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2590 Corralitas

Listing courtesy of Patti Ruben, Sotheby’s International Realty – Los Feliz.

Van Daele ARTIS – 15 New Homes

The Elysian Heights northern hill off Allesandro and Riverside welcomed 15 new Echo Park modernist town homes this weekend from family-owned real estate firm, Van Daele Homes.

Boldly christened ARTIS, these hillside homes comprise of 3 floor plans – Plans A1 & A2, a 2-story stack with an open hallway atrium, 2-car side-by-side garages, a north-facing master suite and Plan B, a 3-story stack set along the hill with 2-car tandem parking garages, private patios, additional ground-floor flex space, and hillside master suites.

I’m partial to Plans A1 & A2 for their efficient use of space and light-filled rooms.

Plans A1 & A2 capture the hillside’s amazing light, with an outdoor patio, clerestory windows, and an open, linear dining space.

A home cook would delight in the kitchen, graced by tall windows that provide the feel of a large skylight above.   With a quartz kitchen island, Moen fixtures, a stainless steel sink, and optional designer upgrades — Bosch fridge and dishwasher, sleek Bertazzoni range and hooded microwave — what’s not to like about entertaining guests or cooking for two?

The 2nd floor of Plans A1 & A2 also provide ample space and serenity.  The hallway has the polished look of an art gallery.

The master bedroom and bathroom also conform to the modern simplicity of the living quarters below.

A combination of 3 bedrooms and up to 2.5 baths are spread out in 15 homes ranging from 1,730 to 2,107 square feet — with prices varying in the high $600k’s to $700k’s.

For additional information or a showing of the ARTIS town homes, feel free to contact Jovelle Schaffer at (213) 718.1110 or email jovelle@jovelle.com.  At this writing, there are incentives up to $10k for home buyers on closing costs or design upgrades.

Plan A

1730 sq. ft.

3BD / 2.5BA

2-story

2 car parking

Pricing starts from $697,900

**Pricing for A2 is in Phase 2, so not yet available. The direction of the footprint is a bit different, but the square footage is the same.

Plan B

2107 sq. ft.

3-story

3BD / 2.5BA

2 car parking

Pricing starting from $729,900

Plan B: $820,000 in 2,107 square feet  (shown above, Model Unit)

Location: 2509 Via Artis, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Listing courtesy of Van Daele Homes, Builder/Developer.

90026 Zip Code of Echo Park Shows Steady Climb

Source: LA Times & DataQuick Housing Map

As an Eastside realtor specializing in 1st-time home buyers, my clients are generally on the fence about the largest investment of their lives.

It’s scary.  It’s stressful.  It’s mind-numbing to think of taking a loan out just shy of half a million dollars.  Or, if you’re endowed with real estate largesse, can purchase all-cash.

But, lo — fair Buyer! — there is help.

Enter economists, statisticians, and researchers who have the capacity to make sense of the hot mess known as L.A. real estate.

There are graphs, charts, numbers, and raw data to take away the edge.

While I aspire to understand Keynesian economics, with a healthy dose of Alan Greenspan’s righteousness and Warren Buffett’s foresight, I’ll leave the hard work to our experts.

UCLA Anderson publishes their holy grail, a national and California-based forecast every quarter, while DataQuick Information Systems analyzes Southern California home sales monthly and by zip code — transmuting their data through fancy interactive maps on The LA Times.

The UCLA Anderson Forecast — known for pinpointing our downturn in the late 1990′s and declaring the 2001 recession — predicts real personal income growth in California “to be 1.4% in 2013, followed by 3.6% in 2014 and 3.3% in 2015,” with unemployment  falling “through 2013 and will average about 9.6% this year.”

What do these numbers mean for future home buyers?

The numbers indicate that there’s a palpable surge in the housing market, fueled by increased incomes and stable year-to-year appreciation on single family homes.

The 90026 zip code has appreciated 9.4%, while the K-town/Hancock Park neighborhood (90004) has rocketed to 85.8%, and the once unheard-of region of NeLA’s Highland Park (90042) experienced an uptick of 13.2%.

On a neighborhood level, the market is as red-hot as a Game of Thrones axe.  (Oh, seven hells, I wrote that.)

1864 Lemoyne – $922k

1864 Lemoyne commanded 9 offers and sold to an all-cash Buyer for $922,000 just yesterday, setting a precedent on that hill.

2346 Echo Park

A restored Craftsman duplex, both vacant 2+1 and 1+1 units, had 23 Buyers throw their hats in for an income property with a sexy 6-burner Viking stove.  The property is sited miles north of Sunset Blvd., on the sleepy “poor man’s Hollywood Hills” section of EP.  While priced at $775,000, rumor has it that there’s a 9 in front of the current bid.

To say that this market is a Seller’s market grossly undercuts the severe competition amongst Buyers.  And, there’s no indication that this market will abate.

A good cross-section of Sellers are refinancing their existing loans to lower interest rates, while other Sellers are choosing to put their homes on the market, easing last quarter’s home inventory drought.

If you’re a 1st-time Buyer or a Seller thinking of what to do next, feel free to ask me how at (213) 718-1110.

I’ll be charting zip codes, along with reading the final 200 pages of A Game of Thrones, Book 3.

Black Star Building and Design Moves to Echo Park

You may think a new bar has arrived in Echo Park’s Hi-Fi district — a sleek black and white sign and horizontal wooden slats beckoning you in — but Black Star happens to be a full-service building and design co-op founded by general contractor Matthew Pope.

He’s responsible for many posh renovations and restorations around town, spanning bathrooms, masonry, arbors, decks, windows, furniture, to name just a few –  from Echo Park to Eagle Rock, Los Feliz to Venice — and he’s decided on a new concept store in Echo Park.

Matthew responded to some insightful Q & A about his new Echo Park location, which is anticipated to open in a month.

Q:  Will the Black Star “store” be all retail, or will it also be a storefront for walk-ins on general contracting and/or design work?

Matthew:  It would be nice for it to be a sort of design co-op.  It is my storage and shop for my contracting, furniture work.  I may end up having an appointment-only furniture shop in the future.

Q:  Why did you select that particular space in Echo Park’s Hi-Fi?

Matthew:  My shop in Frogtown, a free-standing building, is getting torn down.  I live in Echo Park so the location is ideal.  I got really lucky to need a shop at the right time,  and the rent is still reasonable in this neighborhood.

Q:  Have you seen an uptick in renovations in Echo Park, and any thoughts on why?

Matthew:  I think people are tired of not spending money and they have more confidence that they have made it through the downturn.  My business started picking up last fall.  As you probably know, most of the houses being sold now are lower-quality.  The good stuff is still staying off the market, so there is a bunch of work for me to be doing for new homeowners.

For a look at Matthew Pope’s Black Star renovations and creative approach to homes, check out his portfolio here.

An Echo Park porch, with reclaimed brick, had the benefit of his craftsmanship, along with a new kitchen renovation.

Other pieces that may suit your fancy, as it did mine:

An Echo Park home with media built-ins.

Or, a redwood koa table with benches.

Once the space is up and running, another blog post to follow on its soft opening.

Black Star Building and Design, 1648 W. Temple Street

1864 Lemoyne

The Elysian Heights home at 1864 Lemoyne was but a plywood overhang diamond-in-the-rough before it was transformed into hipster gold by development firm Re-Inhabit.  The home has steadily made its way on the Interwebs (oh CurbedLA, how I admire thee for invoking Zeus’ beard in your post), and for good reason.

Just shy of 1,600 square feet, the 3 bedroom 2 bath home is quite the stunner at $849,000 and will surely break a sales record, price-per-square-foot, for that little pocket of Echo Park.

The open living room still showcases the home’s original wood floors, tying in the space with the now fluid kitchen.

My favorite part of the home happens to be the kitchen, where salvaged wood was transformed to make way for an island.  A deck was also added for outdoor dining and entertaining.

The footprint of the home was once a 2+1 hillside bungalow in 900 square feet before the artists and builders added rooms and made use of re-purposed materials during the year-long renovation.

The firm’s marketing contact Nicole Paulus summed up the development firm’s mission: “… to integrate mature homes back into the current market while incorporating forward leaning functionality for the modern family.

We are dedicated to breathing life back into dilapidated structures while keeping the integrity of the original foundation in tact.  We restore, you inhabit.”

Well-said, considering the amount of time and labor spent on the home.  If the new homeowner chooses, they could also enjoy the view from the beautifully terraced yard.

For additional information or to schedule a private showing, feel free to call Jovelle Schaffer at (213) 718.1110.  More photos of the home can be viewed here.

Tracy Do of John Aaroe Associates has the listing.