Hunger for Success

From my Daily Kabbalah Email Subscription I thought I'd Share:

It doesn’t take much to see that talent and innate ability have little to do with success in this world. Some of the greatest writers never make it to the bestseller list, while some of the most talented singers continue to go unsung. One athlete born with incredible skills might never make it to the pros.

The difference between those who enjoy success in their field and the rest of us is: Desire.

Ask yourself these questions: How hungry are you to improve? How big is your appetite for more? What are you willing to do to make your dreams come true? …How badly do you want it?
If you look at anyone you admire who is at the top of their game—the best of the best, and the legends that time will not forget—they all have one thing in common: They were willing to do whatever it takes.

The ancient kabbalists were like this, too. Their lives were lived for a purpose. They knew that revealing our soul’s potential is what reveals pure bliss.

We’re all starving for success but instead of doing the work it takes to make things happen in our lives, we find ways to fill the emptiness. It’s easier to spend an hour watching TV than it is to study. It’s easier to sleep in an extra few minutes instead of going to the gym or meditating in the mornings. It’s easier to go out with friends than to dedicate our evening to getting the project done.

Nothing worth doing is ever easy—but ask anyone who has tasted success and they will tell you, the hard work is always worth it.

Instead of filling the emptiness, stay hungry.

When you stay hungry, nothing can stop you from revealing your best …Nothing.

AREAA's Noodle Town "Little Osaka"

Today is the launch of AREAA's show "Noodle Town". On the first episode, I introduce Jim Park to Sawtelle Blvd, the only Asian district in all of West LA. That's convenient for me as I live in Westwood and between the 10 fwy and LA traffic, it's not ideal for me to travel to San Gabriel or even Downtown LA whenever I am craving some good ramen, korean bbq or shaved ice.

We start off at Tsujita-LA, the most popular Ramen joint, with a fatty delicious pork broth they brew for over 60 hours. There's an art in savoring this bowl of noodles which you'll see. Next up, we visit Bar Hayama, a higher-end sushi restaurant & bar with a gorgeous large fire pit in the outdoor patio, and a cozy indoor seating where we had some Sake-bombs (who knows if that's even traditionally Japanese!). No visit to an Asian town can conclude without dessert, so we visited Blockheads for some Taiwanese Shaved ice. To our surprise, the winner of Foodtruck LA "Seoul Sausage" had just opened up next to us with the owner giving a little insight on why he chose Sawtelle to open his store!

Along the way in our gluttonous excursion, we stumbled across a few nurseries that was hard to miss. We met a lady who shared with us the story of how her father owned the nursery & botanical gardens back in the 1930's. Shortly after, during the Japanese-American internment camps, the US took away their land but many Japanese-Americans were able to claim it back after. I can imagine how important it is for this lady to hold on to this generational gem.

Enjoy "Little Osaka"!

AREAA's New Show "Noodle Town"

The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA.org) & I have been in collaboration for the past few months filming for their new show "Noodle Town", a show all about Food, Culture & Neighborhood. The subject is right up my alley as I love Food & Traveling, but there is also a Historical & Cultural aspect to it. AREAA's Chair Jim Park & I are visiting Asian districts in major cities to learn about the recent history of immigrants that have bought real estate there, businesses that have prospered, and a sense of "coming home" for those visiting.

I grew up in Hacienda Heights, California, in the San Gabriel Valley (most people have never heard of it until I refer to Diamond Bar), which is known to be the new "China Town". I still come home weekly for authentic Chinese, Taiwanese cuisines and it is much like the street food we find in Asia. Although I was born in America, I can see how these ethnic towns are important to my parents' & grandparents' generations and others who have immigrated here due to language barriers and such. Besides restaurants, there are historical landmarks, temples/churches, community centers, markets, etc.

There is no better time for us to film this show with the recent influx of International Asian Investors buying Real Estate in the United States and helping our economy. I can assure you there will be a lot more Noodle Joints popping up in the next few years. Here is a sneak preview to "Noodle Town":

Lean In

The latest book I'm reading is "Lean In", by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook who is also a dedicated mother and wife. The term "Lean In" refers to women leaning-in/stepping-in/getting involved more in conversations in the workplace & in the world. It's about sitting at the table with men, raising our hands and speaking up. It's difficult to fathom that just 50 years ago, women were not allowed to run in marathons, were limited to careers of nurses & teachers, and encouraged to attend university for an M.R.S. (find a husband by 21).

Today, so much progress has been made and I am appreciative of all the feminists that made this revolution possible. But unfortunately, statistics don't show as many women sitting in Congress, Fortune 500 companies as we'd think. There are women who prefer to be dedicated full-time mothers and wives, which is totally admirable. This is a book to help encourage those women in the workplace who do want to advance but have found themselves in a rut doing so whether they are already successful and wanting more or the struggling women in lower-pay jobs.

Prior to the publishing day, there was a lot of controversy all over the media and articles about the message she was sending to women. While there are many external reasons beyond our control on why women are not getting paid as much as men such as sexism & stereotypes, referring to children clothing see saw at the store "Pretty Like Mommy" for girls and "Smart like Daddy" for boys. However, there are many internal issues and set-backs that we have laid on ourselves. She calls this the "chicken & egg syndrome". There is no point figuring out which came first, but instead to work on what we can control, the "internal voices & thoughts".

In "Lean In", she discusses many of these internal battles we face, because of our upbringings and experiences growing up. Some of the controversy & heated discussions root from a lot of these "inner battles" we face without even realizing it. Instead of reading this book first and taking advice from someone who is successful in business and in family life, critics have voiced too quickly, making excuses, putting up a defense with their guards up. Many have pointed to her as "too privileged" to tell working-class/single-mother women what to do. In another article I read, a journalist makes a good point, "Warren Buffet can tell us how to deal with our money, why can't a Billionaire female tell us how to make it in the work force?" And look, this is coming from me, who many can consider "a minority" - being Asian and being a female, I have not let it stop me from climbing to VP by the age of 27. The more we focus on being the "victim", the "minority", the less results will happen. Remember, "Attitude determines Altitude!"

In the world of Real Estate, I am impressed by how so many successful Residential Real Estate Agents are women. They have the natural ability to relate to homebuyers on the biggest investment of their lives. They have the natural creativity to help design and envision their clients homes. But unfortunately once you leave the realm of Residential Real estate, we once again see that huge gap between the number of successful men versus women, in Commercial Real Estate, Lending, Bank executives and Stock Brokerages. One thing I am impressed by though, is that the few women who are on top, are #1. They have found the balance between being a power woman and working like a man.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I encourage all women, working and at home to read this book and also men, so they can learn to encourage their partners to rise up!

New-home sales continue upward swing

New-home sales continue upward swing

28.9 percent annual jump makes for best January in 5 years

BY INMAN NEWS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013. Inman News®

New home sold image via Shutterstock.

Sales of new single-family homes rose 28.9 percent on an annual basis in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today.

That represents a 15.6 percent increase from December, and was the fastest pace of new-home sales for a January since 2008, blogger Bill McBride pointed out on Calculated Risk.

It was, however, the ninth weakest January in records going back to 1973, McBride noted. Nearly three times as many new homes sold in January 2005. 

The median sales price of new homes sold in January was $226,400, up 2.1 percent from a year ago, but down 9.4 percent from December.

The Census Bureau estimated that 150,000 new homes were on the market at the end of December, representing a 4.1-month supply. Less than six months' supply is considered normal, McBride said.

Source: Calculated Risk blog.

- See more at: http://www.inman.com/news/2013/02/26/new-home-sales-continue-upward-swing#sthash.bot6fRTL.dpuf

Commercial Real Estate Sectors Steadily Improve

WASHINGTON (February 25, 2013) - Major commercial real estate sectors continue to improve, albeit slowly, with gradual economic improvement and job creation driving absorption of space, according to the National Association of Realtors^® quarterly commercial real estate forecast.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said rental housing demand has been exceptionally strong. "Rent increases have been higher in multifamily housing where supply is not matching strong demand, thereby allowing landlords to raise rents at faster rates," he said. "Overall commercial real estate leasing activity continued to grow in most markets during the closing months of 2012, which is modestly lowering vacancy rates in all of the commercial sectors early this year."

National vacancy rates over the coming year are expected to decline 0.4 percentage point in the office market, 0.4 point in industrial, 0.3 point for retail and 0.1 point in multifamily, with that sector experiencing the tightest availability.

"Business spending is expected to rise faster in 2013 because of record high corporate profits. Low interest rates also are permitting companies to improve their balance sheets," Yun said.

NAR's latest Commercial Real Estate Outlook¹ offers projections for four major commercial sectors and analyzes quarterly data in the office, industrial, retail and multifamily markets. Historic data for metro areas were provided by REIS, Inc.,² a source of commercial real estate performance information.

Office Markets

Vacancy rates in the office sector are forecast to fall from a projected 16.0 percent in the first quarter to 15.6 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

The markets with the lowest office vacancy rates presently (in the first quarter) are Washington, D.C., with a vacancy rate of 9.4 percent; New York City, at 9.6 percent; and Little Rock, Ark., 12.1 percent.

Office rents should increase 2.6 percent in 2013 and 2.8 percent next year, following a 2.0 percent gain in 2012. Net absorption of office space in the U.S., which includes the leasing of new space coming on the market as well as space in existing properties, is expected to total 34.0 million square feet this year and 42.3 million in 2014.

Industrial Markets

Industrial vacancy rates are likely to decline from 9.6 percent in the first quarter of this year to 9.2 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

The areas with the lowest industrial vacancy rates currently are Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif., each with a vacancy rate of 3.6 percent; Miami, 5.6 percent; and Seattle at 6.0 percent.

Annual industrial rents are projected to rise 2.3 percent this year and 2.6 percent in 2014, after increasing 1.7 percent last year. Net absorption of industrial space nationally is likely to total 121.8 million square feet in 2013 and 103.5 million next year.

Retail Markets

Retail vacancy rates are forecast to slide from 10.7 percent in the first quarter of the year to 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014.

Presently, markets with the lowest retail vacancy rates include San Francisco, 3.5 percent; Fairfield County, Conn., at 4.2 percent; and Orange County, Calif., 5.2 percent.

Average retail rents will probably rise 1.5 percent in 2013 and 2.1 percent next year, following a 0.8 percent gain in 2012. Net absorption of retail space is seen at 11.9 million square feet in 2013 and 16.4 million next year.

Multifamily Markets

The apartment rental market - multifamily housing - should see vacancy rates ease from 4.0 percent in the first quarter to 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014; vacancy rates below 5 percent generally are considered a landlord's market with demand justifying higher rents.

Areas with the lowest multifamily vacancy rates currently are New Haven, Conn., at 2.0 percent; New York City, 2.1 percent; and Minneapolis and Syracuse, N.Y., each at 2.5 percent.

Average apartment rents are expected to increase 4.6 percent this year and 4.7 percent in 2014, after rising 4.1 percent in 2012. Multifamily net absorption is projected at 270,600 units in 2013 and 253,200 next year.

The Commercial Real Estate Outlook is published by the NAR Research Division. NAR's Commercial Division, formed in 1990, provides targeted products and services to meet the needs of the commercial market and constituency within NAR.

The NAR commercial community includes commercial members; commercial real estate boards; commercial committees, subcommittees and forums; and the NAR commercial affiliate organizations - CCIM Institute, Institute of Real Estate Management, Realtors^® Land Institute, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors^®, and Counselors of Real Estate.

Approximately 78,000 NAR and institute affiliate members specialize in commercial brokerage and related services, and an additional 232,000 members offer commercial real estate services as a secondary business.

The National Association of Realtors^®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. For additional commentary and consumer information, visitwww.houselogic.com and http://retradio.com.

# # #

¹ Additional analyses will be posted under Economists' Outlook in the Research blog section of Realtor.org in coming days at:http://economistsoutlook.blogs.realtor.org/.

² Beginning in the third quarter of 2011, NAR commercial forecasts have been generated based on historical data provided by REIS, Inc., and do not correspond with prior historical information from previous forecasts. This source permits coverage of more metro areas than were previously covered.

Source: http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2013/02/commercial-real-estate-sectors-steadily-improve

Media Contact: Walter Molony / 202-383-1177

4 Top Real Estate Markets for Foreign Buyers

By Jerry Kronenberg - 11/07/12 - 8:00 AM EST

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Wealthy foreigners from around the globe are taking advantage of America's housing bust to snap up U.S. properties at cut-rate prices -- helping the market rebound in the process.

"We've seen foreign investors buy $10 million to $20 million worth of houses in a single trip," says Peter Loewy, CEO of Los Angeles-based Teles Properties. "They think this is a good place to park money, and it's less expensive than the real estate back home."

A recent National Association of Realtors study estimated that foreigners and immigrants who've lived here less than two years spent $82.5 billion on U.S. homes in the 12 months ended March 31. That's about 9% of the total paid for all U.S. housing purchases during the period.

The NAR also found that foreigners spent more on average -- $400,000 per property vs. $252,000 for the overall market -- and paid cash for homes 62% of the time instead of taking out mortgages.

"Foreigners have been a good source of sales, and they're providing both stability in the market and some tendency toward a more normal price appreciation," report co-author Jed Smith says.

Smith and his colleagues say foreigners and recent immigrants are diving into U.S. real estate because buyers consider housing here a good investment and see America as a safe haven for assets.

Many also need a place here for business trips, vacations or retirement or expect their children to study at U.S. colleges and need housing.

Additionally, some foreigners buy property in conjunction with buying U.S. businesses. That's because anyone who invests $1 million in a U.S. company and creates 10 jobs can qualify for an "EB-5" visa and eventual citizenship. (The requirement drops to $500,000 if you invest in a depressed U.S. locale.)

Texas Realtor Alston Boyd says lots of wealthy Mexicans are using the EB-5 program to relocate their families from crime-ridden areas south of the border.

"It's mostly driven by people wanting safety for themselves and their families, particularly in areas where there's a danger of kidnapping," says Boyd, who leads the Texas Association of Realtors' international-sales committee.

In fact, the NAR found that Mexicans accounted for 8% of all sales to foreigners and recent immigrants during the 12-month period studied.

Other top sources for foreign buyers included Canada (24% of all sales to non-U.S. nationals), China (11%), India (6%) and Britain (6%).

Buyers from different countries favor different parts of America.

For instance, the NAR found that lots of Germans have bought property in southwest Florida, while many Canadians gravitate toward Arizona.

Researchers attribute the variations to a given locale's closeness to a buyer's home country, coupled with word-of-mouth recommendations among buyers from the same nation.

Here's a look at the four states the NAR found are most popular with foreign and recent-immigrant buyers. All percentages refer to home sales made during the 12 months ended March 31.

Arizona
Foreigners and recent immigrants account for 7% of all Arizona home purchases, with Canadian vacation- and retirement-home buyers leading the way.

"We see Canadians come here just to get away from the cold weather," says Jodi Kevern of Arizona Focus Realty, which specializes in working with buyers from the Great White North.

Kevern says buyers from Canada's western provinces flock to Arizona because the state has a mild climate, lower prices than the West Coast and a location just 2.5 hours from Alberta by plane.

She considers the Canadians a godsend for the Grand Canyon State -- and for her own neighborhood, where they've turned several run-down, foreclosed properties into well-maintained vacation homes.

"The houses may be still vacant for much of the year, but at least they're taken care of instead of having weeds 5 feet high," Kevern says. "It's boosting all of our property values."

Texas
Foreign and new-immigrant buyers are buying 7% of all Texas properties sold.

"What we're seeing is a very different kind of Mexican buyer," says real estate broker Alston Boyd, who owns Austin-based Boyd & Boyd. "We used to have so many low-income workers coming north, but now we have wealthy Mexicans buying homes and investment properties."

Boyd says Mexican elites are buying homes in Houston, San Antonio and other Texas locales to avoid crime sweeping some Mexican cities, particularly northern towns near the U.S. border.

"I don't want to completely blacken the name of Mexico, because there are places there that are very safe," he says. "But there are other places that are not safe."

Boyd says the added demand is giving the Lone Star State's housing market a Texas-sized boost.

"Any time you have 7% more investment in any market, that's going to help a great deal," he says. 

California
Property buyers from Australia, China, South Korea, Japan and India are streaming into California, where foreigners account for 11% of all home sales.

"California ends up being kind of the gateway to the United States for the South Pacific," says Sharran Srivatsaa, president of L.A.'s Teles Properties.

He says foreign buyers love the Golden State's climate and Hollywood image -- not to mention recession-reduced home prices far below what foreigners pay back home.

"It's easier to find a $1 million or $2 million property that's a good value in Los Angeles than it is in Melbourne or Sydney," Srivatsaa says.

Many foreign buyers gravitate to famous California communities such as Beverly Hills, Bel Air or Pebble Beach.

But Teles CEO Loewy says some Chinese buyers prefer Alhambra, Pasadena, San Francisco and other areas with large Chinese populations.

"We have a fair number of Chinese neighborhoods where you can walk down the street and see Chinese shops and people reading Chinese-language newspapers," he says. "It gives some Chinese buyersan extra sense of comfort."

Either way, Loewy says foreign buyers are really helping the state's long-struggling housing market rebound.

"Foreigners have to some extent helped the ability of people to 'move up' in the market, and we're starting to see high-end luxury homes really sell way faster," he says.

Florida
Foreign buyers and recent immigrants account for 26% of all Sunshine State home sales -- the largest proportion for any state.

Matey Veissi of Miami's Veissi & Associates says most foreign buyers hail from Latin America or Europe, drawn by Florida's nice climate and close proximity to their homelands, plus America's economic stability.

"Buying a piece of Florida real estate is like opening a savings account for many foreign buyers," she says. "They know they're putting their money some place where they can get it when they need it."

Veissi, who estimates foreign buyers make up about 40% of her business, says clients from different countries seem to favor specific Sunshine State locales.

For instance, she says Brazilian buyers like the nightlife and nice beaches of the Gulf Coast's big cities, while French customers focus on Miami, Sarasota and mid-Florida. (British and Canadian buyers seem happy to move anywhere in the state "just to get away from the cold," Veissi says.)

The Realtor adds that foreigners are definitely helping to pull Florida housing out of the doldrums.

"We've always had international buyers coming in," Veissi says, "but now they're coming in in droves."