The Malibu Real Estate Blog

If you are going to live in a trailer you might as well do it here in Malibu, home of the worlds most expensive trailer park. Chew on this…….There are currently 6 mobile homes for sale in Malibu that are asking over $1,000,000. The highest price coach goes for $1.8m and during the last 3 years there have been almost a dozen sales over $1m! The HOA’s or “space rent” will run almost $2000 per month and you might need to get tags each year with the DMV! What gives you ask! Your green buys blue…………ocean views that is. In these price ranges you are paying for big  180 degree ocean views.

We have two mobile home parks in Malibu that are both located on hundreds of acres of prime real estate nestled up to the beach. Both Paradise Cove and The Point Dume Club sit on bluffs directly over the Pacific Ocean. Many of these mobile homes have ocean views that rival the $20m homes along PCH and both have roads or trails right down to the sand. Neither parks have been hit by tornados and there are rules against “changing the tranny” or “swapping an engine” in your driveway.  What would you pay for a home with  2500 sq.ft., high end appliances, the best finishes, a huge ocean view, and a few steps away from a  stroll in the beach? 

Here’s what you get for $1.8m    ” Inspirational ocean views from this architecturally dramatic Malibu Hideaway - Private location overlooking Zuma Beach and Broad Beach coastline - Soaring ceilings and arches - Granite and Marble throughout. Two fireplaces - The finest amenities - Quality construction - office - sun room - sauna - workshop - Steps to beach - Chic, Stunning and Sophisticated for the discriminating client who wants only the BEST!”  

 This deluxe coach is  listed with Chris Cortazzo at Coldwell Banker Malibu.

Yes, there are a lot of foreclosures going on in many parts of California, but the Westside and Malibu seem to be a shelter in the storm. Check out these stats from the  TerraFirmaLA Blog. 

FORECLOSURES – June 1-Dec. 31, 2007

Valley areas not doing so well

• Woodland Hills (91364, 91367) – 100 foreclosures
• Tarzana (91356) – 69 foreclosures
• Encino (91316, 91436) – 54 foreclosures
• Sherman Oaks (91403, 91423) – 43 foreclosures
• Studio City (91604, 91602) – 32 foreclosures
• West Hollywood (90046, 90069) – 27 foreclosures

Areas doing well 

• Miracle Mile (90036, 90048) – 7 foreclosures
• Beverly Hills (90210, 90211, 90212) – 3 foreclosures
• Brentwood (90049) – 6 foreclosures
• Bel Air/Holmby Hills (90077) – 11 foreclosures

Prime areas

• Sawtelle/West L.A. (90025) – 6 foreclosures
• Westwood (90024) – 11 foreclosures
• Cheviot Hills/Rancho Park (90064) – 3 foreclosures
• Pacific Palisades (90272) – 4 foreclosures
• Venice (90291) – 1 foreclosure
• Santa Monica (90401, 90403, 90404, 90405) – 10 foreclosures
• Santa Monica (90402) – not available (north of Montana where there were likely few)

And Malibu (90265) 1 FORECLOSURE So where are you going to invest in real estate?  Click here to find out about foreclosures by zip code.  Here’s a chart where you’d better hope you didn’t buy something recently. Source: RealtyTrac.com 

Here are the top ten sites for December.  Realtor.com is leading the pack with Trulia recently passing up Zillow and looking to gain ground. Why is this important? Because everybody starts online when it comes to finding a home. 85% this year will and I estimate that the number will rise to 95% in next few years. Realtor.com gets 5 million hits alone each month.  

One advantage Prudential Malibu has is that we have signed a deal with Yahoo, as you may have seen the recent ads, and  we exclusively get all real estate leads generated online. If someone does a real estate search in Malibu and needs more information our office at Cross Creek gets the call, even if the home is listed at another brokerage. Try it out by doing  a Malibu search at Yahoo Real Estate.

 Years ago a client might ask their agent “How many showings are we getting each week?” or “How many calls”? The new question will be “How many hits did we get?” Good agents will monitor their web traffic and keep you up to date by sending the graphs and data to you. If you are getting a ton of hits but no showings, then maybe the listing price is too high. If you are getting hits and showings, then keep the price as is. There is another site that is not mentioned but has tremendous power in selling a home. Craigslist.com has a real estate section and I always put an add online. That simple add generates over 500 page views and 5000 hits per month. See example below.

Bottom line. Times are a changing! If you are going to list your home you better have an agent who has a foot in the internet arena. I personally have my listings at 4 of the sites mentioned above. Try asking your current agent how many hits you are getting each month. If he or she looks confused and can’t answer,  then it’s time for a new agent. Here’s a number to one that can answer it, confidently! See the proof below for my beach house listing at www.43000pch.com. 1 310 699 8428. Ask for me, Mike G.