I’m super excited about our new off market listing on a prime block, in a perfectly quiet central location, in Miracle Mile! The house is Mid-Century, built in 1957. It shows 2880 sq ft on title with 7 beds + 3 baths, on a 6600 sq ft lot, with a pool. The owner isn’t sure if the room at the back of the downstairs and the 2 rooms at the back of the upstairs, which were clearly additions, are included in the 2880 reported square feet or if those 3 rooms make the house measure larger. The house has a brand new roof (2025), and 5 or 6 years ago the owners put in all new vinyl windows throughout + new water heater + 2 new AC condensers + new electric panel. The owner’s plan is to sell the house now “as is” or to prepare it for sale once they move out. It feels cozy and sweet to visit the owners personally, doing off market showings, to agents and buyers who want to see now. As much as I love houses all beautiful and staged, I’m loving the almost daily interaction with the beautiful people inside a family home filled with 50 years of the owner’s stuff. It’s definitely the nice vibes coming from the sweet sellers that made a full price offer come in.
We sold a house off market last week, also showing it to one buyer at a time, and that experience was warm and fuzzy too. The sellers mused that they hear all the time that real estate deals are supposed to be difficult and hard, but their deal was smooth and pleasant. I told the sellers that the sentiments in a deal are a direct function of the people transacting; with stellar nice people on all sides real estate deals are a joy. And yet, even though the sale experience was sweet for everyone involved, the sellers found themselves grieving when the sale closed because the home held all their childhood memories; they relished spending time in their parents’ home and connecting to the people they loved almost all their life in that space. That grief is real and we see it often when grown adults sell their childhood home. I know the feeling personally – it’s so hard to lose parents and childhood homes. On the sale side, almost every buyer who saw the home wanted to own it because it’s a good house. I love to represent buyers, but only on houses I love for them to buy.
I’m loving doing open houses at 1284 S Orange, and I’m excited that we just dropped the price 100,000 to 2,395,000! The street is flat and right in the heart of the city (vs driving up into the hills), and so it’s a wonderful surprise to walk into a glorious view of Downtown LA and so many palm trees in the distance right when you enter! The owner did a fabulous job making the house absolutely beautiful and all new! I love houses that have so much public living space – there’s a family room, living room, sun room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, office, and a sprawling front lawn – in addition to the 3 bedrooms upstairs. Someone lucky is going to start the new year in a gorgeous new space and I can’t wait to meet them!
We leased 131 S Martel for 12,000 a month and the new tenants move in on Friday! We leased 239 S Orange immediately with multiple applications for 5800 a month to start; the landlords will be starting construction to turn the garages into a large ADU and once the construction is complete the rent will be adjusted higher. All the landlords and tenants are excited! We have a new lease at 147 S Poinsettia for 1 year while the owner pulls permits to add a second story to the house.
I’m grateful for the year 2025! I’m proud of our team that we closed 57 sales, representing 29 buyers and 28 sellers. With interest rates super low during Covid, and so many houses selling with multiple offers over asking, we were slammed representing mostly sellers. As interest rates went higher, and many sellers put the brakes on selling, it became fun to hunt for the right house at the right price + negotiate the right terms for buyers. While we always absolutely love representing houses + sellers, It was uber fun this year to represent buyers who scored great homes! We did 52 leases this year (also a function of high interest rates) so a total of 109 transactions for 2025! I absolutely love architecture and impeccable design so it’s always a dream and the world’s biggest treat to have the extreme honor to represent exquisite homes. I’m proud that we’ve earned a reputation for representing beautiful houses, expertly preparing them for sale, and accomplishing top dollar sales. As much as I love fine houses, I’m feeling lucky that this year we had the privilege to represent some of the finest people with sterling character, ethics, and manner of doing business. Representing both exquisite houses and exquisite people is the world’s biggest treat!
On a personal level, the biggest treat of 2025 for Seth and me is our son, Yakov, and daughter-in-law, Chassi and 2 grandchildren, Eliyahu and Nechama, moving near us! Last week, I heard that Eliyahu had a tough morning, so I volunteered to surprise him and pick him up from school. Eliyahu was curious when I appeared in his carpool line (for the first time) and I asked him if he was sad in the morning. He was. I asked why. He said…First of all, he loves the sweet cereal he gets to eat only on Shabbat morning and he really wanted some that morning but Mom said it was Wednesday. Second, he wanted to wear dress clothes and dance like he was at a wedding but Mom said it was Wednesday morning and time to get dressed and go to school. Third, last night he wanted to take a bath and splash water everywhere but Mom said if he needs to splash a lot it’s got to be in the shower where there are doors that close to keep the water in. Grandma came to cheer him up! Eliyahu chose Grandma’s house as his happy place! So we went home and ate a healthy snack, we schmoozed, he played Uno with Grandpa, we baked cookies with Nechama, and he went home feeling back to himself. On Thursday, Eliyahu saw hard boiled eggs on my kitchen counter and he said he loves hard boiled eggs. And Grandma. Actually, he loves Grandma more than hard boiled eggs. I get it. I love selling houses and playing with grandkids… I probably love Grandkids more than selling houses (but it’s a pretty close tie for both)!
Wishing everyone a cozy cloudy week ahead! The sun comes back on Wednesday!
Xoxoxo,
Sheri
