Apparently El Sid hangs with Orlando Bloom in her spare time

WHOA! (Or do I mean Woe? Hmmm.)

PEOPLE! I have a shocking announcement. Are you sitting? Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Ready?

The Case-Shiller year-over-year decline for LOS ANGELES of April 1991 vs. April 1990(a.k.a. the begining of the last bust in housing) was 7.16%.

Do you know what the year-over-year decline for LOS ANGELES was for October 2007 vs. October 2006? Do you?! *drum roll*

8.83% !

That's a record.

Source. (Note: It's in MS Excel)

The S&P Graph

(Click to englarge)

Have you guys seen this? It's a graph of the year-over-year percentage change in the Case-Shiller Index. I hadn't seen the data represented this way before and thought y'all would be interested.

Source.

Update on that house on Bucknell

Back on August 14, 2007 I told you abe a house that was foreclosed and then resold to Mr. Mosher who tried to flip it. He held the property for six months and it went inactive today (unclear as to whether it sold or not). Between carrying costs and transaction fees, and possibly some repairs, he took a hit. Anyhoo, check it out:


5703 BUCKNELL AVENUE, Valley Village, CA 91607
(MLS #F1729038)

Property Shark details:
12/21/95:
$148.5k Grant Deed from Bin, Fred & Anna to Garcia, Joel & Hayde

07/07/99:
$000 Grant Deed from Garcia, Joel to Garcia, Hayde

04/23/07:
$451k Trustee's sale from Alliance Title to HSBC Bank

07/03/07:
$534k Grant Deed HSBC Bank to Mosher, Michael

Listed by Mosher on 08/01/07.

Price Reduced: 08/14/07 -- $719,000 to $689,999
Price Reduced: 08/25/07 -- $689,999 to $670,000
Price Reduced: 08/27/07 -- $670,000 to $659,999
Price Reduced: 08/28/07 -- $659,999 to $649,999
Price Reduced: 09/13/07 -- $649,999 to $634,999
Price Reduced: 10/13/07 -- $634,999 to $619,999
Price Reduced: 10/31/07 -- $619,999 to $599,999 (16.55% down)

08/14/07: Zestimate™ $645,201

12/27/07: Zestimate™ $577,913 (10.43% down)

Honeybaked Ham: The Skinny

So! My parents insisted that there be a ham for their Christmas dinner. So I did what any good daughter would do and got a Honeybaked Ham (I have a day job, I cannot be preparing hams). But y'all, the store was crowded and I did not ask questions and then I realized... ham probably needs to be heated. How does one do this? So I did what anybody in my situation would do... Google! And guess what y'all? Honeybaked hams should not be re-heated. Nope. Check it out:

Debbie Domer, director of marketing for Honey Baked Ham, says: “The ham has already been fully cooked and smoked for up to 24 hours,” she explains. “It’s very delicate, so we recommend bringing it out (of the fridge) about 30 minutes before serving so it will come to room temperature.” Not only can heating a Honey Baked Ham dry it out, it can turn that signature, crunchy honey coating into mush, Domer says.

The 50-year-old company still sells more hams at Christmas, but Easter is the second-biggest time of year, Domer says. And if you’re wondering, the Southern United States is the country’s biggest consumer of hams. Honey Baked Ham is well known for its honey glaze and its precut “spiral sliced” hams, which the company says makes for easy serving. But there are lots of other places to buy a ham in town. And you don’t necessarily need a spiral cut to enjoy some of that falling-off-the-bone hammy goodness.

From Reader Rich

KICKAPOO TRAIL, Chatsworth, CA 91311
MLS #: F1747435

This blog doesn't normally venture so far North in the Valley, but we are making an exception for this submission by Reader Rich.

First: Hee! Because I have the same sense of humor, apparently, as a 9-year-old boy I think it's funny that this house is located on Kickapoo Trail. Get it? Kick a poo? Ha! Okay, sorry.

So, this house is located in the Pornography Capital of the World (whatever, you can say it's Tokyo all you want, everybody knows Chatsworth is REALLY the capital), and granted it is likely a tear down, but I don't think there was a mansion on the land the last time it sold. So how do you justify the 44.71% haircut? See below for the dirty details.

Last Sale: 08/10/06
Sales Price: $520,000
Current List: $287,500

Bedrooms: 2
Full Baths: 1
Square Feet: 758
Lot Size: 13,939 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1946
Listing Date: 12/21/07

Still looking for little cash back, eh?

Check out this Redfin blog post written by an appraiser who asked a few too many questions. Here are a few highlights:

"... I noticed that the purchase contract is for the amount of $620,000. But when I met with the seller at the house, he tells me that there is another purchase contract floating around somewhere for the amount of $680,000."

"I asked him, in this market, how did he get from $620,000 to $680,000? Did the buyer agree to this increase and is the contract fully executed (meaning has it been signed by both buyer and seller)? He then told me his loan broker determined the new price and needed the value to be increased to make this deal work."

"Because there was so much confusion, I pulled out my cell phone to call the loan origination manager at my office with the hopes to clear up some of these questions. He reached over and yanked the phone out of my hand and said to me, 'I don’t want the appraisal anymore. You can go.' "

Property Shark's REO & NOD Map

UPDATE: Here's a link to the map page. Click the green bar that says "Get More Maps" and then you will see the foreclosure overlay options.

Curious if your neigborhood is foreclosure hell? Now you can checkout the trustee sales (red dot) and notices of default (purple dot) at a glance at Property Shark.

(Click to enlarge map)

Wow. Check out this haircut:

11975 SUNSHINE TERRACE, Studio City, CA 91604
MLS #: F1745760

Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 3
Square Feet: 2,543
Lot Size: 6,435 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1965
Listing Date: 11/30/07
List Price: $775k
Price Reduced: 12/15/07: $775k to $730k (down 5.81%)

Last Sale: 05/16/06
Sales Price: $1,400,000
Zestimate™ $1,562,859

We're talking about a $670k haircut. And you gotta love the MLS description:

"Previous owner was in the process of remodeling - come and bring your ideas and make this home yours! Tax rolls shows 5 bedrooms, 3 baths but upstairs bedroom does not have a closet."

So not about Real Estate....

I love me some Project Runway. And this week one of my very favorite contestants -- JACK -- left the show for personal reasons. But today, I was thrilled to discover -- through a video post -- that Jack is just fine after all. And if this video doesn't make you happy, well, I feel sorry for you.




Thanks to the boys at Project Rungay for the clip!

Really? This is still going on?

14347 KILLION STREET, Sherman Oaks, CA 91401

The MLS description reads:

"Huge price reduction!!! Motivated seller!!!!Charm house on a quiet cul de sac street. 3 bedroom + 2 bathroom. Master bedroom leading to a backyard and spa. Fully remodeled and upgraded property. Ready to move in. "

So, how much you wanna bet this listing goes inactive in a day or two? It's just had the telltale price increase:

Price Reduced: 12/06/07 -- $825,000 to $749,900

Price Increased: 12/07/07 -- $749,900 to $780,900

Either they got cold feet, or at least one buyer is still squeezing out the cash-back-at-close deal.

Foreclosure Data from the Good People at PROPERTYSHARK!

(Click to enlarge any image, Sugar.)
You can read the official PR yourself here. More details may follow later today.

But the highlights are:

PropertyShark.com recorded 2436 first time trustee sales in Los Angeles during November 2007, 13.09% higher than last month and 233.7% higher than the same month in 2006.




The top six zip codes for Los Angeles County foreclosures were in Lancaster and Palmdale.



Aren't you impressed with how quickly they get out their data?

I heart PropertyShark! Go on... check them out. Shoo.

Still talkin' about SHORT SALES

3909 LONGVIEW VALLEY ROAD, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
MLS #F1734331
Price Reduced: 09/18/07 -- $815k to $799k
Price Reduced: 10/30/07 -- $799k to $780k
Price Reduced: 12/04/07 -- $780k to $720k

Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 1,256
Lot Size: 6,307 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1952
Listing Date: 09/13/07 (This is a relisting)
List Price: $720K
Last Sale: 10/25/05
Sales Price: $740,000

Zestimate™ $786,190

Another short sale...

14707 ROUND VALLEY DRIVE, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
(photo not yet available)
MLS #: F1745563
Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 1,014
Lot Size: 14,820 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1954
Listing Date: 12/04/07
List Price: $685k
Last Sale: 07/20/06
Sales Price: $856,000
Zestimate™ $903,813

I scream, you scream, we all scream for SHORT SALES.

5448 ALLOTT AVENUE, Sherman Oaks, CA 91401

MLS #: F1745058

Bedrooms: 2
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 1,600
Lot Size: 7,300 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1933
Listing Date: 11/28/07
List Price: $799k

Last Sale: 11/28/06
Sales Price: $803,000
Zestimate™ $829,932

3933 GLENRIDGE DRIVE, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

MLS #: F1744507

Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 2,117
Lot Size: 7,630 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1953
Listing Date: 11/26/07
List Price: $849K

Last Sale: 05/07/07
Sales Price: $1,275,000
Zestimate™ $1,248,769

14755 VALLEYHEART DRIVE, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

MLS #: F1744945

Bedrooms: 3
Baths: 2
Square Feet: 1,566
Lot Size: 7,530 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1952
Listing Date: 11/29/07
List Price: $749k

Last Sale: 01/30/06
Sales Price: $749,000 (okay, technically, not a short sale YET)
Zestimate™ $792,246

FOR YOU CONDO SHOPPERS:

4360 VENTURA CANYON AVENUE #2, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

MLS #: F1741276

Bedrooms: 2
Full Baths: 2.5
Square Feet: 1,359
Lot Size: 940 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1999
Listing Date: 10/15/07
List Price: $560k

Last Sale: 01/24/07
Sales Price: $690,000
Zestimate™ $560,390

Flippity Flop! Watch the price drop!

4507 VARNA AVENUE, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
MLS# F1743246 Zestimate™ $764,567

UPDATE: Price Reduced (12/16/07) $869k to $839k (down 3.45%)

Also, did I mention this house has NO BATHTUB? Yup. Remodeling genius!

Bedrooms: 2
Baths: 1.5
Square Feet: 1,598
Lot Size: 8,100 Sq. Ft.
Year Built: 1949
Listing Date: 11/11/07
List Price: $869k (SNARF!)

So, if you read my occasional posts on L.A. Land you may recall the last house on which E and I officially bid (pictured above); I posted about it here. We were pretty disappointed when we didn't get this house because we loved it. But the winning bidder offered way over list (which was a bit of a head scratcher for us because it was a slightly over priced fixer to begin with). We figured the current owners must have loved it way more than we did.

Or not. Because now it's back on the market. So either they got themselves into a heap of financial woe or they were competing for the title "Dumbest Flippers of All Time". I suspect it was the latter.

Anyhoo... I thought y'all would enjoy watching them go down in flames because, in my mind, they stand for everything that is wrong with the housing market today: (1) they bought a house that they either couldn't afford or had no plans to live in; (2) they did a cheap interior reno (no additional square footage) and expect to see a profitable return after a mere 5 months holding period; and (3) they got cash back at close and (temporarily at least) drove up the comps in the neighborhood.

This house won't sell for a dime over $720k (which is about $70k less than they paid). Mark my words.