When Will We See Interest Rates Dropping Again? Probably Soon. But There’s More to the Story.

It’s still one of the hottest questions in the real estate industry: when will we see interest rates dropping again? Short answer: probably on December 18. The Federal Reserve will be gathering for the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and I am confident that they will announce a modest policy rate reduction to close out […]

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Revives “Lost” Nature Dioramas… and Adds Some New Ones

Featured image credit: Maarten Heerlien The next time you visit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, keep in mind that some of those taxidermied animals behind the glass are over a century old. That’s right, the museum’s nature dioramas just turned a century old. And to commemorate the milestone, the museum re-opened a dormant […]

It’s Christmas Year-Round at Santa’s Village Lake Arrowhead, One of the Most Nostalgic California Amusement Parks

Photo credit: SkyPark at Santa’s Village Christmas comes but once a year (to the disappointment of many children and relief of many bank accounts)… but there is one remote corner of the Los Angeles-adjacent Skyforest where that’s not quite true. Since the early 1950s, Angelenos have recognized that Christmas is a daily event at Santa’s […]

Los Angeles Architecture 101: Mid-Century Modern Architecture

Featured image credit: mbtrama As our Architecture 101 blog series has strived to illuminate, California has often stood at the forefront of America’s architectural development. But this arguably became most obvious in the 1940s with the introduction of today’s featured design movement. Since the mid-1950s, the term “mid-century modern” has been bandied about. But it […]

LA Home Spotlight: Hollyhock House

Featured image credit: Codera23 Perched inconspicuously atop the 36-acre hilltop of Barnsdall Art Park, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House is a zenith of Los Angeles architecture. Wright designed the home at the behest of oil heiress Aline Barnsdall with construction beginning in 1921. Following a tense couple of years of design and construction, Barnsdall expressed […]

Absorption Rate Analysis – November 2024: Four Neighborhoods Start a Significant Trend… Will They Keep It Going?

After October’s near-unanimous surge deeper into the seller’s good graces, it’s no surprise that November offered more divisive absorption rates as neighborhoods evened out. Sure, four neighborhoods started a streak of two consecutive months marching further into seller territory. But we saw seven communities rise higher in the seller’s favor and five drop closer to […]

You Could Call the Nethercutt Collection a Museum for Rare Cars. You’d Be Half Right.

Featured image credit: ZR1748 Southern California is spoiled by its automotive museums. We of course have the Miracle Mile’s Petersen Automotive Museum. Then there’s the Mullen in Oxnard. But one that enthusiasts frequently overlook (likely because of its out-of-the-way Sylmar location) is the Nethercutt Collection and Museum, a breathtaking collection of classic, antique automobiles with […]

Is There a Reasonable Solution to the Onslaught of Hostile Architecture in Los Angeles?

You know things are bad when even the architecture is against you. Yet, most Angelenos express at least a passing familiarity with a concept called “hostile architecture.” Alternatively known as hostile urbanism or, by those supporting its use, defensive architecture, hostile architecture strives to use streetscapes and designs in public areas to put up some […]

The Astonishing Floss Silk Tree is LA’s Strangest Plant. Is It Right for Your Yard?

Featured image credit: Mauroguanandi If you gave your three-year-old a box of crayons and told them to make up a tree, it might look a little like the floss silk tree. Appearing like flora from an alien world, the floss silk tree is characterized by its prickly trunk, cotton-bearing seedpods, and bountiful blossoms of pink […]