Since my May letter I’ve had plenty of opportunity to put the advice I gave into practice.  After 41 years, it’s probably more valid than ever.  The new listings I talked about (1825 Via Estudillo, PVE, and 9 Pleasant Hill Drive, RHE) both sold instantly with multiple offers over the asking prices, and I even sold a couple of others in between.  I am reminded at times like this of the value of a good, experienced agent.  This level of activity, given the regulations and paperwork that have inexorably accrued over the years (none are ever eliminated) can be overwhelming to less experienced agents, which is why they hire assistants to handle it.  I, however, remain committed to being the kind of agent I wished I could have found 46 years ago, included in which is that I do everything myself.  You hire me for my experience and expertise in doing this – knowing how to market a property for maximum results for you (not the agent), making sure our buyer is qualified, knowing how to avoid problems and solve the unavoidable ones, and having my hands on every aspect of your transaction.  Hiring an assistant would be inconsistent with this.  So it’s 6 am and I am writing you this letter.

Every so often, and generally out of the blue, I receive vindication that I must be doing something right.  In 1996 I received a call from a divorcing couple in PV who needed their house sold asap.  They had a young son and a daughter who was off at college.  As I recall they had had the house listed with another agent, but it had not sold.  We had the house in escrow in a couple of weeks, and I found them each a house . . . which can be a tough thing to do; in a divorce usually if one likes you, the other one doesn’t.  The enclosed letter, written by the then-18-year-old daughter, tells the story better than I could.  It also raises a good point:  pre-planning for the inevitable can make a traumatic and chaotic time for your family less so.  Selling the house is usually part of the process and designating a trusted, experienced, competent Realtor in advance relieves them of the burden of trying to find one.  You could do a lot worse than specifying Dana Graham as that Realtor.

Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing from you – 310 613-1076 or DanaHGraham@cs.com.  My website is www.DanaGraham.com.

The post July 2026 Newsletter appeared first on Dana Graham.

This is a home that, without being obtrusive, makes a statement.

$2,700,000

The post Stunning Mid-Century Modern in Lunada Bay! Sold Over Asking Price in One Week appeared first on Dana Graham.

As I have been saying in my last few letters, after a few turbulent years, the real estate market is settling back to some form of normalcy (thank you Warren Harding).  Interest rates are down to just north of 6% for a 30-year fixed rate, and even better for a shorter fixed rate term.  This, and the number of homeowners reluctant to give up their 2.9% refinance obtained a few years ago, has resulted in the number of single family homes on the Peninsula remaining unchanged from a year ago at about 145 . . . which is still low by historic standards.  All of this has tended to support prices.  Average time on the market is statistically 103 days tho that number is squishy, as it depends on agent reporting habits and MLS rules.  If you have questions about it, call me. 

Overall prices have been on a very slight downward trend – so slight that you can’t prove it with statistics.  The problem with statistics is that they are subject to distortion due to a) every house being different, b) dollars-per-square-foot being notoriously inaccurate for reasons I’ve discussed before, and c) depending on the length of time or size of the area in the sample, too few transactions to counter-act one anomaly.

One of the most common beliefs in real estate (apart from the notion that a room has to have a closet to be called a bedroom, which it doesn’t) is that Fall is a bad time to sell, while Springtime is the best.  Here’s the deal: those promoting Spring as the best time are generally reacting to the statistics which show (correctly) that the most sales happen in the Spring, ergo (hey, I’m trying to get some benefit out of years of college Latin) that’s the time to sell.  But think of it from the point of view of you, the seller: there are lots of houses on the market in the Spring.  Would you rather sell at a time when the market is flooded with houses competing with yours, or when there are few houses on the market, and plenty of buyers competing for them?  All else being equal, for you the seller, clearly the latter is a better environment.  And buyers shopping during the holidays generally have a reason and are more motivated.  But many sellers simply don’t want to deal with their house being on the market as the holidays approach and that, combined with the myth that it’s a bad time to sell, creates a sort of self-fulfilling result; ie, more houses for sale (and more buyers looking) equals more sales, while fewer of each equals fewer sales.  You the seller don’t (or shouldn’t) care about how many other houses are selling; you care about your house, and selling at a time when there aren’t 18 similar houses for buyers to choose from will, all else being equal, yield a better result.  I understand that there are many factors that influence your timing, but this should be one of them.

Give me a call if you’d like to discuss anything from real estate to Renaissance polyphony to military history – 310 613-1076 or email at DanaHGraham@cs.com.  My website (DanaGraham.com) is currently experiencing a technical glitch which will hopefully be solved by the time you get this.

The post November 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Dana Graham.

In my last letter I briefly discussed the change in the market that began in Spring with a boatload of new listings hitting the market – far in excess of any I can recall in the last 40 years.  As a result of that and other factors, and after a few years of what is commonly referred to as a “buyer’s market”, the things have settled back into balance.  If you’re a seller, you can no longer put your house up for sale at any price and expect action.  As has historically been the case, you now have to be in the 25% or so of the listings that offer the best value – and I know this is subjective and includes a lot of variables.  You should rely on your agent’s recommendation on price.

On that subject, among the sellers I have interviewed in the last 5 or so months were two inheritors of their family homes, both of which needed work.  They did not take my recommendation (to do minimal fix-up get the house on the market while it was hot), but rather fell for the pitch of spending lots of money and months fixing it up.  Meanwhile, of course, the market has gotten softer, which is what I was concerned about.  Neither has sold and they are unlikely to come out as well, after deducting what they spent, as they would have had they just followed my advice.  Just sayin’.

I’m sure you’ve seen all the designations that Realtors attach to their names – Senior Specialist, Residential Specialist, Probate, Trust, or this, that, or the other “Specialist”.  Selling a house for a “senior”, “trust”, or most of the rest of them is not enough different from a standard sale for you to make that a factor in your selection of an agent.  A Probate is a little different, but an experienced agent (the kind you want) should be prepared for that, and choose wisely.

The designation that bugs me the most is “Palos Verdes Specialist”.  In order to acquire this label, the agent must attend a 3-day class on Palos Verdes history, geography, etc.  3 DAYS!  I’m sorry, but to those of us who have lived and worked  here for decades this is, to say the least, inadequate.  This came about around 15 years ago when the PV Multiple Listing Service merged with others in the South Bay, to give those agents who actually needed a map to find their way around in PV, easy access to your home.  This was clearly a mistake, as I pointed out at the time, and we were inundated with outside agents, map in hand.  To give these agents the veneer of Palos Verdes credibility, this designation was offered.  I’m sorry, but unless an agent has this (or anywhere) as his primary area of focus, no 3 day class is going to help.

I’ve got a new one coming up at 5118 Willow Wood in Rolling Hills Estates – 3062 square foot 5 bedroom 3 bath home on a 13,508 square foot mostly usable lot, and a lovely view, being sold by the long-time owner.  If you’re looking for a home with good bones to remodel to your taste, don’t miss this one.  Priced at only $1,895,000, so don’t wait.

Thank you again for your loyalty over the last 40 years.  Feel free to call or text me at 310 613-1076, email at DanaHGraham@cs.com, and visit my website (www.DanaGraham.com) for first-hand Palos Verdes history, real estate article I’ve written, and my latest listings.

The post September 2025 Newsletter appeared first on Dana Graham.