The question is should I wait for Prices to drop? What if rates go up? As a Southern California Realtor I monitor the Real Estate Market very closely as well as the economic indicators. I feel like I should  just scream, when I hear Respected  Economists,  members of the Federal Reserve Board and Politicians speak and creating misinformation to potential buyers and creating potential future economic problems for us, as well as the rest of the world.Many buyers are listening and hearing that there is another wave of price drops in the works due to more Loans Re-setting.  So is it in their best interest to wait till prices drop some more? Then I am listening to one of the members of the Federal Reserve Board giving a speech that the government should raise the Interest Rate since the econ... 06/05/2010

In an interview with Better TV, Valerie talks about the importance in finding creative solutions to business and personal challenges. "When you start being creative things start transforming in your business, personal and physical worlds and the process gets you on the right path," says Valerie. Three Tips for Achieving Success in This Economy... 1. Be Consistent. 2. Prioritize Your Lists. 3. Organize and Create Support Systems. For more tips on how to reinvent your life check out Valerie's book Heart and Sold: How to Survive and Build a Recession-Proof Business at Amazon.com. 06/04/2010

I apologize in advance for the recent lack of posts! Things have been extremely busy on this end, including a Memorial Day move over the weekend. From my move comes some invaluable information that will be useful to rich kids everywhere! When you are looking for a new home (lease or buy), there are various schools of thought. Do you want a bigger space in an area that's nice, but isn't your dream location or would you prefer to have a smaller place in a prime location that needs some work? For me personally, I chose the latter. If you've read my Rich Kids Guide to Leasing, my first mantra is, "If you like it, take it". This is not a home purchase that requires a lot of thought. If you find a great deal in an amazing neighborhood, snatch it up ASAP because someone else will. In my case, ... 06/03/2010

In an interview on The Creating Wealth Show, Matthew Montagu-Pollock, the head of Global Property Guide, discussed his observations of the current state of the world’s real estate markets. From Australia to South America, he outlines what investors should be paying attention to in order to formulate smart investment strategies. From www.nuwireinvestor.com. Australia and New Zealand Real Estate Matthew launches this guided investment tour in Australia and New Zealand where favorable lending rates have helped markets buck the latest downward trend. Unfortunately, rates suppressed in the interest of economic recovery inevitably rise, and prices haven’t fallen far enough to warrant “a happy investor strategy.” As with much of the world’s property market, Matthew recommends delaying entry 3... 06/01/2010

Stewart Penn | Penn Properties | 310.844.6515 200 Swall Drive #PH1, Beverly Hills, CA Magnificent Penthouse in Full-Service Building 2BR/2BA Condo $3,500/month Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Sq Footage 1,440 Parking 2 dedicated Pet Policy No pets Deposit $7,000 DESCRIPTION Magnificent Penthouse in full service, security building in the heart of Beverly Hills. Spacious bedrooms on either side of the unit, each with their own marble baths and large organized walk-in closets. Master bedroom accesses the patio. Formal entry with coat closet. large living room has a fireplace and built-ins and opens onto a large patio. Well equipped kitchen with eat-in area. Freshly painted. Laundry room. This wonderful security full service building has a heated pool, spa, mens and womans sauna, fu... 05/30/2010

Stewart Penn | Penn Properties | 310.844.6515 200 Swall Drive #PH1, Beverly Hills, CA Magnificent Penthouse in Full-Service Building 2BR/2BA Condo $3,500/month Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Sq Footage 1,440 Parking 2 dedicated Pet Policy No pets Deposit $7,000 DESCRIPTION Magnificent Penthouse in full service, security building in the heart of Beverly Hills. Spacious bedrooms on either side of the unit, each with their own marble baths and large organized walk-in closets. Master bedroom accesses the patio. Formal entry with coat closet. large living room has a fireplace and built-ins and opens onto a large patio. Well equipped kitchen with eat-in area. Freshly painted. Laundry room. This wonderful security full service building has a heated pool, spa, mens and womans sauna, fu... 05/29/2010

Shannon grew up in the Windy City where she developed a strong desire to experience the world and immerse herself in its different cultures.  After graduating from American University in Washington, D.C., she spent time living in Turkey, Jordan, and Morocco.  While abroad, Shannon developed close friendships that eventually became part of her network of high net-worth and foreign business associates.   Shannon began her career on Wall Street as a trader for an institutional stockbroker.   A few years later, she realized that it was time to combine her business savvy with her passion for working with people. Shannon moved to Los Angeles to pursue her true calling: devoting herself to putting people in their dream homes.    Over the past few years, Shannon has placed her high-profile clie... 05/27/2010

With mortgage rates near record lows, homeowners are applying to refinance their loans at the highest rate in seven months, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said Wednesday. The volume of refinancings jumped 17% last week as the average contract rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage sank to 4.80% from 4.83% a week earlier, the mortgage trade group said. It was the highest volume since  October, according to the group's weekly report on home loan applications. Refinance applications had begun to surge two weeks earlier as global investors worried about the European debt crisis fled to the perceived safety of U.S. Treasury securities. That drove down the yield on Treasuries and mortgage rates followed, as they generally do. Although the latest surge is powerful, it doesn't compare with the tidal wav... 05/27/2010

Christophe Choo of the Christophe Choo Real Estate Group at Coldwell Banker Beverly Hills takes you on a tour of L.A.'s most exclusive private jewelry salon.Tallarico Precious Jewelry8442 Melrose PlaceThe PenthouseLos Angeles,  CA  90069Don & Judy Tallarico(310)782-6000www.TallaricoDesigns.comDmt@TallaricoDesigns.comThe Christophe Choo Real Estate GroupBeverly Hills Real Estate - http://www.ChristopheChoo.comColdwell Banker Previews InternationalBeverly Hills301 North Canon Drive, Suite EBeverly Hills, California 90210Direct line: (310)777-6342Email: Christophe@ChristopheChoo.comLooking for homes, condominiums or investment properties in the Los Angeles Westside areas such as Beverly Hills, Bel Air Holmby Hills, and the Hollywood Hills?  Find ALL the homes & properties for sale at: Bev... 05/26/2010

Even though the home buyer tax credit expired on April 30, 2010 and won’t be renewed, there may never be a better time to buy a home than today, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Many outstanding opportunities still exist for home buyers, but they may not be around forever. “The home buyer tax credit was just one of many factors motivating Americans to buy homes,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “But buyers can still take advantage of today’s low interest rates and competitive prices to get a home they may not have been able to purchase just a few years ago.” Besides mortgage interest rates that have been hovering at near-record lows, homes in many markets have become more affordable. Prices have moderated fro... 05/26/2010

Learn more about Christophe Choo and the Christophe Choo Real Estate Group at Coldwell Banker Previews International Beverly Hills. The Christophe Choo Real Estate GroupBeverly Hills Real Estate - http://www.ChristopheChoo.comColdwell Banker Previews InternationalBeverly Hills301 North Canon Drive, Suite EBeverly Hills, California 90210Direct line: (310)777-6342Email: Christophe@ChristopheChoo.comLooking for homes, condominiums or investment properties in the Los Angeles Westside areas such as Beverly Hills, Bel Air Holmby Hills, and the Hollywood Hills?  Find ALL the homes & properties for sale at: Beverly Hills Real Estate - http://www.ChristopheChoo.comLos Angeles Homes  http://www.ChristopheChoo.com 05/24/2010

The Obama administration recently announced that its program to prevent foreclosures has continued to make slow but steady progress, with the number of homeowners who have received permanently modified mortgages up about 13% in April 2010. The 295,348 permanent modifications amount to about a quarter of the 1.2 million trial modifications started under the program, which began last year. During the trial, banks and mortgage servicers reduced a homeowner’s monthly payment for 90 days, with a median reduction of about $500. If the homeowner made the payments and submitted additional paperwork, the servicer made the modification permanent and became eligible for cash incentives from the government. The Los Angeles-Orange County area now accounts for the most active trial and permanent modi... 05/19/2010

Changes taking effect June 1 are part of Fannie Mae’s ‘loan quality initiative’ to cut down on slipshod underwriting and fraud by borrowers. If you’re thinking about applying for a home mortgage this year, here’s some important news: Beginning June 1, your lender is likely to order a second full credit screening immediately before closing. The last-minute credit report will be designed to find out whether you’ve obtained — or even shopped for — new debt between the date of your loan application and the closing. If you’ve made applications for credit of any type — for furnishings and appliances for the new house, a car, landscaping, a home equity line, a new credit card — the closing could be put on hold pending additional research by the lender. If you’ve taken out new loans that are s... 05/18/2010

There are ample reasons why one would want to live in Beverly Hills, but one of the biggest is for the school system. Beverly Hills Unified School District is considered by many to be one of the finest in the country and most certainly in Los Angeles County. For all of you older rich kids, do you remember on the original 90210 when Andrea used to take the bus from the Van Nuys to BH every day so that she could get a stellar education at the fictitious West Beverly  (side note: apparently Beverly Hills is now an ocean front community - perhaps the big one hit and we lost all of West LA -  as the new West Beverly on the CW's 90210 is on a cliff over looking the ocean, but I digress...not that I watch it or anything...)? Anyway, the BH school district was like a swat team looking for a mur... 05/14/2010

RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, has released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for April 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 333,837 properties in April, a 9 percent decrease from the previous month and a 2 percent decrease from April 2009. One in every 387 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month. “There were two important milestones in the April numbers that show foreclosure activity has begun to plateau — but at a very high level that will not drop off in the near future,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “April was the first month in the history of our report with an annual decrease ... 05/13/2010

Home values in most U.S. markets continued to decline in the first quarter of 2010, as the Zillow Home Value Index fell 3.8 percent year-over-year, and 1 percent quarter-over-quarter, to $183,700. However, home values in several large California markets show signs of having reached a bottom, according to the first quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Housing market conditions varied across the country, and home values in most markets (106 of the 135 tracked by Zillow) continued to decline on a year-over-year basis. Additionally, negative equity across the country remained high, with 23.3 percent of single-family homes with mortgages underwater, up from 21.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. Foreclosures reached a new peak in March, with more than one out of every 1,000 (0.11 ... 05/11/2010

There was a flurry of activity over the holidays from buyers trying to meet the deadlines for the $8000 Federal First Time Homebuyer's Tax Credit, which has now left the building along with Elvis. If you were one of those people who either didn't find your dream pad in time or are now just beginning your hunt, you may be in luck! As of May 1st, Cali has introduced a $10,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers or for buyers who are not property virgins, but are planning on purchasing/owner occupying new construction. Let me just preface this post by saying that I am not an accountant nor an expert on taxes. I did however place a call to my accountant so that I could give you the the quick and dirty, Cliff's Notes version of the bill (AB 183). Here's the skinny as I understand it: The St... 05/10/2010

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.00% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 6, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.06%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.84%. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.36% with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.39%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.51%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.97% this week, with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.00%. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.90%. The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.07% this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it a... 05/10/2010

Single Family Open Houses in Beverly Hills,  Sunday, May 9th - 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Search Beverly Hills properties for sale 05/08/2010

Pending home sales increased again in March 2010, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3% to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1% above March 2009 when it was 85.0; this follows an 8.3% increase in February. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said favorable affordability conditions have been working with the tax credit. “Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lo... 05/06/2010