My husband, Michael cringes when I post things like this – but I never promised to bring you just the Pollyanna good news in the market. The ’60 Minutes’ piece speculates that we are about halfway through this housing crisis. According to the show, the first wave of this crisis was made up of sub-prime [...]
Trickle Up for OC Neighborhoods
November 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment
In the latest Zippy’s Report, Orange County Register’s Jonathon Lansner’s ranking of Orange County zip codes for housing performance, showed that the hardest hit zip codes for the 3rd quarter were some of Orange County’s most affluent zip codes. Included in the worst performing areas were Newport Coast, Dana Point, Coto de Caza (part of [...]
It’s a Buyer’s Market – Or Is It?
November 25, 2008 By 2 Comments
I did some research for a client tonight and the findings are important to share with readers here. If you are a serious buyer or seller, this information is telling. Please stick with the tedium of the stats because the story it tells is meaningful. This particular buyer is looking in Mission Viejo between $450,000 [...]
To My Realtor Colleagues – Gimme A Break!
November 22, 2008 By 3 Comments
Last weekend, I went into an Open House with one of my buyers that is really struggling with the ‘Rent versus Buy’ decision. The listing agent handed us an article by Orange County Register’s Jonathon Lanser that shared the good news that home sales was up nearly 60% from a year ago. In the words [...]
Time to Talk Absorbtion Rates
November 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Every now and then you see a headline touting the increase in sales in Orange County. Less than a week ago, Orange County Register’s Jon Lanser posted ’1-in-3 O.C. ZIPs See Homebuying Doubling or Better’. I love good news but it’s important to drill deep into what these statistics are telling us. Price point is [...]
NAR Reports National Median Home Prices
November 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment
The National Association or Realtors (NAR) recently posted this excellent map. Zoom into a metro area for the most recent quarterly median home price for the market you’re interested in, and its percentage change from the previous quarter. NAR has also published the 2nd quarter numbers for median home price nationwide and broken down by [...]
The Good News and The Bad
November 2, 2008 By Leave a Comment
It’s always best to get the bad news out of the way first, don’t you think? In September, I posted ‘Why Orange County’s Median Price May Fall Under $400,000′. At that time, all of the exciting appreciation we’d seen in our housing boom had slipped away to January ’04 levels. Mere days later, I revised [...]
Maybe the Solution Isn’t a $700 Billion Bailout
October 29, 2008 By 1 Comment
There has been much discussion about the big bailout. But in case anyone with any influence is listening – I have an idea that could make a big contribution to our market recovery. Just call anytime and I’ll share my insight with you – from the trenches. I’ll be waiting for your call. For the [...]
Predictions for Market Recovery in the OC
October 6, 2008 By 5 Comments
There has been some sun peaking through the storm clouds of the Orange County real estate market which is bringing rise to the question, ‘When will we see the real estate market recover?’ There is still tremendous volatility in the banking industry and financial markets but there are some bright spots. We have already begun [...]
Honey, Can We Lower Our Property Taxes?
September 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Monday, September 15th was the deadline to appeal your property taxes. There was a flood of coverage about the deadline and my wonderful, loving husband asked me, “Honey, can we apply to reduce our property taxes?” Being the patient and loving wife that I am, I ignored the fact that he has asked me this [...]
