By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

St. Matthew’s Parish School in Pacific Palisades recently celebrated its 75th anniversary with a series of events, kicking off with a “momentous” ribbon-cutting ceremony for a brand new athletics scoreboard.

The event—attended by preschool through eighth-grade students, faculty, staff and parents—marked the inauguration of the school’s new “state-of-the-art” scoreboard for Falcon Athletics. It took place on Blue-White Day, a St. Matthew’s tradition that helps build school spirit with a day of healthy athletic competition for all students to participate.

This year’s Blue-White Day was full of “boundless Falcon spirit,” celebrating with the school’s mascot, Freddie the Falcon, who was cheering students on from the sidelines. The day also welcomed a special guest to the school’s campus: Marty, a real life Lanner falcon, accompanied by falconer Cortney Vargas from Raptor Events.

“Embracing both tradition and progress, St. Matthew’s eagerly anticipates the positive impact of this enhancement on our vibrant community,” according to a statement. “Led by their esteemed Head of School Alley Michaelson, the ribbon-cutting ceremony symbolized a significant milestone in the school’s history.

“From now until next year’s Blue-White Day, the school will honor the rich history of St. Matthew’s Parish School. This milestone year is an opportunity for the entire community to come together and celebrate.”

St. Matthew’s Parish School announced the appointment of Michaelson as head of school on March 14, 2023. Michaelson is St. Matthew’s ninth head of school and the first alumna to take on the role, according to a statement.

“I am overjoyed and grateful to return to St. Matthew’s as the head of school,” Michaelson previously said. “I look forward to honoring the traditions and values St. Matthew’s holds dear while leading the school into its next chapter.”

St. Matthew’s is billed as an Episcopal co-ed school for students in preschool through grade eight. With a tagline of “serve, lead, flourish,” the school operates with a community character covenant, which addresses things like respect, responsibility, honesty, empathy and fairness.

By MICHAEL EDLEN | Special to the Palisadian-Post

Real estate is often viewed purely through the lens of transactions and investments, but it encompasses much more. It is a profession that blends both art and science, requiring a diverse set of skills. To become proficient in real estate, one must engage in continuous practice, honing the craft’s analytical and creative aspects.

Real Estate as a Science

1. Data Analysis and Market Trends

Real estate as a science relies heavily on data analysis. Professionals use various tools and software to evaluate homes, analyze market trends, predict property values, and forecast market shifts. This data-driven approach lets agents make informed decisions, ensuring clients receive the best advice possible.

Of course, this requires an understanding of the economics of real estate, such as how supply and demand result in an absorption rate, what impact changes in interest rates make on the market, etc. It also involves an understanding of risk assessment and loan qualifications.

2. Legal and Regulatory Knowledge

Understanding the legal and regulatory framework is crucial. Real estate professionals must stay updated on laws, contracts and regulations, including property CC&Rs, which requires ongoing education and practice. This knowledge ensures that transactions are compliant, and protects the client and the agent.

With the current nationwide legal changes in process, new forms and procedures result in a significant shift in how buyers and sellers will relate with and compensate their agents. Current challenges relating to insurability have also become an essential element for agents to understand fully.

3. Technical Skills

Technical skills in the use of various contract and disclosure forms are fundamental. Utilizing technology for communications and transaction efficiency is also essential.

These skills enable agents to keep track of a myriad of details, maintain copious records and be responsive to unexpected and often critical events that may determine the success or failure of a transaction.

Real Estate as an Art

1. Personal Touch and Client Relationships

The art of real estate lies in building strong client relationships. Successful agents excel at establishing rapport and trust, tailoring their approaches to meet individual client needs and preferences.

This personal touch is what often differentiates one agent from another. It requires understanding and adhering to the complete requirements of fiduciary responsibility and role with their client.

That, in turn, necessitates that the agent be as objective as possible, and make every effort to put the client’s interests and needs above their own desires or hopes.

It also involves a significant understanding of the role psychology plays in the process and appreciating that emotional factors will almost always determine the decisions all parties involved make.

2. Creative Marketing and Presentation

Creativity in marketing and presentation is vital. Crafting compelling property listings, assisting in premarketing property preparations, staging homes attractively and implementing innovative marketing strategies are all part of the artistic side of real estate. These efforts can significantly enhance a property’s appeal and marketability, thus ensuring a better result for the client.

3. Negotiation and Problem Solving

Negotiation is an art form within real estate. Finding win-win solutions and creatively resolving issues that arise during transactions require high skill and experience.

Effective problem solving often involves thinking outside the box and adapting quickly to new challenges. It frequently requires reaching out to other agents and enrolling their support in the mutual best interests of their clients.

It also can be critically important to seek out the most successful combinations of actions that resolve a situation that might appear to have no solution.

Conclusion

In conclusion, real estate is a unique profession that requires a balance of scientific knowledge and artistic skill. Success in this field depends on effectively merging these two aspects.

Continuous learning and intentional practice are essential for mastering the diverse skills needed in real estate. By embracing both the art and science of real estate, professionals can achieve great success and provide exceptional service to their clients.

Michael Edlen has been a leading consultant in real estate for 30-plus years and is available for a complimentary and confidential conversation upon request at 310-600-7422 or michael@edlenteam.com.

By MICHAEL EDLEN | Special to the Palisadian-Post

As of May 31, there were 77 single-family Palisades residences listed in the Multiple Listing Service, which is 8% higher than this time last year. So far this year 79 Palisades homes have sold, which is 19% fewer sales than last year’s first five months. There are currently 19 Palisades homes in escrow.

The median sale price per square foot has fallen by 9% as compared with the same period in 2023 and is now at $1,503 per square foot. The median sales price has decreased by 24% and is currently $3.7 million, as compared to $4,862,500 a year ago.

Sales in the beginning of 2023 were unusually strong due to the interest rates being at near-historic low levels at that time. As a result, homes were selling for far more than was feasible during the same period this year, with interest rates about doubled.

The lowest-priced available home is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom on Sunset Boulevard asking $1,995,000. The highest-priced property is a seven-bedroom, 11-bath on Casale Road, asking $49.95 million. The median list price for Pacific Palisades is now $6,995,000.

The lowest sale price so far this year was a four-bedroom, three-bathroom on Las Lomas, which sold for $1.98 million. The highest sale so far this year was a six-bedroom, eight-bathroom on Alma Real, which sold at a 20% discount for $20 million.

There are 14 Palisades condominiums/townhouses on the market now, which is a 53% decrease in the level of inventory from this time last year. They range from one-bedroom, one-bathroom in the Edgewater Towers on Sunset Boulevard offered at $558,500 to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in the same community offered at $2 million. Nine condos are currently in escrow.

There have been 22 condo sales so far this year, ranging from a one-bedroom, one-bathroom on Sunset Boulevard, which sold for $500,000, to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit on Tramonto, which sold for $1,868,000. The current median sale price is $1.36 million, which is a 17% drop from last year.

There are currently seven pieces of raw land available, ranging from a 7,286-square-foot lot on Castellammare being offered at $775,000 to $14,995,000 for approximately six acres off Casale Road in the Riviera. So far this year, one lot sold—nearly two acres off Via Santa Ynez, which sold at a 40% discount for $550,000.

There are currently 86 available leases in the Palisades, which is a 10% increase from this time last year. They range from a one-bedroom, one-bathroom on Sunset asking $3,888 per month to an eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom home on DePauw asking $98,000 per month.

There have been 120 units or homes leased so far this year—3% higher as this period last year. The highest lease so far this year was a seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom on Spoleto, which leased for $55,000 per month. The lowest was $2,700 per month for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit on Sunset Boulevard. The median leased price was $11,415 per month, up 14% from this time last year.

Michael Edlen, an agent with Coldwell Banker, has been keeping statistics on Pacific Palisades housing prices for the last 38 years.

By BRUCE SCHWARTZ | Contributing Writer

I have been planting giant pumpkins for the last few years here in Pacific Palisades. I have had some good years and some bad years.

Take last year, for example. The pumpkin patch I had in front of Vons and Palisades Electric was destroyed by a woman who decided to roll in the patch and break them open.

Somebody also stopped and helped themself to several pumpkins when they were only basketball size, as this variety—Big Max—are delicious to eat when young and tender.

I had one year where I planted them behind Palisades Electric, and between the raccoons, rabbits, rats and possums, they ate the crop when the pumpkins were the size of golf balls.

For the last three years I have been planting them in front of a house on Almar Drive. The residents of the house are well-known Palisadians, and I am grateful they allow me to grow them there.

We have had pretty good luck, and the neighbors love watching them grow. We donate the pumpkins to the Simon Meadow Pumpkin Patch, which serves as one of two major fundraisers Palisades-Malibu YMCA hosts each year, along with the Tree Lot.

This year, in addition to growing them on Almar, I am growing them on Theatre Palisades’ property below the mural on Temescal Canyon Road. The good news is it has a fence, so hopefully the critters won’t destroy the crop.

One of the things that is amazing is watching people watch the pumpkins grow. I was an agricultural consultant for 20 years in the Central Valley. I have looked over 1,000s of acres of different crops in my career, such as cotton, carrots, onions, melons, watermelons, lettuce, grapes, almonds and others.

I like to grow giant pumpkins here because residents love it. It is a great example of the power of plants and a testament of the beauty of nature itself, and how much our life depends on strong agriculture and the plants that grow the food that feeds us all.

When people keep track of their progress and see how fast a tiny pumpkin turns into a 100-pound pumpkin, they are amazed.

I must say that knowing the world of agriculture, when less than 3% of the population in the USA is involved in agriculture, is a blessing. I have been told that I ought to teach a course in agriculture because I have such a good understanding of our agriculture system.

What also inspires me to grow these giant pumpkins is the look on the faces of both children and adults when the pumpkins are in the back of my pickup, as well as the children and adults sitting in the back of the pickup with the giant pumpkins, getting their photo taken at the Pumpkin Patch. It is the spirit of the fall season, and I am so glad to be a part of that function.

Let’s hope for good growing luck and that we make a huge crop for all to enjoy. Stay tuned to this column to track the progress.

Bruce Schwartz is a 24-year resident of the Palisades Highlands. He was an agricultural consultant for 20 years, specializing in soil nutrition for crops grown in the Central Valley. He was named Pacific Palisades’ Citizen of the Year in 2017 and a Golden Sparkplug award winner in 2013, and is a member of several community organizations. To reach Schwartz, call 310-779-1773 or email bruceschwartz@rodeore.com.