Beverly Hills, CA Real Estate News

By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Memorial Day: Remember & Honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice....As most of you know Memorial Day is a federal holiday which honors and remembers the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U. S. Military. It is observed every year on the last Monday of May.Seems like almost every year I write a post and the message is always the same please do not confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day. I decided this year to write it sooner than later to get the word out.Here are some interesting historical facts about Memorial Day: Memorial Day began as Decoration Day and was started on May 5th, 1868. Memorial Day has only been observed on the last Monday of May since 1971. Memorial Day has its own unique flag etiquette. Waterloo, New York is considered the birthplac...
Comments 29
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
 “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius is my go-to book any time of the day. As some of you that know me well are aware, I keep the book “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius within hand reach on my desk.  I find inspiration, solace and peace whenever I read a few quotes or chapters from this book.  You may or may not know that this Roman Emperor had no intention of publishing his great philosophical diary; instead, Marcus Aurelius wrote this for himself. It reminds me of being on our Active Rain platform.  We write for various reasons, sometimes to get future business and sometimes to get recognition from our fellow realtors on our achievements.  We also write to build connections and form referral relationships.  Over the years I have noticed that in spite of how the platform changed, friendshi...
Comments 21
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Speechless Sunday: Repurposing is important. Having grown up with parents who have been up and down the economic ladder, I learned that repurposing is important.Perfect example is this fantastic Jar great to get the benefit of what is inside and then all you have to do is clean it out and is perfect for other benefits as well.Just ask anyone who read my post you can even use it as a stemless wine glass:)) Wishing you a safe and healthy life and I look forward to your comments. If you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly! If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else c...
Comments 8
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Serendipity Sunday: Nine simple but powerful messages on one  Plaque   caught my attention.  For me the hardest message is to be kind, that is a work in progress for me, which is the hardest one for you to achieve?  Now, if you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly!If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, ...
Comments 22
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Speechless Sundays: Just a Motivational Moment...   Now, if you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly!If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle and sell the most difficult properties that no one else could, please reach out to me directly!! If you are considering buying or selling a home, a luxury home, luxury investment real estate, luxury vacation homes, or luxury beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu, feel free to contact me at 310.486.1002 (m) or homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.end...
Comments 17
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
The Beverly Hills 90210  Single Family Market Trends Report is published. Interestingly all the people are interested and they will be pleasantly surprised that the market is strong and fine unlike what you read in some of the National Media...So with that said let's look at the Active Statistics aka what is available for sale:As you can inventory is still tight month over month not much difference between last year and this year. Now let's look at the number of Closed Sales:Again I do not see a great deal of difference month over month it is one less sale compared to the year before and three sales still better than the year before.The next critical area to look at is the Days on Market, usually that is a good indicator as to how the market is doing. Well from all those who complain th...
Comments 12
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Almost Speechless Sundays: French Onion Soup Bouchon Style...If you are a lover of French Onion Soups, then my advice is for you to either go to Uber Chef's Thomas Keller's  Restaurant aka Bouchon and have them serve you the best French Onion Soup ever. Now if you are like me, the proud owner of his Cook Book and  having six or eight hours to play with between answering calls and emails. Well in that case make it yourself. If you are intrigued I would be happy to share my  take on Thomas Keller's Recipe of the French Onion Soup.  Now, if you are looking for a knowledgeable, focused and goal-oriented Realtor in the Beverly Hills area who will help you achieve your Real Estate goals, please reach out to me directly!If you are looking for a pet friendly Beverly Hills Realtor who can handle...
Comments 13
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
How much do you think a 'name change' is worth in the marketing and selling in the Ultra Luxury Real Estate Marketing Beverly Hills? This question was inspired by a vacant land listing, which has recently hit the market in the coveted 90210 zip code.Just to give a little background here in Beverly Hills and vicinity, the Ultra Luxury Homes, as well as the Ultra Luxury vacant parcels of land, all have names. If you Google, their names, you will learn a great deal of their colorful histories as well as of their owners. Let me give you a few examples: (1) “Owlwood Estate”, (2) Fleur de Lys, (3) The Manor, and (4) The Enchanted Hills.  Anyway, you get the idea, at the same time you will notice, I only mentioned properties that were north of $100 million. Go ahead try it out!Currently there ...
Comments 30
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
The Enchanted Hills in Beverly Hills 90210, a Private Invitation Only PreviewMost of you who read my Blog Posts are very familiar with the fact, that I list and sell a great many Vacant Parcels of Land in the Los Angeles area. Just to be clear, I list and sell vacant land from the low end to the Ultra Luxury Price points in the greater Los Angeles area.  I was honored to receive an INVITATION ONLY email from the Listing Team. No confirmation needed, just be there. No phone follow-up: are you coming? Clearly, they knew, I would be there.This very special parcel of land consists of 120 acres with some fantastic views of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City and the possibilities are virtually limitless. There are five pads that have been graded and all the utilities are in place. This of cou...
Comments 40
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Skimming Active Rain Market Reports might not be a good idea if you are trying to write your own sensationalized article. My advice is, it is better to read the explanations and the interpretations, rather than just skim them, since they are written by Local Realtors, who know what their local markets are like. (I get it, Market Reports can be a bit dry, never the less, it might help understanding the Real Estate Market)Most of my readers know, that I try to address bad information no matter who the source is and try to correct it. Recently, I have written a few market reports and indicated, that it is not as wild as it was a year ago when it comes to finding properties. Now let’s be clear, instead of 20 -30 offers on the properties now we are seeing one to three offers on the well-pric...
Comments 33
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
I have been a Beverly Hills Realtor for over 22+ years and have sold many properties, from Ultra Luxury homes to modest homes. I have also sold modest condominiums to Ultra Luxury Condominiums in the greater Los Angeles area. Then to boot I have sold very inexpensive vacant lots to super expensive vacant lots in the Greater Los Angeles area. The real common denominator was always, that we had happy sellers and we had happy buyers.I have received many awards from the companies I worked for, so  it is clear that I have been successful year after year. now the amazing part of this journey has been that not everyone sent me a Thank You Note or a Thank You Card. The ones that did are very special in my heart.Not everyone wrote a Review on the Z platform... not everyone wrote a private messag...
Comments 29
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
What comes to your mind when someone says: Pick a Niche that will make you Rich?Well not wanting to overthink the question “Rich” has many meanings to me and not all of it is financially connected. In fairness to disclosure this post is submitted for an Active Rain Challenge.To summarize the requirements:  You get to keep all your present skills, education and experience, but you must start your real estate business completely over today. You have no database, no leads, no prior sales; it's ground zero, day one!I have had three Niche specialties for the past 22+ years but I can only pick one for this challenge. Hence, I chose the Greater Los Angeles Land Specialist as my Niche again😊. Since I have been the ‘go to’ person for the past 22+ years from Malibu to Mount Washington in the Grea...
Comments 33
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
As I mentioned in my title Events can happen and that in turn cause changes on a moment’s notice. Some of these changes in turn could be life changing for a short period or a long period of time. Then again, some life changing events can create permanent changes. So, the real issue is how do you handle the changes?I try to live my life and treat other people in a good way as if it was the last time I will have the opportunity to deal with them either because of me or because of their own life changing events. Keeping in mind it does not always work. There are times I revert to my less kind and less forgiving and less tolerant person that I can be.There is an old and time-tested saying, that the key is not what happens to you, it is how you react to what happened to you. In other words, ...
Comments 14
By Rob Spinosa, SVP of Mortgage Lending, Marin County
(Guaranteed Rate, Marin County, CA)
Three Ways to Get a Great Jumbo Loan for Under $20  I think I've made it clear before that I find no shame in talking about how hard we work for our clients.  My assistant, Debbie, and I see a good number of mortgage applications come across our desks every week and in 2018, 60% of them have been for jumbo home loans, which means that our borrowers must demonstrate strong credit depth by way of an adequate number of tradelines on their credit report.  Gone are the days when one could just have a decent FICO score in order to cross credit concerns off of the loan approval list.   When we talk about credit tradelines and credit depth, most of the prominent jumbo mortgage banks like to see recent credit activity (that is, use of credit and timely payment) to consider any account active.  A...
Comments 3
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
How will the decreased value of Facebook effect your Real Estate Marketing?             Facebook   In my opinion marketing is often considered one of the important ways Realtors generate new clients to augment their repeat client base as well as their referral client base.In fairness to disclosure, I have never been a fan of Facebook, and it started way back to its inception. There were people playing games which I do not even know what they were called, I thought were a total time waster. I looked at it as mediocre entertainment, that would just take away my valuable time from other activities. I also did not like the way the platform was acquired from the original inventors.Yes, I have a personal page that is mostly inactive, except for me pushing out my Active Rain Blog Posts. In add...
Comments 46
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
How to make healthier Potato Leek SoupBy popular request here is my version of a healthier potato leek soup. First in fairness to disclosure, I modified the Kettle & Fire’s recipe to better suite our tastes.The key reason this soup is healthier, because I do not use butter, nor heavy cream and also do not use heavy starched potatoes to make this soup. I have always added Cauliflower to lighten the soup. Most people cannot tell that there is cauliflower in the soup and that is the main ingredient that makes it lighter and healthier. Now this time I learned something else to add to the soup and I loved it.So, with that said let’s look at the ingredients:         Two large leeks white and green parts separated and chopped into ½ inch pieces         About three tablespoons or so, cold press...
Comments 20
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Do you know the difference between Broth, Stock and Bone Broth? Well I know some people might say no and who cares? Others might say no please tell me😊!I was inspired to share the answer to the question by one of our friend’s comments on one of my recent post.: What the real difference between Bone Broth and Stock and Broth is. As most of you know, I have been cooking for a while now and I remember learning 40+ years ago, that broth was just plain broth. None called it bone broth, because it was not! In those days we made broth from meat and vegetables and simmered it in water. That is how my mother cooked soup. The more flavorful way to cook soup in those days was, by making Stock. Stock was made by roasting the bones and vegetables and there might have even had some meat on it.Over th...
Comments 25
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
In remembrance of Bastille Day: a back-yard celebration moved to the dining room...Diane came back from walking dogs all day at the Lange Foundation, she was ready for wine and an appetizer. So quickly I opened a nice French Rose and made some appetizers. The idea was to focus on the Red-White and Blue. Clearly Cheese represented the White and the Baby San Marzano Tomatoes the red and clearly the Blueberries the Blue, easy to make and great with a nice Rose’.   Then we graduated to the Dining room and I made a Sole Meuniere with red baby potatoes and French string beans. Instead of Sole I substituted Pacific Cod since I find it is more flavorful. That was followed by some French Macaroons and a few other pastries since Diane loves Creampuffs and I love Chocolate Cake we had the best of ...
Comments 17
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
It is always nice to be appreciated and thanked for a job well done!I have said this before and I will say it again: I provide the same client service to everyone of my clients. I give 100% of what I have. I heard often people say I give 110% and now the hip cool and trendy thing to say is I gave 150%. The reality is not everyone appreciates it, or shows appreciation, but the real story is every one gets 100% from me! YOU CAN NOT GIVE MORE THA 100 PER CENT!!!Let me go back to the ultimate coach John Wooden, he said it better than anyone I have ever heard so please let me share it here:The Goal is 100 per cent!!!!“…I was also honest in saying that I expected them to give everything they had in trying to reach perfection. That’s what we worked toward. Let’s see how close we can get. We wo...
Comments 26
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
I remember going to cocktail parties, social gatherings in the early 2000's and people would constantly ask me " So How is the Real Estate Market?" I would laugh and would tell them: " do not look at Real Estate as the stock market... it is a long term proposition" , they of course would not listen and just wanted statistics. So I would just simply tell them it was Hot... because when I asked about what area they are interested in? Then when I asked them what type of properties they were asking about? Is this about Investment Properties in Los Angeles? Or is this about luxury homes in Beverly Hills? Or is this about vacant lots in the Hollywood Hills? They did not want to engage and the ones that did got the right answers.Anyway my point is we are heading in the same direction, people a...
Comments 19
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
I find it frustarating when I hear fellow agents grousing that the market is this, or the market is that. The reality is fewer agents are making money so they are blaming everyone and every thing. The market has slowed, things are not happening etc. I get annoyed and at times tell them to go somewhere else and spew their negative information. So with that said I was inspired to write this Market Trends Report and you will agree with me that the Market is hot. Well see for yourself:Lets be realistinc when there are only 39 Condominiums on the Market for Sale there will be a lot of Agents Groussing!!!When the Median Days on market is 10 you know it is a Hot and Fast Market. If you are a buyer you better be ready to jump on the property. If you are a seller you better be packed ready to mo...
Comments 17
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
“Alibi”, by Joseph Kanon a book review by Endre Barath,Jr. a Beverly Hills RealtorI have been so busy with day to day activities, that I have not had a chance to write a book review in a while. As most of you who know me well, also know that I love to read. I have finished this book a few weeks ago and meant to write about it…My first book that I read by Joseph Kanon was “Leaving Berlin”, clearly, I became a fan, hence I started trying to find other ones by him. Lucky for me he did write a few. Ironically now I will always use “Leaving Berlin” as the bench mark.Anyway, his style is a bit like Le Carre’ where you are in a specific time in history and he has, this uncanny ability to mix historical facts with suspense and human drama. Just on a side note his prose is wonderful too.For me t...
Comments 14
By Endre Barath, Jr., Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002
(Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties)
Many Real Estate Practitioners, REALTORS®, and Buyers have been frustrated over the years that they were never sure if the offers were ever presented to the seller. I personally have experienced this on numerous occasions… Well the latest legal update is as follows:  Presentation of Offers: Change to Code of Ethics, Standard of Practice 1-7 The C.A.R. (California Association of REALTORS®), Legal Hotline often receives calls from members, especially in busy markets, expressing frustration that they are not sure that their buyers’ offers were ever presented to the seller.  For some time, the RPA (Residential Purchase Agreement) has had a section for seller to initial rejection of the offer or for the listing agent to initial that they presented the offer to the seller.  However, those wer...
Comments 147
Explore Beverly Hills, CA
Beverly Hills, CA Real Estate Professionals