Los Angeles Living

UCLA  architecture graduate student, Krisztina Jozsef had the idea of organizing 30 seconds of "pedestrian only" time at the  busy diagonal intersection of Westwood and Le Conte in Westwood Village with a couple of dozen playing in the street between light changes, a total of  30 seconds.  

The activities in the street included, tug-of-war, water balloons, hula hoop, limbo, and even volley ball, and this wall all accomplished before the lights changed.  The guy in the orange suit giving them time updates is their professor.

What was the point?  Urban activism, or "reclaiming public space."  Ms. Jozsef looked at the correlation between childhool obesity and the build up of cities and she wanted to demonstrate a way to use what already exists in a more physical way.

The Westwood housing market statistics below are taken from the MLS CLAW and are for single family home only.  They do not include condos, income property or private sales.

Westwood home sales figures for May are pretty steady. The number of homes sold was down slightly over April but the median price was up by 3.4. Days on the market for homes sold were down 28% continuing the March April drop. Homes under contract were up 54%. The months supply of inventory, however does indicate a market for buyers.

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If you are looking for good home-cooked food in Westwood, Los Angeles California Fresh is the place.

Eat in or take out, the food is fresh, wholesome with reasonable prices. 

They also bake their own French bread and pita which is delicious. 

Below is their regular menu:

California Fresh also caters.  Menu below:

California Fresh
2000 Westwood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone:  310-234-0333

Single Family Open Houses in Westwood and West Los Angeles,  Sunday, May 9th - 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

N = New  R = Review  C = Cancelled

Search homes for sale in Westwood, Los Angeles

The chart below reflects the sales of homes in Westwood and the Westside of Los Angeles for March 2010.  The report is taken from the MLS CLAW, is for single family homes, and does not include condos, income property, and private sales. The zip codes covered are 90024 and 90025.

Overall the figures are promising.  From one home sold in February to 10 in March, with a 70% drop for days on the market for the homes sold, a 63% increase in homes under contract and a drop of 40% in months supply of inventory, this shows a healthy recovery in Westwood homes sales last month.

Although the Federal home buyers tax incentive is due to end on April 30th, thoughts are that buyers will wait to close in May to take advantage of the California first time home buyers credit which starts May 1.  April may be a slow month.

Westwood,  the home of UCLA, is a diverse community consisting of the upscale area of single family homes in Holmby Hills, home of the Playboy Mansion and Candy Spelling's $150 million dollar home;  the multi-million condo district known as The Wilshire Corridor, the Golden Mile, or Millionaire's Mile, and, south of Wilshire Blvd. a mix of more affordable single family homes, condos and apartments, although Westwood is one of the higher rent districts in Los Angeles.

Built in 1929, Westwood Village's retail area has suffered recently because of the competition from nearby Century City mall and the revitalization of Culver City, amonst others, but it is still home to the landmark Fox Theater with itsn white tower, the Mann Bruin, and the art deco Majestic Crest. It still caters to the UCLA student population with its selection of numerous ethnic restaurants.

The chart below shows the number of single family properties on the market in Westwood over the past year by month, the median price and the number of days on the market.  The median price has dropped slightly from a year ago and days on the market have dropped.

The chart below shows the median price of Westwood sold homes by month over the past year and number of days on the market for those homes. The median price has increased significantly from a year ago, but so have days on the market.  The number of properties sold has decreased.  September, October, and November '09 were the hottest months for sales.

Area public schools are:

Emerson Middle School - Academic Performance Index* (API) for 2009 was 709
Fairburn Elementary School - API was 957
Warner Avenue Elementary School - API was 971

*Out of a possible 1000

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Westwood Branch Library - 1246 Glendon Avenue

March 16th

Internet 1A-Google - 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Learn about the Internet, search engines, URLs, browsers, the World Wide Web and more. Examine Google in detail. Familiarity with the keyboard and mouse and/or 'Computer Comfort' class is recommended before taking this class. Call branch for special parking instructions.

Passover Storytime - 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Join special guest Chaya Grossbaum from Chabad of Central Westwood for Passover themed stories and crafts.

Resume Workshop - 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Looking for work and need to update your resume? Get free expert help with your resume from a professional in the field.

March 17th

Chinese Conversation Class -  6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Learn Mandarin Chinese with Grace Yang. All levels welcome. Classes meet this month on March 17 & 31.

Persian Dance -  4:30 P.M.

Celebrate Persian New Year at the library. Dancers from Play It Again! and Danesh Academy will perform traditional Persian dances. Fun for the whole family.

March 18th

Maggie Anton Presents Her New Novel -  6:30 -7:45 p.m.

Life, Love, and Talmud in Medieval France: Maggie Anton returns with "Rashi’s Daughters Book III: Rachel"—the dramatic final book in the epic trilogy. Books will be available for signing and purchase.

March 23rd

Toddler Storytime -  10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Join us every other Tuesday morning for stories, songs, fingerplays and more. For toddlers who are 18 months to 3 years old and their parents or caregivers.

Baby Storytime -  11:30 - 12:30 a.m.

Join us every other Tuesday morning for stories, songs, stretches and a whole lot more.  For babies who are 2 to 18 months old and their parents or caregivers.

March 24th

French Conversation Class - 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

Practice your French in a fun atmosphere! The discussion theme this month is "La Chanson Francaise: French Singers and Songs."

March 25th

Chocolate Truffles -  4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Is there anyone who doesn’t love chocolate truffles? Believe it or not, these bitesize nuggets of delectable chocolate aren’t hard to make and will be a surefire way for you to learn how to concoct the perfect treat or gift. (Hint, hint—Mother’s & Father’s Day are just around the corner).

Portuguese and Bossa Nova - 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Dani Casselman teaches Portuguese using Bossa Nova song lyrics as a point of departure. All levels welcome.

March 27th

Mystery Book Club - 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

A discussion of "Purple Cane Road" by James Lee Burke.

March 30th

Resources for Getting Your Finances in Order - 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Learn about the varied resources for dealing with your finances that Los Angeles Public Library offers on its website. Please call the branch for special parking instructions.

The statistics below cover Westwood and West Los Angeles.  They are taken directly from the MLS and are for single family homes.  They do not include condos, income property or private sales.

There were 7 homes sold in February, 3 more than in January and 1 less than February '09

The highest price sold was $1,720,000 and the lowest was $530,000.

The median sold price was $830,000, down from $1,182,000 in January and $1,024,200 in February '09.

The average sold price vs list price was 97.55%, almost the same as January at 98% and up from 94.16% in February '09.

The average days on the market was 52, up from 24 in January and 45 in February '09.

It is still difficult to determine the trend, but we wait for March and April figures.

The statistics below cover home sales in  the Westwood - Century City area.  They are taken directly from the MLS and are for single family homes only.  They don't take into consideration condos, income property and private sales.

January was an extremely slow month with only 4 homes sold as opposed to December '09 with 16 sold. 

The highest price sold was $2,869,000 in Holmby Hills and the lowest $817,000 in the flats near Century City.

The median sold price was $1,182,000, down from $1,250,000 in December '09.

Sales price received vs. listing price was $98%, up from $97.1% in December.

Average days on the market was 24, basically the same as in December.

Below is a breakdown of last month's activity in the Westwood area real estate market.

Westwood, the home of UCLA, which encompasses the area close to Century City, is a mix of some of the most expensive homes in the city down to apartment living.

The statistics below are taken directly from the MLS and are for single family homes.  They also don't take into consideration condos, income property and private sales.

There were 16 sales in the month of December, the highest priced south of Santa Monica Boulevard, at $2,050,000 (high for that particular area), and the lowest was $856,000 in the same neighborhood.

Sales price received versus the listing prices was 97.1%.

Average days on the market of sold properties was 25, a decrease of over 50% over last year.

Below is a breakdown of last month's activity in Westwood-Century City Real Estate: