Hector My Realtor Blog Page

  In the realm of real estate absorption rates, it seems that what goes down must come up. At least in the competitive housing market of the Greater Los Angeles area. As we head deeper into the autumn, the sun that shined so brightly on prospective home buyers is slipping behind the clouds, returning favor to sellers. Well, except for one holdout. In October, we sold 1,077 homes in the neighborhoods where we track absorption rates publicly, up from 895 in September. So, despite what you may read, this market still has plenty of health to it. Still, October was certainly a month for the sellers. We’ll get into the specifics, but first, our FAQs.  Absorption Rates – April 2024 Burbank – 33% Encino – 13% Glendale – 30% Long Beach – 39% Los Angeles – 21% Northridge – 31% Palmdale – 26% Pasadena – 34% Rancho Cucamonga – 43% Reseda – 26% Upland – 39% Valencia/Santa Clarita – 30% Our Absorption Rate FAQs What is an Absorption Rate? An absorption rate i...

  Featured image credit: Choose Glendale When searching for your dream home, it pays to do your research into the surrounding neighborhood. Our new regular series, Neighborhood Watch, gives you an overview of some of the most commonly asked questions about the neighborhoods we service, getting you started on the right foot in deciding whether a location fits your specific needs. It’s no substitute for a real estate agent. But with our Neighborhood Watch series, we hope to point you in the direction of home!  With not one but two offices in Glendale, California, JohnHart Real Estate obviously holds the community of Glendale very close to our heart. And we’re not the only ones. We’ll try not to let that bias shine through as we break down the basics of the city for anyone considering Glendale homes for sale. Frankly, it can be a challenging neighborhood to move into because of the high demand. But people are moving to Glendale every day and there’s no reaso...

  You know things are bad when even the architecture is against you. Yet, most Angelenos express at least a passing familiarity with a concept called “hostile architecture.” Alternatively known as hostile urbanism or, by those supporting its use, defensive architecture, hostile architecture strives to use streetscapes and designs in public areas to put up some sort of resistance to easy use or long-term use. That’s a convoluted way of saying that hostile architecture intends to be serviceable strictly within the range of its intended use… and even then just barely. Isn’t architecture supposed to make things easier? Or at least more attractive? So why is hostile architecture a thing, not just in LA, but all around the world? As usual, it’s not a simple answer.  What is Hostile Architecture?  Photo credit: Tdorante10 Speaking with LAist in 2017, Co-Director of Here LA Amber Hawkes artfully described hostile architecture as “any streetscaping eleme...

  Featured image credit: Mauroguanandi If you gave your three-year-old a box of crayons and told them to make up a tree, it might look a little like the floss silk tree. Appearing like flora from an alien world, the floss silk tree is characterized by its prickly trunk, cotton-bearing seedpods, and bountiful blossoms of pink or white. Easily one of the strangest examples of popular plant life in Los Angeles, it even gives the jacaranda a run for its money when it comes to peculiar beauty. But is the floss silk tree the right choice to boost your curb appeal?  Where Can You Grow the Floss Silk Tree? Photo credit: Pablo D. Flores Like so many of LA’s distinctive trees including jacarandas, eucalyptus trees, and even several species of palm trees , the floss silk tree is a transplant. It originates from the subtropical jungles of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay where it likely wouldn’t turn quite as many heads.  Pretty much any subtropical region...

  Featured image credit: Jessie Eastland What is it about the isolation of the desert that drives people to search with such determination for profound, meaningful communication? It’s the conditions that birthed the Mojave Phone Booth : a remote payphone that inspired togetherness amongst lonely people at the end of the 1990s. And the Amargosa Opera House : a Death Valley venue that had to paint its audience before finding a real one. It’s the same spirit at the center of today’s subject: The Integratron. This looming acoustic masterpiece stands in the remote arid landscape of Landers near Joshua Tree. The Integratron was allegedly built under the specific instructions of a benign extraterrestrial presence. So much for moving to the desert to get away from it all! In the Welcoming Shadow of Giant Rock Photo credit: Ralph Megna George Van Tassel arrived in the Mojave Desert looking to the sky. After all, it had been his bread and butter up until this point in...

  Featured image credit: Hermann Luyken Cirque du Soleil has become such a fixture of the Las Vegas experience that it’s hard to recall that the first permanent venture was a major risk. Up until then, the expectations of Las Vegas nightlife were drastically different. While most will agree that Siegfried and Roy did the heavy lifting of the Vegas entertainment revolution, Cirque du Soleil provided more than its fair share of clown soldiers. Today, revelers can choose between six Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil residencies. But that’s soon to be five. Here’s how they stack up… Mad Apple Location: New York-New York Hotel and Casino Active Since: 2022 Photo credit: Cirque du Soleil Mad Apple is the freshest of Vegas’s Cirque du Soleil residencies. And with that novelty comes a purposeful refusal of Cirque du Soleil traditions. Pancake-faced acrobats are replaced by jersey-wearing basketball players. World music is drowned out by contemporary pop hits. W...

  In our line of service, we meet people every day chasing their dreams of homeownership. And often, those dreams aren’t very exacting. A surprising amount of people are in the market for four walls and a roof… anything else is icing on the cake. And there’s nothing wrong with that! But Glendale’s historic Harris House, which just hit the market, is a home for the discerning dreamers. Its gabled roof is held aloft by possibility and history; a home that considers tomorrow through the lens of countless yesterdays. Not quite Victorian, not quite Craftsman, it’s a quixotic structure too grandly unique to belong to any one time. In short, it’s a home for someone who doesn’t see a place but an entity; a being with brick bones and redwood blood that’s held true despite the world changing around it; a sanctuary unbowed by the ages.    The Feminine History of the Historic Harris House Built in 1902, the Harris House is one of the oldest homes in Glendale...