On the road to recovery, Los Angeles’s car culture is back in the driver’s seat. After all, in your own vehicle, you never have to worry about who coughed on the steering wheel. Or about who occupied the seat next to you before you climbed in. So even in a post-COVID-19 world, most analysts expect driving to remain the preferred choice of transportation for some time to come. And with it has come the resurgence of drive-thru restaurants, currently booming as Angelinos venture outside to eat somewhere other than their own kitchens while also remaining socially distant from strangers.

Astro Burger

5601 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038 323-469-1924

After opening in 1974 serving mostly hamburgers, this spot on the corner of Melrose and Gower has expanded to include soups, salads and vegetarian dishes along with a Greek menu that offers such daily specials as Yemista (rice-stuffed baked tomato or bell peppers), Spanakorizo (cooked spinach and rice) and Papoutsakia (stuffed eggplant). If it is a burger you’re looking for, they have a selection of Angus beef burgers as well as turkey and veggie options.

Rick’s Drive In & Out

2400 Fletcher Drive, Los Angeles 323-660-5988

Satisfying the fast-food cravings of loyal Dodgers fans since 1981 when this location opened near Dodger Stadium, Rick’s Drive In & Out offers the comforting pre-and-post-game fare you would expect: burgers, sandwiches, homemade onion rings, among them. Not so expected: their breakfast burrito, considered among the tastiest in Los Angeles.

Patra’s Charbroiled Burgers

2319 N San Fernando Road, Glassel Park 323-225-9944

Dishing out the charbroiled fare for more than 40 years, Patra’s serves much more than burgers — from sourdough melts and grilled hot dogs to club sandwiches and taco salads, in addition to burritos, tacos and quesadillas. Then again, if you did come for a burger, you won’t be disappointed, whether you’re digging into their angus beef Revolution, meatless Happy Cow or Green Goddess with guacamole, roasted peppers and chipotle sauce.

El Huero Drive Thru

3000 S Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 213-747-0012

A popular draw for nearby USC students for decades, this walk-up stand and drive-thru serves fresh Mexican fare ranging from build-your-own burritos and nachos to tacos and breakfast plates. Also on the menu: burgers (such as the Mix-Up, which piles grilled pastrami on a ground beef patty), hot dogs and sides including onion rings, chili cheese fries and nacho fries.

Originally posted by Rodeo Realty Media Team.

Just the Facts: Four Key Housing Market Takeaways for This Week

• Home-buying demand is making a speedy recovery, down only 15% from pre-pandemic levels
• Buyers are nervous, but continue to pay up. Prices are up 1% compared to last year and affordable homes are selling like hotcakes
• New listings are up from their low point on April 13, but can’t keep up with home-buying demand. There are fewer than 700,000 homes for sale in Redfin markets; a 5-year low
• Mortgages rates are low, but credit is still tight. Lenders are demanding big down payments, especially for high-end homes, forcing some buyers to put their purchases on hold

Home-buying demand continues to climb

Home-buying demand took another step towards recovery, gaining strength for the third week in a row. After plummeting as much as 34% in March, home-buying demand is now down only 15% from pre-coronavirus pandemic levels on a seasonally-adjusted basis for the seven days ended on Sunday, April 26.

Will the housing recovery survive re-starting the economy?

While the recovery in home-buying demand is starting to look more and more v-shaped, the question buyers and sellers are asking our agents is what will happen as states begin to lift stay-at-home orders? Will a burst of new inventory from sellers who have been trying to outlast the pandemic lead to lower home prices? Or will sellers stay on the sidelines while buyers, hopped up on ultra-low interest rates, bid up the limited number of homes on the market?

So far, the reality is a modest increase in new listings and pending sales. In the seven days ended April 24, almost 53,000 new homes hit the market compared to just over 48,000 for the seven days ended April 13; the date new listings hit their lowest level over the past two months. More new listings have been accompanied by more sales, with pending sales up from fewer than 31,000 in the seven days ended April 13 to more than 32,500 for the seven days ended April 24.

Despite the increase in new listings over the past two weeks, there were fewer than 700,000 homes for sale in Redfin markets across the U.S., which is the lowest inventory level we’ve seen anytime in the past five years.

Some of the new inventory hitting the market may be coming from buy-and-hold investors. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve heard stories of Airbnb landlords with sudden unexpected vacancy putting their homes up for sale. This week, we started to hear of more long-term rentals hitting the market. Marshall Carey, a Redfin agent in Washington D.C., said several clients decided to list because the college students who normally lease their units have headed home early. Across the country in Tacoma, Washington, Redfin agent Amber Allin has clients who are selling several long-term rental properties to free up cash for investments outside of real estate.

Overall prices are up just a touch, affordable homes are still selling like hotcakes

Even though some investors may be headed for the exits, home prices have held steady. For the seven days ended April 24, the median listing price was $308,000, up 1% compared to the same period the prior year. Octavia Valencia, a Redfin agent in Atlanta says, “Buyers and sellers are in a deadlock. Buyers are asking ‘is now the right time,’ and making more conservative offers, but sellers are not willing to come down on price.” Graham Rogers, a Redfin agent in South Carolina added, “In the end, buyers are paying up to hit the seller’s bottom-line number.”

Affordable, single-family homes is the segment of the market where sellers have the biggest advantage. Agents across the country are reporting that these homes often generate bidding wars with prices sometimes escalating tens of thousands of dollars above the asking price.

At higher price points, homes have to be well-priced and move-in ready. Rogers added, “Unless they’re looking for a fixer, buyers want everything to be done. People aren’t looking to spend an extra ten to fifteen thousand dollars to fix the place up, and now you don’t know when you can get contractors into your home. It’s tough to get bids. It’s tough to get a timeline.”

Rates are low, but deals are taking longer and some buyers are struggling with lending requirements

Mortgage rates ticked down this week to about 3.25%. That’s almost 0.5% lower than they were at the beginning of April, and approaching the all-time lows we saw back in early March. Fannie Mae forecast that rates will continue to fall, and could dip below 3% for the first time ever in 2021.

Lower rates are making monthly payments more affordable; the 0.5% decline in rate reduces the monthly payment on a $300,000 home by $65 per month. But it is taking more patience to bring a deal together. Time to close a transaction once the buyer and seller have agreed on price increased  18. That’s up from 27 days in the last week of February before the pandemic started and the longest closing time we’ve seen since July of 2017.

Lenders are still overwhelmed by the boom in refinance applications driven by the low rates, and now we’re hearing from our agents that appraisals are taking longer due to coronavirus-related work restrictions. Carlos Barrientos, a Redfin agent in San Francisco, reports that appraisers have also gotten more conservative. “Appraisers will look at three similar homes and take the lowest of the three rather than taking an average. Even if one home has a great view or something special, they aren’t giving out any extra credit.” When this happens, it kicks off a whole new negotiation between the buyer and seller over how to cover the difference because lenders will only lend up to the appraised value. Barrientos added, “On top of appraisals, some buyers are struggling with lending requirements. They have a 10% down payment, but suddenly the bank requires 20%. Now they have to wait.”

Originally posted by redfin.com. Written by Adam Wiener.

Right now, I should be packing up for my family’s spring break vacation to a big beach house in North Carolina with my parents and my sister’s family—another year of dipping our toes into the still-chilly Atlantic, eating shrimp and grits, and unwinding together for a week. 

But instead, we’re gearing up for a very different kind of spring vacation this year, as self-distancing and spring break means a staycation is definitely in the cards. But just because we’re (still) stuck at home, doesn’t mean we have to be bored at home.

If the coronavirus quarantine means you have a lot of free time on your hands right about now, here’s how to make your time stuck at home feel more like a vacation. 

Earth Day marks its 50th year on Wednesday, April 22, and the world’s largest civic event is going digital for the first time in its history. With the 2020 theme being Climate Action, digital events and activities will take place across the globe, allowing people to take action from the safety of home. 

In honor of Earth Day, we’re looking at how sustainable, ecologically conscious home design continues to advance, as more homebuilders and designers strive to implement environmentally friendly materials, technologies and building practices. Forbes, Fast Company and more named sustainability among the major design trends of 2020, while Architectural Digest touted experts saying sustainability is going from trend to consumer expectation. 

The Agency’s real estate agents are seeing new constructions, remodels and restorations across the continent employ the latest sustainable technologies and materials. These features make homes much more attractive to potential buyers looking for ethical purchases that help them both support environmental initiatives and reduce the cost of living.

Managing Partner of The Agency Sherman Oaks and Calabasas Craig Knizek represents the remodeled Spanish estate 14547 Valley Vista in Sherman Oaks, along with Kevin Nguyen and Shylee Halimi. Originally built in 1928, the home has been given a modern refresh, featuring an array of sustainable features, including denim insulation, naturally oiled hardwood floors, tankless water heaters, high-efficiency appliances, low-water landscaping and rain collection tanks.  

“Restoring homes is much greener than tearing them down and rebuilding from scratch,” Craig notes. “You are repurposing massive amounts of material that would otherwise go to a landfill. Purchasing items from architectural salvage shops across the country is a way of preserving the craftsmanship of generations past.” 14547 Valley Vista features a front door from the early 1900s, arched windows from a mansion in Malibu, sconces and chandeliers gathered from far and wide, which were restored to their full glory—all special touches that bring the soul back into a renovated home. Watch the designers walk you through the renovation and sustainable features here. 

Known as The Sten Frenke Estate, 126 Mabery Road in Santa Monica was designed in 1934 by the famed Richard Neutra and is a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Landmark. Represented by Billy Rose, the property has benefited from two recent restorations, preserving the continuous ribbons of glass that capture sublime natural light. The property’s energy needs are supplied, in part, by the on-site geothermal generators. 

“Hopefully, we are all now more aware that we need to address climate change, and we all need to start taking action before it’s too late,” Billy says. “With so many different ways in which we can participate, it’s unconscionable not to be doing so.” 

The sustainably built 912 Fall Harvest Court in the Deer Ridge neighborhood of Kitchener, Ontario is Energy Star certified, featuring high-efficiency mechanicals, triple-paned windows, air/weather barrier, engineered wood components and LED lighting. Newly built by Grason Homes and represented by Steve Bailey and Isabel Pinheiro, the nearly 4,000-square-foot residence counts the sustainable features among its modern amenities which include, an Arriscraft stone exterior and irrigation system with WIFI weather check.     

“Why not save money every month on your utility costs while reducing your carbon footprint and doing your part to help the environment,” says Jim Velacich, President of Grason Homes. “It seems like a no brainer, especially when Energy Star houses don’t cost you any extra money to purchase.” 

In Paradise Valley, Arizona, 5429 E. Caron Street is an authentic, adobe-style residence designed by architect Clint Miller. Represented by Adrian Heyman, the home features 18” thick adobe walls, which are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Far outlasting wood-framed buildings, adobe is an energy-efficient choice for desert homes, because of the high thermal conductivity. Adobe remains at the top of the list for people seeking green, sustainable or low carbon footprint homes. 

Villa Vista del Sur, a contemporary home within the gates of Puerto Los Cabos, Mexico, was envisioned to be energy efficient, featuring a 14-panel solar system and an on-demand, tankless hot water system. The property is represented by Janet Jensen, Mauricio Rivero and Gaby Digiuseppe, who say buyers should seek a home with sustainable features that reduce their carbon footprint and maximize Cabo’s year-round sunshine. The sun powers the cells in the solar panels, as opposed to the coal that powers Baja’s electrical plants. 

Originally posted by theagencyre.com.