South Bay Echo for Nov 19
BeachLife announces May dates, Daily Breeze Ball Drive kicks off, LA wants to outlaw iBuying and Salvation Army meets a growing need
Hello friends… Welcome to the 12th edition of South Bay Echo, your source of local hometown news with a real estate angle.
This Substack is brought to you by Rosetree Real Estate, a full service real estate brokerage dealing in residential and commercial properties to both own and lease. We offer generous referral fees too! For more information visit RosetreeRealEstate.com. DRE# 02145024
BeachLife Festival returns May 13-15
With the lights and sounds from this year’s BeachLife Festival having barely dimmed just two months ago, event organizers this week announced the show’s 2022 dates, bringing to fruition what had originally been envisioned as a biannual event.
The three-day festival known for its easy going beachy vibes will return May 13-15 with tickets now on sale through the festival’s website. The only thing is, they don’t plan to announce any artists until January. I’d place a bet it includes some hot 90s bands.
General admission tickets are $349 with a General Admission Plus option where you can come and go for $399. The 3-day VIP ticket is $799 and a 3-day Captains pass is $2999.
Daily Breeze Ball Drive kicks off
The 22-year tradition by the Daily Breeze newspaper to provide as many sports balls as possible to the Boys & Girls Clubs of L.A. Harbor during the holidays has officially begun.
The Daily Breeze Ball Drive runs through Dec. 17 and is expected to put several thousand sports balls into the hands of young people who might not otherwise have a Christmas gift. But that’s only with your support.
Last year, the drive generating 3,700 balls. Since the program began, it’s contributed 27,000 balls to young athletes. This year, since I am no longer with the paper, I am helping to organize the Ball Drive Ambassador program. Ambassadors will encourage their friends, family and clients to donate a sports ball and serve as a collection hub. Please contact me for more information.
Other ways to contribute include buying a ball from Big 5 Sporting Goods or Cal Pro Sports and dunking it in the collection bin. You can also drop off a sports ball to First Bank locations in Redondo and Torrance and UNIFY Financial Credit Union locations in the South Bay. Alternatively you can have sports balls delivered to Boys & Girls Club of LA Harbor, 1200 2. Cabrillo Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731.
This substack is brought to you by Rosetree Real Estate. For every buyer or seller referred, you could earn up to 20% on our commission. Learn more at RosetreeRealEstate.com. Call me today at 310-529-8790
LA City Council wants to outlaw iBuying
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted to explore ways of preventing tech companies from buying up single-family homes and flipping them for profit, according to LAist.
Zillow made news earlier this month when it pulled the plug on its so-called iBuying initiative because its algorithms had allowed the company to somehow lose $380 million. Ouch… Other companies such as Opendoor, Offerpad and Redfin are apparently staying the course.
While this trend is a troubling one, iBuying or home flipping on an industrial scale is by no means a leading cause of the market explosion in recent years though it likely contributes. These tech companies accounted for about 1.2% of home sales in L.A. and Orange counties during the second quarter of this year, according to the LA Times.
Meanwhile, Southern California home prices just reached another all-time high with the region’s six-county median home price up to $688,500 in September, up 1.3% from a month ago. In the beach cities where media home sales are well over $1 million, that would be considered a bargain.
The reason for the housing crunch are multifold: Mortgage rates are low, few homes are for sale and stiff competition with wealthy cash buyers makes it difficult for first-time home buyers.
If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, call me today at 310-529-8790.
Salvation Army turkey giveaway shows extreme need
The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday got a little easier for about 12,000 families this year thanks to the stalwart efforts of the Salvation Army. This year the need has grown considerably as a result of the pandemic.
Irene Lewis, director of the group’s South LA Community Center told NBCLA recently the increase has been noticeable this year. About 1,000 families lined up around the block, some as early as 4:30 a.m., to one of the charity’s turkey giveaways this week.
With the US Price Index hitting 6.2% from last year, making ends meet has become even harder for many families. Please consider making a donation to the Southern California branch of the Salvation Army.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
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I hope I'm not posting this twice. LA City Council wants to outlaw iBuying. Nury Martinez should have learned her lesson when the court slapped down the council's prohibition of NRA members bidding on city contracts. Corporations are legal persons w first amendment rights and the right to engage in business. I can only infer the woman is obtuse.