Monday, 28 March 2016

Lacy Burke Offers Hope for the California Housing Market

Holding the unique position of real estate agent in California gives Lacy Burke access to the important figures and projected housing trends in his state. He is happy to report that while the housing slump has not completely diminished, it is surely on the rise. In the past two years, the sales of existing single family homes had been stagnant, and are now improving. The average home sale price also increased in the last year, by 9.8%. This is excellent news for Californians who are considering a home sale in the next year. Though raising the price on your home to an outrageous amount is not going to be fruitful, you will be more likely to get a fair price for your home in 2016.

In Southern California, especially the regions of Orange County and San Diego, the number of homes being sold have still continued to decrease. However, the homes that were sold in the last two years were signed at a final price that was higher than previous years. This trend has added to the appreciation of the homes in the area. This means that those properties are retaining their value for longer. This is beneficial for both sellers and buyers. Lacy Burke enjoys tracking these trends, even in a sluggish housing market. Following the ups and downs is a part of his job that he is skilled at, and it is something that he likes to discuss with others.

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Lacy Burke Gives Advice on Condo Sales in Southern California

In Southern California, Lacy Burke says that condominiums are a large market with their own considerations when trying to sell. While some buyers do not like the idea of living in a condo, others are ideally suited to the situation. A condo offers positives that are often overlooked, such as higher security, recreational activities nearby, and no lawn maintenance. If you are in the market to sell your condominium in California, keep these hints and tips in mind.

Appearance is one of the most important things to consider when listing your condo. Just because you are not selling a large, detached home, does not mean that you should neglect the aesthetics of the home. How the home looks will give the potential buyer their first impression.

Condominium owners do not have the leeway to repaint the exterior facade of the entire building, which can limit what aesthetics are enhanced for the buyer. However, the entryway of the condo, the room that you first see when you enter the front door, can be a show stopper. Updating and adding beauty to this small room or foyer will have a large impact on the buyer. Entryways are often overlooked by sellers, which Burke says is a big mistake.

Large scale renovations can be difficult in a condo setting, but that shouldn't stop a seller from at least giving the walls a fresh coat of paint. Lacy Burke always recommends that you repaint each room in a neutral color before listing.

Thursday, 10 March 2016

Lacy Burke Gives Tips for Increasing Your Home Value Before a Sale

According to California real estate agent, Lacy Burke, every home seller can get the price they want for their home. To do this, they may need to make some improvements that are both simple and cost effective. Sellers are often shocked to see how much one small renovation or staging technique can improve their overall sale value.

The most obvious changes that you can make to your home before listing it are cosmetic and relate to cleanliness. If your home, or even a single room, appears to be cluttered with trash, it will bring down the value of the entire home. The same concept goes for homes with smokers. Nicotine leaches into the walls, linens, and carpeting of every room. If you are a smoker who actually smoked cigarettes in your home, you should do some major cleaning before listing your home. In some cases, you will need to repaint your walls to completely remove the odor and discoloration from the tobacco.

If you have a clean home already, a simple upgrade anyone can do is to improve their light fixtures. While that brass chandelier over your dining room table might have been all the rage fifteen years ago, it is well out of date now. Sellers can give their rooms a completely new look, just by switching out some of their light fixtures for newer, more modern pieces. Lacy Burke states that these upgrades do not have to cost a fortune, and will make a big impact.

Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Lacy Burke Donates to the Children’s Miracle Network

As a professional real estate agent in Santa Monica, California, Lacy Burke works tirelessly for his community. Though real estate is a true passion of his, he is equally committed to philanthropic endeavors. Of the many charitable organizations that Burke supports, none has benefited more than the Children’s Miracle Network and their Make a Wish Program.

In the Los Angeles region, the Make a Wish local chapter has seen the fulfillment of thousands of wishes from ill children. This unique program is geared toward children and adolescents between the ages of two and eighteen who have life threatening or incurable fatal illnesses. These suffering children are offered the chance to wish for something, most often an experience, and then they receive it through the Children’s Miracle Network.

Burke believes that supporting this organization is not only helpful to those who run the program, but he knows it has changed his own life. The children who are able to take part in the Make a Wish program are the real heroes, the ones facing insurmountable odds and sometimes painful medical treatments. Being able to provide even a small amount of happiness to these young heroes is an experience Burke would not trade for the world.

Lacy Burke takes his charitable nature into the professional realm as well. He always gives clients and associates his best, most honest and integrity filled work ethic. Acting in this manner has earned him high regard in the business and philanthropic communities.

Monday, 22 February 2016

Lacy Burke - Social Consciousness

Lacy Burke is a RE/Max luxury division realtor with an office in Santa Monica, California. He has had a very successful career, and says that giving back to the community has become an important part of what he does.
“I don’t know why you don’t hear real estate agents talking about social consciousness, but we should be,” he says. Supporting charities is an important part of his business, he explained, and is one of the reasons why he is able to establish and maintain relationships with so many of his clients.

One of the causes he is proudest to be associated with is the Make-a-Wish Foundation. This is the non-profit that grants wishes to children who are struggling with life-threatening illnesses. Since it began more than thirty years ago, the Make-a-Wish Foundation’s Los Angeles chapter has granted more than nine thousand wishes. “Volunteering for the Make-a-Wish Foundation,” says Lacy Burke, “has made me a better person and a better businessman.” It is something that he is proud to tell his clients about.

He says that he hopes his involvement with the Make-a-Wish Foundation can help to improve the public’s perception of real estate agents. “Real estate agents are viewed too much like lawyers or politicians,” he explained. “Seen as being untrustworthy, or just after the commission, but that isn’t true.” A lot of them, himself included, genuinely care about their clients, and are committed to finding them the home of their dreams.

Lacy Burke is also an advocate of pet adoption, and getting the word out about inhumane dog breeders. He is a graduate of California State University at Northridge.

Tuesday, 16 February 2016

Lacy Burke - Pending Home Sales

Lacy Burke is a Santa Monica real estate agent with an intimate knowledge of the Los Angeles market, honed by the years he grew up there. He has marketed residential homes, investment properties and business opportunities throughout the city.

As a real estate professional, he closely watches the performance of the market throughout Southern California. And the state’s real estate industry shows signs of continuing improvement. Pending home sales were up 13.6 percent on an annual basis from the 114 index recorded in April 2014, which at the time was the fifth straight month of year-to-year gains, and the third straight month of double-digit advances. Across the state, pending home sales declined slightly in April, with the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) down 0.6 percent, based on signed contracts. The PSHI is an index created by the National Association of Realtors. It tracks those home sales where a contract has been signed, but the sale has not been closed.

On an encouraging note, the share of sales closing above asking price has been on an upward trend for three months in a row. This indicates the return of bidding wars in some local markets. Thirty-six percent of transactions in April closed above the asking price, up from its lowest point of sixteen percent in January of 2015. Forty-one percent of sales closed below the asking price, and twenty-three percent closed at the asking price.

Lacy Burke is the head of Lacy Burke Realty.

Information – http://LArealestateHomes.com; 310-666-9752

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Monday, 8 February 2016

Lacy Burke - Pet Adoption

Lacy Burke is a real estate agent in Santa Monica, California, where he specializes in Los Angeles County’s Westside real estate.

He has taken up the cause of pet adoption, and made a public plea to the Los Angeles County Animal Services to shut down pet breeding operations that he was aware of. “I didn’t realize how important pet adoption is until I visited a dog breeder,” he said. That visit shocked him: he described seeing dogs kept in filthy, tiny cages. “If these dogs weren’t sick already, they would be soon. They were clearly living sad, painful, and miserable lives.”

According to the Humane Society, such dog breeding operations, known as “puppy mills,” are inhumane facilities, and yet they are reported to supply ninety-nine percent of the puppies sold in pet stores in the United States. These facilities are focused almost exclusively on the bottom line, and as Lacy Burke’s experience bears out, they disregard the health of the dogs they raise. The Humane Society estimates there are at least ten thousand puppy mills in the United States, and fewer than three thousand of them are regulated by Federal authorities.

The experience of seeing such a place first-hand changed Lacy Burke. After his visit he adopted a dog from a local animal shelter, and says it is “the best decision I’ve made in years.” He says his new four-legged friend seemed to understand that she had been rescued. He is now committed to getting the word out on the horror of puppy mills and the need for animal adoption.
Sources:
http://www.humanesociety.org/news/publications/whitepapers/puppy-mill-research.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
http://www.thepuppymillproject.org/about-puppy-mills/
Information – http://LArealestateHomes.com; 310-666-9752
Get a Free, Personalized Home Valuation Report at http://MyHomePropValue.com