Amid the market downturn, the public is welcome to see some properties listed for more than $10 million.

Story by: Lauren Beale, LA Times

For Florence Mattar, each open house has a routine. She drives around the neighborhood placing signs, brings in fresh flowers, stocks the refrigerator with bottled water and sets out a sign-in sheet.

Similar scenes play out across Southern California every weekend, with one expensive exception. The Tuscan-style house she is “sitting,” to use the industry term, is listed at $21.9 million. And anyone is welcome to see it. All 9,691 square feet of it.

Whether spurred by the down housing market, the opportunity to promote themselves or a determination to make a sale, a select group of area real estate agents has raised the bar on public open houses above $10 million — to $12.9 million in Beverly Hills, Malibu and Brentwood Park, $18.9 million in Pacific Palisades and even higher in the “bird streets” area of the Hollywood Hills, where Mattar’s reclaimed stone, brick and wood listing sits serenely at the end of a cypress-lined driveway.

“You get more people because they are curious,” the Coldwell Banker agent said. “They’ve never stepped in a house that price.”

Through bubbles and busts, the open house has remained a key tool for buyers and sellers, at least for properties with price tags that are less than gold-plated.

Nearly half of recent buyers used open houses for information during their home search, according to the National Assn. of Realtors, and 15% found a home through an open house, a number that has held fairly steady since 2001.

When prices were headed for the stratosphere, a certain amount of open-house upscaling could be expected. Yet now, with home-profit expectations tumbling back to Earth, the public showing has gone even more up-market.

Simon Beardmore of Sotheby’s International Realty in Brentwood doesn’t typically hold public open houses at higher price points, but made an exception recently for a newly built 10,300-square-foot gated estate in Brentwood Park listed at $12.95 million. The first week it drew about 150 visitors, the second 100 and the third from 60 to 70.

“It was very appropriate because it’s a showcase for my client, who is a builder,” he said. The open houses have brought work for builder Paul Morrow; Beardmore said it was a good business decision for him, too, because showings often attract curious neighbors.

“I’m very lucky to be able to hold an open house at this price because it gives me a lot of face time with the clientele of the neighborhood,” he said.

A major reason to have an open house at a pricey property, agents agree, is to pick up more clients.

The showings attract people relocating from other (Read Full Article at LA Times) by LAUREN BEALE

Listing Price: $775,000 Reduced to $729,000

1800 Pelican Ave, San Pedro CA, 90732 ~  Ocean/Catalina View – This Upper South Shores home is fitted with special solar panels that create electricity for the home. New double paned and glazed windows, updated floor plan, fireplace, remodeled kitchen, tile and bamboo flooring. Skylight and recessed ceiling lights. 3 bedrooms with new, mirrored closets and 2 remodeled baths – one with a large spa tub. Office and laundry. The main living area is wired with surround sound and special double TV antennas for international viewing. Paneled solid oak doors. Back patio has a retractable awning. Enjoy the ocean and Catalina view from the rooftop deck or relax and listen to the stereo in the extra large, deep spa tub fully enclosed in a gazebo for year-round use. Easily maintained yard w/ terraced area for a large vegetable and flower-cutting garden. 2-car garage and a separate hobby/work shed. Walk to Friendship Park or five minute drive to Trump National Golf Course or the new Terranea Resort.

• Ocean/Catalina View
• Solar panels that create electricity for the home.
• New double paned and glazed windows
• Updated floor plan, fireplace, remodeled kitchen, tile and bamboo flooring.
• Skylight and recessed ceiling lights.
• 3 bedrooms with new, mirrored closets
• 2 remodeled baths – one with a large spa tub.
• Office and laundry.
• The main living area is wired with surround sound and special double TV antennas for international viewing.
• Extra large, deep spa tub fully enclosed in a gazebo for year-round use.
• Easily maintained yard w/ terraced area for a large vegetable and flower-cutting garden.
• 2-car garage and a separate hobby/work shed.
• Walk to Friendship Park or five minute drive to Trump National Golf Course or the new Terranea Resort.

Listed by Al D’Amico, MLS#MRM-V09069885
Broker/Owner, #1385864
Keller Williams Palos Verdes
www.aldamico.com

Buyers interested in this propery should contact
Lee Williams
Buyer’s Agent #01726182
Keller Williams Palos Verdes
(310) 882-5428
LeeWilliams@KW.com

The accuracy of all information, regardless of source, including but not limited to square footages and lot sizes, is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be personally verified through personal inspection by and/or with the appropriate professionals.