore Mount Washington is somewhat walkable with a score of 50. Some errands can be accomplished on foot. The transit score for Mount Washington is 59, meaning there are many convenient public transportation options – including the Gold Line Metro what deposits travelers at the Southwest Museum. Lastly, although this community is decorated with a slue of steep hills, there are some bike lanes on the main roads earning a bike score of 35.
Zillow states that the Home Value Index of Mount Washington is $720,100. This is an increase of 5.1% since last year. Zillow predicts the value to increase 2.8% up to $740,000 by the end of the year. The average price per square foot is $612, which is higher than the Los Angeles average of $451 per square foot. The average rental price is $2,942 per month.
Since Redfin named Mount Washington one of the hottest cities in the country, house flipping increased in like wildfire throughout the community. In effect Zillow has labeled the housing market as “Cold” because it has become ideal for the Buyer with so many fresh homes to choose from. Because of this increase in listings, approximately 11.5% of listings end up shaving their price down. Compared to other markets in the nation, Mount Washington has a market health of 2.2/10. This is part of the average real estate flux. People will continue to search for homes in Mount Washington, but eventually the majority of the homes will be house flipped and/or sold. Once the number of listings decrease the community will turn back to “Hot” – a Seller’s Market – with hoards of people trying to obtain property in this hidden oasis of Los Angeles.

Three Ways to Increase Property Values

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Real estate investors live and die by their ability to add value. With no added value, there are no profits. This is true with any business, but what makes real estate such a great business and a great investment, is the number of ways you can add value and cash in on big profits. Here are three ways you can add value to your properties.
Upgrades and Repairs: OK, this is the obvious one and is the reason fix and flippers can make money. Some repairs add a lot more value than it costs to do. The more creative you are with the improvements, the more value you can add. For example, I have a client that adds square footage to every house he buys. He really likes the inner city properties because they are the hardest to add square footage. You either need to finish an unfinished basement, or add a second story. There is not typically enough land on the lot to add an addition by increasing the foot print of the property. This client does a lot of basement finishes and “pop tops,” but where he has made the most money is the basement that is only 5 or 6 feet deep. He will go in and dig out the basement to a full 8 or 9 foot height and then finish it. Something most investors would not think of, so he is able to get the deal most other investors pass on. I have also seen some investors find houses that don’t really fit into a neighborhood and they make them fit. This could be limited bedrooms or bathrooms or funky floor plans. All of that can be changed. Obviously many cosmetic fixes like kitchens and bathrooms add a lot of value too. There is a lot more to it than this, but the idea is to buy a property at its true ‘as is’ value, (don’t over pay), and then add value with the repairs and upgrades.
Owner Finance: I love this one because it is so easy to add value with very little to no work. You will need to wait to cash in on your profits, but it is a way to increase a sell price significantly. You can also use this strategy to defer tax gains over a few years, instead of taking a big hit all in one year. When you have a property for sale there are a limited number of buyers for the house, although right now that pool of buyers seems pretty big. If you can increase the pool of buyers, the demand for that one house increases, which forces the price to go up. Someone that cannot qualify for an ordinary loan, limiting the supply of houses to choose from for that buyer, will likely buy your property. That also increases the price. You are adding value by giving them the chance to own a home that they normally would not be able to own. For this value, you should be compensated with a higher price and a decent interest rate on the profits, while you wait for the buyer to refinance and pay you off in full.
Shared Units: This is one area of real estate that I have not dabbled in, but it is extremely inviting. The idea here is to sell your property to multiple buyers. You are seeing this a lot in resort towns. It is always a vacation or second home. Have you ever been to a time share presentation? They are pretty enticing aren’t they? About 13 years ago my ex wife and I were in Florida and got sucked into a time share sales pitch. We decided to go because they offered us free tickets to Disney. We sat there for about an hour and a half and then the hard sale came. They were very good at selling the “idea” of the time share and had my ex wife sold. She asked me to move forward with the deal, but I could not bring myself to do it. I told her that I was not comfortable with an emotional purchase and that we needed time to think it through. “Can I please have our Disney tickets?” was my response. As we rode back to the hotel that afternoon, I started thinking about the math. Each unit can be sold to 52 different people because your purchase only gets you 1 week a year. Add that to the annual maintenance fees and the numbers are staggering. I know people who have flipped time shares successfully, because you can get them for free or near free on Craigslist, but it is not an investment I was interested in. With that said, I have considered doing a half or quarter share on a house in a ski town in Colorado. In this scenario, you are sharing a house with 1 to 3 other people so there is a ton more flexibility. You can use or rent out your weeks and you can be guaranteed valuable high demand weeks every year. It is a way to get a second home without the full expense. From the seller’s point of view, it is a way to get more for the house. ½ a share of a house is going to cost the buyer more than ½ of the fair market value. I have seen business plans from investors that would buy a house and quarter share it out. The idea was that after they improved the property and sold ¾ of the house to 3 different buyers, they would own the last ¼ free and clear. Obviously this strategy will work best in areas where people want second homes. The downside is if there are any improvements or major issues. I can see there being disagreements, so this is something you would want, as a buyer, to work out with all the other owners in writing before you buy.

Phoenix Real Estate – Is it Time to Move to Phoenix?

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Phoenix Arizona continues to be a booming area. In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau News published statistics showing that Phoenix continues to have substantial growth. Of the larger metropolitan areas (population of 2 million or more), Phoenix grew the most followed by Dallas, Houston and Atlanta.
Why wouldn’t people relocate to Phoenix? Phoenix is a city that boasts over 315 days of sunshine per year on average and has over 200 golf courses. Winters are extremely mild and for most a coat is not needed.
New businesses continue to move to Phoenix making a decent job market (in these tough times). Phoenix has successful professional sports teams such as the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks, to name a few. Additionally there are terrific cultural events, theater performances and concerts.
Phoenix has several lakes nearby for boating, waterskiing or putting out the waverunner. Lake Pleasant, Apache Lake, and Lake Roosevelt or short drives from the Phoenix area. For the outdoorsman or woman, the pine country of Flagstaff or the Mogollan rim is also just a short drive. There are many hiking trails and camp sites for the weekend warriors.
The Phoenix real estate market continues to slump. When the recession hit, Phoenix was one of the key areas impacted. With the excessive growth in value over the past years, Phoenix home values continue to correct. Homes can be purchased now at a fraction of the price of prior years. It is a great buying opportunity for people looking to relocate to a sunny dry climate.

Landscaping Options For Owners Of Phoenix Real Estate

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You have used the services of a Phoenix realtor to help you find Phoenix homes for sale, and now you have moved into your new dream home. There are several items to take care of when you first move into a new home, such as setting up accounts with your local utilities and telephone services. You will spend some time and money decorating and furnishing your lovely new space. But once you have the basics of day-to-day living all worked out, chances are your attention will turn to the exterior of your home. One area that many home buyers work on right away is the landscaping that is in place around their homes. There are several landscaping options for owners of Phoenix real estate that are not only beautiful but can also offer low-water use and low maintenance.
Phoenix is in one of the hottest gardening zones in the nation, and is classified as zone 10 by the United States Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone Map. The USDA zone system is based on the minimum temperature of an area; in this case, temperatures normally go no lower than 30 to 40 degrees in the winter months. This makes for many great horticultural opportunities, because a lot of different plants will grow in such a warm climate, but it also comes with some drawbacks, namely that the area is quite dry. The trick is to find gorgeous plants that thrive in arid and warm conditions.
You will never go wrong with choosing plants for your landscape that are native plants to your area. They thrive naturally in the environment offered, without a lot of extra care and fuss by the home owner.
Xeriscape gardening is quite popular in Phoenix as well. This is a method of landscaping that focuses on choosing plants that are drought tolerant yet still look beautiful.
You will also want to consider that gardening on a city lot is a different endeavor than gardening on a several-acre large property. Plants in an urban setting need to be compact, and trees in particular need to be sized according to the space you have available. Because you have a limited amount of room in which to work, they also need to provide multi-seasonal interest in order to keep the landscape looking attractive all year round.
You might choose to attract native birds and insects to your landscape, and possibly even use your landscape plants to provide a small sanctuary for them. Your choices of plants will focus on plants that not only look great, but also provide food for the many birds, such as hummingbirds, and beneficial insects that help control the pests in your landscape.

The Concept of Low Cost Apartment in Nepal

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Whenever, we see an advertisement in daily newspaper referring to Apartments available in 13 Lakhs to 14 Lakhs, we do not try to understand more about it. People rush to the Apartment office or the site office. I myself was very surprised, when I went to the Mero City Apartment office in Hattiban. The site was packed with visitors cars, as if a wedding reception was going on. Inside the office were around 20 Sales girls. All were busy explaining their apartment features to the customers. In fact, when I asked for the brochure, the number of brochure also had finished. The hall was packed with customers and I could see some bookings were done.
The model apartments and the computer aided 3D movie were in display. People were busy viewing it.
The price range of the Apartment was amazing. The price range of the Mero City Apartment varied from Nrs 1,500,000 for 1 BHK (386.45 sq.ft) to Nrs 4,000,000 for 3 BHK (1013 sq.ft)
Similarly Eastern Apartment by Aayusha Developers a subsidiary of Oriental Builders Pvt. Ltd in Kaushaltar also was a huge attraction for Apartment buyers.
The builders have opened the booking for only 348 of the total 448 apartments. However, they were able to sell 50% of the total booking in just first 5 days. The huge response from the customers surged the developer to call all the 448 units on booking.
Due to the huge demand, the developer requested the interested buyers to fill up an application form along with a cheque of NRs 10,000. The applicant would get the apartment on first come first serve basis.
These are the basic strategies for Developers which was already been implemented by Guna Colony for their sale of their Bhaisepati Apartment. Then, they had opened booking for the Bhaisepati Apartment price starting from 13 Lacks. There was huge respondent to the Apartments in Bhaisepati which was organized in the Real Estate Expo in Bhrikuti Mandap, Kathmandu.
Most of these apartment sizes is ranging from 386.45 sq.ft to 548 sq.ft. The apartment size of 300-500 Sq. ft is very small for a family to live in and are similar to Studio Apartments abroad. These kinds of Apartments can adjust 1/2 people in a family to live in. The Rooms are very tight and no space for adding more luxury items.
The customers must not just make their decision by viewing the 3D Modeled video. The actual room and the customers view before buying the apartment might actually just not match.
Another important factor to decide before making the booking is that the customer must check the background of the Apartment Developers. Normally, we must only trust experienced Apartment Developers. These low cost apartments that are coming up in the market have been raising huge amount of funds from the market for the Proposed Apartment/Housing. The delivery and execution of these apartments is a real challenge and we must wait and see, if they can really develop these projects and their handover to their customer. So far, the construction of any of these low cost apartments has not started yet.
Some established developers claim that the price the low cost apartments are offering is suspicious. Some claim that these low cost apartments are very expensive if one calculates the rate per sq ft. Such small apartment size is not feasible for a family to live in.
The Eastern Apartment is the least expensive with price per sq. ft of Nrs 2,890 followed by The Sun City. The most expensive is the Imperial Court. However the target market for both the apartments is completely different as Imperial Court is a Luxury Condominium.
And when we compare the different apartments, all has different facilities. Some important comparison factors of the facilities for different Apartments are as following:
1. Location of the Apartment
2. Number of Lifts
3. Size of the Balcony
4. Project Land Site Area
5. Size of the swimming pool
6. Open Area
7. Distance from the city
8. Quality of finishing goods and specification
9. Developers profile & Construction company associated
The Apartment buyers must also think in mind the extra facilities the Apartment has. Normally, these apartments will have very poor infrastructures and facilities. They might actually come up with a very small swimming pool & very less open space.
And not to forget is the fact that these low cost apartments come with hidden cost. Mero city Apartment comes with cement flooring. If you want a Parke ting or tiles on the floor, you will have to add all the internal decorative items for the Apartment.
Mero City offers the following features:
* Kitchen: Tiles, Sync
* Flooring: Cemented
* Wall: Distemper
Things you have to add by yourself
1. Mostly, the modular kitchen
2. Bathroom sanitary items
3. Electricity bulbs
4. Flooring Tiles or Parke ting
This will at least cost you Nrs 400,000 to 500,000 for the completion of the Apartment. So the Total cost for the 391 sq.ft Apartment is now Nrs 2,000,000 which actually brings the price per sq.ft for the Apartment to Nrs 5115.
Similar is the case of the Eastern Apartments. The Eastern Apartment comes with no finishing in the bathrooms. The buyers will have to finish the bathroom costs & Tiles which will also cost them minimum extra NRs 400,000 to 500,000 for their flats. This will cost the buyers of Eastern Apartment an average cost per sq ft of Nrs 3,608.
This is actually expensive than some of the other Apartments with better facilities. So the customers must be aware of the concept of the low cost apartment that is coming in the market and not be fooled by the price they are offering. One should always calculate the Rate per sq. ft.