This Market Report is for the Whittier, California neighborhood known as Mar Vista Heights.  Here is information about Mar Vista Heights homes for sale, as well as homes that have sold in Mar Vista Heights. The Mar Vista Heights Whittier neighborhood consists of the area north of Mar Vista Street, east of College Avenue and west of Catalina Avenue.  The area is renowned for its beautiful homes and great views. This Market Report on Mar Vista Heights Homes for Sale will focus on Single Family Residences in this Whittier, California neighborhood. As of today, there are 7 Single Family Residences for sale in the Mar Vista Heights area.  The asking prices range from a low of $549,000 to a high of $860,000, with an average of $688,700. Two homes are currently in escrow. The last home sold in... 07/27/2009

This Market Report is for the Whittier, California neighborhood known as Uptown.  Here is information about Uptown homes for sale, as well as homes that have sold in Uptown. Uptown Whittier is the heart of Whittier.  It still has the old-fashioned feeling of being the center of a small town, with all of the small shops still owned by local businesses that line Greenleaf Avenue.  This Market Report on Uptown Homes for Sale will focus on Single Family Residences in this Whittier, California neighborhood. As of today, there are 5 Single Family Residences for sale in the Uptown area. Four homes are currently in escrow. One home was sold during the month of June. The average home in Uptown over the past 3 months took 199 days to sell.  The average home sale price was $403,541, or an average ... 07/26/2009

This Market Report is for the Whittier, California neighborhood known as Friendly Hills.  Here is information about Friendly Hills homes for sale, as well as homes that have sold in Friendly Hills, Whittier, California.. First, let me tell you what part of Whittier I am talking about.  Friendly Hills is located in the north and northeast portion of the City of Whittier.  As you rise from any other area up to the Friendly Hills, home prices generally rise with the elevation.  There are a few other hill areas within Whittier, such as Hadley Hills, Spy Glass Hill and Mar Vista Heights, but Friendly Hills is the most upscale of all Whittier neighborhoods. This Market Report on Friendly Hills Homes for Sale will focus on Single Family Residences in this Whittier, California neighborhood. As ... 07/26/2009

This Market Report is for the Whittier, California neighborhood known as Palm Park.  Here is information about Palm Park homes for sale, as well as homes that have sold in Palm Park. First, let me tell you what part of Whittier I am talking about.  Palm Park is anchored by the City of Whittier Palm Park, and bisected by the Greenway Trail.  Home prices are generally more expensive in the streets north of the Greenway trail than those south of the trail. This Market Report on Palm Park Homes for Sale will focus on Single Family Residences in this Whittier, California neighborhood. As of today, there are 3 Single Family Residences for sale in the Palm Park area. Eight homes are currently in escrow. Two homes were sold during the month of June. The average home in Palm Park over the past 3... 07/24/2009

My First Home was in the Whittwood area of Whittier, California.  My parents bought the home on La Forge Street when it was built, in 1952.  Those homes sold between $10,000 and $15,000, depending on the features and landscaping.  Today, the average price for homes in the Whittwood area is over $650,000; so, you could say there has been some real estate appreciation.  Our home was nice, with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms.  It was fully landscaped, with a new block wall surrounding the back yard.  It was in this back yard that I learned how to swing a baseball bat.We had a famous movie star living catty-corner to our back yard.  He was the child star Roger Mobley, who many people may remember as Gallagher, the kid detective in the Disney movies and TV specials.  Roger was a couple of year... 07/24/2009

This Market Report is for the Whittier, California neighborhood known as Whittwood.  Here is information about Whittwood homes for sale, as well as homes that have sold in Whittwood. First, let me tell you what part of Whittier I am talking about.  The Whittwood area is bordered on the west by Colima Road, on the north by Whittier Boulevard, on the east by First Avenue and on the south by Lambert Road.  Basically, the Whittwood neighborhood is centered around the Whittwood Town Center, south of Whittier Boulevard.  All homes referenced in this article are within this Whittwood neighborhood.  This Market Report on Whittwood Homes for Sale will focus on Single Family Residences in this Whittier, California neighborhood. As of today, there are 9 Single Family Residences for sale in the Whi... 07/23/2009

FHA has long been known as something Realtors® seem to avoid for one reason or the other. While FHA has loosened up some of their guidelines on FHA loans, the stigma remains and I've had some Realtors® tell me sellers would prefer cash offers and conventional offers first. The cash offers are a given, but conventional guidelines today have become so difficult to predict and so strict that you can't automatically consider that the better option. That doesn't mean that there isn't a better option. 203KS or 203K streamline loans have become a favorite in today's lending environment because it allows you to maintain the less stringent guidelines and bring the property up to FHA standards or better yet, up to your standards. The 203KS is the little brother to the standard 203K loans. The rep... 07/16/2009

$8,0000 Federal tax Credit to first time home buyers If this doesn't get people off the fence then I just don't know what will. I believe perhaps it takes time for folks to absorb the actuality of it. If it seems too good to be true...? Well, this is not... one of those times. This is one of those times when if you don't take advantage of the window of opportunity YOU ARE GOING TO MISS THE BOAT.  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes: •·          Anyone who has NOT owned a principal residence in the past three-years. •·          Not a vacation home, but primary residence. New or resale. •·          Title must close before December 01, 2009.    How is this home buyer tax credit different from the tax credit that Congress enacted in July of 2008?The most significan... 07/14/2009

They Sold! That's right, bank owned properties no longer dominate the Whittier real estate market.  Let's look as some numbers, as of July 11, 2009. Overall, properties for sale in Whittier have plummeted over the past year.  A little over a year ago, on May 25, 2008, there were 888 homes for sale in Whittier.  Now, there are only 339 homes for sale. A year ago, there were very few buyers.  Everyone was waiting for prices to go down.  They wanted to wait for the market to bottom out.  Now, with the Tax Credit, and prices being low, and interest rates being very low, the buyers are fighting tooth and nail over every home that comes on the market that is reasonably priced. Out of today's 339 homes for sale, only 31 of them are bank owned properties. Back in January 2009, there were 55 sal... 07/11/2009

Occasionally, some enterprising business person will come up with a very creative idea for marketing the business.  You know the old saying for Hollywood celebrities: "All press is good press."  The same can apply to businesses as well, at times. Like thousands of other Whittierites, I drive down Pickering Boulevard nearly every day.  My route passes by an old Volkswagen parts store that has had half of a VW body up on its wall for many years.  The funny thing is, I know that there was a mannequin in the VW before, but I don't remember what it looked like.  Now, they have a mannequin of Nadya Suleman, the infamous "Octomom", and eight babies in the VW bug, with a box of diapers on the roof. People who have never heard of the Gold Mine VW Auto Parts store have suddenly become aware of it... 07/05/2009

It has been nearly two years since I wrote a blog about the Weekly Family Fair in Uptown Whittier, where I mentioned Vinatero Wine Shop as one of my favorite places in Whittier. Since then, Vinatero Wine Shop has won two awards from myfoxla for "Best Wine Shop in the Los Angeles Area" for both 2007 and 2008.  Will they win again in 2009?  My money is on Vinatero! When you get up to the wine bar, you will be greeted with a smile by either Ernie or Lisa Ceja, the husband-wife team that owns the establishment.  If you want to learn about wine, then listen to the wisdom that comes from them as they pour you either a glass or a sample of wine.  In addition to a great variety of wines, they also carry numerous gourmet beers.  Vinatero Wine Shop is no stuffy, upper-crust establishment.  It's m... 06/21/2009

Newsweek Magazine just listed the top 1,500 public high schools in America for 2009, and two high schools in Whittier made the list:  Pioneer and Whittier High Schools. Pioneer High School rose to 1218, while Whittier High School came in at number 1365. All schools that are listed in the top1500 by Newsweek are in the top 6% of all public high schools in the country. -Blog End- _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ About the author: The above Best of Whittier Report on Newsweeks' Top High Schoolswas provided by Rob Willis, a locally recognized Realtor®. For Whittier real estate, see this website. Thinking about selling your home? Go to The Home Sale Site. I service the following towns in the greater Whittier area:  La Habra... 06/20/2009

Yesterday I installed a new dishwasher for my father.  The old one had been there for over 40 years, and it finally stopped rinsing the dishes clean. I had Sears deliver the new dishwasher and take away the old one.  Naturally, new dishwashers don't come with all the parts you need to connect them, and I needed some very specific parts to connect the water inlet to the machine. I took the time to read the directions and write down exactly what I needed:  a 90 degree brass NPT fitting to connect the water pipe to the dishwasher, a 5 foot long hose that needed to connect to the new fitting and to the 50 year old faucet.  I also wanted to upgrade the outlet with a GFCI. So, I took my list down to Battells Hardware store in Whittier and told them what I needed.  As usual, I found a very kno... 06/20/2009

SEE LINK: GREATEST VACATIONS....LINK:  www.clientappreciationprogramweb.com/baccaro_summer.pdf  Best Regards,   Renee Baccaro Realtor 06/15/2009

People often ask me, "Do you only sell homes in Whittier?"  And, I tell them, "No, I sell homes all over Southern California.  But, my home base is Whittier, and all of my marketing is focused on Whittier." I see Whittier as the hub of my real estate business.  It is centrally located, smack-dab in the middle of the Southland.  It is only 15 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, on the border of Orange County, just over the hill from the San Gabriel Valley a few miles up from the Port of Long Beach and an easy drive to just about anywhere you need to go.  The central location of Whittier is another reason why so many people choose to live in here, but are able to commute to Downtown L.A. or to Orange County, or even out to the Inland Empire.       You may occasionally hear people talk about... 06/11/2009

One of the more daunting obstacles for First Time Home Buyers is coming up with or spending on the down payment. In some cases, it takes years to come up with that much money and now we're asking for them to give it up. Here are five ideas for saving money replenish your bank accounts or come up with the down payment. The easiest, least painful way for you to save money is to set up an automatic draft in to a separate savings account. The main thing you'll notice is that you'll never miss it. This is a terrific way to save money. Fit it in to your budget and then forget about it. Even small amounts can add up. Set the draft up for $50 a week, save $2,600 a year. •2.       Save your raise A bad habit spenders develop is that of spending their money before they get it. Solution? Do the op... 06/08/2009

Bank owned homes are only a part of the picture of Whittier real estate.  Perhaps more interesting, is the change in housing supply from one year ago till now. A year ago, on May 25, 2008, there were 888 homes for sale in the City of Whittier. Today, June 8, 2009, there are 383 homes for sale in the City of Whittier.  In other words, there are 505 fewer homes for buyers to choose from. So, in the course of one year, we have gone from a strong Buyers' Market to a Sellers' Market. Don't let the news media tell you that it is a Buyers' Market, with plenty of home choices.  At least not in Whittier, if not in most of the rest of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. One year ago, on June 9, 2008, there were 8.8 months of housing supply in Whittier. Last month, May 2009, there were 118 homes sold... 06/08/2009

http://www.reneebaccaro.com/499096.html   06/01/2009

FOUST Team Listing Will Be Featured in LA Times   Just a quick heads up that one of our listings in the city of Whittier, CA will soon be featured in an upcoming article on real estate in the area. The listing is this 3 bedroom 2 bath 1800 square foot home in the popular Morningside community. The author of the story should be Lauren Beale and we imagine the spotlight section should take place in the real estate section.This is just another example of how a strong web presence pays big dividends in the current real estate market. We'd like to thank the LA Times for featuring us and invite all interested parties to check out our Whittier real estate and Whittier homes for sale pages. 05/17/2009

Dear Friends,   While the whole world is engulfed in Swine Flu hysteria, we take a look at the facts and fiction surrounding the H1N1 Flu virus.   www.clientappreciationprogramweb.com/baccaro_flu.pdf 05/15/2009