A Full House

A few Saturdays ago I sat one of my team's listings in the middle of Los Feliz, and I lost count of the groups coming through the door somewhere past thirty. It was one of those days where you barely get to sit down, and by the end your feet ache and your voice is half gone and you're still a little wired from all of it.

That part is honestly my favorite. Not the count at the door, the people. Someone walks through a house they can already picture themselves in, and in ten minutes you learn what they're really after, why now, what home is supposed to feel like for them this time around. I could do that all day, and that Saturday I basically did.

By the following Wednesday, the house had something like thirteen offers on it. A big lot in the heart of a neighborhood everyone seems to want a piece of, with room to dream even bigger than what's standing there now. Thirteen buyers, all reaching for the same corner of the same city.

And then a few days later I packed up the car and took my own family down to the coast for a stretch. The same instinct, really, just quieter. The pull to plant yourself somewhere and make a little room for the life you actually want to live.

However you're spending these last few weeks of summer, I hope there's a bit of both in it for you, the good busy and the good quiet.

Freshly launched

One more thing I've been quietly excited about. My website is officially live, and honestly it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. What I didn't expect was how it would finally happen. Earlier this summer I sat down and taught myself the basics of AI, and over the course of a couple of days, mostly with my kids home and underfoot, I built the whole thing myself.

It's now the first real home online for everything I do here: the stories behind some of my favorite sales, a running collection of the homes I can't stop thinking about, guides for whatever season you're in, and of course this letter. Go wander around, I'd genuinely love to know what you think. There's a longer story in here about what building it taught me, and I'll get into that soon.

Did you know?

The average American home is around 1,800 square feet. In much of Europe, it's closer to 1,100. We really have gotten used to our space over here.
A worthwhile heads-up for homeowners, especially with insurance premiums climbing across California: filing a single roof-damage claim can raise your premium too, often somewhere in the range of 9 to 15 percent, and the kind of policy you carry matters more than most people realize. A replacement-cost policy pays what it actually costs to put a new roof on, minus your deductible. An actual-cash-value policy factors in the age and wear of your existing roof first, so an older roof can leave you covering a much bigger share yourself.
One for the design lovers: awnings are quietly making a comeback. A century ago they were everywhere on homes and storefronts, a simple, low-tech way to keep interiors cool before air conditioning came along. Now they're being reinvented, and the newest versions can actually generate solar electricity while they shade your windows.
Roughly half of luxury buyers now check the resale market before buying anything new. Age and character tend to win, the same reason a 1920s Spanish bungalow can outshine brand-new construction.

What’s happening in LA?

Ventura Boulevard is having a moment

Studio City's stretch of Ventura Boulevard has quietly turned into one of the most exciting dining corridors in the city, with more than a dozen new spots opening in the past year. The one everyone's still talking about is Alto Fire to Table, an Argentine open-flame kitchen where nearly everything comes off a live hearth, right in view of the dining room.

Amiguita

Tucked into Sunset Junction, Amiguita is chef Alejandro Eusebio's most personal project, an intimate 34-seat Afro-Latin spot rooted in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic where he grew up. Think plantain gnocchi in coconut curry, charcoal-grilled mussels, and small-production wines.

The Comedy of Errors, free Shakespeare in Griffith Park

There's no better LA summer ritual than Shakespeare under the stars, and the Independent Shakespeare Co. is bringing its free festival back to the Old Zoo in Griffith Park. This year it's The Comedy of Errors, reimagined as a music-filled comedy with an original score, running August 5 through September 6.

Featured listings

Sherman Oaks — 3627 Cody Rd, 91403. 4 BD · 5 BA · 3,739 SF · $4,997,000. Perched behind gates on nearly an acre just north of Mulholland, an extraordinary 1956 Mid-Century Modern estate by Modern Trend Construction Company and architect Richard Dorman.
Los Feliz — 4130 Parva Ave, 90027. 5 BD · 6 BA · 5,492 SF · $4,398,000. A north-of-the-boulevard estate blending sophistication with comfort, soaring vaulted ceilings, and open-concept design.
Silver Lake — 3924 Sunset Boulevard. 3 BD · 3 BA · 14,139 SF · $25,500,000. An iconic Sunset Junction property with a 3,000-square-foot apartment and eight retail spaces.