Venice Style E-Newsletter December 2011

Here at Venice Beach Living you’re on our list of favorite people ... and, in the spirit of the holidays, we wish you the best of this joyous season and great health, happiness and success in the coming year.

Throughout the past year, Venice Beach Living has been dedicated to providing top quality, thorough, and complete real estate services to you and the Venice community. We would like to thank you for allowing us to give you the best of our efforts to meet your real estate needs and look forward to continuing that service in the coming year.

Whatever your celebration plans are this holiday season, we hope they are both merry and bright !!!

Best wishes from us at Venice Beach Living, a boutique real estate brokerage ... CJ & Jay Cole and Diane Duffy

See below for a list of all of the properties sold in Venice during September 2011 and the charts showing the comparisons.

Sales are for all of Venice and do not necessarily represent sales of CJ & Jay Cole. Information is compiled from DataQuick and the MLS/CLAW. Sources are deemed reliable; however, no representation of any kind is made as to its accuracy.

As of December 13th, there are 49 single family homes actively listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service ... 2 more than a month ago. The number of homes in escrow decreased 23% from 26 to 20. The average days on market (DOM) for active listings increased 14.7% to 86 days and the average DOM for listings in escrow decreased 5.4% to an average of 88 days.

Of the 47 active single family homes there are two short pays and two in pre-forclosure ... seven of the 26 homes in escrow are short pays. There are 33 active income properties (two short pays, one bank-owned) and 11 in escrow (2 bank-owned and 3 short pays). There are no short pays or bank-owned condominiums among the 29 actively listed; of the 8 in escrow, 1 is a short pay and 1 is bank-owned.

The chart below compare the current inventory with the sales for November. The stats show that, based on November sales, there is 3.3 months of single family inventory, 16.5 months of income property inventory and 29 months of condo inventory. The average list price for each property type is significantly higher that the average sale price. The price per square foot is also lower for the properties that sold vs the active properties.

Still looking for that perfect Holiday Gift ???

This could be it ... check out the new lower price !!!

217 Linnie Canal . Venice Canals
Open by Appointment ... Give Us a Call !!!

This artfully charming waterfront retreat is on an island in the Venice Canals. The living spaces, filled with warm colors, textures and whimsical art, consist of 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, a first floor library/media room (or 4th bedroom) and an open living/dining/kitchen. French doors lead to a sunny south-facing outdoor oasis ... a spacious patio, envisioned as an extension of the house, with built-in BBQ plus a delightful garden with flagstone paths ... all overlooking a peaceful canal. What a Life !!!

There is a full bath and bedroom on the first floor, a rare find in the Canals. Features include wood floors throughout (oak down, bamboo up), French stone fireplace in the living room, hand painted murals and wall art, steam shower in the master bath, lots of storage, dual heat/air, double garage plus an additional awning-covered outside parking space. It is a short walk to Abbot Kinney, Venice Beach and the Farmers' Market. The permitted boat dock is a huge plus as permits for new boat docks are not currently being issued.

Home: Approximately 1999 s/f ... Year Built: 1976 ... Lot Size: 2850 s/f

EXCLUSIVELY OFFERED FOR SALE AT ... $1,895,000

VIEW THE PROPERTY WEB SITE

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE

DOWNLOAD THE MLS SHEET

To arrange a showing or for more information contact:

CJ at 310.823.3129 or 310.773.6945.

HOUSE PRICES ARE FINALLY NEARING A BOTTOM ...

After falling nearly 35 percent from their 2007 peak, nationwide house prices are finally approaching “normal” levels on two key valuation measures: The “price-to-rent ratio,” which measures house prices relative to what the houses might rent for, and the “price-to-income-ratio,” which measures house prices relative to average incomes.

READ THE FULL STORY ...

A HOME-INSURANCE TRAP ...

Homeowner policies have important differences that can affect whether claims are paid, according to a study scheduled to be published early next year in the University of Chicago Law Review. The problem is that those differences are poorly understood.

MORE INFO ...

FIND US ON FACEBOOK ...

We have just launched our Venice Beach Living facebook page and invite you to Become a Fan on Facebook. You will find timely Venice news ... what's happening in the community and with Venice real estate. Hope you "like" it and visit often. Thanks ... CJ & Jay.

Our page is located at http://facebook.com/VeniceBeachLiving.

California highest median home price by CAR region October 2011: Marin: $781,250 (Source: CAR)

California lowest median home price by CAR region October 2011: Lake County $96,500 (Source: CAR)

California Pending Home Sales Index - October 2011: 122, an increase of 3.1% compared with prior year. (Source: CAR) NEW INDEX READ MORE

California Traditional Housing Affordability Index - Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: CAR)

Conforming mortgage rates - week ending 12/1/2011
30-yr. fixed: 4.00% Fees/points: 0.7%
15-yr. fixed: 3.30% Fees/points: 0.8%
1-yr. adjustable: 2.78% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Please keep us in mind when you have family, friends or associates who are
thinking of buying or selling a home ... We'd love to help them achieve their dream !!!