Hi! I’m David Emerson, and I’m the lead writer for SoCalRealEstateNews. My business partner and son-in-law, Blair Newman, is my co-writer. (That’s Blair & his wife in the picture above, taken at Crystal Cove State Park.) We have a lot in common.
We’re both So Cal natives who love Southern California, real estate, and helping people make sense of today’s ever changing market.
We both have worked as both educators and Realtors. We have well over thirty years combined real estate experience. Between us we’ve sold over 500 properties and won over 100 awards, including 5 “Agent of the Year” awards. One of our most recent compliments was a very gracious commendation from one of Redfin’s best writers (“A Realtor We Can Trust“).
We enjoy combining our educational and real estate backgrounds, and between us we’ve teach dozens of one-day seminars for local communities and non-profits. These include “How to Sell Your Home for Top Dollar in 30 Days,” “How to Move Up to Your Dream Home,” “Fixers, Foreclosures, and Fantasies,” and “Insider Tips for Home Buyers.”
Having lived and worked here for a long time, we now serve a large area including West Orange County and Southeast Los Angeles County. That includes Lakewood, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, Cypress, Norwalk, Bellflower, Cerritos, Paramount, Garden Grove, and surrounding communities. We’ve developed a network of agents we can refer clients to throughout California and also through much of the nation.
Blair has both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Education from Biola University in La Mirada. I attended Biola for two years before graduating cum laude from UCLA. I later received a Master’s in Administration magna cum laude from Pepperdine University. I also has over two decades of experience as a real estate investor, landlord, and occasional “flipper,” and I’ve coordinated dozens of 1031 exchanges for our investor clients.
Even after I earned my broker’s license 25 years ago, I stayed with the same office of the same large, regional firm. Today Blair and I still have the same office, owner, manager and company as I started with. They are now an affiliate of Prudential California Realty. (As much as we like our franchise and our company, that’s not the way to pick an agent. In fact, it’s # 6 in our “Top Ten Ways Not to Pick an Agent“)
SoCalRealEstateNews is here to answer your questions, listen to your feedback, and give you a front row view of what’s going on in the Southern California real estate market today, with the perspective of our combined experience. We try to answer any questions posted as comments here within 8 hours. We can also be contacted directly at 562.822.7653 (Dave–822-SOLD) or 562.822.6534 (Blair).
3 responses so far ↓
Ed Masterson // April 14, 2008 at 12:35 pm |
Thanks for leading me to the article “Pride in a Paycheck”. It was very moving.
Thanks for all your posts on Lasner’s blog. They are all interesting. Some of the bloggers are very negative and disrespectful to others. Please don’t join their ranks. It appears you are a ‘Believer’ indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord! Spread some light on Lasner’s blog. You will be criticised but you will be doing the right thing.
I’m not a blogger yet. Someday maybe.
My wife and I have a small property management business and we have been investing in small apartment buildings with others for 30 years.
Have a great day.
Ed Masterson
Reloc // April 17, 2008 at 10:59 am |
I’m curious as to your opinion on communities which were formed during the bubble and how they will fair relative to the rest of the market. (Talega, Ladera Ranch etc…). Also do you think rental prices will go up with so many people on the sidelines, or is this acase of just too much available housing?
thanks
Blair Newman and David Emerson // April 17, 2008 at 2:46 pm |
Reloc,
Rents:
According to a post today on Jon Lansner’s OC Register R.E. blog, vacancies in both LA & Orange Counties are now starting to creep up.
Rents have leveled or are beginning to drop. Most local landlords I know, yours truly included, are holding fairly steady right now.
However, I spoke yesterday with a landlord in Nashville, & he said their vacancies were down as renters who bought with subprime loans were losing their homes.
Newer Communities:
Upscale new communities in our largely built-out coastal plain may experience more foreclosures than neighboring communites. I don’t think it will be that much worse, certainly not as bad as condos in the coastal plain, or starter communities in overbuilt areas like the I.E. or our desert communities.
A caveat would be if builders are still selling, because they, like banks, are motivated sellers.
Hope that helps. And thanks for visiting our site.