Good Real Estate News

Well... As I predicted... Alan Greenspan was right on October 11th... even though nobody in San Diego County gave it any attention. Our showing activity has definitely improved... this last week we got offers on a La Costa home priced at $1,300,000 and a Fallbrook Home priced at $1,500,000.
Last Thursday I wrote a letter to the Editor of the North County Times thanking them for publishing Area Bucks Housing Trend ... One of the first local news articles I've seen that found the accurate good news in recent statistics.
This morning I was pleased to find Housing Market Expected to 'Coast' into 2007 with Modest Price Gains in my email from RisMedia. We have nothing to fear... except fear itself. The election is over... there is a pent up demand for San Diego County homes... and people are choosing to get on with their life. Time to enjoy paradise and get on with our lives. :-)

Luxury Home Values at Record High despite Slow Market

Sales at Barratt American's multi-million-dollar neighborhoods continue to climb RISMEDIA, October 17, 2006—In the midst of what some analysts have called a slow Southern California real estate market, luxury home values in San Diego have been on the rise. According to First Republic Bank, San Diego County luxury home values rose by 1.8 percent to an average of $2.41 million in the second quarter of 2006. With high-end home prices holding steady, sales at Barratt American's million-dollar neighborhoods of Amore, Magnolia Estates, Seahaus and Nantucket have continued to climb with 210 homes now sold—many for a million dollars or more.
Now this is another example of real estate news... that didn't make the local news... Does this bother anyone else out there?

Read the entire Article .... and give me your thoughts...

Housing market worst may be over: Greenspan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. housing market appears to be emerging from its recent travails and the "worst may well be over," former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan was quoted as saying on Friday.

"I suspect that we are coming to the end of this downtrend, as applications for new mortgages, the most important series, have flattened out," Greenspan said at an event in Calgary, Canada, sponsored by BMO Financial Group, according to a transcript BMO made available.

"There is a good chance of coming out of this in good shape, but average housing prices are likely to be down this year relative to 2005. I don't know, but I think the worst of this may well be over," he added.

Applications for U.S. home mortgages jumped in the latest week bolstered by increases in refinancing and new home purchases as long-term rates decreased, according to data from the Mortgage Bond Association.

Read the Entire Article

Isn't it incredible that we did not see this in our local newspapers or local news coverage?

How a Home "Should Look" on The Internet

Terri and I are happy to be helping a friend in the office sell their own residence. She is a newer agent in the mentor training program... and we are her mentors. Since we create free standing web pages for all of our listings... and submit them to all major searche engines... we did so for our friend as well. Please follow the link behind the title to this post to view the home. If you have any friends wanting a "European Country Treasure" at the top of Beautiful La Costa... pass this along. In fact... you can do it from here. :-) Thanks.. Paul (we'll have to find them another one... as this one is now sold.

Consumer Confidence Index - The Conference Board

Consumer Confidence Index - The Conference Board

My God... can you believe it... there is good news... and someone reported it?

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which decreased sharply in August, posted a gain in September. The Index now stands at 104.5 (1985=100), up from 100.2 in August. The Present Situation Index increased to 127.7 from 123.9. The Expectations Index rose to 89.0 from 84.4 last month.

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is the world's largest custom research company. The cutoff date for September's preliminary results was September 19th.

What's Up With the Market?

The Daily Pulse, Sept. 27- What's Up With the Market? - AOL Money & Finance

Well I challenged all to show me some good news in the media... with respect to real estate... and here's a pretty good one... New home sales are up... Combined with a flurry of showings on our listings... is that a rainbow I see? :-)

Brook Hills Classic Traditional Beauty

A Brook Hills Classic Traditional Beauty And... is this proof that this is a buyer's market. We sold exactly the same model... in this community...6 weeks ago... for $1,900,000. This is an incredible value... and affords an incredible life style in one of San Diego County's finest locations.

Home prices: 1st drop in 11 years

Now this really Hacks me off.... Another example of the media putting a spin on the data... because bad news sells. The median price went down... because fewer high end homes sold. The market has slowed... there is more inventory... but the only reason there aren't more buyers... is this type of self fulfilling prophecy!

Here's the Article...

Sales slow, prices hit by second biggest year-over-year drop on record; surge of homes for sale seen keeping prices weak.

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
September 25 2006: 1:41 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home sales slowed and a key measure of prices fell for the first time in 11 years last month, spurred by the biggest glut of new homes on the market in more than a decade, an industry group said Monday.
The National Association of Realtors report on existing home sales showed that the median home price in August was $225,000, down 1.7 percent from a year earlier.
Read the entire article

Care to see what really happened in San Diego in August... Here's an excellent unbiased analysis of the San Diego Market as of September 1, 2006...

The Truth About the San Diego Real Estate Market

Having been in the Real Estate Business since 1983 we've seen the cycles come and go. One of the most irritating experiences we have is that every time the market slows... the media... Newspapers and TV... all jump on the band wagon with negative news. I would think there is an ethical responsibility to report the news in an unbiased manner... but negative news sells... so that is what we get. So if you would like to see an excellent unbiased analysis of the San Diego Market as of September 1, 2006... Read the report here...

Selling in the Dark...

Well this last week... After St. Joseph went to work for us... Things picked up a little... But another week... another extra effort needed. So I thought about the fact that nationwide... the sign is still the source of the most sales (really hi tech huh? )... and this time of year in our area we have 12.5 hours of daylight per day.
Adding 5 hours of exposure to every sign is a 40% increase in eye contact! WOW ! What engineer client wouldn't love that logic... and it's true.
So we purchased a Listing Light for all of our listings... and installed them. This is a great idea... and it is another evidence of work... the most rare four letter word in our industry. If you know a friend selling their home... or if you are selling your home... and your agent is too cheap :-) Follow the links... I think it's worth the money!

St. Joseph Meets the Internet

You know... when the market is slower... an agent has to look at every listing every week to add some value. So two weeks ago we created a web page St. Joseph Meets the Internet ... and... not poking fun we have really had an increase in activity. So if you have your home for sale... or a friend does... and you don't have St. Joseph on your side... check out our page... there are links to numerous sources... and tons of data to document his contribution... :-)

Movie and TV Portrayal of Realtors?

Have you ever seen a movie ... or television show that portrays realtors in a good light? If you have let me know. Please don't suggest the new "Million Dollar Listing" as that's a mixed bag of the understanding of Agency. Harrison Ford was a great cop in "LA Homicide"... but a totally unethical realtor. So every semester I challenge my students with this question... if there's someone out there that knows ... please let me know :-) Paul

Real Estate Ramblings: September 2006