RODEO REALTY JOURNAL
local expertise, global presence. August 2013
August 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Rodeo Realty Welcomes New Agents 2,3 Rodeo Realty Economic Report-July 2013 4 Advanced Classes Schedule 5 App Update 6,7 Hot Properties 8 Agent Success Stories 9, 10 Agent Appreciation Letters 11,12 Westside Picnic 13 Events
14 Rodeo Realty in the News
INDEX
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RODEO REALTY
Welcomes You
Beverly Hills Northridge Katie Barth Carol Fox Jasmine Tekeian Carmen Roberts Noga Assil Tony Olson Sarah Ronaghi Marlene Grecco Tamar Asken Wilfred Orellana Brentwood Sherman Oaks Iris Lee David Babajoni Tisha Bennett Rose Swid Studio City Farsheed Nooryani Dianne Yezza Wyatt Hilkene Karen Greenstein Sunset Strip Jingah Joelle Kim Calabasas Arash Ardalan Westlake Village Encino Woodland Hills Bonnie Ershoff Iris Hagay
Thank you for the confidence you have entrusted in me and my team. Welcome to the Rodeo Realty family -- Syd Leibovitch
JULY 2013 ECONOMIC WRAP-UP
Real estate news for the month of June centered on the continuing challenges of low inventory leading to a dip in the amount of homes sold. Prices continued to show strong rises. The latest report from DataQuick showed that Southern California median home prices rose 28.3% in June compared to a year ago, a number larger than the year-over-year jump during the housing boom and in fact the biggest on record for DataQuick. The Southern California median sales price reached $385,000 last month, 4.6% more than May (also the biggest month over month increase on record). Overall sales were down a bit. Last month’s year-over-year sales decline was the first for any month since last September. Data released by the California Association of Realtors found that statewide California sales in June were down slightly, 3.8% from a revised 431,490 in May and down 3.7% from a revised 430,960 in June 2012. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2013 if sales maintained the June pace throughout the year. This is part of the effect of extreme low inventory with not enough homes for sale to meet buyer demand, a key factor leading to higher prices. The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home rose 2.7 % from May’s revised median price of $417,350 to $428,510 in June. June’s price was up 33.5 % from a revised $320,990 recorded in June 2012. Inventory remains well below normal, continuing to drive pricing. For the Los Angeles Metro area the median sold price went up 3.4% over May’s $379,640 median but up 31% from June’s $298,100. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities showed that May’s numbers rose 2.4% from April and 12.2% from May 2012. Home prices showed the biggest 12-month gain since March 2006. All the cities monitored by the index saw gains in both month-over-month and year-over-year numbers. San Francisco saw the biggest year-over-year price increase, up 24.5% but Los Angeles wasn’t far behind, it was in fourth place on the list showing an increase of 19.2%. The index shows that average U.S. home prices have returned to their spring 2004 level. I can tell you that in our markets we have surpassed the highs of 2007 in many Westside neighborhoods and are within 10% in other including valley neighborhoods. Expect to be at the highest levels ever in all of our markets by May 2014!
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JULY 2013 ECONOMIC WRAP-UP
Mortgage interest rates rose sharply in June but saw a more modest rise in July. According to the Freddie Mac Weekly Primary Mortgage Survey 30-year-fixed mortgage started out the month at 4.29% and were at 4.31% in the last week of July. The survey also shows that a 15-year-fixed mortgage rate is 3.39% the same rate that the survey showed at the start of the month. While the national jobless rate also was the same as in May, holding steady at 7.6% , once again California showed continued improvement. The California jobless rate has fallen 2.1 percentage points in a year to 8.5%. California is also second in employment growth year over year, behind only Texas, gaining 253,900 jobs since June 2012. California was also the leader in job growth adding 30,200 jobs in June. The Fed has made no further indications regarding the timing of the taper of the bond-buying program. The Dow finished out June at 15499.54 up 3.96% over June’s 14909.60 close and up 19.15% year over year. The Nasdaq ended the month at 3626.37 up 6.56% from last month’s close of 3403.25 and up 23.37% year over year. The S&P 500 closed the month at 1685.73 up 4.95% from last month’s 1606.28 close and up 23.75% year over year. The 10-year treasury note saw as leveling off as the month ended closing out at 2.6%. It was as high as 2.73% earlier in the month, the highest number since August 2011. Overall the economy showed some unexpected growth. The gross domestic product grew at a 1.7% annual rate for the second quarter, up from the first quarter’s 1.1% expansion rate. Also the ADP National Employment Report showed that private employers added 200,000 jobs in July in keeping with June’s pace. We are still seeing multiple offers on a good majority of the sales. At the same time we did see some slowing in July only to pick back up in the last week and a half. Listing inventory is beginning to move up after months of dropping inventory. Perhaps people that perceived they would hold on to their home while prices rise now feel its time to sell. Others that had no equity now finally do. I would expect price gains to begin to taper only to begin to surge again beginning in February. We all know real estate is seasonal, but with so much demand, I would think, we won’t see the usual slowdown this year. -Syd Leibovitch
ADVANCED TRAINING CLASSES Skirball Cultural Center 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, 90049 Haas Room, Conference Center Free Parking Rodeo Realty’s Advanced Training classes are provided for our agents to help keep you informed and help grow your business. AUGUST 19th – Teresa Todd: “How to Effectively Enforce Contracts” – What to do when things go wrong. 26th – Fred Henry: “How to win the Multiple Offer!” SEPTEMBER 2nd – HOLIDAY (Labor Day) 9th - Syd Leibovitch: “Goal Setting and Business Planning” 16th – Mike Weaver: “Working your Past Clients” 23rd – Paul Stafford: “Ethics” – Arbitration/Mediation; Procuring Cause; Dispute resolution; the difference between the Valley, Westside, and CAR 30th – Ken Davis: “Loss Mitigation” – How to stay out of Court OCTOBER 7th – Deidre Woollard: “Advanced Social Media” 14th – Wendy Cox: “Problem Solving your Escrows” – Wendy will present common problems that she has run across over the years with her agents in closing escrows. Come with your escrow problems and get Wendy’s take on how to solve it! OPEN FORUM / QUESTIONS WELCOME! 21th – John Gould: “Creative approach to Geographical Farming” – How to, How often, How to Budget 28th - Cary Hoffman: “Rentals/Leases/Referrals” – What paperwork is required, what to look out for; Gathering information so your Landlord can properly screen tenants. NOVEMBER: 4th – Syd Leibovitch: “Physiology of Real Estate Sales” – How to help your clients make the right decision. 11th – HOLIDAY (Veterans Day) 18th - Kris Mooney. “Slump Proof your Business” – Energy driven ways to position yourself for success. 25th – Jason Katzman: “Rodeo E-Marketing” – How to use the Rodeo E-Mail Marketing System.
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MAKING OUR APP WORK FOR YOU
Did you know that most American adults now own a smartphone? And a growing number of people are also tablet owners and users. Reaching clients on their mobile devices is a powerful marketing tool. A few months ago we launched our Rodeo Realty mobile app which makes it easy for your clients to search for properties from their smartphones and tablets and explore the area they are interested in with just a few swipes across their screen. So far over 600 people have downloaded the app and our data shows that properties have been viewed over 12,000 times. The app is available to download from the Google Play and Apple iTunes store for free. Or you can text RODEO to 87778, and the application will be sent to your phone by text message. Just click on it and the application downloads right away. If you haven’t downloaded it, please do and encourage your clients to use it as well. It would also help if you can rate the app in either the iTunes or Play store so everyone knows how great it is! Our app provider has provided us with a limited number of agent licenses. Agent licenses allow you to give your client a code that they can text to get your own version of the Rodeo branded app. Once they download it, all their inquiries inside the app will route directly to you. We are releasing these to interested agents on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you would like to be placed on the list for an agent license please contact your manager.
Statistics on Mobile Adoption rates from Pew Research: 56% of American adults now own a smartphone of some kind and 78% of households with an income of $75,000+ or higher do 34% of American adults ages 18 and older own a tablet computer like an iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Nexus, or Kindle Fire. 50% of smartphone owners visit a social network every day
HOT PROPERTIES
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GOT A HOT PROPERTY with celebrity credentials? Tell us about it: mediarelations@rodeore.com
Joe Babajian represents a country retreat tucked in above Benedict Canyon and minutes from the heart of Beverly Hills. It is on a 1.5 acre lot with tennis court, lawns, patios, pool, spa, and lush landscaping. Beautiful living room with fireplace, gourmet kitchen with professional appliances and breakfast area, large family room with bar, formal dining room, & den. Fine details throughout including hardwood floors, vaulted & beamed ceilings, paneling, & custom built-ins. Upstairs features two family bedrooms & master suite with dual baths & closets. 4th bedroom suite downstairs, & additional guest suite with living room, bath, & separate entrance. Once home to tennis star Pete Sampras, Kate Jackson & Wiliam Asher. It is listed for $4.495,000. Matt Schroeder has the listing for 22668 MacFarlane, the estate of LA Pops Orchestra founder Carlos Spiga which was showcased in the Woodland Hills Patch this month. The Spanish/Mediterranean private gated compound is on an over 30,000 square foot lot. It has views of the valley and the Santa Monica Mountains and was designed for entertaining hundreds of guests. The main house has four bedrooms, a great room with a cathedral ceiling, wet bar, marble fireplace, family room, dining room, and more. Outside there is a stamped concrete patio, pool, spa, with waterfall, built-in barbecue with refrigerator and a covered breezeway which leads to a 880 sq. ft. tiled floor cabana w/central heat/air, kitchen and full bath. It is listed for $1,799,000
Gloria Hicks has the listing for 25858 Dark Creek which has been previously featured in the LA Times magazine. The Calabasas home is located in the quiet secluded “Monte Nido� neighborhood. It features authentic styling including Rustico Mexican tile, custom dual paned doors made in Placitias, New Mexico and stacked vintage tile roof from San Gabriel Mission School. It is extremely priivate and gated with a separate tack or workshop and a covered corral at the end of the property. The front porch faces a beautiful Spanish fountain and the back porch has a swing overlooking a huge flat lawn with massive trees and a meandering creek. It is listed for $1,980,000.
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HOT PROPERTIES Allyson Carter of the Sherman Oaks office will have the listing for a house owned by Mick Mars of the band Motley Crue. The home is undergoing some renovations and will hit market soon.
Ben Salem has the listing for this 6,458-square-foot home in the gated community of Brentwood Hills. The home belongs to Joe Hahn of the band Linkin Park and was featured in The LA Times Hot Property section. The 5-bedroom estate was designed by award- winning architect James Porter FAIA. The striking contemporary home boasts amazing city, ocean and canyon views. The tranquil master bedroom has a large master bath with large walk-in closet which opens up to a charming terrace. The grounds have been transformed into a modern serene oasis with hiking paths, exceptional views and a complete compost center. Additional features include a three-car garage, maids quarters and an elevator. Niki Rosenfeld has the listing for part of the original William Mellenthin estate in coveted “Hidden Woods” pocket of Sherman Oaks. This property which has been lovingly and impeccably restored by its present owner, was the original guesthouse and pool of William Mellenthin, a major builder in the valley during the 1930s and 1940s. The home has expanded and updated while retaining the original charm and integrity of its past. Situated on an extra large lot of approximately 10,700 sq ft, this beautiful property features three bedrooms and two bathrooms in just under 1700 sq ft. Calling it “the nicest place our poor person eyes have ever seen,” Curbed LA highlighted the Ford estate as a weekend getaway on July 21. On July 31 it was featured at the house of the day in The Wall Street Journal. It was also the Home of the Week in the LA Times both online and in pritn. The elegant estate in Ojai, California was designed for William Ford, Board Chairman and controlling stockholder of one the largest glass companies in the world, by famed architect to the stars, Paul Revere Williams. The extremely private gated estate sits on 3 plus acres with mature oak trees and a working tangerine grove. The property is listed with Rob Johnson.
MILLION DOLLAR LISTING:LA LAUNCHES
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Our favorite TV show, Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles is back for its sixth season! The show, which debuted on Bravo back in 2006 began its new season on August 7 and runs through October. The show features some of Southern California’s most exclusive Realtors showing off beautiful properties to their high-end clientele. Rodeo Realty’s own Josh Flagg is one of the stars of the show and as part of last week’s publicity tour in New York, he appeared on the Today show and rang the closing bell at the Nasdaq exchange. This season he’s brought along some of our other agents along for the fun. Look for agents Carmen Mormino and Barbara Stover in upcoming episodes. We encourage everyone to watch the show every Wednesday at 9 (or DVR it) and cheer on our amazing agents!
HOT SALES
The Kapukchyan Team sold a castle on Mountcastle Dr in Studio City offered at $2,999,995. This Mediterranean-style estate sits on 26000+ sq ft of prestigious hills in Studio City, featuring 6500+ sq ft of living space, 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, with breathtaking views. This magnificent estate was built in 1991, including a grand split stair case, wet bar in the entertainment floor, a master suite with a huge en-suite, private balcony and walk-in closet. Due to his creative marketing plans and his knowledge of the niche market for this very unique home, he was able to create interest in numerous buyers. Harry Kapukchyan of Rodeo Realty, Studio City, represents both seller & buyer.
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APPRECIATION LETTERS FROM CLIENTS Susan Strutz
Thank you Susan, thank you very much...... It has been our pleasure working with you... You have done a splendid job helping us to work out a good deal on a very desirable property. We found you a very pleasant, amicable and capable person, who knows how to negotiate with finesse, and bring forth a favorable outcome for her client. Again, we appreciate your acquaintance, and hope you feel better soon.... Wish you all the best........... Lucy & Aspet
GET SOCIAL! Did you know you can add social media profile buttons to your profile on the Rodeo Realty website at RodeoRE.com? All you have to do is login to the extranet directly from RodeoRE.com and click on the My Account button and then click on Edit Profile. From there you can update your bio, change your picture, add or change any contact information. At the bottom of the profile you can add in Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube information simply by adding the links to your accounts. Once you’ve added them in, these social buttons will display on your profile and each one will take potential clients to your social profiles. Clients and potential clients are on social media. A recent C.A.R survey found that 41% of home buyers use social media to check out agent Facebook pages! If you’d like help setting this up, contact Deidre in the corporate office at (310) 471-2600 or via email at mediarelations@rodeore.com And while you are getting social, don’t forget to like Rodeo Realty’s social channels. We share info on new listings, the homebuying process, and recent market statistics that you can also share with your clients. If you follow us we will be certain to follow back and like/ retweet/share your social posts.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RodeoRealtyInc Twitter: twitter,com/RodeoRealtyInc Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rodeorealty
APPRECIATION LETTERS FROM CLIENTS
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Wendy Dern & Sissy Lee We are the Petersons and we just wanted to take a moment to let you know about the amazing job Wendy Dern and Sissy lee did in getting our family into our new home. We met Wendy by chance at an open house and felt an immediate connection. Her knowledge of the current (and constantly changing!) local real estate market and her warmth and demeanor sold us right away, and we knew we wanted to work with her to find our new home. It was through Wendy that we met Sissy and her league of helpful colleagues and contacts. With their combined help, we made several offers on homes in the San Fernando and Simi valleys during the first few months of this year, but none were accepted, so Wendy continued on the hunt for us. As soon as she showed us the Lakemore house in Santa Clarita, we knew it was THE ONE. It was beautifully made over, within walking distance of a great elementary school, had a chef ’s kitchen, a swimming pool and spa, and was surrounded by a great neighborhood. The four of us put our heads together to come up with our best possible offer we could make, and were thrilled when it was accepted by the seller! That’s when the real fun started. The seller had purchased this property as a foreclosure in May, and did a bit of work on it in order to flip it in this tight seller’s market. The combination of a flipped property (owned by a cutthroat bank) with our less-than-stellar credit and FHA loan, was challenging to say the least. There were days of despair and handwringing and saber rattling! But Wendy and Sissy remained steadfast throughout the process and fought for us every single step of the way. We can say with absolute certainty that we would NOT have made it through this process with anyone other than Wendy and Sissy. Each day they were at our sides giving solid advices, presenting us with all of our choices (or bluntly telling us we didn’t have any), and on multiple occasions they went toe-to-toe with the bank seller and with the FHA. In the end it was their perseverence that landed us this house, and we cannot thank them enough. We just wanted you to know how much we appreciate everything they did for us--they went above and beyond what any realtor or loan officer would do for their cleints. We are thrilled with our home, and we owe it all to this great team. Corey & Jill Peterson Santa Clarita, California
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First Annual Westside Picnic
Westside Rodeo Realty agents (and some of their furry friends) convened in Beverly Hills’ Roxbury Park for an afternoon of barbecue, baseball and fun on August 1. The first annual Westside picnic included staff from the Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Sunset Strip, and Beverly Hills corporate office, mingling together and enjoying the great weather!
First Annual Westside Picnic
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EVENTS AND NOTICES
Sherman Oaks Rodeo Realty dominated in the 2013 SRAR Charity Golf Classic at the Moorpark Country Club on July 16. Aaron Scott and Derek London took home first place while Jerry Humes came in third. The event was a fundraiser to help first-time home buyers. Rodeo Realty agents attended a special viewing of the A. Quincy Jones exhibit at the Hammer Museum on July 31. The exhibit is the first major career survey of noted Modernist architect A. Quincy Jones. Archibald Quincy Jones (1913–1979), who was known as Quincy, practiced architecture in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death in 1979 and designed many of the area’s most prized homes. The exhibit runs until September 8 so there is still time to check it out. Hammer Museum 10899 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90024
The Sherman Oaks Office is sad to announce the passing of Sherman Oaks agent Allen Geller. He will be missed.
RODEO REALTY IN THE NEWS
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Syd Leibovitch in the LA Times: Syd Leibovitch, president of Rodeo Realty, was quoted in an article on the front page of the Los Angeles Times about rising home prices. He told the LA Times he expects prices to double from their bottom last year. “You have a lot of room to run,” Leibovitch said. “Because historically, they always double in these cycles, and then they drop back a bit.” Wendy Furth on Bankrate.com/Yahoo Finance: Wendy Furth of Rodeo Realty Calabasas was featured in an article on the growing trend of pocket listings: “One reason a seller might want to stay as a pocket is because they figure (the broker) can just fish for buyers. It’s perceived as being no-muss, no-fuss, no for-sale sign, no open houses, just find a buyer,” she says. Carmen Mormino in The Acorn: Carmen Mormino of Rodeo Realty Westlake Village was featured in the Acorn for his upcoming guest star role on Million Dollar Listing: LA. “I consider myself so fortunate to do what I do, and my main goal is always to demonstrate to my clients how I treat working for them as the true privilege it is,” said Mormino. Leah Guerra in Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Leah Guerra of Rodeo Realty Sunset Strip was featured in Bloomberg BusinessWeek along with a client discussing the use of ARM loans in the home financing process. Guerra described an ARM as a calculated risk that pays off when it’s right. “It’s a bet that prices will appreciate, that your income will stay the same or increase and that rates will stay stable,” Guerra said. “It’s a bet that confident people make.” Syd Leibovitch in The Wall Street Journal: Syd Leibovitch, president of Rodeo Realty, was asked for his advice in a Wall Street Journal article regarding the home bidding wars. With lowball offers being a thing of the past, Leibovitch told the reporter that he advises clients to make their first offer “as high as you can possibly go.”
Get some great press? Share it with us at mediarelations@rodeo.com