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Fighting the Old vs Building the New 🏖️ – TBG Update 7/3/2022

3506 Madera Ave Hancock Park Real Estate

 

I’m super excited for our new listing that will be photographed at the end of this week on June Street in Hancock Park!  The highlight of the house is the sprawling backyard!  Sited on a 16,000+ sq ft lot, there is hardscape for entertaining, a very large East-West pool, and STILL enough room on the park-like grassy lawn poolside to play soccer, football, baseball, etc. The house is 7366 sq ft.  Downstairs, the living room opens to a game room that has doors to the outdoors, the breakfast room has doors to the outdoors, and the family room overlooks the pool.  The rooms all are large scale.  Upstairs there’s a master suite + 5 additional bedroom suites.  There is a 1 bedroom suite downstairs.  It’s unusual to come across a house with such a great backyard (and the best place to be in Los Angeles is outdoors).  I can’t wait to meet the buyers who are drawn to this cool spot!

It was super fun to sell the house at 404 S Cloverdale that’s closing next week.  Our whole office voted Bob and Cliff all the way up there with our most favorite clients because they’re just the right combination of diligent but cool, responsive and intelligent, collaborative and contributing.  I loved their house from the moment I walked in the door.  When I met Bob and Cliff, they shared that they interviewed other agents who priced their house strictly based on square footage.  Even though their house is not big on square footage – house or lot – there’s so much sunshine, charm, character, interesting architecture, and cool location that I was positive it would sell for a higher price than the non-existent comps showed.  It did go into multiple offers immediately and it sold for the price we predicted.

I consistently find that price per square foot is not a sure fire way to figure list price.  Owners with large houses are often quick to choose a too-high price based strictly on multiplying their whopper square footage by an average price per square foot mostly computed on way smaller houses.  I find that the overall purchase price is more a function of how special a house is.  A house can be special for a whole host of reasons.  A designer impeccable remodel commands a high price.  Invaluable historical architectural detail, the perfect floorplan, a house filled with sunshine streaming through multiple ultra deep windows, a very large lot, exceptional curb appeal, a backyard oasis, obvious impeccable owner upkeep and maintenance are a host of factors that could make a buyer want to pay more for a house than one would think strictly based on “comps” and “price per square foot.”   List price becomes more of an art than a science based on a gut assessment of how special a house is and therefore what price it will command on the market.

3506 Madera is a similar story to Cloverdale and it will also close escrow next week. There were really no comps for the house either.  But it’s also super charming and cute, in such a hot spot, with an incredibly large spacious backyard.  We added a little extra value by choosing a uniquely fun paint color for both the house and the front door, and artsy staging, both to match the vibe of the neighborhood.  I’m excited that this house sold right away for the price we predicted too.

Since houses are most people’s biggest investment, it’s smart as owners to always be mindful of value and what you can do to increase your home’s worth.  Renovating in a way that suits a homeowner’s uniquely personal needs but detracts from the way strangers might live could decrease value.  Turning a garage into an ADU on a street where it’s hard to park off the property could decrease value.  Choosing to install different color and material floors in different rooms so from one vantage point in the house a whole host of different floor materials are visible could detract from value.  If value is a consideration, it’s smart to think through renovations from a value lens before installation.

I’m absolutely loving training our sales team!  We’ve been meeting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 30 minutes.  My goal is to keep breaking down what I did in the past, and what I do in my work in the present, to teach others who want to learn to do the same.  At the top of my list is lots of hard work, competence earned by diligence + field experience + obsessively studying the market, a high energy upbeat positive hyper excited attitude + extreme passion for the work, transparency + honesty + fairness in all dealings.  I’m savoring the connection to my peeps through regular interaction.  I love my work family!

Seth and I had a joint light bulb moment this week when we figured out that being home as we transition to empty nesting makes us miss the flurry of activity around us, but going away alone without any kids is the world’s biggest treat!  One of my favorite things in the world is to fly far away (on a plane with a strong WIFI connection for work) to a tropical place with fish in clear water for visibility (I have the deepest thoughts with a snorkeling mask on) and amazing books packed (business first and fiction second). Socrates said,“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”  For today and in this moment, We Got This!

Wishing everyone an amazing Fourth of July holiday weekend!

Xoxoxo,

Sheri

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