RODEO REALTY JOURNAL

local expertise, global presence.

December 2013

December

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Rodeo Realty Welcomes New Agents

2,3 Rodeo Realty Economic Report-November 2013

3 Rodeo Realty Northridge Renovation

4 Advanced Classes Schedule

5,6 Hot Properties

7,8 Hot Sales

9 Agent Appreciation Letters

10 Economic Forecast with C.A.R.

11,12 Rodeo Realty Give Baack For Thanksgiving

13 Brentwood Tree Trimming

14 Rodeo Realty Events 2014

15 Northridge Adopt A Family

15 Encino Holiday Party

16,17,18 Rodeo Realty Holiday Party

19,20 Rodeo Realty In The News

INDEX

1

RODEO REALTY Welcomes You

Thank you for the confidence you have entrusted in me and my team. Welcome to the Rodeo Realty family -- Syd Leibovitch

Beverly Hills Northridge Tanya Del Pozzo Juliann Chavira Sherman OaksElias AguirreBrendan Barry Studio CityRochelle Tetrault Alisia Lorena Costino Robert TribeBrentwoodJohn Palla Sunset Strip Calabasas Farah Shinali Westlake VillageAnikka Solum Philip Berson Woodland Hills Encino Rafael Ordaz

NOVEMBER 2013 ECONOMIC WRAP-UP 2

The Dow closed out the month by still holding on to its 16,000 benchmark, finishing up at 16,086.41, a gain of 3.48% from October’s 15,545.57 close. The Dow is up 23.5% from Novem-ber 2012’s 13,025.58 close. The Nasdaq closed at 4,059.89 up 3.58% from October’s 3,919.71 close and up 34.87% from November 2012’s 3,010.24 finish. The S&P 500 finished November at 1,805.81 up 2.81% from October’s 1756.54 close and up 27.51% from November 2012’s close of 1,416.18.

The 10-year Treasury note yield rate ended the month at 2.75% after ending October at 2.57%. It was 1.62% at the end of October 2013.

There is continued improvement in the jobs market. November’s data showed that employers added 203,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.0% down from 7.3% in October.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released data showing that the third quarter GDP growth as at 3.6%, far above the preliminary estimate of 2.8% and above the second quarter’s 2.5%.

Interest rates rose slightly this month. According to the Freddie Mac Weekly Primary Mort-gage Market Survey, the 30-year-fixed rate ended the month at 4.29% after ending last month at 4.10%. The 15-year-fixed at the end of November was at 3.30% after ending last month at 3.20%. A year ago the 30-year fixed was at 3.32% and the 15-year was at 2.64%.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index for September showed that the 20 metropolitan areas on the list gained 0.7% in September in line with the a forecast from Reuters. Prices were up 13.3% year over year which represents the strongest gain since February 2006. In Los Angeles the index rose 1.1% for the month and 21.8% over last year’s numbers.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released data saying that sales of previously owned homes fell -3.2% in October with an annual rate of 5.12 million units but were up 6% year over year. Economists had been predicting that the rate would be 5.13 units. The median price rose 12.8% in October from a year ago to $199,500. It was the 11th straight month of double-digit gains.

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) reported that closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 401,170 units in October down -2.7% from a revised 412,260 in September and down -11.1%

NOVEMBER 2013 ECONOMIC WRAP-UP 3

from a revised 451,090 in October 2012. For Los Angeles County the median sold price for single family homes in October was $447,130, down -2.6% from September’s median of $459,020 but up 22.6% from last October’s $364,810. The available supply of existing, single-family detached homes for sale dipped in October to 3.4 months, still far below normal numbers.

DataQuick’s October report showed that the median sale price for the six counties in the South-land area (Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and San Diego) across South-ern California was reported at $383,750 in October, 21.8% higher than last year. In Los Angeles specifically, the median price was up 25.7% to $440,000.

Syd Leibovitch’s predictions for 2014 are:Home prices to rise 10-15%. Most of this rise will occur between February and June, so I would buy now! I am not referring to the median price. We don’t have homes in the median price range in our markets.

Interest rates to rise to 6% by the 3rd quarter, so I would buy now!

Inventory levels to rise beginning May or June as sellers begin to feel that the market is topping out.Unfortunately, everything has consequences! The collapse of the credit markets caused home pric-es to plummet to artificially low levels. Intervention from the Federal Reserve has caused artificially low interest rates which made home prices to rise much faster than they should have. Most of this price increase was a correction from the collapse. This correction should have taken several years, not 2 or 3!

The good news is that the economy is improving and will for several more years. Without a reces-sion we won’t have a drop in prices, but I believe that prices will begin to top out in 2014. I expect a very flat market for at least a few years beginning around the 3rd quarter of next year. We finally will see what a normal Real Estate market looks like!

Rodeo Realty Northridge Gets A MakeoverThis beautiful sign is just the beginning of a ma-jor makeover for the Northridge office. The office is being redesigned with a sleek new look that offers more space to welcome clients and creates a better environment for agents. We’ll share more pictures of the renovation in an upcoming news-letter but the renovation is already off to a great start!

ADVANCED TRAINING CLASSES 4

Rodeo Realty’s Advanced Training classes are provided for our agents to help keep you in-formed and help grow your business.

JANUARY6th –Amanda Medek of Sharper Agent, the company that administers the Rodeo Realty e-marketing program, will present a special program on success marketing and creating your 2014 plan. 13th – Deidre & Jason: “Setting up Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, Instagram, You Tube, Zillow and Trulia accounts”20th – SKIRBALL CLOSED27th – Syd Leibovitch: “Listing Presentation”

FEBRUARY 20143rd - Mike Weaver: “Building a referral only business”10th – Jason Katzman: “How to list for sale by owner & expired listings”17th –SKIRBALL CLOSED24th – Ken Davis: “Loss Mitigation”

More Great Programs To Come This Spring. Stay Tuned!

Skirball Cultural Center2701 North Sepulveda Blvd.

Los Angeles, 900491-3pm

Haas Room, Conference CenterFree Parking

HOT PROPERTIES5

Roger Perry and Alla Vinnik have the listing for Hol-lywood Hills home which was featured by Los Angeles Cofidential. The five-bedroom home was completed in 2013 and has a beautiful, marble entrance with a dra-matic skylight. The first floor boasts a huge living room w/ fireplace which adjoins dining room. Over-sized of-fice with built-ins/custom cabinetry. The third level has room for a pool table, plus a bonus entertainment room with a full bar, a private sauna, pool bath and two more bedrooms The home has a 3000+ sq ft deck overlooking the city and a remote-controlled, salt-water, pebble-finish pool. it is listed for $5.495 million.

Joe Babajian has the listing for Loma Vista Place which was featured on the Los Angeles Confidential blog. This trophy property is located in prime Beverly Hills at the base of Trousdale estates and sited just above the landmark Greystone mansion and sits privately behind gates. The main home offers 5 bedrooms suites, 7 bath-rooms and 2 powder rooms. The park-like grounds include a pool, spa, fountains, spacious patio areas, expansive grassy yard and organic gardens. It is listed for $17.9 million.

The Playa Del Rey home of Los Angeles legend Dr. Jerry Buss has hit the market for the first time as first reported by the LA Times. Barbra Stover has the listing. Buss was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Lakers won 10 championships during his tenure. The home, an Italian Villa with breathtaking ocean, ma-rina and city views, offers the ultimate indoor/outdoor California living. This magnificent hilltop estate sits on a double lot. 7 bed/11 baths, & a 3-stop elevator. Buss’ love for his team can be seen in special custom Laker doors on the property. It is listed for $5.95 million

GOT A HOT PROPERTY with celebrity credentials?

Tell us about it: mediarelations@rodeore.com

Ben Bacal has the listing for a desirable piece of prop-erty which is last promontory available in Los Angeles and features over three acres of land, crowned on a dra-matic apx 1000 ft elevation from L.A.’s basin. It boasts the ability to construct over 50,000 sq-ft. The land offers nobstructed jetliner views from downtown to the ocean and is listed for $24,250,000

6 HOT PROPERTIES

Adi Ben Yacoov has the listing for this architectural home in Venice recently featured by the Zillow blog. This architectural masterpiece of over 4000 sq.feet designed for the indoor/out-door lifestyle. The home has floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to bring in plenty of that great California sunshine and provide easy access to the pool and patio. The spectacular chef ’s kitch-en has Miele appliances, white lacquer cabinetry and quartz counter tops. Thee third floor living/ media room opens to spa-cious roof top deck to enjoy the ocean breeze and views! Retreat to your luxurious sexy master suite and unwind in the soaking tub or relax in the serene fireplace room overlooking the pool. it is listed for $2.999 million.When it was time for Pete Rose, the Cincinnati Reds baseball legend known as “The Hit King,” to put his home on the mar-ket, he turned to Gloria Hicks at Rodeo Realty. Rose and his wife Carol, have listed their Sherman Oaks home for $2.15 million as reported in the LA Times Hot Property section. The story was also covered by Zillow, Bloomberg, Philadephia Magazine, LA Confidential and Yahoo Homes.

The Spanish-style home has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and 4,719 square feet of living space.The quarter-acre site also con-tains a swimming pool with spa, a covered patio and a detached multi-use structure.

Joe Babajian has the listing for the Beverly Hills showplace which was once owned by Rihanna. The contemporary home received high marks from LA Confidential for its large win-dows, rich wood flooring and “ master suite, which boasts an edgy-chic design and a lust-worthy custom closet outfit-ted with suede ceilings.” This gated & secluded estate has over 8,500 square feet of living space, 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, and top-of-the-line finishes. The open floor plan is an entertainer’s dream w/ voluminous 35-foot tongue & groove wood ceilings, seamless flow to the outdoors, & a tiered home theater for pri-vate screenings. The pool & spa overlook a lush, grassy yard & terrace with city & canyon views. It is listed for $8.395 million.

Jennifer Winchell has the listing for this three bedroom home on Mulholland which was featured by Los Angeles Confiden-tial and was chosen as a home of the day by Curbed. The three-bedroom home offers over 5,200 square feet of living space with an open kitchen with self-closing cabinets and top of the line Miele appliances. The home includes an elevator. The master suite has a sleek fireplace and a master bath with a giant steam shower and heated floors. The home is wired for stereo surround sound through the entire space as part of a state-of-the-art smart home system. Large glass doors lead to out to the infinity pool with a swim up bar and spa. The home is listed for $7.825 million.

HOT SALES7

Barbra Stover handled both sides of the transaction in the sale of Downtown Julie Brown’s home in Marina del Rey. The listing was written up in the The Huffington Post and the sale was featured on the Redfin blog.

Ben Bacal handled the transactions when Megan Ellison sold her three properties in the Bird Streets area for close to $47 million. The sale was covered by the LA Times and the Real Estalker among others.

Joe Babajian and Judy Cycon have sold the Kent Kresa home in Beverly Hills. The property sold for $27.5 mil-lion and the transaction was covered by the LA Times Hot Property section.

8HOT SALES

Desiree Zuckerman was Karina Smirnoff ’s agent when she picked up a three-bedroom home in the Holly-wood Hills for $1.25 million. The purchase was covered by the Trulia blog and the LA Times.

As Trulia’s Luxe Living blog recently reported, actor Jeremy Sisto recently purchased a home in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles from Hollywood producer Cassian Elwes. Rodeo Realty’s Verna Cornelius repre-sented the seller in the transaction.

Allyson Carter helped Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars sell his Malibu home.

Donna and Moti Haim

Congratulations on having such a more than outstanding team of agents in Donna and Moti Haim. Without a doubt the very best of all of the agents we have been associated with over the decades (50+!). Beyond professional, great interface and lots of fun to be with. Their singular dedication to our property was the very reason we had six offers in the first five days, with three over ask-ing. No worries closing escrow. Michelle Sandoval saw to that as well. Thank you, thank you Rodeo Realty for such an overwhelming success.

Best Regards,Thomas H. Brodek

Bernie Kozak

Dear Bernie:

Scott and I are finally settled into the new house and loving it! We would like to thank you again for the exceptional job you did in helping us with the purchase of our home. Your skill and knowledge, and not to mention great patience, made for a smooth transaction. We are so happy with the mid-century master-piece we purchased and could not imagine living anywhere else.

We especially appreciate the dedicaton and hard work you did for us: negotiat-ing the contract, respondingly quickly to our questions, and negotiating with the seller to make an equitable deal happen. You have always maintained the perfect balance of professional-ism, good humor, patience, understanding, and diplomacy. You have been a true delight to work with on a personal level as well, reassuring us and comforting us through the stressful task of closing on a house.

Based on our experience with other agents in the Los Angeles area, you have, by far, been the best real estate agent that we have worked with and we would higly recommend you to anyone looking for a real estate agent.

Once again, thanks for a job well done!

Jola and Scott Cardillo

9 Appreciation Letters From Clients

Economic Forecasts With C.A.R. 10

For two days in two locations, Rodeo Real-ty agents converged to learn more about the housing market and the bigger picture for the economy in 2014 from Leslie Appleton-Young and Joel Singer of the California Association of Realtors. “I think you are going to have a good year next year,” said Joel Singer, the president of the California Association of Realtors on day two of this annual event when he was speak-ing to Westside agents. Both talks covered the changes in the economy, consumer confidence, and both local and national markets.

The Fed has decided start tapering back the bond-buying program now that the economy is gaining strength. The tapering program will be modest to start but interest rates will rise. The Gross Domestic Product is showing forward momentum, unemployment is heading lower but we are still down by around 500,000 jobs from where we were in Cali-fornia. Also job quality is a concern, we need more high-paying jobs to support the market. One negative trend is that some young people are actually leaving the workforce, some to go back to school but some are discouraged workers. The percentage of first-time buyers remains low, currently at 28% far below the long-run average of 38%. “We need to cultivate the next generation of homebuyers,” says Singer. Understanding financial literacy, student-loan debt, managing a down payment, and other areas are all places where an agent can help those who might think they can’t buy figure out how to afford a home.

Consumer confidence is going back up and Singer predicts the consumer will be more confident in 2014. Interest rates will also rise and refinances have already dropped off. “A 5% mortgage is probably cooked in,” he says. While 5% isn’t high for those who have been in the industry a long time and have seen much higher rates, a 5% rate may strain affordability for some consumers who are accustomed to much lower rates. People will adjust but for real estate agents, educating buyers on the current window of opportunity is very important, a 5% interest rate is still very good, especially compared to historical rates.

carforecast3We are not in a bubble but housing affordability has fallen due to mortgage rate and price gains however it is still an attractive market and a more stabilized market is a positive for both buyers and sellers. Positive trends generally go for seven to nine years and we are just at the start of the recovery. Inventory is starting to rise but is still low. We are still under building in California and housing permits are low. In the last few months, stiff market competition has been one factor that has led to fewer sales overall. The aver-age home had six offers on it last year in California. International buyers continue to grow, especially from China, which makes up 30% of the international buyer marketplace.

There’s a lot to look forward to in 2014. Housing prices will likely rise again in 2014 but will do so at a more modest rate. Rising prices can be a benefit for both buyers and sellers because as more sellers get out from underwater or can realize a gain on their homes they are more likely to sell which creates a greater pool for potential buyers to choose from. If 2013 was the year that the recovery began, 2014 is the year that it takes off in earnest making this a great time to enter the market.

The PowerPoint Presentation from the California Association Of Realtors is download-able on the extranet.

Rodeo Realty Gives Back For Thanksgiving11

Rodeo Realty Brentwood donated money to feed needy families for a whole week at OPCC, a total of 3,750 meals! They served meals on Monday November 25.

Agents from Rodeo Realty Sun-set served Thanksgiving dinner at the Youth Center on Highland on Thanksgiving Day

Rodeo Realty Gives Back For Thanksgiving 12

Rodeo Realty agents from across the Valley donated time to the Hope of the Valley Res-cue Mission over Thanksgiving. Rodeo Realty also sponsored the event and helped the mission reach their goal of serving over 1,000 meals during Thanksgiving Week.

Rodeo Realty partnered with Move for Hunger to host a holiday food drive to feed hungry children and adults in Los Angeles County. The donations will help feed the 1.6 million people in Los Angeles County that live on incomes that put them at risk of hunger. Forty per-cent of those in need are children. The donations will benefit the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

13 Brentwood Tree Trimming

14Upcoming Rodeo Realty Events 2014

January 30 2014 Rodeo Realty Winter Conference Speaker to be announced.Panel on digital marketing and personal brandingPanel on how to work with business managers, money managers, and wealth managment experts. Panel on dominating your farm area.Benefits of LuxuryRealEstate.comThis event includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and a networking par-ty with cocktails afterward.

February 27, 2014 Estate Meeting 12 Noon--lunch to be servedEstate home to be announced

March 6, 2014 11:30 AM top producer awards lunch. Invitation only Luxe Hotel Brent-wood

March 27, 2014 Architectural Division lecture AMC Century City 9:30 AM

April 23, 2014 Arclight Sherman Oaks 9:30AM annual legal meeting with our attorney. E and O insurance carriers require these yearly

April 24, 2014 same legal meeting at AMC Century City 9:30AM

May 17, 2014 Rodeo Realty Casino Night 7PM

June 19, 2004Rodeo Realty Summer Conferenceagenda to be announced

15 NORTHRIDGE ADOPT A FAMILY

The holidays are always a busy time and they were extra busy this season at the Rodeo Realty Northridge office which is in the middle of a major renovation. It made for one very rushed December but the generous agents at the Northridge office still found time to continue their work supporting the Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services Adopt A Family Project. The office has done this for over seven years.

This year they adopted three local families who were displaced as victims of domestic abuse. Even with the remodeling frenzy, the agents were more generous than ever. They provided each family a Christmas Tree complete with stand, lights & ornaments and were able to provide each family many of the items they hoped to receive. There were gift cards for holiday meals, clothes, games, art supplies, jackets, shoes, household items, gift cards for fast food and more all beautifully wrapped by Rodeo NR elves. About 30 agents donated gifts, cash, time for shopping and time to wrap gifts. The donations totaled in excess of $1,000 – an all-time high! Good work Northridge team!

ENCINO HOLIDAY PARTY

NORTHRIDGE ADOPT A FAMILY 16Rodeo Realty Holiday Party

Thank you for a wonder-ful event Rodeo Realty team!

17 Rodeo Realty Holiday Party

Celebrating a great 2013and looking forward to a new year!

Rodeo Realty Holiday Party 18Rodeo Realty Holiday Party

19 Rodeo Realty In The NewsLos Angeles is a town full of extraordinary houses and extraordinary peo-ple. This week the Hollywood Reporter published a special feature on top real estate agent in Los Angeles and Rodeo Realty had three agents named to the list: Joe Babajian, Peter Maurice, and Josh Flagg. Each was honored as being the best of the best in a town full of top talent.

The Redfin blog recently released their list of the top 5 searched homes on Redfin.com in 2013 and amid Taylor Swift’s childhood home and Liberace’s former Las Vegas spread was a home sold by Lilach Basson of Rodeo Realty. The modern five-bedroom contemporary home was professionally designed with luxury amenities including Hansgrohe bathroom fixtures, digital camera surveil-lance, and a sound system. The very popular home sold in April after several weeks on the market.

The Wall Street Journal did a story on homes that are on Candy Cane Lanes (neighborhoods that go all out on Christmas decor).One of the most famous Candy Cane Lanes is in Woodland Hills in a four-street area so popular that it attracts visitors from all over Los Angeles who crank up the Christmas carols and come by to see (and photograph) the famous lights. Earlier this year, Joe Goldin, a real-estate agent at Rodeo Realty in Encino, Calif., sold a Candy Cane Lane property for $700,000. Joe didn’t put Candy Cane Lane in the list-ing. He didn’t need to. “Everyone knows about it,” he told the WSJ’s Sanette Tanaka.

RODEO REALTY IN THE NEWS 20

Get some great press? Share it with us at mediarelations@rodeore.com

Rodeo Realty Equestrian Estates Director Jay Geisenheimer has been named to serve as a director for the Burbank Board of Realtors. She will be on the Board of Directors for 2014 and 2015 amd has also served on the Legislative Committee and the Education Committee.

Rodeo Realty’s own Josh Flagg is a proud homeowner. He recently took OK! TV’s Ron Pitts on a private showing inside his beautiful new home. The tour includes a look at Josh’s amazing art collection, fire pit and the things about the house he is looking to change.

Rodeo Realty agent Nikki Hochstein was featured in an article from the LA Times addressing the rising housing prices in Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and surrounding areas. She was quoted as saying: “Venice prices are going through the roof,” she said, “which is pushing people into Mar Vista and south Santa Monica.”

Natalie Alchadeff was quoted in the Virginian-Pilot in a story on “puffed-up” real estate listings. She recounted the time that she had once sold a house along-side the freeway for top dollar, despite the presumed difficulties in promoting such a location.

She was also quoted on the Realtor.com blog about finding the right schools when buying a home. She recommended asking your real estate agent for a list of good schools in the area and then contacting the school district office to make sure there are no plans to change boundary lines.