Kate cleans the carpets, stays put

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Whew. Kate in the Valley is back. We thought for a moment we had lost her. (Was is something we said?) Or that maybe she bought a house and decided, ‘It’s none of their business what I paid!’ No, she’s still looking, and in no rush to buy. Her latest:

‘Two months ago I wrote about price reductions in the Fashion Square area of Sherman Oaks so I thought I should get back to you with what the neighborhood currently looks like. As you’ll see below, only two homes have sold in this neighborhood since I started watching it. There have been double digit price reductions on plenty of homes but a few sellers are deep in denial and offering no price reductions after one-hundred-plus days on the market. A few new listings obviously disregarded the high number of days on market and considered those ancient listings to be comps because they set their prices accordingly. But, by and large, this neighborhood’s listings have gone from a mid-$800k range to a low-$700k range. The high-$600k range seems to be on the horizon because a few listings have recently been reduced to that point.

‘I’m currently watching the Northwest corner of Studio City, bound by Coldwater Canyon and the 101, because I think it will be the next to take a nose dive (stay tuned!). But Mr. Kate and I have parked our down money in a high-yield savings account, had the carpets steam cleaned in our month-to-month rental condo, and accepted that we will stay put for at least another six months. I would even be happy to wait another year because I suspect that by then the coveted South of the Boulevard homes might be affordable again. But enough about me! Let’s get to the numbers:

CURRENTLY LISTED BETWEEN $800k-$900k:

04/06/07:
13512 Addison St.
Price Reduced: 05/24/07 -- $899k to $885k
Price Reduced: 06/05/07 -- $885k to $875k
Price Reduced: 06/26/07 -- $875k to $850k
Price Reduced: 08/02/07 -- $850k to $825k
Price Reduced: 09/11/07 -- $825k to $807k (10.23% down)

05/01/07:
5124 Sunnyslope Ave. ($855k)

05/30/07
5057 Stern Ave. ($899k)

09/01/07:
5040 Greenbush Ave. ($859k)

10/11/07:
13307 Otsego St. ($849k)

CURRENTLY LISTED BELOW $800k:

04/11/07:
14007 Morrison St.
Price Reduced: 08/20/07 -- $820k to $779k (5.00% down)
* Note: this is a re-listing

05/07/07:
13454 Otsego Ave.
Price Reduced: 10/03/07 -- $830k to $628k (24.34% down)
*Note: this is a re-listing.

05/31/07:
4918 Ranchito Ave.
Price Reduced: 07/18/07 -- $825k to $775k
Price Reduced: 09/18/07 -- $775k to $699k (15.27% down)

05/31/07:
14019 Huston St.
Price Reduced: 06/27/07 -- $819k to $799k
Price Reduced: 07/12/07 -- $799k to $779k
Price Reduced: 07/26/07 -- $779k to $759k
Price Reduced: 07/31/07 -- $759k to $749k
Price Reduced: 09/09/07 -- $749k to $735k (10.25% down)

06/05/07:
13739 Hartsook St. (the infamous cash-back-at-close house)
Price Reduced: 07/06/07 -- $825k to $775k
Price Reduced: 08/14/07 -- $775k to $759k
Price Reduced: 09/04/07 -- $759k to $749k
Value Ranged: 09/30/07 -- $749k to $725k (12.12% down).

07/12/07:
4801 Murietta Ave.
Price Reduced: 08/10/07 -- $695k to $650k
Price Reduced: 08/21/07 -- $650k to $625k
Price Reduced: 09/12/07 -- $625k to $599k
Price Reduced: 09/29/07 -- $599k to $560k (19.42% down)

07/24/07:
13953 Hartsook St.
Price Reduced: 08/23/07 -- $779k to $729k
Price Reduced: 09/12/07 -- $729k to $669k ( 14.12% down)

08/01/07
14024 La Maida St.
Price Reduced: 08/02/07 -- $825k to $799k
Price Reduced: 08/14/07 -- $799k to $765k
Price Reduced: 09/14/07 -- $749k to $745k (9.70% down)
*Note: this house was inactive but is now back on market.

08/30/07:
13920 Hartsook St. ($789k)

10/07/07:
5049 Matilija Ave. ($799k)

OFF MARKET (NO SALE RECORDED AS OF 10/12/07):

07/09/07:
4836 Ranchito Ave (list: $899k)
* CURRENTLY FOR RENT!

09/06/07:
4917 Woodman Ave. (Inactive after 114 D.O.M.)
Price Reduced: 06/18/07 -- $869k to $849k
Price Reduced: 07/18/07 -- $849k to $799k (8.06% down)
*This home was available for lease at $3k/month

09/18/07:
4937 Woodman Ave. (Inactive after 159 D.O.M.)
Price Reduced: 04/17/07 -- $900k to $849.95k
Price Reduced: 05/31/07 -- $849.95k to $800k (11.11% down)

CONFIRMED SOLD:

07/24/04:
13952 Hartsook St.
Sale Price: $880k
*Note: this REO was previously sold at $1.2M

09/25/07:
13956 Otsego St. (list: $825k)
Sale Price: $838k