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Business & Tech

Multiple Offers for Homes

Demand for homes picks up in Eagle Rock, pushing prices above asking.

First the bad news: Home values have not yet recovered from their pre-crash levels. In the Glendale market, which includes Eagle Rock, for example, median home price drooped in September to $484,000, down from $510,000 a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.

By contrast, median home prices across Los Angeles County have been on the uptick—$309,000 in September, as compared to $296,000 the previous year, according to CAR.

And now the good news: Quite a few houses in Eagle Rock are getting multiple offers. That means bidders are offering more money than the asking price—a refreshing sign of demand amid a wintry housing market.

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One recent example—our showcase sale for the week—is a stylish, smallish mid-century modernist home that sold for $575,000 at 4901 El Canto Dr. The sale price was several thousands of dollars higher than the original asking price, according to listing agent Tracy King, a real estate agent in the Pasadena office of Coldwell Banker Residential. In fact, several of the houses that King recently listed have sold for more money than the asking price, she says

The mid-century house was built in 1952. Located at the end of a cul-de-sac, it is set against a long driveway and has three bedrooms and two baths. The 1,786 sq. ft. plan boasts original features, including built-in drawers and large windows that offer sumptuous views of the Verdugo mountains. There's plenty of closet and storage space.

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Although King could not identify the original architect, the showcase sale is a smart piece of design that fits into a snug lot, while still providing some style and privacy. Note the way that the garage is turned to the side, giving extra privacy to the front door, while diminishing the bulk of the garage on the front façade.

I especially like the horizontal overhang that sticks out from the garage, adding a bit of modernist va-voom to the composition. Could the architect have been an admirer of mid-century master Rudolf Schindler, who specialized in striking, three-dimensional structures and whose most well-known works were built in and around Los Angeles?   

The house is something of a relevation for me. To be honest, I wasn't aware that Eagle Rock had many mid-century homes, despite their increasing popularity over the past two decades or so. "There are more of them than you may realize," King informed me, adding: "Especially on the edges, and in the hills."

People currently buying houses in Eagle Rock often tend to be young couples who typically rent in Silver Lake but are unable to afford a home of their own in that fashionable neighborhood. These are the kind of people who have, in fact, been moving to Eagle Rock over the past five to 10 years.

"Eagle Rock is a place where those buyers can find the kind of architectural homes they like," says King. And compared with other tony neighborhoods in the area, such homes also happen to be much more affordable.

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