Santa Monica Real Estate – Single Family Homes: Active Listings: 60* Short Sales – 1* Bank Owned/REO – 0 Of the 60 active Santa Monica homes for sale, 18 had their List Price decreased, and none of them actually increased in list price...continue reading 09/26/2012

Education Foundation gifted $4.8M Great news for SMMUSD! It is good timing as the school district was facing severe cuts in very important programs!! SMMUSD HDQTRS – The Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation announced a $4.8 million estate gift at the Board of Education meeting Thursday night that will support music education for disadvantaged youth and give a jumpstart to… Read More 09/23/2012

Santa Monica Homes Previewed by Kim Sept 18, 2012 This week in Santa Monica I previewed great new listings North and South of Montana inlcuding a one bedroom condo on Franklin, a hillside home in Mar Vista and a fixer in Santa Monica Canyon. Take a look with the link below, and let me know if any interest you. Here is the link for all the details, addresses, and pictures: Santa Monica Homes Previewed by Kim Sept 18, 2012 For more information about buying and selling a home in Santa Monica; Contact Kim Halverson of Prudential CA Realty at 310-737-8173     09/19/2012

We are seeing more first time home sellers now then ever. First time ever selling their home, and homes on the market for the first time in 30+ years. More often than not, homeowners preparing to sell their home in Santa Monica, and Los Angeles ask us what they need to know about the tax benefits of selling their home in Santa Monica. As always, please contact your tax professional to determine exactly how they apply to you. One item that people are likely to forget, if you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form... 09/18/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate – Single Family Homes: Active Listings: 61* Short Sales – 1* Bank Owned/REO – 0 Of the 61 active Santa Monica homes for sale, 21 had their List Price decreased, and none of them actually increased in list price...continue reading 09/12/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate – Single Family Homes: Active Listings: 58* Short Sales – 1* Bank Owned/REO – 0 Of the 58 active Santa Monica homes for sale, 19 had their List Price decreased, and none of them actually increased in list price...continue reading 09/04/2012

If you are thinking of renting a home in Santa Monica there is a section on my site where you can check out what is available, broken down by price. For an overview of what is going on right now in the crazy rental market, here you go: Santa Monica rentals under $3,000: Single family homes:  0Condos:  5 of which 1 is a one-bedroom and 4 are two-bedrooms From $3,000-4,000: Single family homes:  4 of which 3 are two-bedrooms and one is a three-bedroomCondos:  7, of which 1 is a one-bedroom, and 6 are two-bedrooms From $4,000-$5,000 Single family homes:  1 three-bedroomCondos:  1 two-bedroom and 1 three-bedroom From $5,000 to $8,000 Single family homes: 1 three-bedroomCondos:  1 two-bedroom and 1 three-bedroom Over $8,000 Single family homes:  23.  From two-bedrooms to seven-bedrooms – $8,... 08/29/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate, What Buyers & Sellers Need To Know Dear Santa Monica Home Buyers and Sellers, We feel very strongly that if we properly counsel you about your real estate transaction, we will avoid most problems and dispell any false expectations. First, if you are a home or condo buyer, do not to use or open any new credit after an escrow is opened.  That new credit may negatively affect your chance to get a loan and therefore make your deal harder to close.  This advice was emphasized to me later in the week when a Santa Monica buyer’s agent who had this very problem. After opening an escrow, the buyer then went out and bought a new car.  Of course, that purchase was financed and, when the mortgage lender found out about the car loan, problems arose.  The only way the buyer ... 08/22/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate – Single Family Homes: Active Listings: 57* Short Sales – 1* Bank Owned/REO – 0 Of the 57 active Santa Monica homes for sale, 20 had their List Price decreased, and none of them actually increased in list price...continue reading 08/14/2012

Checking in on the Santa Monica real estate market through July 2012 Santa Monica Homes Under $2 Million Sold Median Avg Price Per SF Sold July Active In Escrow New July Absorption 90 $1,200,000 $668.14 13 20 13 4   Santa Monica Homes $2 to $5 million Sold Median Avg Price Per SF Sold July Active In Escrow New July Absorption 49 $2,875,000 $831.81 7 30 12 9   Santa Monica Homes $5 to $10 Million Sold Median Avg Price Per SF Sold July Active In Escrow New July Absorption 5 $7,400,000 $897.00 0 7 2 1   Santa Monica Homes over $10 Million Sold Median Avg Price Per SF Sold July Active In Escrow New July Absorption  1 $11,100,000  N/A  1 1 0 1 ** Santa Monica Condos under $2 Million Sold Median Avg Price Per SF Sold July Active In Escrow New July Absorption 226 $661,750 $556.80 40 96 74 33  ... 08/10/2012

Where’s the Real Estate? by Jodi Summers Home, home, where is your new home? It’s probably not for sale. Nationwide, the number of homes listed for sale in June was down 19.4% from the previous year, according to Realtor.com. Slightly less than 1.89 million homes were listed for sale in June, which is lower than at any time in 2011 or 2010. As always, Santa Monica is an extreme version of those statistics. In Santa Monica, the number of single family homes for sale is down -38% from July 2011 and -46% from July 2010. Condos for sale are down from -32% July 2011 and -48% from July 2010. Compared with one year ago, listings were down in all but two of the 146 markets tracked by Realtor.com. Inventory has fallen by nearly 58% in Oakland, Calif.; by 49% in Fresno, Calif.; by 47% in Bakersfi... 08/07/2012

Jazz on the Lawn has a new location in Santa Monica, CA Most people find that Jazz is the great equalizer, it bring all ages, ethnicities and on top to have it for free is just amazing. This Sunday August 5th, 2012 will launch the seventh year of Jazz on the Lawn at a new location. 1836 Stewart St, Santa Monica is the new home of Jazz on the Lawn. The program will start 5pm and continues until 7pm. The “Dustbowl Revival” will be performing. They are a Venice-based jazz group playing New Orleans swing, gypsy jazz, Appalachian folk and jug-band blues.  http://dustbowlrevival.com/ On August 12th, 2012 the Zane Musa Quartet will be playing a saxophone blend of traditional jazz with contemporary music.  http://www.zanemusa.com/ On August 19th The Ron Gutierrez Band featuring Leslie Paula wil... 08/03/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate, Getting An Accurate Online Search There are many avenues to searching for real estate in Santa Monica. If you're like 85% of home buyers, you start your search online. Which website has the most accurate information for finding homes and condo's in Santa Monica? All listed properties begin with a Realtor submitting the details of the property onto the Multiple Listing Service, "MLS". The hundreds of websites full of properties for sale in Santa Monica are taken from the MLS feed. Many of these other websites include inaccurate information such as homes that are no longer for sale, foreclosure filing data, and some are designed just to capture and sell your information. For accurate homes for sale in Santa Monica, visit our website. Listings are uploaded and cor... 07/23/2012

by Jodi Summers This story is good for cocktail party conversation. Check out these results of the 2011 American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as they compare to the  stats from 2007. Life has changed considerable since the days before the Great Recession < now it has been quantified. Fewer men at work: Only 50% of men aged 15 or older worked on an average day in 2011, down from 54% in 2007. More sleep: With more people out of work, average sleep time increased from 8.57 to 8.71 hours per night. More home cooking: The percentage of people who participated in food preparation and cleanup on an average day grew from 51 to 53%. More schooling: The percentage of people aged 15 or older who attended classes or did homework on an average day climbed from 7.9 to 8.4%. Few... 07/18/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate – Single Family Homes: Active Listings: 74* Short Sales – 2* Bank Owned/REO – 1 Of the 74 active Santa Monica homes for sale, 25 had their List Price decreased, and none of them actually increased in list price...continue reading 07/16/2012

Santa Monica Real Estate – Single Family Homes: Active Listings: 68* Short Sales – 2* Bank Owned/REO – 1 Of the 68 active Santa Monica homes for sale, 22 had their List Price decreased, and none of them actually increased in list price...continue reading 07/09/2012

West of Lincoln, Santa Monica, CA.  Is this really a neighborhood?   It is one in Santa Monica for myself and other locals. It’s actually going through three neighborhoods, Ocean Park, North of Wilshire and North of Montana.   But, to some locals it’s another world where they rarely travel East of Lincoln in Santa Monica.  What?  Sounds weird.  I know since I have lived West of Lincoln and fell into the happy bubble.  Didn’t realize how much of a bubble until I moved East of Lincoln.   When I lived West of Lincoln I didn’t drive much. I walked a lot of places, rode my beach cruiser and hung out with my friends that lived West of Lincoln too. It was a memorable time.  Part of it's hypnotic quality is that you are really close to the beach. So you go more often, and most people don’t mind... 07/06/2012

Mid-City, College Streets, South of WilshireMidtown Santa Monica stretches from 14th street to Centinela at its westernmost and easternmost extremities, and Wilshire Boulevard to Olympic Boulevard in its north and south. It’s zip code is 90404.Midtown is less congested than many other parts of the city. Planned on a regular grid, Midtown Santa Monica was once home to a number of picturesque Craftsman houses and brightly painted Victorians, though only occasional examples of these can still be found. In the early 1940s the first wave of suburbanization overtook this part of the city and many preexisting structures were razed and replaced with tiny square California Bungalows with green lawns and small, private backyards. In the 1960s a large number of these increasingly dilapidated struc... 07/06/2012

Ocean Avenue is a beautiful long stretch of ocean view real estate in Santa Monica, CA.  It starts in the North end of Santa Monica on Adelaide Drive and ends at Pico Boulevard. Ocean Avenue is the westernmost street in Santa Monica, and it mainly runs parallel to Palisades Park, which is a bluff that overlooks Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Monica State Beach.There are many high rise condo buildings along Ocean with gorgeous ocean views.  Palisades Park is a great area where residents enjoy outdoor activities such as picnic, walking, running, and biking.  The 3 most desirable buildings on Ocean Ave are:101 Ocean Ave, know as extends over PCH535 Ocean Ave, named Ocean Aire, A. Quincy Jones AIA603 Ocean Ave, named El TovarResidents that live on Ocean Ave have access to great restauarant... 07/06/2012

Santa Monica’s most desirable neighborhood is called North of Montana in the 90402 zip code.  The boundaries of this neighborhood are Montana Ave, starting on the North side all the way to Adelaide Drive.  The East boundary is 26th St. and West is past Ocean Ave and the bluff to Pacific Coast Highway.  They have an incorporated neighborhood association called North of Montana Association.This area has mainly larger single family homes and larger lots.  Most of the condo’s are high rise buidlings lining Ocean Ave to capture the ocean views.  I’m sure you are wondering how much does it cost to own a home in this neighborhood?  As of January 1st, 2012 through June 25, 2012, basically a six month analysis.  There have been 55 homes sales.  The average days on the market are 49.  The Lowest ... 07/06/2012