Site icon The Bienstock Group-Expert Los Angeles Real Estate

With Gratitude on Memorial Day🇺🇸- TBG Update 5/31/2022

Hancock Park Real Estate

We were so excited to close 89 Fremont this week!  We listed the house for $6,000,000 and it sold for $6,567,000.  It’s hard to say who was most amazing – our sellers, the buyers, or the cooperating agents.  We love working with our sellers, Sandy and Noel, Sandy’s daughter, every single time because they’re spectacular people.  Just like Sandy and Noel, the buyers are exceptional people and a complete treat.  And the cooperating agent was Sue Carr, who is regal and a class act.  It was an honor for our team to facilitate from start to finish and we loved every minute of the interaction!

We’re excited for the two homes we’re bringing to market this week!  One is a modern house that was built brand new from-the-ground-up in 2014 with 5 beds and 6 baths.  I especially love this house because of the high ceilings, the open floor plan, the pool that’s set into the wood back deck, and most of all the bedroom count – 4 bedrooms upstairs and 1 down.  The second is a sweet Country English condo alternative single family home with 2 beds and 1 bath that hasn’t been on the market in 20 years and is oozing character and charm.  I especially love this house because of all the deep windows that are everywhere; the house is filled with sunshine and original details and that combination hits the spot every time.

The market is shifting back to normal from the Covid frenzy, and the shift happened very quickly.  Interest rates jumped from the 3’s to the 5’s super fast and the stock market went down all of a sudden too.  First time buyers whose buying power went down as interest rates went up + their stock market portfolio fell are hesitating for a moment in the hopes to feel more certain before they venture to buy.  And, we live in LA so there are lots of buyers whose buying power is strong from businesses that thrived through Covid and those buyers are out hunting, with a specific strategy to invest in real estate that historically proves to be lucrative and stable. The volatility of the stock market makes real estate an attractive alternative to many right now.  It’s interesting to examine proof of funds that come with offers these days.  When you look at starting and ending balances on a stock portfolio over the last 30 days, there’s a stark difference between the two numbers from the stock market going down.  The explanation that comes with offers is either: a) our offer price went down because of our loss in buying power OR b) our offer price went up because we’re motivated to shift our funds to real estate.  We’re seeing one or the other on different transactions depending on the buyers’ motivation and the type of purchase.

In our work family, a small team of agents and admin who are a complete treat to lead, we currently have 23 open escrows, several off market.  Devin Merrick got a round of applause at our team meeting on Monday for his exemplary work ethic and follow-through.  Two sweet Chinese girls reached out as strangers to see a house they were considering to purchase in Mount Washington.  When Devin went to meet the sisters, they explained that they each wanted to sell their condo in Koreatown to pool their liquidated equity, and buy a single family house together.  Like a rockstar, Devin worked with the girls for six months to carefully prepare each of their condos to sell for top dollar, he successfully got multiple offers on both condos, and the happy sellers are now on their way to buying their single family house together.  Devin is patient, hardworking, tenacious, attentive to detail, and responsive and the successful combination is effective and inspiring.

I’m feeling all the feelings as Raizy and Mordechai’s wedding gets closer!  I got so excited this week when Goldie (Brown) Greenspoon texted me that she made a ticket to join the party.  I met Devorah and Rick Brown at an open house I was holding on Highland about eleven years ago, and I got close to Devorah as we worked together on finding the Browns a house to buy. Devorah was Chief Criminal Prosecutor for the City of San Francisco before she had kids.  When Devorah found out she had 10 years to live, she put 100% of her sharp-as-a-whip, full-of-personality, exuberant energy into her 3 amazing very young kids, and in those 10 precious years Devorah created an incredible foundation that was the start of some incredible humans who I absolutely love.  Momentous occasions are special when people you love share them and I’m over-the-moon excited for the sharing-with-the-people-I-love part!

I was waiting for a flight to board recently when an announcement was made that first to board is veterans who served our country, with so much gratitude for their service.  It was an awesome moment as the veterans stood up and proudly walked on the plane.  Today, and every day, we wholeheartedly appreciate those who put their lives on the line for our country!

Wishing all a beautiful week ahead!

Xoxoxo,

Sheri

Exit mobile version