The Trust for Public Land has released their 2022 Parkscore Index, which compiles data regarding public outdoor spaces for the 100 largest US cities. It also includes some private parks and playgrounds if they have a joint-use agreement with the city. The criteria also don’t exclude public spaces that may not necessarily be strictly parks, such as trails or other open spaces. However, it does only count the 100 cities with the highest population — there are over 100,000 cities in the US, so it’s a small minority.
Portland Real Estate has taken this data and provided a list of the top 11 cities for public outdoor space, sorted by overall score. The categories include median park size, percent of city that is parkland, and percent of residents within a 10-minute walk to a park, among other factors. Of course, Portland Real Estate couldn’t have made it a top 10 list since they had to include their own city, Portland, OR, which is #11 on the list with a score of 74.5 out of 100. The highest score belongs to Washington, D.C. at 84.9. In order from #2 to #10 are St. Paul, MN; Arlington, VA; Cincinnati, OH; Minneapolis, MN; Chicago, IL; San Francisco, CA; Irvine, CA; Seattle, WA; and New York, NY.
Born out of the Covid pandemic, Jodi Siegel’s Songwriters’ Showcase is an exceptional opportunity to hear original music played by the same people who created the songs. Jodi’s been making music for a while, and claims many of LA’s most notable musicians as close friends.
The folks that stop by the Project Barley Brewery on the third Tuesday of every month for Jodi’s show are not your typical beer pub crowd. Many of them are musicians in their own right, and many are songwriters who have, or will, perform in a show. Indeed, audience members have been known to step up and fill in on a keyboard or with a guitar when a song called for another instrument.
Below we’ve included a pitch for the June Songwriters’ Showcase. We go every month and are delighted every month!
Songwriters’ Showcase – June 21, 2022
It’s nearly summer and the music community is also warming up with gigs galore and music fun to be had everywhere you turn! I’m grateful to be working a bunch of local gigs too…but first check out the new songwriter’s night coming up in less than two weeks!! June 21, 2022 I’m proud to host three good friends and killer songwriters: Harold Payne (Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg), https://haroldpaynemusic.com/Alfred Johnson (Rickie Lee Jones) https://www.facebook.com/alfredjohnsonmusic/https://www.facebook.com/alfredjohnsonmusic/and the one and only Chauncey Bowers (new CD now available!) https://chaunceybowers.com/https://chaunceybowers.com/It’s also my Birthday on that night so it’s gonna be a party!! As always come early to grab a table. This is a free event, donations go to the musicians.Project Barley’s is located in Lomita (south of Torrance/Redondo on PCH). They have great food, wine and beer! ! For more information check out their website https://projectbarley.com/MEET OUR NEW SONGWRITER’S SHOWCASE SPONSORSI adore these two wonderful folks! Everybody’s cheerleaders in the music community! For all your real estate needs give them a call or check out their website :https://carl-and-arda.beachcitybrokers.net/TO CHECK OUT WHO IS COMING IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS GO TO https://jodisiegel.com/songwriter-show
Back in 2019 the first eight months of the year saw 5,706 homes sold. During the same period in 2020, in the early response to Covid-19, sales dropped off by 12% to 5,003. As the market came out of the Covid doldrums in 2021, sales took a dramatic 57% jump. It’s most easily seen looking at the sales volume for the Harbor area in March on the chart below.
Part of that jump was the approximately 700 sales which didn’t happen in 2020. We don’t know how many of those “deferred” transactions have jumped back into the market. As of August the South Bay sales were at 6845, a 20% increase over the 2019 sales for this point in the year.
Seeing that a huge part of the March increase came in Harbor home sales tells part of the tale. The biggest piece of that market in recent months has been entry level or first time home buyers. Closely following are investors in small income properties.
Stories from the street imply that the growth in ADU additions and conversions has had an out size impact on that market as well. Both homeowners and landlords benefit from having additional living spaces.
For right now, the pandemic appears to be fading, which would tend to boost sales. Similarly, the low mortgage interest rates continue to support the market. At the same time we’re moving into fall and winter, when sales typically slow. August showed just a hint of a seasonal downward movement. September should be a directional indicator.
Sales Prices Up
That jump in sales volume was accompanied by a bigger jump in the median price of the homes selling. Pent up demand and low interest rates combined to create bidding wars and drive median prices up. As of the end of August, the median price of a home at the Beach was $1.7M. That number was $1.5M in 2019 and $1.4M in 2020.
Median prices on Palos Verdes trended about the same at roughly $100K more per unit.The Inland cities and the Harbor area both showed mosest increases in the $50K neighborhood.
Area Sales Dollars Slowing
The monthly sales value of homes sold across the Los Angeles South Bay for August declined in all areas except the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Compared to July, the number of sales on the Hill increased 8% in August, with a 2% increase in median price. That translated into a $150M increase in monthly sales since the first of the year.
Activity in the Inland cities has been stable for three months already, having risen about $50K per month since the first of January.
Monthly sales at the Beach and in the Harbor area pulled back for a second month in succession. Looking at the blue line for the Beach, we see a sharp drop in July which softened considerably in August. The Harbor area shows a steady decline over the same period.
As of August monthly sales totaled ~$150M higher than the beginning of the year at the Beach. During the same period monthly sales totals were up ~100M. As we move into the fall and winter season these numbers should slow somewhat.
Statistics – by Month, by Year
Interestingly, the number of homes sold in the Beach cities was unchanged from July, while the median price increased 6% at the same time.
There were 175 homes sold in both months. So how did Beach homes grow from a median price of $1.6M to a median price of $1.7M in one month? In July, 27 of those properties sold below $1M. In August, only 20 sales closed escrow for under $1M. The entire market simply moved up, pushing the median price up $100K in one month.
On a month to month basis, prices are holding or increasing across the board. At the same time we’re seeing slowing or flat sales everwhere but Palos Verdes. Continued slowing for the season is to be expected.
There’s still a lot of buyer traffic at open houses, but sales volume is slowing and buyers are showing price resistance. There’s also some chatter out there about what’s beginning to look like inflation in the real estate market. My crystal ball is showing a slow steady ride through the next month. It’s all cloudy after that.
Project Barley’s is located in Lomita (south of Torrance/Redondo on PCH). They have great food, wine and beer! ! For more information check out their website 
For all your real estate needs give them a call or check out their website :
