Blog

Urban Hillsides Real Estate: Community and Lifestyle

Often these days our first interactions with new people are not in person - it’s typically through email or a phone call. With this in mind, our video is our way of revealing a little more about who we are and our approach to real estate.

Documenting the philosophy came easy compared to the fear of being in front the camera reciting it. I practiced and told myself to relax, to act natural, but my mind and body did not listen. It was challenging and I was nervous. Thankfully we had a creative team of people who coached me through the process and had excellent editing skills.

I was clearly outside of my comfort zone. I challenged myself to get in front of the camera, and to push my business to new levels this year. I have built a great team to help me grow and deliver the same quality of service as I always strive to deliver. Kelly is a social activist who has dedicated her free time to neighborhood issues through both grassroots organizing and city government. Joe has extensive experience in local media and marketing, and continues to support this vibrant, creative community. Together we have an intimate knowledge of what it’s like to live in, grow and connect to the communities of Northeast Los Angeles.

For those of you who have personally never met me, we hope this gives you an idea of who we are so that when we do finally meet - whether it be by email or a phone call - you know who we are.

Helping clients achieve their goals is what we do, and I hope you can help us achieve ours! Please share this video with your social network and let people know that you recommend our services.

Share this video:

Rising student debt is affecting the housing market

These days, seven in ten college graduates leave school with some amount of debt - nationally, that totals about $1.1 trillion as of last year. With this kind of debt, it's hard not to imagine that student debt has an affect on the housing market - after all, those are all potential first time home buyers entering the "real world" with a lot of debt.

And the concern is just that - the number of first time home buyers is historically low: fewer than 30% of all home sales in the past six months were first time buyers, compared to the 40-45% that it normally is. Another contributing factor to the overall problem is that wages aren't rising as fast as the student loan burden is.

Additionally, first time home buyers (not just those with student loans) aren't showing up in the numbers because of the overall health problems of the economy, and possibly due to the increases in home prices we saw last year in cities like Los Angeles. We need those first time home buyers; if they aren't coming in at the bottom level (buying those first homes), the market can become stagnant because then there's noone for the "middle" to sell to as they try to move up.

Market report: Back to holiday levels

LosAngeles-Real-Estate-report_2-24-14

LosAngeles-Real-Estate-report_2-24-14

Looking at our total inventory levels over the past couple of months, we're at about the same as holiday levels. There are also fewer back-on-market properties, as well as fewer pending sales. But it's still a little early in the year, and we'll be keeping an eye on things as Spring comes around.

February 24, 2014

  • New listings: 36-
  • Back on Market: 8-
  • Price Reductions: 16+
  • Pending/Back up: 26-
  • Sold: 17+
  • Total inventory available: 219-

Compare past market reports by clicking here.

Weekend calendar: Featured open houses in Northeast Los Angeles

This weekend is full of some great open houses in Northeast Los Angeles, including the neighborhoods of Elysian Valley, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, and Highland Park on Sunday. Check out these great open houses on Sunday, February 16 from 1-4:00 pm.

Want a private showing? Call (323) 300-1186 today!

Highland Park

447 Holland Ave | 2 BR, 2 BA | $549,800

Listing agents: Fernando Amaya / Martha Hernandez

Highland Park

4843 Lincoln Avenue | 3 BR, 2 BA | $599,000

Listing agent: Robert Astrada

Los Feliz

1901 Hollyvista Ave | 2 BR, 2 BA | $749,000

Listing agent: Ken Winick

Silver Lake

2424 N. Edgewater Terrace | 3 BR, 2 BA | $839,000

Listing agent: Peter Martocchio

Elysian Valley / Silver Lake

2520 Lake View Ave | 3 BR, 2.5 BA | $929,000

Listing agent: Robert Carey

Want a private showing? Call (323) 300-1186 today!

Don't care for any of these listings? Search for more properties.

Market report: Slowly rising inventory

LosAngeles-Real-Estate-report_2-17-14

LosAngeles-Real-Estate-report_2-17-14

We're starting to see inventory trending upwards, which is great for buyers. This is also why new listings are on the rise, plus this week we saw a spike in pending/back up numbers.

February 17, 2014

  • New listings: 38+
  • Back on Market: 13
  • Price Reductions: 14+
  • Pending/Back up: 31+
  • Sold: 15-
  • Total inventory available: 251+

Compare past market reports by clicking here.

Weekend calendar: Featured open houses in Northeast Los Angeles

This weekend is full of some great open houses in Northeast Los Angeles, including the neighborhoods of Mount Washington, Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Highland Park and Eagle Rock on Sunday. Check out these great open houses on Sunday, February 16 from 1-4:00 pm. For an interactive map of these listings, click here.

Want a private showing? Call (323) 300-1186 today!

Highland Park

4839 Buchanan Street | 3 BR, 3 BA | $699,900

Listing agent: Robert Estrada

los-feliz-open-house-2-16-14

Los Feliz

1923 N Oxford Ave | 4 BR, 4 BA | $1,769,000

Listing agent: Konstantine Valissarakos & Richard Yohon

Eagle Rock

5330 Loleta Ave | 3 BR, 2 BA | $725,000

Listing agent: Toma Barseghian

Silver Lake

1338 Coronado Terrace | 3 BR, 2 BA | $799,000

Listing agent: Courtney Smith

Mount Washington

511 N Avenue 49 | 3 BR, 2 BA | $799,000

Listing agent: Brian Moore & Dan Mancinielli

Want a private showing? Call (323) 300-1186 today!

Not liking any of these listings? Search for more properties.