“By taking a time-tested process, offering a competitive bidding environment, and implementing a stringent vetting process for highly qualified and motivated bidders, MLUX Exchange gives sellers a new, end-result-driven way to sell their distinctive residences,” commented McMonigle. “Our solution-oriented platform maximizes values and removes sellers from the hassle of selling a home. By monetizing assets instead of liquidating them, we offer our clients an innovative, easy alternative to traditional real estate transactions.”

In the same manner that the distinguished auction firms have successfully created a market for luxury art, wine and jewelry by allowing bidders to compete in an open and transparent exchange, so too has established itself as the premier platform for the sale of luxury real estate where true market values are best realized at auction.

The dedicated and knowledgeable sales associates of MLUX Exchange are intimately familiar with their local markets. They prepare each property for auction while implementing an aggressive marketing campaign that maximizes exposure.

In today’s dynamic new real estate market, home buyers and home sellers alike need to know without a doubt that they are receiving the finest deal available to them. With MLUX Exchange luxury auction platform, clientele on both sides of a transaction are assured true value in a competitive environment that, by its very nature, confirms value. A tremendous alternative for sellers who desire a date-certain sale, MLUX Exchange helps build a sense of urgency among pre-qualified buyers. In turn, prospective buyers are able to review all documents associated with a pending auction, online, before they commit.

MLUX Exchange is the new way to buy and sell real estate. It offers an innovative process to ease the challenges of selling and acquiring luxury homes for both the buyer and seller by creating a multimedia approach that is an extension of the physical real estate experience. While traveling the world or in the privacy of their own homes, MLUX Exchange’s clientele can engage directly with available real estate on offer.

MLUX Exchange utilizes the web to provide efficient access and context for a broader audience interested in luxury real estate, therefore increasing value and shortening transaction time. Its innovative live bid process is founded on the heritage of the auction but is directed towards a generation of connoisseurs who see the web as a viable space to conduct their business from anywhere in the world. MLUX Exchange’s platform of luxury real estate auctions gives new access points to a diverse range of modern real estate needs and transaction timing in the utmost of transparency and free of geographical constraints.

For more information, visit www.mluxechange.com, follow it on Facebook, or contact John McMonigle at 949.735.1004.

Home Mortgages Rival Leases Here

Home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable today than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing
number of cities.

Can this be possible even in Pacific Palisades? Many of my clients who are currently renting are pleasantly surprised when they discover that a mortgage on a house here will be very close to what they are paying in rent. Mortgage rates, hovering around 4 percent, are the lowest in six decades.

It’s true! In Pacific Palisades, from September 1- November 30, the median price of a 3-bedroom,2-bathroom home with up to 2,000 sq. ft. sold for $1,275,000. With 20-percent down and the right credit score, the same house can be financed with a jumbo 4.5-percent loan for about $5,168 a month.

The median price of a rental for the same type of house in Pacific Palisades averages $5,700 a month. After factoring in monthly carrying costs like property taxes and insurance and leveraging in a tax write-off, leasing a house is approximately the same cost as buying a house.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, leases in Pacific Palisades for 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom homes from September 1 to November 30 increased $500 a month from the same period in 2010. The demand for leases is greater than the supply.

Lease prices are increasing because many would-be buyers can’t qualify for mortgages because lending conditions are tight or because they don’t have enough liquidity to use as a down payment. Other current tenants may have purchased their home at the height of the market and due to hard economic times lost their property in a short sale or foreclosure. Additionally, there are individuals going through divorce or separation. These people want to keep their children in the same schools and stay in the neighborhood while they get back on their feet.

Many investors, skittish about keeping their funds in the stock market, are trending towards buying investment properties. I have many clients interested in buying properties who understand a tenant can more than cover their mortgage payment. These new landlords feel their money is safe if they buy in Pacific Palisades. In a few years, they can keep the property as an investment or realize a profit by selling when the real estate market rebounds.

Another interesting phenomenon is the new desire by tenants to find furnished short-term leases. Many takers are people who may have just started a new job who will pay extra just to avoid committing to a full-year lease until their firms commit to them permanently. Others expect to buy but want to take their time and find the right house.

The option-to-lease agreement works out well for sellers who have had their house on the market for many months and it hasn’t sold. If principals can afford to wait to sell their house and are open to leasing while waiting for the market to rebound, they can get 30-40 percent more for a lease if they offer it for a minimum of three months and provide furniture. If sellers also provide Wi-Fi and cable, tenants will be glad to pay far more for the convenience.

Overall, studies show that homeowners, on average, accumulate more wealth than renters. Home ownership is a self-imposed savings plan. If people are planning on staying in a property for awhile and don’t abuse taking cash out of their house as their equity increases, owning a home is still a strong investment.

The economy is in flux but Pacific Palisades is a beautiful and desirable area to live and because of its proximity to Santa Monica, Century City and downtown will ALWAYS be a safe place to invest in real estate.

Michelle Bolotin is a longtime Pacific Palisades resident and a Realtor with Teles Properties. Please call her with any questions at (310) 463-7278 or visit her Website: www.michellebolotin.com

How ‘Shadow Inventory’ Threatens Housing Market

How is the market doing? This is a question I hear several times a day from my clients. While many homeowners faithfully follow the latest statistics trying to get information regarding their home’s value, what they might be missing is the creeping reality of Shadow Inventory. Shadow inventory can be broken into three categories:

• Properties that lenders have repossessed but haven’t put up for sale. These homes are referred to
as real estate owned, or REOs.

• Properties that are caught in the clogged foreclosure process.

• Properties that are severely delinquent in loan payments and almost certainly headed for foreclosure, but haven’t yet entered the process.

Officially, there are 3.5 million homes for sale nationwide. But there are millions more lurking in the shadows—hidden away on banks’ balance sheets, stalled in foreclosure court proceedings or simply occupied by nonpaying owners as lenders wait months or years before taking action. Wary of seeing such large losses appear in earnest on their books, lenders have been reluctant to deal with bad loans head-on. They don’t want to take paper losses. Their books show that they have these assets that are worth ‘X’ amount of money. But those values are not real.

Nationwide, there are 2.2 million homes stuck somewhere in the foreclosure process and many of those cases have completely stalled. Lenders are waiting longer before taking action against millions of homeowners who have stopped paying their mortgages. Nearly 2 million homeowners who haven’t paid their mortgages in three months or more haven’t received foreclosure filings. About 800,000 of those haven’t made payments in more than a year, according to Lender Processing Services.

According to Foreclosure Radar, as of March 16th, there were 88 active properties for sale in Pacific Palisades and 28 shadow-inventory properties*. If financial institutions decide to start releasing shadow inventory, adding to the amount of the regular inventory, prices in the Palisades may be adversely affected. Low interest rates and lower home prices for buyers also come into play which helps stimulate the market. But, homeowners considering waiting for the market to rebound before they put their home on the market for sale may want to consider the effect of how the release of shadow inventory will affect their property’s value.

Michelle Bolotin is a Realtor with Teles Properties and a longtime Pacific Palisades resident. Please feel free to contact Michelle with any real estate questions at (310) 573-1039 or michelle.bolotin@telesproperties.com.

*Updated statistics for TelesTalk release on 3/16/2012

A Realtor’s Guide to ‘Going Green’ Throughout Your Home

When I am listing a home, sellers many times ask me what features buyers in the Pacific Palisades real estate market look for. Energy-efficient “green” homes are now at the top of the list of features buyers most desire.  There’s no selling point quite like a home that helps save money while helping to save the planet.  In this tight economy, savvy buyers have learned to keep an eye on the future and want to save on operating costs after they buy their new home.

One in four (25 percent) of all single-family homes built in 2010 earned EPA’s Energy Star rating, up from 21 percent in 2009, according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

The Yahoo! Home Horizon study of 1,545 homeowners, buyers, sellers and renters found:

• More than four out of five (81 percent) say owning a home is still part of the American Dream.

• Fifty percent said energy-efficient appliances and ‘green’ building materials is a requirement for their dream home, followed by water views and building a custom home (both 38 percent), suburban location (31 percent) and beach location
(27 percent).

• Sixty percent of those in the market say that green/energy-efficient appliances are amenities they want in their next home.

• Twenty-seven percent of those in the market say that finding a more energy-efficient home is a key reason for seeking a new home.

In the past, resistance to “green” homes has been tied to the greater cost to build green than to build the old-fashioned way — without considering the planet.

However, that’s been offset, not just by the energy savings over time, but the premium price green homes reap when resold. They sell for as much as $20,000 to $50,000 more than a comparable home without major energy-efficient construction. To offset worries about your house not appraising for the higher value, the Appraisal Institute has introduced a “Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum” (Form A1- 820.03) to better analyze the value of energy-efficient home features, along with additional resources to aid in the valuation of green properties.

So you want to add value to your home and help save the planet and are wondering how to get started? Don’t be daunted by discussions touting super “spinach-green” homes, hyper-efficient properties that consume zero or near-zero energy and are off the grid and out of your price range.

Here are some first steps to get you on your way:

• Under-sink water filters can eliminate bad tastes, odors, even lead and chloroform while cutting out the use and expense of bottled water. Many bottled-water purveyors sell filtered tap water as bottled water.

• Low VOC paint. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the noxious chemicals that create a paint smell, can cause headaches and dizziness and are linked to pollution, smog and respiratory problems. Find the VOC level listed on the paint can.

• Dual flush toilets. Replace your old toilet with a dual-flusher for $300 to $400 and get a small flush for Number 1 visits and a larger flush for Number 2 visits. With technology in the toilet you’ll save on both flushes, compared to older toilets.

• Wood Floors. If you are installing wood floors, use wood from trees that grow quickly like bamboo. Reclaimed wood is also a great alternative as is cork.

• Water-saving shower heads. Likewise, you can save water with a low-flow model for $50. Shower heads with three settings allow you to get that near-massage feeling even while saving water.

• Energy Star appliances. Refrigerators run around the clock and washing machines and
dishwashers use both water and heat. Energy Star appliances are a no-brainer energy upgrade and a good selling point.

• Landscaping. Plant native trees that don’t require excessive watering. Additionally, don’t forget small things like replacing air filters, caulking doors and windows, using programmable thermostats and auto turn-off power strips and installing CFL or LED lights.

Now that you’re on your way, don’t forget to check the state and federal tax credits. In some cases, 30 percent of the cost with no upper limit can be written off.

Michelle Bolotin is a longtime Pacific Palisades resident and a realtor with Teles Properties. For questions regarding your property, please contact her at (310) 463-7278 or michelle.bolotin@telesproperties.com.

When Selling Your House, ‘De-Personalize’ Every Room

Clients always ask me, “Is it a seller’s market or a buyer’s market?” If you listen to the national news, you would think it was a buyer’s market. This may not be the case on the Westside and, more specifically, not in Pacific Palisades.

I firmly believe we are going to see the market heat up over the next few months. Inventory is getting tighter and tighter. At the end of January, the Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) number fell to 4.8 months for Westside single family residential. For the past two years the index has averaged eight months. Meanwhile, interest rates are at an all-time low, and buyer demand is increasing. I have personally been involved in several multiple-offer scenarios in all price ranges. The foreclosure world remains stalled. The chatter of prices going lower is getting fainter and fainter. Builders are out again looking for land and teardowns. The DJIA is up about 20 percent from last October. There are many indications that we are moving quickly from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market.

Please don’t get me wrong. I am not here to predict anything. However, everything is pointing towards the reality that there is going to be heavy competition for property this spring among the buyer population and a shortage of sellers to accommodate the demand for property.

Yes, it’s still difficult for many buyers to secure a loan, but a good percentage of people living on the Westside are prepared to put down a large down payment or come in with all-cash when presenting their offers.

If you are a potential seller and need help getting your house ready to sell, remember, to get the highest price with the shortest days on market, think of your house as a marketable commodity. Property. Real estate. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can inadvertently create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property.

An important step in getting your home ready to sell is to “de-personalize” it. Make your home anonymous. If there is a property for sale near your home, go visit that open house. What you will find are some wonderfully (but sparsely) furnished homes that anyone could live in—with the emphasis on “anyone.” They are anonymous. There may be a baseball glove in the boy’s room, but no family photos on the walls. There may be “personality”—but no person.

The reason you want to make your home “anonymous” is because you want buyers to
view it as their potential home. When a potential buyer sees your family photos hanging
on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions
about living in the house themselves.

Also, don’t overlook or underestimate the condition of your garage. When choosing between two similar homes, a buyer will write an offer on a house with a relatively clean and tidy garage. If you are removing
clutter from your house, don’t simply pack boxes and furniture into your garage as a temporary storage area. Instead, rent a storage area for a few months. This is an “investment” that will pay off.

The only thing constant in life is change, so if you are thinking of selling your home, with inventory at such low levels, now may be an opportune time.

Michelle Bolotin is a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades and a Realtor with Teles properties. For questions regarding your property, please contact her at (310) 463-7278 or michelle.bolotin@telesproperties.com.

Articles:

“California Foreclosure Actions Slow in Fourth Quarter”

The number of California homes entering foreclosure in the fourth quarter fell 11.9% from the same period a year earlier to hit its second-lowest level over the last four years…

Los Angeles Times

“Investors flood Southern California housing market in December”

 A record number of investors and second-home buyers flooded the Southern California real estate market in December, though not enough to give sales in the region a bump over the same month a year earlier.

Los Angeles Times

“Rate on 30-year mortgage down to record 3.88%”

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage dipped to 3.88 percent this week, down from the old record of 3.89 percent one week ago.

Los Angeles Times

To download the articles from this segment, click on the following links

California Foreclosures

Investors flood Southern California housing market in December

Rate on 30-year mortgage down to record 3.88%

Affordable Housing Real Estate Resource: Housing Affordability Index

Housing affordability will be at its highest in a generation this year.

The affordability index is comprised of median home prices, median family income, and the prevailing mortgage rate. An index of 100 implies that a median income family has just enough income to buy a median priced home. An index of 120 implies that a median income family has 20 percent more income than is necessary to buy a median priced home. The index reached an all-time high (since the data creation in 1970) of 174 in 2010. This year, it looks to surpass 180. The rising affordability is a combination of lower home prices, record low mortgage rates, and a slight rise in family income.

In short, there hasn’t been a better home buyingopportunity in 40 years.  However, not all people have the necessary confidence to make a major expenditure like a home purchase in an uncertain economic environment. More importantly, the underwriting standards are overly stringent. Those who are currently able to get conforming mortgages have an average credit score of 760. Under normal underwriting standards (and not the lax underwriting of the bubble years), credit scores would be closer to 720 on conforming mortgages. For FHA mortgages, today’s borrowers have an average credit score of 700, compared to historic FHA borrowers who had an average credit score of 660. If the underwriting standards were just to return to normal then there could be an additional 15 to 20 percent increase in home buying activity.

Banks have plentiful cash reserves but are unwilling to lend. They are blaming the regulators, saying extra cash holding is needed in case of another catastrophic economic event and because the banks are uncertain about future regulatory rules. Under these circumstances any additional attempts by the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates via another third round of Quantitative Easing (QE3) and printing more money would be inconsequential to the housing market. All the while, printing money could pose higher inflation risks in the not-too-distant future. Simply getting the excess cash holdings held by the banks out to the borrowers will be the true, natural stimulus for the economy.

To see the Housing Affordability Index numbers and read more articles, click here.

January 9 – 13, 2012

Articles:

“Low mortgage rates likely to continue through 2012, experts say”

But with high unemployment and home prices still falling in many areas, analysts say there is little chance for a housing recovery.

LA Times

“4 predictions about 2012 real estate market”

With 2012 upon us, many of us have set resolutions, goals or visions for what we would like to accomplish this year.  Here are 4 predictions about the real estate market we might want to take into account.

Inman News

“Bridging the great divide between home buyers and sellers”

With mortgage rates below 4% and prices near bottom in many markets, it’s a good time to buy a house. But many owners won’t sell because they can’t get the price they want.

LA Times                 

To download the articles from this segment, click on the following links

Low mortgage rates likely to continue through 2012

4 predictions about 2012 real estate market

Bridging the great divide between home buyers and sellers

December 2011 Micro Market Report will also be out this week so look for that to compare 2010 to 2011 and see how the market in your area finished in 2011.

Srivatsaa will speak on the “Power of Analytics,” a topic close to his heart, and will outline the insights from the creation of Teles Intelligence, a data analytics think tank that will launch in February 2012.

“Research and Analytics has been one of the foundational pillars of Teles since the very beginning,” said Peter Loewy, CEO of Teles Properties. “Sharran brings a unique background and skillset to take our offering to the next level with Teles Intelligence. We are excited that he is going to share his passion for the topic and his insights on the process with the leaders in our community at the Real Estate Connect Conference.”

Links to the conference:

• Conference Website
• Speakers
• Sessions and Agenda
• Twitter: @InmanConnect and #ICNY

About Teles Properties

Teles Properties was founded in Beverly Hills in 2007 by a group of real estate veterans who believed that there was a more modern and efficient way to represent residential real estate. Since then, Teles has proved itself to be a progressive, technology-oriented boutique real estate firm serving key markets in Los Angeles and Orange counties. With offices in Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Newport Beach and now Pasadena, Teles recently launched an International Division to link buyers to properties around the globe.

For more information, please contact Peter Hernandez at 424-203-1800.

To see the full list of the Top 20 Price Declining Zip Codes and read the rest of the arcticle, click here.