Just curious what are your thought about the commission lawsuits.... yes, I know it is a bit controversial. Not wanting to influence your positions I will not divulge my position on it hence feel free to express your opinions, thoughts and input.No need to be politically cautious, I will not hold it against you if you do not agree with my views.Now with that said feel free to add your thoughts and views about this very sensitive real estate subject. My question is will this help the potential buyers and sellers or will it hurt them? Inquiring minds want to know. 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, pleas... 10/18/2023

Some days we tend to be more philosophical than on other days. So, with that being said, let me share a few quotes, here with those who are inclined to read these quotes. “Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”   ~Albert Einstein “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count.  It’s the life in your years.”  ~Abraham Lincoln“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” ~Sophia Loren“It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone.”― Andy Rooney “... 10/16/2023

Well, here we are it is Friday the 13th, 2023, I read somewhere on the Internet that there are Real Estate Agents who are superstitious about this date. I had to smile having been a Realtor in two states and two major markets for going on 30 years I had to smile.... Really. Real Estate is about business that we need to share not passing emotional theatrics. So, with that said check out the facts:Fri Oct 13, 2023This week the median list price for Beverly Hills, CA 90210 is $9,945,000 with the market action index hovering around 27. This is an increase over last month's market action index of 26. Inventory has increased to 152. The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index f... 10/13/2023

October CHALLENGE - Trick or Treat Time to Share, my attempt at re-blogging Leanne Smith  wonderful post. Needless to say, most of you know, I seldom do a re-blog and clearly it shows as my technical challenges prove it. Hence here is my version of the re-blog. Thank you, Leanne, for pulling me in as your second fiddler.In case you missed her post and wanted to participate please comment on her post and I challenge you to participate there is still time! --------- With Halloween just around the corner, Endre Barath, Jr. and Leanne Smith would like Active Rain Member to share their candy tidbits (knowledge) they have been treated to from other members and added to their "knowledge tidbit goodie bag." To achieve this challenge the following must be included: A minimum of 300 words with tw... 10/08/2023

Throwback Thursdays: Some memories are not so much fun... Since the last three years I have been watching the market, reading experts' perception of what the Real Estate market is going to be like. All this so I can give good advice to my clients.Then, I was watching what the predictions of experts as to what are and will be the activity for the stock market as well as the economy.Now with that said the predictions, the prognosticators all had views & opinions.So, with that said hope you looked at my illustrations and will agree with me that as far as I know they were not fun memories for the past two or three years as to what the predictions and what the reality became.Stay focused on your goals and focus on what you need to do to continue to thrive in this market. Wishing you a safe a... 10/05/2023

As some of you know Diane was celebrating her Anniversary of 29 years living with me..... yes she deserved to have a late lunch at the Peninsula Hotel's Roof Top Restaurant in Beverly Hills.:)))The service was impeccable, and the food was top notch. Well, we had a scallop dish for starters.  Diane had fried COD and out of this world French fries.I had a grilled Hamachi, yes grilled most of the time I have it raw, so this was a first for me as well. The waiter was clarifying to me in case I did not read the menu properly.We could have stayed there all afternoon, but cat and dog duty bought us home. We are both looking forward to going back and trying a few other meals on the menu. The desert was a surprise from the staff!  Wishing you a safe and healthy life and I look forward to your co... 10/04/2023

Welcome Fall! As we open the month of October, it remains critical to navigate the current real estate activity.  Indeed, there have been enormous fluctuations over the past year in both the commercial and residential sectors of the real estate market.   When we analyze real estate, the seasonal effect is always a factor to be considered. Customarily, there are fewer buyers and sellers from October to the end of the year due to various holidays and, in some areas of the country, weather.  And now we can add into that interest rates being at a 20+ year high at the mid- 7% range. Taking all of these factors into consideration, affordability is the biggest challenge for buyers nowadays. While we are not in a real estate crash, home prices are still high, relatively speaking. When looking a... 10/03/2023

Today I received an email from Photobucket that the free platform is morphing over to a paid platform, monthly or yearly. So, a few emails back and forth I managed to get a seven-day reprieve to get my old photos off the platform.Sadly, most of the photos were HTTPs photos not jpg. but I managed to get them, anyway, this of course bought back fond memories.... our first cat we were blessed with in Los Angeles was Heidi.... we went to the Vet's Office with our dog from Boston also known as Jessebel and there was this scarred little cat no one wanted so the vets were giving it away. Yes, you guessed it we took her home. Diane named her Heidi because she was so scared and was hiding in out couch or anywhere no one could find her until she started trusting us.Anyway, you get the idea how gr... 09/30/2023

Wordless Wednesdays: a great gift but what a disappointment... we often give gifts with good intentions, but there are times when the results are disappointing.I tried to re order some pretzels for Diane, but they were out of stock.... so with that said I moved on where everyone does Searched on the Internet and found another pretzel delivery service.The delivery was via Fed/ Ex and the package was covered with a couple of small ice packets... very tiny if you asked me. When I took it they were actually warm.... gratefully Diane did not open it up until a few days later.Now when she did open it up, her disappointment was huge the chocolate covered pretzels looked tired.... then there was one row, well see for yourself totally crumbled up.So glad I did not send this to a client. They wou... 09/27/2023

Time Flies!  It is hard for me to imagine that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices ("BHHS" f/k/a Prudential) is 10 years old! But indeed, it is! The Brokerages' first office was the Beverly Hills Office. I clearly remember the issues with the Prudential Licensing Name and the BHHS powers to be decided why bother negotiating with what could turn out to be a costly endeavor just to keep the Prudential name? Why not switch to a better, more widely recognized name since Home Services of America is a Berkshire Hathaway Company. At the time, leadership made the decision to assume all costs involved with switching the name on letterhead, business cards, signage, you name it. The magic transition date was September, 23, 2013. Certainly not an easy task, but the support was truly amazing.  The rest ... 09/26/2023

Do people read your posts? This question has always been a topic of discussion on Active Rain.  Yes, people do read your posts!  For those in doubt, let me share with you a an email I received just last week on a post that I wrote back in 2015  South Palm Drive  My post happened to have a very personal connection to someone, hence the email was very heartfelt. I include a portion of it here: We lived at XXX South Palm Drive in the early 1960s. My family then moved to XXX S. Bedford Drive...On a trip to Hawaii in the early 1990s, we stopped in LA and went to Beverly Hills to see the house at XXX S. Bedford Drive. It was more beautiful than I had remembered. We used to dive off the second floor into the pool much to my parents' dismay!  I was just a kid in love with outdoor living. It was... 09/24/2023

Welcome to part 3 of 3 of my vacant land series posts.  I do hope you enjoyed them so far.  In case you missed them, I will put a link to the previous 2 at the bottom of this post.While building a home may seem like an economic alternative to buying a home in the greater Los Angeles area, one need be aware that there are many factors and costs involved with that alternative.Often, I'm asked about the price range potential builders may face when it comes to building a home on vacant land. Depending on the steepness or grading of the land itself, costs could vary from $250/square foot to $1300/square foot.  While this may seem hard to fathom, the finished product will be a lot less expensive than buying an already ready built home, not to mention you would be building something to your ow... 09/22/2023

As most of you know I spent some time at West Point, also known as the United States Military Academy, USMA at West Point New York. As a freshman aka Plebe, we had to sit at the Dining Hall when the movie Mac Arthur was made. I can still hear Gregory Peck saying the famous words of General Douglas MacArthur:...General Westmorland, General Groves, distinguished guests and gentlemen of the corps...As I was leaving the hotel this morning a doorman asked me "Where are you bound for General?" and when I replied, "West Point," he remarked, " Beautiful place, have you ever been there before?"Ironically, we needed to clap and laugh for the movie at this point... they had to take three takes, because we were not laughing hard enough, or we did not clap hard enough.Needless to say, it was easier ... 09/18/2023

How did you become "The Land Man" in the greater Los Angeles area? This series of posts consist of three separate posts.  As always, many members give me inspiration and in this case I was also asked to participate.  With that said, I offer my first contribution. Thank you Dr. Paula McDonald  & Kathy Streib  for this inspiration.When it comes to buying or selling vacant land in the greater Los Angeles area, there are only a handful of Realtors whose names pop up for buyers and sellers.  For the past 26 years, I have been one of those Realtors.  Agents who do not have vacant land as their niche market often refer their clients to me knowing that their clients will be in good hands.  I've often been asked, “So, Endre, how did you get into this niche of selling vacant land?”  When we reloc... 09/16/2023

September 11, 2001: A Day we swore we will never forget. It hard for me to believe, that it has been 22 years since that infamous day. I still remember it clear as yesterday when one of our friends/clients called us in the morning and said turn the TV on.The rest of the story you all know, it resonates with me as much as I am sure with generations before about December 7th, 1941. Totally unprovoked attack on our soil. Sadly, Diane had a client who succumbed to this attack.  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 wh... 09/11/2023

Speechless Sunday: where did my sign go? Oh it's back now...The other day as in Labor Day Weekend I went out to check a potential land listing, happened to be one street above my current listing. Hence, I went by it to check it out and I noticed my sign was missing?Needless to say, a couple emails later my sign was reposted. Now it makes me wonder was it the neighbor or the other party who has a listing five lots from mine? Anyway, the good news it the sign is back up again. 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 w... 09/10/2023

Beverly Hills, CA Market Snapshot of the 90210 zip code... as most of you who read my posts regularly seldom do I write Market Reports. This time I thought it would be appropriate since so many of my readers have been asking what is going in in the most famous zip code aka the 90210 zip code. As most of you also know I like using the ALTOS Research statistics and charts because they are accurate to the minute. Now with that said let's look at the real estate market.Thu Sep 07 2023This week the median list price for Beverly Hills, CA 90210 is $10,625,000 with the market action index hovering around 27. This is less than last month's market action index of 28. Inventory has increased to 152.  Slight Buyer's AdvantageWhile prices have recently plateaued, this is a buyer’s market and the su... 09/07/2023

What else would you do on a Friday night? Well, it is Labor Day weekend and I wanted to make sure we had some caramelized onions with our Sausages.It is easy to do all you need is time and patience. I cut about eight onions and the rest consisted of time about four or five hours, well worth the time.I use sweet Vidalia or any other sweet onions and while I am cutting the onions, I melt about 4 oz of unsalted butter.  Add the onions to it and the first hour every 15 minutes or so stir it. I add very little salt less than a teaspoon just to get the moisture from the onions out.Next three or four hours you need to keep the temperature relatively low and stir often. Once most of the liquid evaporates, you need to stir it a bit more often not to burn it on the bottom.Tomorrow I will add some... 09/01/2023

I am a firm believer that Success is not the key to happiness. I am of the opinion that "Happiness is the key to success"!!! let me know what you think.I figured it would be a perfect post for our friend Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP  and her Word Mongering Wednesday Post. Not sure if that is what it is called since to me it is a bit confusing and hard to remember.Now with that said I hope I can find the group to post it to:))) Please leave your comments and thoughts in the comments! 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 H... 08/30/2023

It is Monday still here in Los Angeles.... and we generally are looking for extra motivations with that said let me share a few of my favorite quotes from Marcus Arelius:"The Happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." "It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own." "Life is short. Do not forget about the most important things in our life, living for other people and doing good for them"Hope these three quotes will make you a better person and a fan of Marcus Arelius.Wishingyou 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, pl... 08/21/2023