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Archive for July, 2009

Good News Regarding Real Estate Recovery

 WASHINGTON – The U.S. housing market has started to recover from the most far-reaching crisis since the Great Depression, data released Thursday shows.

 Sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June, the National Association of Realtors reported. That hasn’t happened since early 2004, during the boom.

 “The turnaround in the housing market appears finally to be here and indeed may be gaining some speed,” wrote Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc.

 Stocks jumped on the news, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising above 9,000 for the first time since early January.

Home sales rose 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May. Sales were up in all four regions of the country.

It was the highest level of sales since last October and beat economists’ expectations. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.84 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

In another encouraging sign, the share of foreclosures on the market is shrinking. About one out of three homes sold in June was foreclosure-related, down from nearly half earlier this year.

And the glut of homes up for sale dwindled to 3.8 million. That’s a 9.4-month supply at the current sales pace and another important sign of a recovery. When the market balances at a 7-month supply prices should begin to stabilize, the Realtors’s group said.

That probably won’t happen until next year because of a backlog of foreclosures that have yet to come on to the market. The median sales price was $181,800 in June, down 15 percent from year-ago levels but up slightly from $174,700 in May.

Nevertheless, prices have risen for three straight months in about half of the 55 major metropolitan areas tracked by the Associated Press-Re/Max Housing Report, also released Thursday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/32105245#32105245

 

Incredible Value Across from the Strand in Hermosa Beach

 Why pay for the Strand when you can get a half a block away and enjoy the value of owning a beautiful home….instead of a teardown!

2222 Hermosa Avenue, Hermosa Beach  Offered at $3,300,000

REDUCED $200,000! Better than new 2006 Louis Tomaro Spanish beach villa. Six bedrooms, one currently used as a media room, and five bathrooms. The top floor is a large bonus room with bathroom, wet bar, fireplace and French doors to roof top deck with fireplace and amazing white water views.  The living space is bright and open and includes gourmet’s kitchen, large dining area, living room, office/nook, media room and bath, plus two patios. On the second floor, are four bedrooms and three bathrooms, including a fabulous master suite with two walk-in closets, fireplace and large master bath.  

On the bottom floor is a guest suite and a large four garage plus two car parking on the driveway (6 car parking!!!). Additional amenities include: full size elevator, home automation system w/ security camera front entrance, lighting and audio control, 4 gas fireplaces. Surround sound in living room, media room, game room and master bedroom. In addition, home is completely wheelchair accessible. 

A Local Inspiration Needs Your Help- Next Step Fitness

On August 5, 2006, Janne Kouri dove into the ocean off California and crashed his head into a hidden sandbar. He knew immediately his life would never be the same.

To see the whole story go to ABC News Good Morning America

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=8081986&page=1

“Instantly I could tell I was paralyzed,” said Kouri, then 31, of Hermosa Beach, Calif. “I was just floating in the water and I got flipped over on my back and there were waves crashing over me so I knew something bad had happened, because I could not move my body at all so I just took a deep breath and basically hoped for the best. I thought, ‘this could be it.’”

Thanks to a passing off-duty EMT, it was not the end of Kouri’s life, but it was the end of his ability to walk — or so the medical experts told his then-girlfriend Susan Moffat.

Kouri, a director of an online social network who had been a star defensive tackle on the Georgetown University football field with NFL prospects, was called “the general” by his friends because of his take-charge attitude.

With that determination and the help of radical new treatment, Kouri eventually retaught his spine to function properly and learned to walk again, with the help of a walker.

Not satisfied with overcoming his own obstacles, Kouri and Moffat set up a clinic to help other victims.

To be able to keep doing such great work Next Step Fitness needs your help. 

Click here for more information on Kouri’s clinic, Next Step Fitness.

North Manhattan Beach Ocean View Home | Brand New Construction by KASSARDJIAN Development

Los Angeles Contemporary Design: Usually a Bit More Expensive to Construct, But Well Worth It

Check out how the builders of 171 Anita thought through their design.   Prime flat property is always the most expensive in Los Angeles, such as dirt in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills flats topping the price per square foot list. Why not save some money and design or purchase a new age contemporary on a gradual sloped lot and get the best of both worlds. Watch this and/or come by one of our Sunday Open Houses!

thx to LA Realty Video

Randy Forbes

Diane Halliburton

Gibson International

310-345-7082