LA Home Dude

Very interesting article in the New York Times yesterday about the “morality” of home ownership:

“I understand why the government or society wants people to have homes,” [ex-homeowner Alan Berks] said — they fix them up, and their commitment stabilizes neighborhoods. “I get it, the whole beneficial aspect of homeownership. But individually, I’m not seeing it as a moral good.”

As it turns out, Mr. Berks is not alone in his disdain. For reasons practical, financial and definitely emotional, there seems to be a growing cohort of men like him who are falling out of love with the holy institution of homeownership.

We are only now beginning to see the real changes in our society that will come from the real estate crash of ‘07-’08 and the ensuing Recession that will likely continue this year.

For further reading, here is another article about homeowners who can pay their mortgages but choose not to.

I currently live with my wife in a part of Los Angeles called East Hollywood. East Hollywood is a sleepy community, not too many businesses, a lot of social services, and in general a quiet demeanor. But I predict (and did predict last January when we moved here) that East Hollywood will be one of the next hip neighborhoods of our expansive metropolis.

The territory of East Hollywood is bounded by (in clockwise order): Hollywood Blvd on the north, Hoover on the east, the 101 on the south, and Western Blvd on the west. This is a very diverse area of LA: even within those small borders, there are three distinct communities: Thai Town, Virgil Village, and Little Armenia.

I should mention the neighbors; one of the best things about East Hollywood is the central location to many diverse segments of Los Angeles life – but without the high rents and property prices associated with those areas. Directly to the north is laid-back Los Feliz, and to the east is ultra-cool Silver Lake, the “Williamsburg of the West”. To the south is the shopping and cheap eats of Koreatown, and to the southwest is the chic-chic Larchmont, shopping district for the luxurious yet understated Hancock Park. West and northwest is Hollywood. Not really too pleasant a place to live, thanks to ubiquitous tourist traffic and sketchy characters roaming the streets at all hours, but a fine place to catch a movie at the Arclight, browse the vinyl bins at Amoeba and finish up with a nice steak at The Grill.

East Hollywood has definitely been overlooked in the gentrification of the city that has slowly been taking place for the past 15 years (and even accelerating, despite the economy). The property here is cheap enough so that a motivated business owner could create something Los Angeles desperately needs: a casual dining restaurant with a nice big parking lot. Or even one of those “shared workspace” things that I keep reading about. Or best of all: a nice office building with some blue chip tenants. I’m just saying, when East Hollywood starts coming into its own, remember you heard it here first.

Signs of life have been emerging. When I moved in a year ago I noticed mostly families. But slowly I have been noticing more singles, more young hip urban people. This I think is changing the neighborhood; its good to have a nice mix of all kinds of people. The quality of cars I see parked on the street is improving. I have been seeing less homeless. I have been seeing the LA County Sheriffs. I think this neighborhood is heading for a resurgence. It has the location, the space, the price point, and most importantly, East Hollywood has the willingness.

So it looks from all the real estate news I get that the real estate market might kinda, maybe, just a little bit, be coming back to life. Which is a good thing. We all can agree that irresponsible people who lied in order to get no-doc, stated-income loans and then didn’t pay on those loans got what they deserved. But a lot of undeserving people also have lost their homes because they trusted mortgage originators who did not adequately explain the risks of certain kinds of loans. So it’s nice that we might be coming out of it.

In that spirit, today I bring you 10 of the most expensive listings on the market right now in the Combined Los Angeles / Westside Multiple Listing Service (aka the CLAW MLS):

1) 630 NIMES RD. $72,000,000. 10 Bd, 14 Ba.

2) 3099 MANDEVILLE CANYON RD. $65,000,000. 17 Bd, 17.5 Ba.

3) 21804 PACIFIC COAST HWY. $65,000,000. 6 Bd, 9 Ba.

4) 1143 SUMMIT DR. $60,000,000. 17 Bd, 30 Ba.

5) 332 ST. CLOUD RD. $53,000,000. 9 Bd, 21 Ba.

6) 2665 RIVIERA DR. $40,000,000. 5 Bd, 8 Ba.

7) 10425 REVUELTA WAY. $37,995,000. 15 Bd, 16.5 Ba.

8 ) 31202 BROAD BEACH RD. $36,000,000. 5 Bd, 4.5 Ba.

9) 9501 GLOAMING DR. $36,000,000. 10 Bd, 9 Ba.

10 ) 688 NIMES RD. $36,000,000. 30 Bd, 40 Ba.

One thing about these types of estates is that they are very difficult to price. At the top of the market comparable sales are rare, every property is unique, and buyers who can afford in this price range are few and far between – and traditional marketing measures do not reach them. If you are interested in viewing any of these properties in person please shoot me an email and I will set up an appointment.

Legals: If any of these properties are yours (or if you are the agent) and you would like the listings pulled down, please just send an email to Phil (at) LAHomeDude.com. Everyone else, these listings are deemed accurate as of the posting date but not guaranteed.