Reigning in Real Estate

Amid what is arguably the worst housing market in decades, longtime residential real estate agent Matt Epstein is busier than ever. “The last quarter of 2011 was my best quarter ever, and I did have some incredible years and some incredible quarters,” he said. The founder of Team 2000 at Prudential California Realty in Studio City completed 16 deals in the last four months of 2011. That’s about double his normal business. What gives? The 53-year-old says he can’t explain it. Interest rates haven’t dropped off, and neither have sales prices. But Epstein patrols a highly sought-after territory —Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Encino — so that probably helps some. “I don’t have any magic,” Epstein said. “I don’t sell. I show. People who are great salesman aren’t in real estate.” But by all accounts Epstein has been a salesman his entire life. He recalls outselling classmates in candy drives and selling anti-siphon devices for Valley motorists during the oil crisis in the 1970s, when he was about 10 or 11 years old. “I would install them with a screwdriver right there while they were waiting in line,” he said. The lifelong Sherman Oaks resident is heavily involved in the community. His many titles include: President of the South Valley Area Planning Commission, vice president of the powerful Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association and part-owner of Vitello’s Restaurant. He had a stint on the City Planning Commission, and he bangs on the drums for fun. Asked how he wished to be identified, Epstein quipped: “King of the Valley.” Question: The U.S. Commerce Department recently said 2011 was the worst year for homes sales on record, how bad is it out there? Answer: I hate stats like that because our economy has never been close to where the national economy is. There are a lot of buyers out there right now with interest rates the way they are right now. I deal with a lot of the homes in the Southeast Valley like Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Encino and our inventories (there) are pathetically low, and that is what drives the market. But we are still fighting the foreclosures and the short sales that are out there. That is a big percentage of the homes. The short sales, Valley-wide, are probably about a third of the properties that are being sold right now and foreclosures are probably about 20 percent. Q: How does that fair historically? A. Historically, we have never seen anything like this before. The banks are still totally screwing up the market. If somebody can bear with a bank for two, three, five, six months — whatever it takes to get a short sale closed — they may be able to get a 10 percent to 15 percent discount from what the true value should be. Q: What needs to change? A. The whole thing. Somebody … needs to go in and revamp the banking system to get these toxic assets out. And it won’t happen because the federal government already guaranteed these loans. Q: Why were you so busy last quarter? A. I put on a clean shirt. I come to work with a fresh attitude. I answer my phone every time it rings, and I work really hard. I can’t tell you why it got so crazy. Q: How has the tough real estate market affected your business? A: I have been working two to three times harder and making half as much. But I am still making very good money. I am working hard for two reasons. One is because I have to, and the other is there are opportunities out there right now. At the height of 2004-2005 … a lot of the Johnny-Come-Latelies and everyone’s uncle had a real estate license. So back in the height of the market, you didn’t need to be an expert to go ahead and sell your home. Now, if you are in a difficult position, you want to hire the best agent. Q: How much harder do you work? A. Literally, the last two years have been 7 days a week. When I was on vacation (recently), I was on the phone every single day. I haven’t taken a day off in the last two years other than vacations. Q: Your website touts that you do celebrity deals. Who are some of your top clients and what do they buy? A: I don’t talk about the celebrities that I work with. Because of the area, I do work with celebrities. Whether I am working with them on purchasing a home or whether they are coming before me on the Planning Commission, they are just people. I have spent my entire life living in Sherman Oaks, and I grew up with celebrities. Even with my clients who aren’t celebrities I don’t talk out of school about what they paid or that kind of stuff. It’s their personal information. Q: What was growing up in the Valley like? A: I am a ‘Sherman Oakie.’ I was in a band in elementary school. I played the drums. (The band) was called the Woodman Avenue Off-ramp. It was rock and roll. I still play the drums, but my daughter has played the drums since she was a kid. She is actually traveling the world now in a rock-and-roll band playing the drums. They actually just played with Green Day in San Francisco. It’s called the Ty Segall band. Q: Is it loud in your house? A: My parents made me play the drums in the garage. But in my house there are drums in the living room. We play whenever. I also own Vitello’s (Restaurant). We have a fantastic jazz club. I just love music. My son has even gotten me into hip hop lately. AGE: 53 TITLE: Founder and Partner at Team 2000 at Prudential California Realty and President of South Valley Area Planning Commission Personal: Married with two children Q: Which housing markets in the Valley are hot and which ones aren’t? A: In the South East Valley, which I know, values are down about 20 percent to 25 percent. In the worst, which was about 2 years ago … we were down 25 to 30 percent. Then if you start going north the values have gone down about 25 percent to 30 percent and then you go further north, and they have gone down as much as 50 percent in the Sylmar, Sun Valley area. And that’s pretty much the same down Ventura (Boulevard) and across the Valley. Q: What is your forecast for the Valley’s market? A: For the next few years, I see the market pretty much flat. It is going to stagger along for a while because of the toxic assets that are still out there. I don’t see any great recovery for years and years to come. Q: How did you become a residential broker? A: I was a partner in marketing firm out in Canoga Park, and in 1996 my father died and I had my son in the same year. So I sat back and took a deep breath and … said, ‘Do I want to spend the next 20 years doing the same thing?’ And I said, ‘No I want to do something different.’ Q: How has serving as President of the South Valley Area Planning Commission affected your business? A: Being a planning commissioner has actually hurt my business, because I have chosen not to work with developers. I like to keep a separation between church and state. If am working with a developer, and there are things that I may need to get passed, I just think it is a huge conflict. So I have lost out on quite a few (projects), especially in the big heyday when all these condos were being developed. Q: Tell me about your time on the Planning Commission. A: I went to the City Planning Commission (from the South Valley Area Planning Commission) and I hated it. I love Los Angeles, but I don’t know Los Angeles like I know the Valley. And it’s a no pay job, but I take it very seriously. Every case that ever comes up, I go to visit the site and I ask my other commissioners to do that, as well. Q: A lot has been made of people — especially younger adults — changing their views toward homeownership and seeking a more urban environment and the flexibility renting allows. Do you see America’s view of homeownership changing? A: You have so many different types of buyers. You have the young people that want to be in the lofts Downtown or in Hollywood. But there are a lot of people … that want to buy a house in suburbia — in Sherman Oaks — and want to raise their kids and they don’t want to be in the clubs. I think that everybody that I have ever spoken to has wanted to be a homeowner versus a renter, with the exception of one or two. So no, I really haven’t seen a big shift.