Although the $2 Billion purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers by Magic Johnson and his investment group has definitely stirred up new interest in the franchise, I had not jumped in line for season tickets yet. My younger brother was drafted in the second round by the New York Mets several years ago. I had considered this as my family’s contribution to baseball, and it marked the height of my interest in the sport. However, there might be a “change up.”… Read more

I have often been asked the question: What is the best neighborhood in Los Angeles? Being a native Angelino to me the answer to the question is not where is the best place but rather what fits your lifestyle the best and is your living space an extension of your personality. For me, the East side fits the bill. … Read more

Actually, the blue, human-like creatures in Avatar are called Na’vi, which means I sold a house to one of the Na’vi. However, for the purpose of this story, I will refer to my client as an “Avatar,” as most affectionately refer to them. Taking things a step further, my Avatar client is representative of many of the athletes and entertainers that navigate through the luxury real estate market and are represented by The Agency. Some of the basketball and football players are as tall as Avatars, and many of the entertainers are part of a Pandora that is foreign to most.… Read more

From 1945 to 1966, Arts & Architecture magazine commissioned many of the leading architects of the day to design low-cost model homes for the post-WWII housing boom. Only 24 or so architects/teams participated in this Case Study House Program, and Rodney Walker was the only architect/team responsible for more than two of the Case Study Houses actually built. … Read more

The Agency’s Mauricio Umansky has been saying that “global is the new local” in luxury real estate, and he certainly practices what he preaches as he travels around the world on business like most of us do around our hometowns. Just this April, Mauricio flew to China to further The Agency’s relationships there, spending time … Read more

Not long ago, for most Angelenos, Downtown was somewhere you worked or went to Lakers games – period; end of story. What may come as a surprise to some, however, is that Downtown LA is enjoying a renaissance much like that of SoHo, New York in the 1980s, San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter in the early 1990s, and Manhattan’s Meatpacking District in the late 1990s.… Read more

Since 1999, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival has taken place every April (except in 2000) at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA. The festival annually draws 90,000 people to the multi-day event (now occurring over two weekends), and despite the fact that it sells out almost immediately every year, the crowd is hardly dominated by Angelenos; friends from all over the country reunite at Coachella for a weekend in California’s fair-weathered desert region.… Read more

I am often asked how to achieve the highest sales price in today’s market. My answer: It’s all about Presentation, Pricing and Strategy.Your home is seen for the first time only once. Make it count. Bring in a painter and/or handyman and make the home look well tended. Eliminate knickknacks and other clutter that can make a home feel cramped and can create dissonance in a buyer’s brain. Remember, most buyers don’t have vision, so if the house is vacant, or the furnishings are a terrible mishmash, consider good staging.… Read more

The below is an article written by Mauricio Umansky that appears in the Winter 2012 issue of Beverly Hills Magazine.  Over the past few years, I visited multiple countries overseas but I had not yet visited China. Due to the overwhelming increase in Los Angeles real estate sales to foreign buyers, I decided that it … Read more