November 2011

JUST LISTED … FOR SALE … 217 LINNIE CANAL, VENICE

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.

OCTOBER SALES SHOW INCREASE …

OVER THE PRIOR MONTH AND OCTOBER OF 2011. The number of single family homes sold and the total sales volume increased over September by 41.7% and 38.5% respectively and 31.1% and 30.8% respectively when compared with a year ago. However, the average sale price and dollar per square foot decreased as compared with last month but increased slightly over last October. (See chart below.)

As of October 9th, there are 47 single family homes actively listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service … 3 less than a month ago. The number of homes in escrow remained the same at 26. The average days on market (DOM) for active listings decreased 13.7% to 74.8 days and the average DOM for listings in escrow increased 1.6% to an average of 83.5 days.

Of the 47 active single family homes there are 2 short pays and one notice of default … nine of the 26 homes in escrow are short pays. There are 35 active income properties (4 short pays) and 13 in escrow (2 bank-owned and 3 short pays). There are no short pays or bank owned condominiums among the 32 actively listed; of the 5 in escrow, 1 is a short pay and 2 are bank-owned.

The chart below compare the current inventory with the sales for October. The stats show that there is 4.3 months of single family inventory, 8 months of income property inventory and 6.2 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/pending properties.

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VIEW MORE STATS & GRAPHS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

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OCTOBER VENICE SALES …

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.

SIX MUST-HAVES FOR MORTGAGE APPROVAL …

Interest rates fell to new lows in September. Low interest rates increase affordability and should make it easier for buyers to qualify. Yet stories of buyers waiting months to gain loan approval and home purchase transactions not closing on time due to lender’s strict underwriting are all too common.

Some buyers are turned down for illogical reasons. For instance, if you have investments — even if they’re performing well — an underwriter might deny the mortgage because your portfolio doesn’t fall into the underwriter’s risk assessment model.

One couple was turned down because the husband had worked at his current job for less than a year — even though he was making more money at the new job than he was before.

READ THE FULL STORY …

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY HOUSING WILL INFLUENCE THEIR VOTE …

Candidate positions on housing will be important considerations to nearly seven of 10 Americans in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, according to a new national survey on housing by Move, Inc. This is especially true for Millennials, the next generation of home buyers and the segment expected to play as important a role in the 2012 elections as they did in 2008.

According to the survey, 81.7 percent of Americans consider housing to be a critical piece of the national economic recovery, while  73.1 percent believe conditions for buying a home a year from now will be the same or worse than today. Just under a quarter of Americans expect home-buying conditions will be better.

One in three Americans today think helping homeowners avoid foreclosure should be the next president’s priority in the first 100 days in office. Keeping interest rates low ranked second and making more affordable mortgage credit available placed third.

However, views are mixed when it comes to increasing or decreasing the role of government in housing.  The survey found one in three Americans said the role of government in housing should remain the same as it is today, while one in five said it should be increased.  Forty-two percent said government’s role in housing should be reduced, especially Americans ages 35 to 64 (56.7%). Just over two-thirds (67.4%) of Millennials said the president and Congress should reduce or keep the role of government in housing the same.

MORE INFO …

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