Monday, February 10, 2014

Update for February 2014

                                                            February 2014

There are many exciting happenings in Los Angeles at this time.

LACMA has a fabulous Alexander Calder exhibit that had not been seen in many years.  The space is superbly designed by Frank Geary.  After reading about the works and Calder's life, I have a much greater appreciation and admiration of the artist who was brilliant enough to combine his engineering background with physics and astronomy to create unique art. Fabulous exhibition!

LACMA still has the Turrell exhibit which is excellent.

The Getty has just opened the photographic collection of Queen Victoria.

The Natural History Museum has opened "The Silk Road" which looks interesting and probably is very educational for school children.

The Annenberg Space for Photography has the 100th anniversary of National Geographic magazine.
The films and exhibition there are definitely worth a visit or two---and maybe three.

We have many small theaters that have new plays opening.  I am scheduled to see "The Whipping Man" at the West Coast Jewish Theatre and "My Name is Asher Lev" at the Fountain Theatre.

Other than these cultural happenings---the real estate market is as busy as ever!  The decrease in sales is due to the fact that there is little product available.

Please call me if you have any interest in buying, selling, leasing or investing in real estate.



INA KAGEL
Broker, Agent, Attorney

Rodeo Realty,Inc.
202 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
BRE# 00971994

Cell: 310.503.5367



Wednesday, December 11, 2013

December 2013

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season.  The following is a brief update on the arts in LA.:

1. In order to appreciate the James Turrell exhibition at LACMA, and not think about it as the "Emperor's New Clothes", I suggest that you view the section entitled Ganze Platz and then look at the rest of the exhibition.   Ganze Platz gives you the perspective of what Turrell' s work is about.

Having seen this exhibit at least seven times, I can state that I see more and more in it. My last viewing was with a mathematics professors who viewed the exhibit through geometric "eyes".  IT becomes more and more interesting.

2. The Sam Francis exhibit in Pasadena  is an excellent retrospective of his life and work.   Highly recommended.

3.  The new Calder exhibit at LACMA is wonderful and the space was designed by Frank Gehry.  Superb exhibition!

4.  The Annenberg Space for Photography Museum has an excellent exhibit celebrating National Geographic's 100th year.   As usual it was very well done.

5.  It is worthwhile taking a look at the new Annenberg Performing Arts Center in Beverly Hills.  It is very well done.

Happy New Year!

Ina Kagel
310-503-5367

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

We are several days into the government shutdown and Congress now has less than two weeks to raise the debt ceiling before the U.S. is unable to borrow money to pay its bills, a move that could lead to a historic default. Most industry analysts still believe this will not occur. Frankly, I am surprised that the stock markets and the economy has held up so will this week. You would think that with such dysfunction in our government and 750,000 government workers furloughed the markets would react more negatively. I fear that if they can not agree to increase the debt limit, which will lead to the first default in U.S. history, the negative impact will be much more severe! I really do not think a default will happen.

Due to the turmoil of the government shutdown stocks continued to act uncertainly. The Dow rose on Friday but had its second down week in a row closing at 15,072.58 down -1.22% from last week’s 15,358.24 close. The Nasdaq eked out another modest gain, closing at 3,807.75, a gain of .69% off last week’s 3,781.59 close, for its fifth straight week of positive numbers. The S&P 500 was down very slightly, closing the week at 1,690.50 just a hair below last week’s 1,691.75 close. The yield rate for the 10-year Treasury note was at 2.66% nearly on par with last week’s 2.64% finish.

ADP reported that businesses added 166,000 jobs in September below the 180,000 number expected by economists. The payroll processor also adjusted its previously reported August figure downward from 176,000 to 159,000. The Labor department did not release its jobs numbers due to the government shutdown. Those numbers are really the numbers that experts look at. 

The government shutdown appears to be having an impact on interest rates. Rates were down again this week according to the  Freddie Mac Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed rate dropped down to 4.22% down from 4.32% last week. The 15-year rate also fell to 3.29% from 3.37%. These are the lowest averages seen since late June. A year ago this week according to the survey, the 30-year rate was at 3.36% while the 15-year rate was at 2.69%. Jumbo and high balance conforming are running around 4.625% for 30 year fixed and 3.75% for 15 year terms.

For some reason it seems like open escrows have picked up in the last couple weeks. I would not have expected this. 

Have a great weekend!

Syd




Syd Leibovitch
President
Rodeo Realty
9171 Wilshire Bl. Suite 321
Beverly Hills, California 90210
(310) 471-2600
Sydl@rodeore.com 
CA DRE 00858724

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

FINANCIAL UPDATE AUGUST 24, 2013


Weekly financial update August 24, 2013----HAVE A GREAT LABOR DAY!!

Interest rates rose further this week after the minutes of The Federal Reserve's July meeting were released. In the minutes the Fed, which has discussed drawing down their Treasury Bond and mortgage securities purchases, suggested that they would begin tapering down those purchases in September. The Federal Reserve has been purchasing $85 billion per month of Treasury Bonds and mortgage securities. This program known as QE3 (quantitative easing) was put in place to lower interest rates, and add liquidity to the economy in order to increase economic growth and lower unemployment. In May the Fed signaled that the economy was growing at a rate substantial enough to end these programs. That statement caused long term interest rates to rise a full percentage point in the month of May. This rise was so steep the Fed began to make statements to calm the markets. Rather than ending the program they announce that they would begin drawing down purchases at some point and slowly end this program over time. Rates are up about 1 1/2% since the initial announcement May 1. Ironically, the Fed is still purchasing the $85 billion worth of treasuries and mortgages monthly. If they begin to taper these purchases in September that will be the first month that they have actually pulled back. It is thought that much of the increase in rates is already built into the market and the initial drawbacks should not result in another quick rise in rates. Interest rates are expected to rise, but much more gradually than over the last 75 days. 

The Freddie Mac Weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the 30-year fixed rate up strongly from last week at 4.58% compared to last week’s  4.40% while the 15-year jumped to 3.66% from 3.44% last week. This is the highest rates have been since July 2011.  This time last year the survey showed a 30-year fixed rate of 3.66% and a 15-year fixed rate of 2.89%.  High balance conforming rates are just under 5% for 30 year fixed and close to 4% for 15 year fixed rate loans. Jumbo rates are about 5.25 for 30 year fixed and 4.5 for 15 year fixed.

Fears of higher interest rates have caused the stock markets to drop further this week. This week the Dow fell below 15, 000 for the first time since July 3 but closed out at week at 15,010.36 down  -.47% from last week’s 15,081.47 close. The NASDAQ was shut down yesterday for 3 hours due to a computer malfunction which really infuriated investors but rallied today to finish at 3,657.79 up 1.53% from last week’s close of 3,602.78. The S&P 500 eked out a small gain up  .46% to 1,663.50 from last week’s close of 1,655.83.

The 10-year treasury note ended the week with a 2.9% yield rate after hitting a two-year high of 2.936 percent on Thursday. Responding to the uptick in the rate Barclays has raised its 10-year Treasury yield forecast to 3.1% by the end of this year and 3.75% by the third quarter of 2014. It had previously forecast a rate of 2.9% by mid-2014. 

We have seen a pickup in open escrows! We are also seeing more homes that are sitting on the market and not selling. Many of these seem to be priced ok compared to the very highest comp, but as prices begin to flatten they must be too high.

Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate rose to 9.9% in July up from 9.7% in June. The jobless rate was down from 10.6% in July 2012. Statewide, the rate for July was 8.7% and nationwide it was 7.4%. Los Angeles County the biggest payroll jobs gainer was the entertainment industry, up nearly 8,000 jobs while the hospitality sector gained roughly 4,500 jobs in July, and the retail sector was up nearly 4,000 jobs.

Equity sales are on the rise in California. C.A.R. reports that the share of equity home sales continued to grow in July, increasing on a monthly basis for 17 of the last 18 months. Distressed sales plunged and are down 50% to a year ago.

July was a huge month for home re-sales nationwide according to the National Association of Realtors. Data showed that sales in July went up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million meaning that housing sales across the nation are approaching a healthy level for the first time since November 2009.  Sales were up 6.5% from a 5.06 million pace in June and rose 17.2% over the past year. Sales have now stayed above an annual pace of five million for three straight months, something which hasn’t happened since 2007. First-time homebuyers continue to be seen in smaller numbers than normal, they were only 29% of the market in July (40% is the number associated with a healthy market). Much of this is their inability to get offers accepted due to cash sales by investors.

July new home sales declined nationally by 13% which was the largest month to month decline since 2010. This was attributed to very low supply of new construction as builders are having difficulty finding land and getting permits and approvals quickly enough to meet demand. Remember they pretty much stopped looking for property and building from 2008 to 2011.

I hope you have a good weekend!

Syd



Syd Leibovitch
President
Rodeo Realty
(310) 471-2600
CA DRE 00858724

From:  



INA KAGEL
Broker, Agent, Attorney

Rodeo,Realty,Inc.
202 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
DRE# 00971994

Cell: 310.503.5367
ina@inakagel.com

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

July 2013 Blog

We are very fortunate to be living the great city of Los Angeles which offers fabulous free concerts during the summer.  Here is a sample of what is available:
LACMA—Friday night jazz concerts @6PM.  Additionally from July 5th to August 30th, BCAM and the Resnick Pavillion will remain open until 11PM every Friday night.
HAMMER MUSEUM- Thursday night concerts in association with KCRW  @7PM for 4 weeks commencing July11.  Parking is $3.
SKIRBALL-Thursday night concerts commencing July 25-August 29 at 8 PM/$10 parking fee.
FORD THEATRE-What/Why: Dance. Play. Get up and J.A.M.
Monday nights at 7:00PM

Dance to the beat, play a new instrument and experience the unexpected. Get up on the Ford stage and participate in these FREE interactive events. All ages and skill levels are welcome.  Reservations are recommended. The J.A.M. sessions at the Ford are supported in part by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.

SANTA MONICA PIER-The Annual Thursday Twilight Music and Dance Series at Santa Monica Pier features some of LA's favorite hometown and visiting bands. 
When: Thursdays, End of June or beginning of July through August
. Where: Santa Monica Pier
Cost: Free
Parking: 1550 Pacific Coast Highway Lot for a fee, no parking on the Pier
Info: (310) 458-8900, www.twilightseries.orgMore: Things to Do in Santa Monica
GETTY CENTER--in Brentwood- Saturday night concerts 6-9PM in the courtyard.  Parking is $15.
There also inexpensive concerts at the Starlight Bowl in Glendale, the racetrack in Arcadia, etc. See also: grandparkla.org/calendar.
There are free Shakespeare performances in July and August at Griffith Park Thursday-Sunday.


Monday, June 10, 2013

June 2013 Arts in Los Angeles

June 2013 Blog

I have been asked many times to post a blog about arts and things to do in Los Angeles. I have decided to briefly post monthly current recommendations and comments about happenings in Los Angeles.
At this time I recommend:
A.  James Turrell : A Retrospectiveat LACMA…Turrell advances the study of light seen in work by Dan Flavin and Robert Irwin. Turrell is philosophic in the spirit of Mark Rothko.  Do not miss the section entitled ”ganzfeld”.  It is worth the wait and the highlight of the show.  Turrell concurrently is being exhibited  at the Museum of Fine Arts , Houston and will be at the Guggenheim in New York starting June 21..

B. Quincy Jones at the Hammer Museum…Excellent exhibition of his work.  It is amazing how forward-thinking Jones was.  His work and ideas are totally contemporaneous with our mixed-use developments today and our “green” programs.  You can visit the Hammer after 6 PM on Thursdays and entrance is free and parking is $3.  At 7 PM there are 45 minute docent tours of this exhibition and I thought the tour was very worthwhile.

C. Getty Museum- Brentwood…has an architectural exhibit on the development of Los Angeles which ties in with the A. Quincy Jones exhibition.  It is a continuation of Pacific Standard.

Have fun in Los Angeles …mmerHHHHA