News From the Updesk...

Twitter tips for real estate: lurk, learn and interact | Inman News

2011-09-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

Twitter tips for real estate: lurk, learn and interact | Inman News

ForSalebyOwner.com founder gives up on own listing, hires real estate broker

2011-08-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Former FSBO CEO sells home the traditional way

Founder and former CEO of ForSalebyOwner.com, Colby Sambrotto listed his 2,000 square foot New York condominium on his own through online classified ads and FSBO sites, but after six months, he opted to hire New York broker Jesse Buckler who immediately advised a price change as the listing was not attracting the right buyer.

After giving up on the DIY route, Sambrotto’s decision to hire a broker led to attracting multiple offers, closing for $150,000 over the original asking price. The Wall Street Journal reports the listing sold for $2.15 million including a 6% commission.

Many FSBOs turn to Realtors

The news stands as an enormous validation of the real estate profession and while some may tease, it is no laughing matter and the former FSBO CEO made a good financial decision.

AGBeat columnist Herman Chan said, “If people want to take a stab at For Sale By Owner (ie FSBO), go for it. But well over 80% of FSBO’s eventually have to list with an real estate agent to get their house sold. It’s harder than it looks!”

Mortgage loan limits

2011-07-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Mortgage loan limits continue to be a topic of much debate in Washington DC:

Last week the Mortgage Bankers Association put out a statement by their President, David Stevens, advocating a continuation of the higher loan limits at Fannie, Fredie and FHA for one more year. The temporary loan limits authoized by Congress have benefited consumers and the housing market during what has been a turbulent period for our nation's economy," Stevens said in the statement. He went on to say "It looked very clear at the beginning of the year that we were heading toward a flattening of the market, but we've seen clearly an impact to the housing market which is not solely a result of the U.S. economy. It's brought on by general uncertainties: Oil prices spiked for a while, which hit confidence, there were a lot of impacts both domestically and internationally" "I think the view right now that I have is that this is a relatively inexpensive initiative that could support the housing market at a time when pulling back makes no sence." He also said private capital is still too nervous about the state of housing to come back in force now. As for the FHA, which he has maintained has too large a market share right now, "If FHA is still too big, it is the sign of an unhealthy system, but it doesn't mean pulling back is the right answer. We must continue providing support."

As President of San Diego Funding, I pre-approve many first time and buy-up potential home buyers and agree that it is very important to keep the higher loan amounts for another year. The housing market is still too fragile to lose any incentive that helps buyer's obtain financing. It is not helping the wealthy segment but the middle class which is imperative to the recovery in housing.

Linnea Arrington

President

San Diego Funding

2468 Historic Decatur Road #160

San Diego, CA 92106

ph: (619)260-1660 ext. 250

fax: (619)574-6735

email: linnea@sdfunding.com

If prices continue to fall, why should I buy now?

2011-07-27T21:21:00.001-07:00

While price is the major concern for anyone selling a home, cost should be your primary concern as a buyer.

That means you have to take into account what your monthly payment will be, considering not only the price of the home, but also the interest rate of your mortgage.

Waiting for prices to bottom out while rates are increasing can wind up costing more over the life of your mortgage. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association are all projecting interest rates will increase over the next several quarters.

It's best that you meet with your mortgage professional to help you determine what an interest rate increase will cost you based on the expected size of your loan. Also the knowledge of your Realtor about the area(s) in which you are looking for a new home, what prices have done and are doing, whether the home you are looking at is a short sale or not, or foreclosure, will also help guide you as to what your best decision should be.

Interest rates are still under 5%, they are historically low, if prices drop even further, and the interest rate rises, your buying power can drop considerably.

America is based on home ownership, your landlord understands this, are you ready?

Jane Loveday
Licence # 01439083
Pacific Sothebys International Realty
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com/
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Summer in San Diego

2011-07-25T12:25:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh! Summer in San Diego

San Diego Reader | Two Little La Jolla Parks

2011-07-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

San Diego Reader Two Little La Jolla Parks

The California Dream

2011-06-03T21:58:00.001-07:00

Living the California Dream

Brian Arrington, owner, Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty, San Diego

With more than 300 days of sunshine per year, average temperatures in the low 70s and only about 10 to 20 inches of rain along the coast each year, San Diego is renowned for its idyllic climate, making it is a major destination for global visitors as well as a highly desirable place to live. In addition to having some of the nation’s finest beachfront, ocean view, ranch property and golf course locations, San Diego is unique in that it has incredible palette of industry, activity and culture that defines luxury living. Show full article +

With more than 300 days of sunshine per year, average temperatures in the low 70s and only about 10 to 20 inches of rain along the coast each year, San Diego is renowned for its idyllic climate, making it is a major destination for global visitors as well as a highly desirable place to live. In addition to having some of the nation’s finest beachfront, ocean view, ranch property and golf course locations, San Diego is unique in that it has incredible palette of industry, activity and culture that defines luxury living.

Real estate in San Diego remains a buyer’s market, so now is the perfect time to begin living your own California dream.

Coronado

Connected to downtown San Diego by the arching Coronado Island Bay Bridge and to southern San Diego County by a slender, sandy isthmus, Coronado Island is one of the area’s most beautiful communities, and technically a peninsula, not an island. The historic Hotel del Coronado is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. It is one of the few surviving examples of an American architectural genre: the wooden Victorian beach resort. It is the largest beach resort on the North American Pacific Coast. Coronado’s white sandy beaches seem to stretch on forever and have earned numerous ratings as one of the top ten beaches in the United States. Coronado offers everything for the active lifestyle with the charm of an old-fashion neighborhood.

Mission Hills and Uptown

Just north of the city and overlooking Mission Valley and Presidio Park is Mission Hills, one of San Diego’s oldest and most desirable neighborhoods. Over the years some of San Diego’s most prominent architects designed homes in the area including Richard Requa, William E. Hebbard and Emmor Brooke Weaver. Mission Hills is an upscale, family-friendly community comprised of grand historic homes and quaint craftsman bungalows lining its winding hilltop streets.

Point Loma

Point Loma is a seaside community of San Diego located minutes from downtown. It is known for its impressive bay, considered to be one of the best natural harbors on the western coast of North America. Point Loma is also home to the Cabrillo National Monument and Point Loma Lighthouse, which offers breathtaking views of the city of San Diego and beyond. The monument was erected in honor of Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first European to set foot on the west coast. Also on the site is the original lighthouse, which was replaced in 1891 by the one that still steers vessels away from shore. Tidepools and hiking trails delight both tourists and residents alike. Most neighborhoods in Point Loma consist primarily of single family homes. The bayside residential area is called La Playa and includes some of the most spectacular views in San Diego.

Downtown

Downtown is San Diego’s oldest and newest hot spot. With more than 12,000 housing units just built or in the works, downtown is once again becoming the center of San Diego. From the Gaslamp area restaurants, shops and nightclubs to the hip East Village surrounding downtown’s newest addition Petco Park, the new home of Padres baseball, downtown San Diego real estate is booming with apartment and condo housing shooting up into the sky.

La Jolla

Also known as “the Jewel By The Sea,” La Jolla is one of the most prestigious communities in San Diego County, from the grand homes perched high on the hill of Mount Soledad to the contemporary homes that line the ocean view bluffs and sandy beaches. The village is Mediterranean in design and has long been home to several famous residents who could live anywhere but choose La Jolla for its gorgeous coastline, world class restaurants, shopping, art galleries and museums. La Jolla is also home to one of the most well-known municipal golf courses, Torrey Pines, which was the site the 2008 U.S. Open golf tournament.

A Big Small Town

Locals often refer to San Diego as one of America’s biggest small towns, which is pretty amazing considering that San Diego is California’s second largest city and the United States’ eighth largest. San Diego has a population of close to 1.3 million residents within its City and more than 3 million residents within the County.

In addition to being known for its idyllic climate, San Diego is home to several thousand cutting-edge software and computer and communications companies and the biotechnology industry is ranked the third largest in the country. There are more than 26 accredited hospitals ranking San Diego in the top three cities for quality and costs of healthcare. San Diego is home to the largest military concentration in the county bringing in close to $20 million in defense spending each year.

The City offers a tremendous variety of things to see and do. Museums abound in San Diego, focusing on history, technology, culture and art. Annual music and stage festivals in the City include the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre and San Diego Street Scene. San Diego’s theatres also regularly create Broadway hits such as “Jersey Boys,” “Memphis,” “The Who’s Tommy” and seven others in the last 10 years.

The City of San Diego alone has 34,260 acres of developed and undeveloped open space including three regional parks, 190 community and neighborhood parks, seven open-space parks, 26 shoreline parks and 25 miles of ocean and bay beaches. Balboa Park is a national treasure, housing museums, theatres, and the San Diego Zoo.

Whether it’s the dream of a larger residence, a second home, vacation or investment property, or even the perfect place to retire, opportunity abounds in San Diego.

President of San Diego Funding is mother of La Mesa’s Brian Arrington of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty.

2011-05-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

President of San Diego Funding is mother of La Mesa’s Brian Arrington of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty.

One local professional really deserves the time off—Linnea Arrington, president of San Diego Funding and a member of Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

She has been helping buyers in La Mesa for many years. When an agent has a client pre-approved by Linnea, they can relax and concentrate on the job of finding the perfect house and seeing it through escrow knowing that the loan is in good hands.

(Linnea’s son, Brian Arrington, is president of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty, with offices in La Mesa. He also owns offices in Point Loma, Mission Hills, Coronado and La Jolla.)

Her motto, “Hold your lender to a higher standard,” is even more appropriate in today’s market. San Diego Funding is a direct lender, and all loans are processed and underwritten in office. Here are a few suggestions she made the last time we talked:

Three things she asks of borrowers during a pre-approval:

•2 most recent pay stubs

•2009 and 2010 W2 income tax forms and federal tax returns

•Most recent bank statement showing funds for the purchase

A full pre-approval is very important because it gives your offer an advantage over others. It also is important that it be strong and show that all documents have been received and reviewed.

Remind buyers that jumbo conforming limits will be reduced at the end of September. No one knows by how much yet.

This week in La Mesa Real Estate

There were 16 new listings in La Mesa since Friday, May 20:

7730 Saranac Pl #13 91942 2 bd 2 ba esf 1236 $159,000

4494 Palm Ave 91941 2 bd 1 ba esf 1411 $300K - $320K

4484 Acacia Ave 91941 3 bd 2 ba esf 1044 $355,000

4579 4th St. 91941 2 bd 2 ba esf 1040 $357,000

4050 Marian Ave 91941 3 bd 2 ba esf 1279 $359,000

10210 Centinella Dr. 91941 4 bd 4 ba esf 1510 $395,000

10745 Anaheim Dr 91941 4 bd 4 ba esf 2557 $424,900

8510 Sunrise Ave 91941 3 bd 2 ba esf 1521 $449,000

10111 Cliffwood Dr. 91941 4 bd 3 ba esf 2275 $399K - $ 450K

9221 Golondrina Dr. 91941 4 bd 3 ba esf 2540 $489,000

9146 Madison Ave 91941 4 bd 4 ba esf 2856 $575,000

4341 Vista Wy 91941 3 bd 3 ba esf 2726 $589,990

8979 Moisan Wy 91941 4 bd 3 ba esf 1808 $595,000

4643 Pomona Ave 91942 3 bd 2 ba esf 1056 $289,000

7730 El Paso St 91942 3 bd 2 ba esf 1836 $359K - $389K

7171 - 7173 Stanford Ave 91942 6 bd 3 ba esf 3840 $ 599,000

18 properties opened escrow

Coronado beach rated as #4 in the U.S.

2011-05-23T20:31:00.001-07:00

Coronado Central Beach, San Diego

This 2-mile stretch of beach -- just over the bridge from downtown San Diego -- has everything families could want: perfect weather (it rarely rains in the summer), spotless white sand (the town even invented an environmentally-friendly rake to clean up the kelp), and warm, gentle water. Plus, there's no smoking allowed on this beach -- or any in California. Tide pools filled with sea creatures form in front of the famous Hotel del Coronado, where you cool off with a cone at MooTime Creamery.

Spend the Night

The only resort along this stretch of sand, the Victorian-style Hotel del Coronado offers family s'mores nights, a drop-off kids' program for 4- to 12-year-olds, and babysitting. (Summer rates in June start at $296 per night for a room that sleeps four when you mention promo code PARENTS; hoteldel.com.) A lower-cost resort: Ten minutes away, the Loews Coronado Bay has a kids' club plus Baby Loves Disco parties, loaner baby equipment, and kids' cooking classes. (Summer rates at the Loews begin at $209 per night for a room that sleeps four; loewshotels.com

San Diego - Living the California Dream

2011-05-20T20:23:00.001-07:00

Coronado - Pacific Sotheby's Realty agent, Scott Aurich

2011-05-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

Coronado’s Scott Aurich Named To Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation Board

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Coronado’s Scott Aurich Named To Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation Board

Earlier this year, Coronado Realtor Scott Aurich was named to the Board of Trustees of the Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation for a three-year term. Aurich and his wife Wanda were co-chairs of the 2010 Miracle Makers Gala, which recognizes philanthropic support for the hospital. Photo by David Axelson

.Posted: Thursday, May 19, 2011 2:19 pm
Updated: 2:23 pm, Thu May 19, 2011.

Coronado’s Scott Aurich Named To Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation Board 0 comments

Scott Aurich, a Coronado resident since 1987, has been named to the Board of Trustees for Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation. His three-year term started at the first of the year and Aurich provided a brief overview of the foundation and the hospital. “They raise tens of millions of dollars each year and they cover an area from Riverside to the Mexican border.”

Aurich’s interest in the work of Rady Children’s Hospital actually had its genesis in Houston, Texas when his wife Wanda delivered their son Scott into the world. “He was born at six months and weighed 1 pound, six ounces,” recounted Aurich. “He spent four months in intensive care at Texas Children’s Hospital. Scott had eye surgery, heart surgery and came out fantastic. The combination of technology, prayers and everything else worked. He was so sick and little when he was born. For him to come out the way he has is incredible.”

Fast forward 24 years and Scott the Younger has graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University. He is now working on a teaching credential that will allow him to teach special needs children.

Scott the Elder’s story also starts in Houston and includes a stop at Baylor University, where he majored in “Physical education and football,” Aurich said, smiling while recounting his college days. “I was a walk-on at Baylor and I went there because Baylor had the worst secondary in the Southwestern Conference. I played on the kickoff and punt return teams, traveled with the team and we had an incredible year. The next year they recruited six defensive backs and I red-shirted my sophomore year. Then I transferred to Stephen F. Austin State University. I graduated from there and got a degree in education. I did my student teaching at an elementary school with a broken neck.”

As you might guess, the problem with the broken neck didn’t slow down Aurich too much. Out of college, he got a job in site sales for a condo conversion in the Houston area. The financial backers of that project were investors in a project called Real del Mar in Mexico and Aurich was named marketing director for the development.

“We came to Coronado Thursday and stayed at the Del,” Aurich recounted. “Friday I saw the property, which was located seven miles into Mexico and Saturday we rented a house. We moved out here two weeks later. It was the second smartest thing I have done, after picking Wanda as my wife. I met Wanda in real estate when she was working with a real estate attorney. I do believe Coronado is the best place to raise a family or retire in the country. But we have roots in Texas and it was hard to leave.”

As a side note, the Aurich family’s first rental was the first of 15 residences they have had in Coronado. Scott has designed the family’s last three homes himself and says that their new house currently under construction is meant to be his last move. I got the impression that notion was negotiable.

Aurich has focused on real estate sales since 1998, when he found out that real money in real estate was found in sales, as opposed to construction. “I have had Sun Isle Realty the whole time. We recently merged with Pacific Sotheby’s, which is truly an international real estate brokerage. They have offices in 42 countries around the world. They have a lot of really significant and trophy-type properties. I like to stay close to Coronado. Ninety-nine percent of my sales have been in Coronado and I’m primarily focused on the Village, but have some listings in the Shores.”

Aurich has a long list of community interests including coaching 16 seasons of youth sports in Coronado. He also coached the defensive line in for one season for the University of San Diego football team under then Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. “I had a great time doing that for one year. It was like a fantasy football camp for me.” Aurich has also served on the Coronado Schools Foundation Board of Directors, was the president of the Coronado Board of Realtors in 1997 and served a stint as chairman of Sandicor, the regional real estate multiple listing service.

But his current involvement with the Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation clearly is important to him. “Wanda was a roving ambassador at the surgical care unit and volunteered doing that. The she was able to be a neo-natal cuddler in the neo-natal intensive care area. When parents couldn’t be there during the day, she held babies and cuddled them. She did that for a number of years and after her initial involvement, we were asked to be the Co-chairmen of the Miracle Makers Gala last year. Then they asked me to be on the board.”

The Gala is an important annual event for the foundation, according to Aurich. “It’s an appreciation dinner for all of the people who work during the whole year to raise funds for the hospital. It includes people from all walks of life. The attendees range from Costco employees to construction company owners. They have the common goal of trying to help the hospital run well.”

Aurich has communicated with the Top 300 realtors from around the county, inviting them to participate and several have responded that they will attend the function. The 2011 Miracle Makers Gala will be held June 11 at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel. The cocktail hour commences at 6:30 p.m., with the event running from 8:30 p.m., to midnight.

“It’s not a typical auction,” Aurich explained. “It’s just a gathering. You have the opportunity to make a pledge, but there is no pressure to do so. People can just come for a night of fun. They have a video about things that are going on at the hospital. It’s a ‘thank you’ from the hospital for the volunteers.”

If anyone from Coronado is interested in attending the Gala, contact Scott or Wanda and they can coordinate seating in the same area with them and other local residents. The black tie event is $250 per person, which relatively speaking is light on the pocket book as far as major fundraisers go. Aurich added, “It’s a real community-wide event. The Gala is about raising money and awareness.”

For additional information regarding the 2011 Miracle Makers Gala, contact Rady Children’s Hospital at 858-966-5988.

USD team wins international competition (San Diego Daily Transcript)

2011-05-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

USD team wins international competition (San Diego Daily Transcript): "Five students in the University of San Diego’s master's in real estate program won first place in the 2011 ARGUS Software University Challenge."

All about San Diego - as seen in Dwell Magazine

2011-05-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

San Diego, CA

Nestled on the Pacific coastline, between Los Angeles’s sprawl and the Mexican border, San Diego is a surprisingly design-forward town with a handful of modern masterpieces to prove it.

By:Aaron Britt

Photos by:Bryce Duffy

Location:San Diego, California

Published in February 10

Architecturally speaking, San Diego is home to one of the crown jewels of the modernist canon: Louis Kahn’s majestic Salk Institute for Biological Studies. It would be easy to view the rest of the seaside city as an ode to adobe, aircraft carriers, and staying way chilled out, but its design scene, if small, is vibrant. Surely Kahn’s poem in concrete and sunlight deserves serious attention, but it’s the local design legends—–like protomodernist Irving Gill, elder statesmen Ted Smith and Kendrick Kellogg, and a roster of young high-flyers such as Sebastian Mariscal, Jennifer Luce, Lloyd Russell, and Chris Puzio—–who are responsible for the warp and weft of the city’s rich modernist fabric. It must be said, however, that this burg is still enthralled by all things Spanish colonial (both original and recent), but the principles of modern design are as vital as ever. We asked architect Aaron Anderson, one of the energetic new crop of San Diego designers, to show us around his hometown.
If the town’s best building is Kahn’s Salk Institute, what’s second best?
I would agree that the Salk is San Diego’s masterwork building. Kahn’s expressions of light, order, and stillness are as relevant today as they were when the Salk was built. Those concepts make the building an inspiring and humane workplace. As for the next best architecture, my vote goes to local hero architect Irving Gill’s collection of austere residential and public buildings. They are comparable in quality and intention, and like Kahn’s, their richness comes from the simplicity of their form: unfussy, supremely functional, with clean, rigid lines that wonderfully complement their rolling canyon or coastal bluff settings. Architects could learn a great deal about the editing of their own ideas by studying the clarity of concept found in both Kahn’s and Gill’s work.
view in slideshowSan Diego’s main Mormon temple is an unusual building, but architect Aaron Anderson will take unusual over bland any day.

Perhaps the strangest building in town is the Mormon church near the freeway. It’s straight out of Narnia.

The San Diego California Temple along Interstate 5 is definitely an interesting building. I like that a local, relatively unknown architect was used to design it and that he wasn’t afraid to address a major freeway where most buildings turn their backs. I appreciate the level of care and detail that went into the church, unlike the trend in many Southern California churches to look more like movie-theater complexes. The Mormon temple harkens a fantastical, contemporary structure that I’m sure is inspiring to its members and to many in the community at large. It’s a building that people either love or hate—–which is great for architecture.
Where would you like to see San Diego go in the long term?
I was inspired to put together a plan to renovate University Avenue, one of San Diego’s main streets connecting our most culturally diverse neighborhoods, after visiting Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach, California. Many years ago, a group of architects, artists, and developers formed the Venice Collaborative to improve the area by creating progressive architecture that is pedestrian- and earth-friendly. It’s a huge success. I hope to create a resource where people can see the benefits of creating new, contemporary, sustainable buildings and where they can find architects and builders for their particular projects. Many young designers and architects, like Miki Iwasaki, Mike Burnett, Craig Abenilla, and Jeana Kim Renger, are beginning to redefine the San Diego style. It’s an exciting and challenging time.

view in slideshowPetco Park, home to the San Diego Padres.

Petco Park, Qualcomm Stadium, and the airport are all actually in the middle of town. Are we really in Southern California?

the city comes at a large cost. It’s the smallest airport of any major U.S. city and has no room for expansion. They say that it will reach capacity within a decade and the only viable options for moving the airport are already taken by the military. I’m a big proponent of the military sharing, trading, or moving their airport, though voters recently disagreed with me. Petco Park is one of the rare baseball stadiums that actually had the redevelopment impact and net economic gain that stadium owners always promise to cities. The Padres, with government help, rehabilitated an underutilized area and redeveloped it, saving numerous historic warehouses. In the process they basically doubled the size of downtown San Diego. Thanks to its architect, Antoine Predock, the building has quickly become an icon. The one significant negative of the project is that it has further walled off the city from the ocean. Along with the Convention Center, designed by the late Arthur Erickson, and the Horton Plaza shopping center, a huge portion of downtown has no visual connection to San Diego Bay. The awkward placement of these buildings is a tremendous long-term mistake.

Barrio Logan seems to be the up-and-coming neighborhood. What’s worth checking out there?

Woodbury University’s School of Architecture, where I teach, has a terrific new campus designed by Rinehart Herbst. My studio renovated a warehouse space for a group of businesses that includes a company that invented a wind-generating machine. Barrio Logan is also home to the best quick Mexican food: Las Cuatro Milpas.
Little seems more architectural than the cakes at Extraordinary Desserts. Do you get any inspiration there?

Extraordinary Desserts was one of Jennifer Luce’s first high-profile projects in San Diego, and I happened to be working with her while it was being designed. Owner Karen Krasne’s inspiration for her desserts comes from her world travels. As an architect it was extremely interesting to incorporate her thought process in creating new desserts—–texture, transparency, culture—–into the architectural details.

Read more: http://www.dwell.com/articles/san-diego-ca.html#ixzz1MO4pAiPy

12 Upcoming La Jolla Summer Events You Need to Check Out

2011-05-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

12 Upcoming La Jolla Summer Events You Need to Check Out

San Diego communities...North Park

2011-05-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

North Park’s Festival of Arts shows community’s creative side

San Diego Communities - North Park

Written by Elena Buckley, writing for San Diego Uptown News

Wednesday, 04 May 2011 20:44

North Park’s Festival of Arts has evolved over the 15 years since its inception. In the early ’90s, the event focused mainly on music, but in 2000 it changed its name to the North Park Spring Festival, and five years later became the Festival of Arts. Whatever its moniker, however, up to 30,000 people annually attend—“as long as the weather’s good,” laughs Liz Studebaker, executive director of North Park Main Street.

This year, on May 15, the free street festival features six stages for music and performing arts, more than 300 performers, about 120 booths (half of them featuring 40 juried artist vendors), and at least eight hands-on artistic activities in the Kids Art Block. There will also be a craft beer block on Ohio St., featuring 10 sample tastes from San Diego breweries and wineries for $25 in advance, $30 the day of the event.

North Park is becoming more of a regional destination, Studebaker notes, and the festival showcases the community’s creativity.

“It’s a great way for people around Southern California to come to North Park. Maybe they haven’t been here for a few years… [and] it’s a great opportunity for them to see all the positive changes happening.”

Studebaker said that the festival now has examples of almost every type of artistic medium, and businesses view the festival as a way to “…draw people here to learn more about North Park and to appreciate artsbased businesses”—such as the many art galleries, art schools, art workshops, tattoo parlors and hair salons in the area.

“I feel like it’s a great reflection of the community in terms of diversity,” Sara Morrison, event chair said. “I feel that because of that you have things that appeal to younger audiences, families…20-somethings [and the] older crowd.”

In her four years with the festival, Morrison has worked to help expand the event’s diversity, bringing in more and newer bands and forging a stronger partnership with artists in the community—“bringing the right people to the table to make sure that all areas are represented,” as she puts it.

The six stages around the festival show a distinct range of musical styles, with alternative on the Main Stage at 30th St. and University Ave. and an open mic, performing arts mix of beat boxing, jazz, acoustic folk and the stylings of the girls from Lips on the Beats & Eats Stage at Illinois Street and University Avenue, by the food court.

There will also be dance ensembles featuring the Eveoke Youth Performing Group, San Diego Ballet, Flamenco Arana and more on the Dance Stage at 32nd Street and University Avenue, with groups from Japan, Greece, South Africa and more at the World Music stage at Grim and University avenues, older North Park musical acts at Drowsy Maggie’s stage on 31st St. and more alternative music at the Bar Pink stage inside the craft beer block.

There will be a plein air “quick-draw” event on Ray St. along with interactive events and oil, pastel and metalwork demonstrations. Ray St. will also house the Kids Art Walk area, with hands-on activities sponsored by Young Audiences of San Diego, McKinley Elementary, UPS, The Rare Hare Studio, Eveoke Dance Theatre, Dragonfly Designs, BioEASI and the Chula Vista Community Arts Group. Each activity’s theme is created by the organizing group, and themes range from learning what it would feel like to be eaten by a whale to interactive dance lessons.

“It’s really meant to inspire children to have some interaction with their creative side,” Studebaker said.Juried artists present every category of fine art imaginable, including photography, printmaking/digital, sculpture, glass art and watercolor/pastels. The North Park Craft Mafia, a group of DIY businesses working together to promote the artistic community, will also sell original handmade, crafts.

Scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on University Avenue and 30th Street, the festival receives about 10 percent of its funding from the City of San Diego Com-mission for Arts and Culture. The rest comes from private sponsors, including Ascent Realty, San Diego Dialed In, FM 94/9 and many more.

To assist with the lack of parking in the area, the parking structure at 3829 29th St. will be free all day and will offer a unique bike valet service by Velo Cult. For more information, visit: northparkfestivalofarts.com.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This article originally appeared in San Diego Uptown News (a media partner of SDNR).

Mission Hills, San Diego

2011-05-03T06:41:00.001-07:00

May 7th in Mission Hills is being dubbed "Mission Hills Alive" - and for good reason - several neighborhood organizations are throwing events that are sure to fill our sidewalks with both residents and visitors. The Mission Hills Garden Club is holding its annual garden walk, "A stroll down Sunset Boulevard" from 10am-4pm, the Mission Hills Artists will be putting on a fabulous Artwalk on the 1600 Block of W. Lewis from 11am-5pm, and there will be an historic San Diego class 1 street car on display on the 4050 block of Stephens Street between 11am-5pm. Local businesses will be offering food, drink, special promotions, discounts, coupons, and other offers throughout the day. More information on the flyer below!

5 fun things to do in San Diego this weekend

2011-04-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

5 to Try in the Sun, Surf and Sand

Written by Robert on April 29th, 2011

Spring Break has come and gone, but to ensure those postcard images of San Diego linger on through Memorial Day – and to put folks in a summertime frame of mind – following are five fun activities to try in Coronado that are just “beachy”!

BTW, forecast for this weekend: clear skies and warm!

Let’s soak up the sun:

What SUP (Stand Up Paddle Boarding)!

1.Take a stand… Stand up paddle boarding! This popular past time is often seen in the calm waters of San Diego Bay or just beyond the surf line of Silver Strand Beach and Coronado Beach. For first-timers, lessons are available from Loews Coronado Bay Resort’s on-site Coronado Surfing Academy and Gnarly Neal’s at the Hotel del Coronado.

Silver Strand walk on the wild side.

2.Go wild… On a ranger-led nature walk at Silver Strand State Beach – one of the top 10 beaches in the world and home to some amazing tideland and shoreline creatures, including sand dollars, crabs, snowy plovers, pelicans and the mysterious grunion fish. You may even spot a dolphin hanging 10! Tours depart every Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 – 11:30 am, from the lobby of Loews Coronado Bay Resort.

Bicycle built for... four!

3.Wheel fun… Surrey biking! Bicycles built for two to four people, are a great way to sightsee around the island. The beach and bay boardwalks are the most scenic routes. Rentals available throughout the island, including Bikes & Beyond at the Coronado Ferry Landing, Wheel Fun Rentals at Coronado Island Marriott Resort, Loews Coroando Bay Resort, PeDels at the Hotel del Coronado and Holland’s Bicycles on Orange Ave.

Finding Zen in the sand.

4.Chill out… with yoga on the beach. Visitors can find some serious Zen on the sands of Coronado Beach during a session with the Hotel del Coronado’s Hatha Yoga instructor. Altogether now, “Ommmm…”

S'mores on Coronado Beach - sweet!

5.S’more fun… Roasting marshmallows around a bonfire on Coronado Beach, Tidelands Park or Silver Strand State Beach is a sweet way to end a perfect beach day in Coronado. Guests at The Del can indulge in their very own s’mores on the beach experience with a cozy fire pit and all the fixins (marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate) provided!

The art of selling a vintage home | Inman News

2011-04-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

The art of selling a vintage home Inman News

The art of selling a vintage home

House Profile: A Midcentury Modern masterpiece

By Mary Umberger, Monday, April 4, 2011.

Inman News™

Real estate agent Kathryn Madison had a house for sale that she said was "so perfect" she feared it would scare buyers away This is not a typical circumstance in real estate, but then again, this isn't a typical house.

From the outside, it's your basic ranch home. But inside, it's a pristine example of the style known as Midcentury Modern -- a snapshot of the good life America offered in the late 1940s and early 1950s. From its jet-age kitchen table to its ultra-sleek living room mantel, it's stuffed with original features, all of them in exceptionally good condition.

It's the kind of place that would make aficionados of the genre swoon with delight. It also could send people who were looking for a mere house -- rather than a time capsule -- scrambling for the exit.

"I needed to appeal to that 'vintage' buyer, but if I overwhelmed people with too much detail (in marketing the property), I'd scare 90 percent of the buyers away," said Madison, an agent with Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty Group in Portland, Ore.

In the end, it all worked out -- so well, in fact, that she ended up selling the house twice in a period of two months. But we'll get to that.

The house was built in 1948 in Portland's Raleigh Park neighborhood, which has many homes dating to that era and slightly later, though most have been extensively remodeled and have comparatively few original features.

This place, on Brentwood Street, is much the way it was on the day its first owners moved in. The kitchen, in particular, reflects a category of Midcentury styling known as Streamline Moderne, which has the sleek lines of a vintage Airstream trailer. This kitchen has its original, rounded-door cabinets and a restaurant-style booth (with original upholstery) that would have been right at home in a 1940s diner.

The woman who had listed it for sale -- only the second owner of the house -- was infatuated with the style, the agent said.

"She's so into that era that she still used the vintage, top-loading dishwasher, which sounded like a train coming through the house when it was working," Madison said. "Yet, it worked beautifully.

"She also used the vintage refrigerator -- (its) icebox would hold nothing more than two trays of ice cubes," the agent said. "She worked her lifestyle around the home."

The reason she was selling, Madison said, was because she had found another Midcentury home that had even more intact period features.

Madison began marketing the house by hosting a broker's open house -- it drew an unusually high turnout of 60-70 agents, most of whom seemed to take a lot of enjoyment in seeing it, she said.

But would their clients want to buy it?

"I had public open houses, and always got a warm reaction," Madison said. "The two (minimalist) fireplaces -- people just grooved on those. The original Masonite paneling in the front bedroom -- people loved that."

But there was still no getting around the "museum-ness" of the place.

For example, the bedrooms were almost completely intact, right down to the original windows, she said.

"That's a plus for a Midcentury buyer, but others said, 'This house will cost a fortune to heat,' " she said

Madison is an avid amateur photographer and shot pictures of the rooms herself for the listing -- hundreds of them.

A fan of Midcentury styling herself -- Madison lives nearby in a house that's a few years younger and is closer in feel to a classic '50s home, rather than Streamline Moderne -- she knew that fans of the genre would want to see tiny details.

"I know what excites a Midcentury enthusiast because I have the same illness that they do," she said, laughing. "I get excited over retro doorbells and reed glass (a type of ribbed privacy glass that was popular in the era)."

But too much of that might be, well, just too much for mainstream buyers, so Madison put many of the detailed shots on a "special features" link on the listing that probably only the most curious buyer would dig down to see, she said.

When she began showing the house, buyer reaction became predictable.

"The feedback from the agents was always, 'My client thought it was cool, very special, but didn't have the heart to remodel it,' " Madison said. "I'll bet I heard that half a dozen times."

After a few weeks, Madison got an idea: She hired a company to do a "virtual staging" -- a computer-generated version of how the house would look with stainless-steel appliances, more contemporary light fixtures, and other changes she thought would give it a hipper, Dwell magazine kind of look.

But in order to get it ready for virtual staging, Madison, her husband and the homeowners had to spend several hours carting the furniture out of several rooms so that she could photograph them as empty -- in order for them to be "redecorated" virtually.

Then, of course, they had to move everything back.

Madison left printouts of the virtually staged room depictions for buyers to see as they toured, so that they might envision the place with some updating -- as opposed to a major rehab.

"I went to a lecture a while back by the editor of Atomic Ranch magazine," which specializes in Modernist-designed homes built from the 1940s through 1960s, she said.

"He said there were three kinds of homebuyers," Madison recalled. "One would be like my client who listed this home -- if something in it was original, she would die before she would change it, no matter how inconvenient it was.

"The second kind understands the home, and will remodel, but be very respectful of the era.

"The third kind doesn't care if it's a '50s ranch -- if they want to turn it into a Colonial, they will stick some pillars in front," Madison said.

Madison was trying to find a buyer in that second category -- and that's just who she found, after just a few months on the market. Or thought she did.

The house, which had been listed for $479,000, closed for $459,000 on Dec. 27. But on Dec. 31, the new owner contacted her to explain that a health problem had emerged and the family had a change of heart -- they wouldn't be moving in, after all.

So, she asked, could Madison please relist the house and sell it again?

It so happened that Madison had received a backup offer from out-of-state buyers who had bid on the place, sight unseen: Like the then-current owner, they were rabid fans of Midcentury styling.

Madison called their agent, who explained that the relocating out-of-towners were house hunting in Portland. They came over, toured the house, and made an offer on Jan. 1. The place got new owners -- again.

Madison said she realizes the long odds against finding not one but two buyers who were smitten with such a specific style -- and relatively quickly.

But she suspects the audience for Midcentury homes is growing -- after decades of being panned for their "datedness," and too late for the countless cabinets and fixtures from that era that long since been dispatched to landfills.

She thinks real estate agents are increasingly willing to market the homes' style as a positive, rather than a negative. But it's not a slam dunk, she said: The market is a narrow niche.

"You see that term, Midcentury, used more often in marketing houses, but I still don't think that people really appreciate how special some of the features are," she said.

There's a certain consumer who grew up with that style and just wants to leave it behind, he said. But a younger demographic is captivated by its novelty.

"There's a new generation," she said, "that appreciates the details that make it different from something that looks like you bought everything at the Home Depot."

Mary Umberger is a freelance writer in Chicago.

Catalina weekend getaway

2011-03-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island and Alaska's Aleutian Islands are rarely spoken of in the same sentence, except when one learns that the eponymous Russian fur traders, the Aleuts, eventually settled on the California island, driven by the desire for still more sea otter pelts. Located just 26 miles physically but a world away spiritually from Los Angeles, romantics have escaped to this 22-mile by 8-mile member of the Channel archipelago for generations, where they can rent bikes, snorkel or hike the newly constructed 37-mile Trans-Catalina Trail. Those looking for still more remoteness should travel north to Santa Cruz Island, the largest island in Channel Islands National Park. Kayak in the sea caves with Aquasports, or spend the day roaming this remarkable park after taking an Island Packers ferry.

Follow Crai S Bower on Twitter @craisbower.

Everything Old is New Again

2011-03-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Everything Old is New Again

Restoring Homes with the Patina of Time

By Iyna Bort Caruso
When a Massachusetts couple wanted to bring their 86-year-old home up to 21st century standards, the one thing they would not compromise on was authenticity. They built a separate connecting structure to use as the family room and chose the facade of an old horse stable to give it the patina of time.

Employing artisan techniques and date-stamped design in renovations imbues homes of a certain age with a sense of permanence and maturity. For the savvy homeowner, it’s a matter of optimizing one’s real estate investment. And sometimes it’s also a matter of national “pride,” says José Gorjão, of Portugal Sotheby’s International Realty in Lisbon. Owners there happily comply with government regulations on restorations because they’re eager to retain the best “traits of Portuguese architecture,” which typically feature hardwood floors, handcrafted ceilings and wood-framed windows.

The trick in a period home restoration is to pay homage to the original architecture in a way that makes the new seem old, the contemporary seem timeworn.

Stephen Wang, an architect with offices in Manhattan and Sydney, Australia, spent about 10 months undoing, redoing and expanding his two-story weekend home in the Hudson Valley region of New York. Parts of the residence were more than 100 years old. The original structure was a clapboard, hunting cabin to which the previous owner connected a stone house with a steep-pitched roof. “It looked odd,” Wang says of the addition. He removed the original cabin and built a new addition that was consistent with the stone structure. Wang used granite boulders from the site, laid flooring made of reclaimed pine boards from an old barn in the region and installed wainscoting, much of it recycled from the original cabin. “The goal was to make the addition and the renovation upgrade feel as if they were original to the house,” he says. “It was important that it was cohesive and consistent, that it looked like it was meant to be.”

The three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot remodel is a seamless integration. Wang did his homework, studying the history of the home as well as the history of the previous owner, a cabinetmaker. “I salvaged what was worth keeping and reconfigured it into the addition so it looks like a part of the original vision he had. What he produced was wonderful — he was an artist and a craftsman — and we kept that. I didn’t overbuild, I didn’t overinvest. But what I did build was of good quality and was consistent with the structure that was there,” Wang says.

Vintage is relative, of course. Century-old homes in Europe are considered young. In the U.S., they’re considered classics. In Georgia’s southeastern St. Simons and Sea Islands, most homes are less than 40 years old. “This is probably due to the occasional hurricane — though we experience far fewer than others on the coast — as well as the fact that prior to the mid 1920s, the island was only accessible by ferry,” says Frank DeLoach of DeLoach Sotheby’s International Realty in St. Simons Island.

Nevertheless, DeLoach says it’s “very important” for owners, no matter the age of their homes, to stay faithful to the original architecture during a renovation and to pay attention to the details and nuances in order to maintain property values. The closer a restoration mirrors the original details, the higher the return. “Anything but a well-executed expansion or remodel will diminish the overall appeal of the home and, therefore, will fail to produce the greatest return on the investment,” he says.

In Massachusetts, the homeowners of a suburban Boston estate situated on the Charles River built their 900-square-foot family room addition to be sympathetic with the main house, a classic New England center hall colonial. “It was a beautiful older home, built in 1925, that didn’t meet today’s lifestyle,” says interior designer Freya Surabian of Freya Surabian Design Associates in Winchester, Mass.

Surabian worked with the homeowners to achieve an illusion of time that was both authentic and elegant. The addition is connected to the main house through a covered breezeway. The exterior has the arched glass doors of a classic carriage house and interior finishes that are consistent with the era: Venetian plaster walls, the kind of stone and cement fireplace typically found in a carriage house and a plank ceiling that was stained, glazed and cracked to appear time-worn. “It breaks my heart when people buy a fabulous older home and go in and totally gut it,” Surabian says. “They might as well buy a new home because the most expensive thing in a home is character. And older homes drip with character.”

What's your plan?

2011-02-22T22:51:00.000-08:00

By Steve Murray

The Market is Shifting-Again .What's Your Game Plan?

Historically, top sales professionals marketed heavily to get listings, to get calls, to generate prospects, to drive their businesses. A few years ago a shift took place. With the exponential growth of social media and online marketing along with the surging importance of the buy side, prospecting for buyers took hold in a big way. Prospecting through these new channels because the modus operandi for growing your business. It didn't help that distressed inventory took over many markets.
Now the leaders of some top teams indicate that listings may be moving back into a position of importance. Why? According to several leaders of top teams from around the country, the growing strength of such sites as Realtor.com, Zillow and Trulia along with strong traffic on Craigslist and some of the national branded sites, having listings online is driving an increase in traffic to sales professional websites. Also with the general improvement in the economy (slight but headed in the right direction) and consumer confidence (ditto above) buyers in the last few weeks are starting to be interested once again in the investment in housing either for personal use or as investment property.

This is but one finding of the research REAL Trends and MarketLeader are doing in preparation for the release of a new book, "Game Plan--How Real Estate Professionals Can Thrive in the Future." Months of research and over 60 interviews with leaders from every aspect of the residential real estate industry will be featured in the book, as well as a companion video that will outline where the industry is likely heading and how brokerage firms and sales professionals can grow their businesses and profits in the years ahead.

One large challenge mentioned by every leader is that brokerage firms and sales professionals will have to sharpen their business tools and systems should they want compete at the highest levels. Focusing on ways to articulate one's value to the counter party in a relationship (whether a brokerage to a sales professional or a sales professional to a housing consumer) is absolutely at the top of everyone's list. "Game Plan" will lay out several paths to building the value proposition at every level of real estate brokerage.

As real estate professionals and housing consumers have access to more and more content along with the tools that provide analysis, the importance of systems will rise relative to the importance of relationships. While relationships will have a high importance to consumers, real estate professionals should be prepared to compete on the basis of their knowledge at deeper levels than ever before

Why We Value the Government’s Role in Housing

2011-02-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Before we jump on the 'anti-government' bandwaggon, and insist on closing down entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, read this...

After I posted Real Estate Is About Jobs (Feb. 9), I received several dozen comments from members. Some of you questioned NAR’s stance on the best way to restore housing markets. I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to engage with us and share your opinions. We will be seeking more member feedback during our Home Ownership Matters bus tour next month. I also want to try to address some of the concerns that were raised. I think it’s important that you know where the National Association of REALTORS® and your Leadership Team are coming from on some of these contentious issues. We may not agree on every point—but please believe that NAR recognizes and respects the differences that exist within our million-strong association.

In your blog post you suggested that we can increase home sales by (1) preserving the mortgage interest deduction, (2) moving the credit pendulum to equilibrium, and (3) maintaining government backing in the mortgage market. Two of those items—MID and government backing—seem to be about maintaining the status quo. How will that drive up home sales?

According to our research, the market is underperforming by some 20 percent. We are at 2000-level home sales—yet we have 30 million more people living in the United States today. A federal commitment to maintaining the MID and government backing would bring more certainty to buyers and investors. Getting back to a normal level of underwriting—combined with an improving job picture—would get the country back on track to a normal level of sales. The issue of jobs is critical, and one of the messages we’re sending to Congress, as they begin their debate over the 2012 budget, is that housing creates jobs at home.

A few members have suggested that we give up on the mortgage interest deduction. However, a vast majority of NAR members, nearly 80 percent, said in a recent survey they favor retaining the mortgage interest deduction as is and look to NAR to carry that message to Washington. Yes, during these financially challenging times, government incentives must be scrutinized. But let’s not allow our critics to use today’s crisis to end a policy that has served U.S. citizens well for decades.

Why should the federal government even have a role in housing?

NAR supports the free-market system for real estate financing. The ideal marketplace is one in which individual home buyers and multifamily developers transact business with private lenders. History reminds us, however, that the federal government plays an important role in regulating lenders and ensuring the smooth flow of capital. In tough economic times, private financing may simply choose to exit the market; the government provides gap financing when the private market does not or cannot participate. Without the active participation of the GSEs, and programs like the FHA, VA, and Rural Housing Services loan programs, there would be no money to fund home purchases and our ongoing housing recovery would not be possible. When private markets are healthy and we return to a more typical lending environment, the role of these entities should reduce. The government also protects borrowers against predatory lending practices that borrowers might otherwise not recognize. One of the lessons of the mortgage market meltdown is that banking regulators weren’t doing enough to rein in bad lending practices.

How do Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fit into that?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (together known as government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) have traditionally played two important roles. One, by purchasing mortgage loans and securitizing the loans for sale to investors, they have enabled lenders to have ready capital to make more loans for home purchases, small-business lending, and other purposes. Second, by setting underwriting standards for the loans they purchase, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have helped ensure the quality of the collateral for investors and created a level playing field for consumers.

But weren’t Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “standards” one of the main causes of the mortgage meltdown? Didn’t they encourage lenders to reduce their underwriting standards in order to expand home ownership to underserved groups?

The GSEs made numerous missteps in the years leading up to the mortgage crisis. Almost all investigations and reports on the crisis, however, have agreed that the GSEs were only one factor in a system-wide breakdown. It was the private-label securitization of bad loans—and the packaging of those securities into “tranches” enabling investment banks to make money on the same underlying collateral over and over—that led the way to the crisis. The U.S Treasury report, Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market, released on February 14, 2011, explains:

Initially, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were largely on the sidelines while private markets generated increasingly risky mortgages. Between 2001 and 2005, private-label securitizations of Alt-A and subprime mortgages grew fivefold, yet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued to primarily guarantee fully documented, high-quality mortgages.

But as their combined market share declined – from nearly 70 percent of new originations in 2003 to 40 percent in 2006 – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pursued riskier business to raise their market share and increase profits. Not only did they expand their guarantees to new and riskier products, but they also increased their holdings of some of these riskier mortgages on their own balance sheets.

In other words, the GSEs followed the private market into the too-risky lending practices and then compounded the problem by holding in their own portfolio the securities created using these risky loans. The quasi-governmental status of the GSEs, combined with their need to make money for shareholders, resulted in an unacceptable level of risk taking. To date, the government has put $132 billion into honoring the guarantees made by the two agencies.

So why does NAR seem to be speaking out in support the GSEs?

To be clear, NAR does not support the status quo. We do not believe that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be reconstituted as they were before the crisis. The public mission of the entities, ensuring the flow of mortgage capital, cannot exist alongside the private profit motive that led to the GSEs’ downfall. More than a year ago, an NAR Working Group released a set of principles for reforming the GSEs. We recommended that they be converted to government-chartered, non-shareholder owned authorities—subject to strong regulation—that can accomplish their mission of creating a steady flow of affordable mortgage capital and protect the taxpayer.

We’ve read that many of the banks that accepted TARP money have paid much of it back with interest. Will any of that $132 billion paid to cover the GSE guarantees ever be made up?

The two companies, under the rules of their conservatorship, are required to pay the government a 10 percent quarterly dividend on the money they receive from the U.S. Treasury. The Obama administration has calculated that, by 2013, the companies will be paying back in dividends more than they receive in assistance. In its 2012 budget request to Congress, the administration estimated the bailout will end up costing the taxpayers about $73 billion by 2021. NAR believes the 10 percent dividend is too high (higher than the 5 percent banks paid under TARP) and has asked the Treasury Department to reduce it, retroactively. If they did that, the GSEs could start paying back the government soon and more quickly.

Why do we need a secondary mortgage market? Why not let the private market take the risk?

Without a secondary mortgage market, private lenders would likely do away with the 30-year fixed rate mortgage because of the interest-rate risk to lenders and investors when they hold these loans. The market would be primarily shorter-term and adjustable-rate mortgages, which put the interest-rate risk on the borrowers instead of large institutions like insurance companies and pension funds that are equipped to manage this risk. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has provided generations of Americans with a chance to own real estate and build wealth over time. In the preamble to the NAR Code of Ethics, our founders talked about the value of real estate ownership:

Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization.

That’s why, during the 1930s, we fought for creation of a secondary mortgage market, and it’s why we are fighting for reform today that will restore the important role the GSEs played for many years. — Ron Phipps, 2011 NAR President

Haunted Hollywood Hills Mansion listed by Sotheby's Realty

2011-02-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Hills Mansion Haunted? Cursed? Definitely For Sale

Published February 16, 2011

FoxNews.com
It’s an imposing mansion, sitting high on a ridge in the Hollywood Hills with incredible views of downtown LA, the famous Hollywood sign, and surrounding canyon.
But it has sat vacant and unfinished for years. Some say it’s haunted, cursed, an old Indian burial ground, or maybe even an alien landing site. Other rumors say a murder occurred there and it was the site of Satanic worship.

Whatever the history may be, the home is an empty, yet-to-be finished mansion located at 2450 Solar Drive, Los Angeles, CA and it’s now on the market for $15,200,000.

Because it sits adjacent to Runyon Canyon Park, a popular destination for hikers and dog walkers, trails lead right near the home, so the curious are bound to wonder and speculate on its existence. Why is it boarded up and tagged with gang graffiti? Why is it vacant? Who owns it? Why is it under 24-hour guard?

Sorting out what is true and what is urban legend even inspired New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney to investigate. “I live near there, was hiking there and wondered for a long time what that was. (I) have been asking people about it. When I saw it went on the market, it seemed like a good hook for the story. But the first time I saw it I said, ‘there is a story to be written on that thing.’ ”

According to listing agent Richard Klug of Sotheby’s International Realty, the home has had two owners, “that have gotten into fights.” The original owners — and the ones who commissioned the home to be built — divorced before it was finished. It was then sold to a business couple who bought it in 2004 for $3.7 million with the intention of fixing it up and selling it for a profit. When one of the partners went bankrupt, the other partner bought her out and is now the sole owner of the home. According to Klug, the owner of the home (music executive Timothy Devine), “… wants to get out of the real estate business and wants to get back to music.”

So what about rumors that it is haunted and cursed, or it’s the site of Satanic worship?

According to The New York Times article, the home has become a magnet for riff-raff — some more raffish than others. The Armenian Power gang used the home as their clubhouse and tagged the home with graffiti. It became a teen hangout spot for weekend raves. It also took turns as a crack house and, yes, a place for Satanic worshipers. No reported murders or aliens, though. Police nailed the windows and doors shut only to have them pried open again for more mayhem. That’s when Devine hired a 24-hour guard to ” … run off the gangs, squatters, crack smokers, interlopers, and curiosity seekers.”

With a guard now in place and a price on the home, the goal is to find a buyer. The Mediterranean-style home sits on 22 acres and offers incredible views all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Inside is 9,800 sq ft of living space with 5 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms.

Amenities include a 200-bottle wine cellar, 6-car garage, stone floors, pool, and hot tub. Klug says the reason this home is called “uninhabitable” is because it’s still unfinished and requires a certificate of occupancy. There are subdivision possibilities and, as the listing description states, it is the ” … last big parcel in the Hollywood Hills so bring your developers/contractors and clients who want something rare and unique.”

The story of this home will be continued, we’re sure.

San Diego is one of only 4 cities with price gains in Novemeber

2011-02-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

This looks like more bleak news for the housing market....until you get to the part that says San Diego is one of only 4 cities with increasing housing prices!

February buying advice: Should you wait to buy a home?

Here's a look at whether it's a good time to make that purchase, and what foreclosures are doing to your market.

By Melinda Fulmer of MSN Real Estate
In this uncertain market, it's hard to decide whether to take the plunge and commit to a home purchase while prices are so low or hold off to avoid getting stung by further declines. With prices falling in most major cities, can buyers afford to fall in love? We'll help you make that decision.
We'll also examine the "shadow inventory" of foreclosures that is looming in your city, and syndicated real-estate columnist and author Ilyce Glink will answer a reader's question about whether to trade up now or keep saving for a larger down payment.
Should you wait to buy?

Homebuyers got some chilling news last week, with S&P/Case-Shiller's November Home Price Index. Nineteen of the 20 metro areas surveyed reported home-price declines. Indeed, nine cities — Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Detroit; Las Vegas; Miami; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; and Chicago — hit a new post-bubble low, lower than the plunge in spring 2009.

It's enough to give buyers in many parts of the country cold feet about taking the homebuying plunge. Sure mortgage rates are near historic lows, and sales are picking up, according to December sales figures, but how much further will values fall?

That's the billion-dollar question. David Blitzer, chair of S&P's Index Committee, says that prices in its 10-city and 20-city indexes could hit a new post-peak low as early as this spring.

"With these numbers, more analysts will be calling for a double dip in home prices," Blitzer said. Indeed, the National Association of Realtors reported that the median price of existing home sales declined 1% to $168,800 in December on a higher inventory of foreclosures, even as sales surged 12.3% from the year prior.
The only markets posting home price gains in November were San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
So does that mean you should put your search on hold? Not necessarily, according to another report by real-estate search website Trulia.

While it's likely that prices could remain depressed for some time, the cost of homeownership also has plummeted to some very attractive levels.

Luxury Home buyers

2011-01-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

By PUI-WING TAM

The U.S. housing market may be weak, but many big spenders are still lavishing money on luxury homes in the Bay Area.

Homes selling for more than $2 million spiked in 2010 in the Bay Area, with the most pricey home sold in San Francisco for $15.5 million. Pui-Wing Tam talks with Stacey Delo.

.Across the nine-county region, sales of homes priced at $2 million or more soared in 2010 over 2009, according to a preliminary analysis by DataQuick Information Systems. The number of such sales reached 1,216 last year, up nearly 20% from 1,016 in 2009, said DataQuick. While that was still far below the levels of 2005 through 2008, when more than 1,500 such sales a year took place, it was also far stronger than in the early part of the decade when less than 1,000 such sales a year occurred.

And the numbers might be even higher than indicated. DataQuick, which culls its data from public records, said its numbers don't include the last week of 2010 and might not show all transactions priced above $2 million because some super high-end deals don't show up in the public record for long periods.

The strength of high-end Bay Area home sales last year underlines the region's recovery and how wealth here was relatively unaffected, compared with other parts of the nation. Indeed, over the past year, many technology companies have come roaring back, start-ups have started popping up all over Silicon Valley and San Francisco, and hiring wars have broken out.

Catherine Marcus, a Silicon Valley real-estate agent with Sotheby's International Realty, says the "market in the super high-end was great" in 2010, with competition intense for some luxury homes. In particular, some Facebook Inc. former employees cashed out of their private-company shares and wanted to buy homes, she says, along with buyers from tech companies like Google Inc., LinkedIn Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

.Ms. Marcus adds that the mid-peninsula town of Atherton remained the most sought-after location for buyers. According to DataQuick, Atherton was the town with most sales priced above $5 million in 2010, with 20 such transactions. That was far above San Francisco, which was second with eight sales of $5 million plus in 2010.

The priciest Bay Area home transaction recorded in the public records in 2010 was for a two-story home in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood. In December, the home, which public record puts at nearly 7,400 square feet, was sold for $15.5 million to Hos Pacific LLC.

John Paul Hanna, a Palo Alto-based attorney for Hos Pacific, says his client wishes to remain anonymous but adds that the purchase is an indication that "there is beginning to be a turnaround, with other instances of homes selling for surprisingly high prices." He notes, "People are still looking for premium properties."

Write to Pui-Wing Tam at pui-wing.tam@wsj.com

Protecting your deposits when you buy a home

2011-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

Protecting your deposits when you buy a home

Housing market to improve in 2011? Looks promising

2011-01-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

Good news from the Wall Street Journal:

By DAWN WOTAPKA And S. MITRA KALITA

ORLANDO, Fla.—Housing economists expect the troubled residential market to begin picking up in 2011, with low mortgage rates and bargain home prices boosting sales in the spring selling season.

The economists, who delivered their forecasts on a panel at the National Association of Home Builders' annual meeting here, noted the market remains extremely weak, prices are still falling, and they don't expect any recovery to be robust. But they said a number of recent economic indicators have convinced them that housing sales, which have stalled lately, could soon begin to recover.

The economy is creating new jobs, holiday sales came in better than expected, and sales of cars and furniture have improved, noted David Crowe, chief economist for the NAHB. Those trends, he said, are "signifying growing consumer confidence."

After years of abysmal construction and sales activity, Mr. Crowe expects builders to start construction on 575,000 single-family homes this year, up 21% from last year. That would still be far below the 2005 peak of 1.7 million housing starts.

The NAHB also expects new home sales to hit 405,000, up 26% from 2010, as buyers who delayed purchases ink deals.

To be sure, the outlook for 2010 at last year's conference proved much too optimistic. At that time, the NAHB economist saw 610,000 single-family starts for 2010. The actual count, which isn't yet final, is expected to come in at 475,000.

But Mr. Crowe says this year will be better as more jobs are filled and more buyers leave the sidelines. "Consumers are finally willing to go forward," he said.

The outlook for home prices is less upbeat. Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft expects home prices to bottom in the first half of this year, and mortgage rates to edge up slightly, ending 2011 closer to 5.25%.

David Berson, chief economist of mortgage insurer PMI Group, believes prices will weaken further in the next few months, but end the year flat. Next year, he said in an interview, pricing will increase slightly.

It won't be until 2013 that there will be long-term sustainable gains at the historical average rate of 3.5%-4%, he said. Mr. Berson missed the panel as a result of weather-related travel problems, but provided his outlook in a phone interview.

Many of the 50,000 attendees at this year's builders conference are also cautiously optimistic, hoping that prices have come down far enough to pull buyers off the fence.

"People now have waited long enough and are tired of waiting," said Don Eyler, owner of E+R Construction in Indiana. "Right now, you can build a house for the same price as an existing one in some places."

Other builders questioned whether they would be in a position to benefit when any upturn occurs. "I've been a builder for 44 years," said Richard Jenkins, owner of R.J. Builders in Terre Haute, Ind. "Indiana has little dips and little valleys, but I've never seen anything like this before. In 1982, you could borrow money. You just had to pay the price for it. Now, you can't."

San Diego - #7 most searched US cities on Realtor.com

2011-01-12T03:04:00.000-08:00

The 10 Most Searched Cities on Realtor.com in 2010

San Diego Market Summary for the week of January 10th

2011-01-10T11:44:00.003-08:00

Rent vs. own ratio to flip in 2011?

2011-01-07T12:51:00.003-08:00

Many Americans are content to rent after witnessing the crumbling housing market in recent years. But with rents on the rise and home prices continuing to fall, a reversal is in sight.

It wasn't hard for many homeowners to bid adieu to 2010. It was the year where, in many metropolitan areas across the country, rents surged as home prices fell, leading a growing chorus of skeptics to question the so-calledAmerican Dream of homeownership.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it makes more financial sense to rent than buy today in many U.S. cities, according to the latest data from Moody's Analytics. After declining during the depths of the latest recession, prices for rentals nationwide increased modestly by about 3% in 2010, partly driven by a record number of homeowners looking for new digs after foreclosing on their homes. In Moody's latest list of rent ratios (which is the price of a typical home divided by the annual cost of renting that home) for 54 U.S. metropolitan areas, 39 fell into the 'better to rent' category -- roughly the same level it's been for the past year.

But that may finally be about to change. Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi expects the trend to reverse this year in many major cities. This would be a positive development, as a healthy housing market typically puts renting and owning at more equal footing.

"By mid 2011 and certainly by end of 2011, buying will be superior to renting in most parts of the country," Zandi says.

A few factors will be at play. For one, home prices are expected to fall further, with some economists expecting a 15% to 30% drop this year. This might be bad news for household finances and current homeowners fearing that their most prized asset stands to lose more in value. On the flip side, this makes homes more affordable and might finally spur more home sales, especially at a time when the rate of home construction has been the lowest since before the Second World War.

Just last week, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values reported a 0.8% fall in prices from October 2009 – the biggest year-over-year drop since December 2009. Eighteen of 20 cities showed a drop in prices in October. This was led by a 2.1% decrease in Atlanta, followed by a 1.8% drop in Chicago and Minneapolis. What's more, six markets, including Atlanta, Miami, Tampa and Portland, Ore., reached their lowest levels in October since prices started to retreat.

Indeed, the housing market continues to suffer from too much supply. Though rent prices are generally expected to continue rising modestly this year, the overhang will probably help keep prices from rising too much. "Expect more declines in home prices and more rent stability," Zandi says.

Still, the comparative costs between renting and buying will largely depend on individual market conditions. For instance, cities in Florida and Arizona, which continue to experience high foreclosure rates, falling home prices and widespread unemployment, will be areas where homeownership will likely be more affordable than renting, says Daisy Kong at Trulia, a San Francisco-based real estate data provider. Meanwhile, renting will probably continue to make more financial sense in national and regional job centers such as New York, Omaha and Seattle, she says.

And while it could become more attractive to buy than rent this year, it's anyone's guess how long it could take before a flurry of home sales transpires. Household finances have improved only modestly and are still quite a mess. Also, lending standards for new mortgages have tightened considerably and many economists have said a housing rebound will likely fall mercy to the unemployment rate, which is expected to improve some but still hover over 9%.

Will the American Dream return to your town?

Location	Price-Rent Ratio
Atlanta, GA	12.82
Austin, TX	21.08
Boston, MA	17.71
Baltimore, MD	17.42
Charlotte, NC	25.98
Chicago, IL	15.09
Cincinatti, OH	13.74
Cleveland, OH	11.43
Columbus, OH	15.61
Dallas - Fort Worth, TX	16.98
Denver, CO	22.08
Detroit, MI	12.32
East Bay, CA	35.06
Fort Lauderdale, FL	15.19
Hartford, CT	18.52
Honolulu, HI	34.72
Houston, TX	16.01
Indianapolis, IN	14.68
Inland Empire, CA	14.75
Jacksonville, CA	15.12
Kansas City, KS	14.4
Las Vegas, NV	13.89
Long Island, NY	21.09
Los Angeles, CA	14.99
Memphis, TN	17.92
Miami, FL	14.57
Milwaukee, WI	22.36
Minneapolis, MN	14.04
Nashville, TN	23.88
New Orleans, LA	15.66
New York, NY	15.43
Norfolk, VA	19.88
North - Central New Jersey	24.69
Oklahoma City, OK	16.11
Orange County, CA	27.14
Orlando, FL	13.1
Palm Beach County, FL	16.64
Philadelphia, PA	15.94
Phoenix, AZ	12.35
Pittsburg, PA	11.71
Portland, OR	25.74
Raleigh, NC	24.39
Richmond, VA	22.18
Sacramento, CA	15.85
Salt Lake City, UT	18.05
San Antonio, TX	17.77
San Diego, CA	21.75
San Francisco, CA	27.17
San Jose, CA	32.27
Seattle, WA	26.96
Bridgeport, CT	18.49
St. Louis, MO	14.04
Tampa, FL	13.08
Washington - Northern Virginia - Maryland	18.48
Manhattan, NY	28.34
Metropolitan Area Average	14.85
U.S.	10.42

Source: Moody's Analytics, price-rent ratio for third quarter of 2010. As a general rule of thumb, you should often buy when the ratio is below 15 and rent when it's above 20. If it's between 15 and 20, lean toward renting.

January housing report

2011-01-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

January 2011 Real-Time Housing Report

Highlights from this month’s report (available at http://www.pacificsothebysrealty.com/)

• The 10-City Composite is now at $448,996, off 1.63% from last November 2010.

• All 27 of the major markets tracked by the report showed seasonal price decreases. Most were relatively minor, with the steepest declines seen in San Francisco (down 4.77%), San Diego (down 3.71%), and Minneapolis (down 3.16%), respectively.

• Housing inventory is off by 5.89% nationwide, with dramatic decreases in several major markets, including Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle.

This month’s featured chart highlights the difference in pricing of newly listed properties vs. the prices of the market as a whole. Note two trends in the following chart: First, the major January 1 dip implies a weaker Q1 than in 2009 or 2010 when the federal tax credit artificially boosted buyers. Next notice that the first inklings of the stability for the full year will be evident before January completes.

job growth?

2011-01-07T06:32:00.001-08:00

The United States economy ended the year by adding 103,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said Friday, a number that missed expectations and suggested that job growth could continue to hinder a recovery.

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Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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In addition, the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent last month from 9.8 percent, its lowest rate since July 2009, in part because many Americans gave up looking for work.

The agency also revised estimates from the two earlier months, now saying that 210,000 jobs were created in October instead of 172,000, and 71,000 in November, instead of 39,000.

As with previous months, all of December’s gain — 113,000 jobs — came from private employers.

Federal, state and local governments continued to shed jobs — cutting another 10,000 last month after trimming 8,000 in November, revised from 11,000 — mostly on the local level. States and municipalities dealing with tighter budgets may be faced with further cuts as they try to shrink their deficits.

Since December 2009, the agency said, non-farm employment has increased by 1.1 million, or an average of 94,000 a month.

While the overall job picture showed improvement, the monthly growth was not enough to significantly reduce the ranks of the unemployed or keep pace with people entering the work force. The outlook remains bleak for many workers. More than 14.5 million people were out of work in December, among them 6.4 million who have been jobless for six months or longer.

Jeffrey N. Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial, said the report was “not terrible” once revisions were taken into account.

“But there is no real job creation here,” he added, noting that the increases in jobs were mostly in the temporary help, education and health care, rather than some of the crucial sectors like manufacturing and technology.

“It just shows business leaders are just not yet willing to commit to long-term growth projects,” Mr. Kleintop said.

Economists also pointed to other signs of a turnaround, though their outlook for 2011 remained varied.

“The U.S. economy finally appears to be picking up steam and headed toward recovery,” said Steven Blitz, a senior economist for ITG Investment Research. “Several economic indicators — including manufacturing and services output, and sales of cars and consumer goods — have shown noticeable improvement over the last few months.”

The economy is predicted to have grown at least 3 percent in the fourth quarter, with estimates even higher for the 2011. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, for example, have forecast growth of 4 percent for this year.

Economists noted that manufacturing, consumer confidence, capital spending, and claims for first-time jobless benefits were among the data that have generally been improving in recent months, though December’s retail same-store sales reported this week were weaker than expected.

Personal income and consumer expenditures were higher, while the savings rate declined during the year.

“The figures clearly show that with demand for goods and services increasing, employers have far less justification to cut their payrolls,” said Bernard Baumohl, the chief global economist for the Economic Outlook Group, in a research note.

The question, Mr. Blitz asked in his research note, is whether the labor market will keep pace with other economic growth “or will high unemployment be an enduring feature of the United States’ economy?”

In Washington, Congress returned to work this week, and Republicans, who have taken control of the House, have promised to make the economy and job creation a priority. Last month, President Obama and Republican lawmakers reached a compromise that extended tax cuts to all Americans and included $57 billion for unemployment insurance, a bipartisan effort that underscored the urgency felt by the administration and by lawmakers in both parties to prop up the still-struggling recovery.

On Friday, President Obama is expected to announce several additions to his economic team, including Gene Sperling to replace Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council, White House officials said. The president will make the announcement at a window-manufacturing company in Landover, Md. The company, which makes energy-efficient windows and doors, recently expanded and hired new workers as a result of tax credits created by Mr. Obama’s policies.

Economists generally estimate that the economy needs to add more than 120,000 jobs a month simply to absorb newcomers into the labor force, a pace that employers fell behind last year.

Record GSE issuance in 2010 may not last into New Year

2011-01-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

Record GSE issuance in 2010 may not last into New Year

S&P revises shadow inventory timeline upward, again

2011-01-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

S&P revises shadow inventory timeline upward, again

Sotheby's International Realty - Evolution

2011-01-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Chart of the Day: More bad or less worse?

2010-12-31T08:42:00.000-08:00

Chart of the Day: More bad or less worse?

San Diego is Among Just 4 Cities with Rising Home Prices Nationwide

2010-12-28T12:58:00.000-08:00

San Diego is Among Just 4 Cities with Rising Home Prices Nationwide

News From the Updesk...: December 2010 Real-Time Housing Report

2010-12-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

News From the Updesk...: December 2010 Real-Time Housing Report

December 2010 Real-Time Housing Report

2010-12-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

December 2010 Real-Time Housing Report

San Diego Housing Statistics for December

2010-12-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

Is this an indication of what to expect in 2011?

2010-12-19T20:37:00.001-08:00

Strong Rebound in Pending Home Sales
Washington, DC, December 02, 2010

Pending home sales jumped in October, showing a positive uptrend since bottoming in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 10.4 percent to 89.3 based on contracts signed in October from 80.9 in September. The index remains 20.5 percent below a surge to a cyclical peak of 112.4 in October 2009, which was the highest level since May 2006 when it hit 112.6.

Last October, first-time buyers were motivated to make offers before the initial contract deadline for the tax credit last November. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said excellent housing affordability conditions are drawing home buyers. “It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels. The housing market clearly is in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market and consequential boost to household formation will help the recovery process going into 2011,” he said.

“More importantly, a return to more normal loan underwriting standards and removal of unnecessary underwriting fees for very low risk borrowers is needed and could quickly help in the housing and economic recovery,” Yun said. Recent loan performance data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac clearly demonstrates very low default rates on recently originated mortgages, much lower that the vintages of 2002 and 2003 before the housing boom.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Homebuying now is a no-brainer

2010-12-19T20:30:00.001-08:00

You might not make a ton of money, but you're unlikely to ever score a better deal.
By Ali Velshi, CNN chief business correspondent
Monday December 13, 2010: 6:26 AM
(MONEY Magazine) -- Is now the right time to invest in a house?

Trick question. Actually, it's two questions.

Question No. 1: Is now the time to buy?

Question No. 2: Is buying a house a good investment?

The first answer is easy: With a few exceptions, if you have 20% to put down and good credit, now is a great time to buy. That's been the case all year, and I'd argue that we're probably closer to the end than to the beginning of the really great time. Let me explain.

Back in January home prices had dropped 28% from their peak. More important, interest rates were at historical lows. By locking in a mortgage for 15 or 30 years on a value-priced home, you were getting an incredible deal, even if home prices decreased. (I took my advice and bought a New York City apartment.)

At the time, I thought that prices and rates were more likely to rise than fall. I was half right: Home values have been inching up since the spring, but mortgage rates, incredibly, dropped further.

By August (the latest numbers available) the median home price had risen 1% over a year ago, but 30-year rates had dropped a half-point to 4.5%. Assuming 20% down and a 30-year mortgage, the total cost of owning a median-priced home is now down $16,000 from a year ago.

Home values may waffle over the coming year, but because Americans take out such large, long mortgages, rates are what really matter. And I am more likely to grow hair than see 30-year mortgage rates drop below 4%. It's far more likely that rates (and the cost of ownership) will rise.

Now for question No. 2: Is a house a good investment?

First, it depends on what you mean by investment. If your definition is strictly about dollars returned, a house probably won't be a great use of your capital. If you bought the median-priced house today with 20% down, to recoup your total costs (and I'm not including property taxes and maintenance here) over three decades, the home's value would have to rise about 3% a year.

That's likely, but you'll almost certainly (we all hope) do much better than that in the stock market. The fact is, however, that that's the normal case for housing; the booms that began after World War II and in the late 1990s were the exceptions.

Of course, there are places where you might do better. I bought my condo in Manhattan, a small island that, by virtue of the business done on it, has a sustained demand for property. And smaller, energy-efficient housing in cities or inner suburbs around San Francisco or Chicago is likely to be in higher demand than big, outer suburban homes with long commutes to Las Vegas or Atlanta.

According to urban and environmental planning professor William Lucy of the University of Virginia, this move toward urbanization in American housing is the reversal of a trend that's been in place since 1945. Keep it in mind when making your buying decisions.

That said, the key point to remember is this: Buying a fairly priced home at today's rates may be the best deal you will ever get. And who knows? It may even turn out to be a good investment.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Global Mobile Alert, a New Phone Application That Could Save Lives

2010-12-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Global Mobile Alert, a New Phone Application That Could Save Lives

News From the Updesk...: Thoughts on the IPad and the newspaper industry

2010-12-15T23:29:00.000-08:00

News From the Updesk...: Thoughts on the IPad and the newspaper industry

Thoughts on the IPad and the newspaper industry

2010-12-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article pondering the long term affects of the iPad on the newspaper industry. For years we have been hearing that print media is dead; however, now with the advent of this hybrid digital print medium which has offered a new avenue to consume news we are left to wonder what the future holds for newspapers. I believe the new tablet technology and recent mass market introduction will force newspapers to once again adapt. The iPad and other tablets are exactly what newspapers need right now to continue to be a game player in our world of free, easily accessible news. In addition to news consumption, consumers are reaching to these new devices for the next big thing in real estate. Many real estate companies have begun developing apps for property searches so consumers can easily access and digest market information. The days of MLS books are long gone and computer based searches are falling quickly in line to be out dated. Tablet technology is exactly what the real estate market needs right now to efficiently guide consumers through the buying and selling process.

So what do you think: Is the iPad really the savior of the newspaper industry and how are you using your iPad to navigate the uncertain real estate waters?

— David Boehmig, president and founder, Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty in Georgia

Only 10 More Days Till Christmas! Have you finished your shopping?

2010-12-15T18:52:00.001-08:00

Sotheby's International Realty - Evolution

2010-12-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

Five home buying myths

2010-12-14T18:34:00.001-08:00

Good content from the Wall Street Journal:
By Iyna Bort Caruso

In the luxury real estate market, what you don’t know can undermine you. The soft market has produced waves of smarter, savvier buyers. It’s also spawned several misconceptions. How low can you go? What should you know? Here are five home-buying myths:

Myth #1: Buyers Can Name Their Price in Today’s Market

Historically low interest rates combined with low home prices make it an excellent time to buy, but some have unrealistic expectations based on global assumptions instead of local sales patterns. Many regions are bucking trends and gaining strength. Buyers who are stuck in a mindset of fire-sale prices are liable to miss out on investment opportunities. According to Vestards Rozenbergs of Baltic Sotheby’s International Realty in Riga, Latvia, when foreign buyers start searching, the most common myth is that the real estate market has collapsed and “prices should be lower than offered in reality.” However, he says, the demand for luxury homes, particularly in areas that have international “brand” recognition “is now increasing for the first time after the recession started.”

Myth #2: Wait Until the Market Hits Bottom

There is, of course, no way of ever knowing how low prices will go until they start creeping up again. Those who try to time the market often stay on the sidelines, waiting for some signal that prices have hit bottom instead of pouncing on the solid values out there. Gail Cook, of HCH Sotheby’s International Realty in Harvey Cedars, N.J., says, “Mortgage rates have never been this low in history. If you are not earning this kind of interest on your investments, why aren’t you looking into real estate where you can enjoy your investment? Make a deal that you and the seller are comfortable with and move on with it.”

Myth #3: The Internet is the Best Way to Find a Home

The Internet is a good starting point to begin a home search. But, says Cook, it is just that--a starting point. “The Internet gives buyers a shopping list of properties they can look at, but those buyers aren’t educated with the area so we have to start back at square one. ” How do you envision using the home? Are you buying for investment purposes or for personal use? Are you expecting to turn it over in a couple of years, or will it be your family home for the long term? Square footage, bedrooms, taxes and glossy images are just part of determining what kind of home is the right fit for a given lifestyle. Most buyers are savvy as far as finances go and how much they have to invest, Cook says, “but don’t have any idea of what they’re buying into. It’s an important education process we have to provide.”

Myth #4 All-Cash Transactions Drive the Luxury Home Market

A perception among buyers in the luxury home market is that transactions are often all cash and that offers by those who are financing don’t carry the same weight. Not so, says Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers in New York. “It’s a false premise.” A buyer who comes with mortgage pre-approval, brings a substantial down payment or is flexible on closing dates will stack up well against the buyer who wants to leverage an all-cash transaction for a lower price. Terms are far more important today across all sectors but particularly in the high end market, Miller says. “The reality is that for a buyer, the terms they can provide are equally important to what the price is. These buyers are more attractive than they know.”

Myth #5: Condominium Living is Carefree Living

It is a widely held belief that condominium living is maintenance-free. While homeowners may say goodbye to snow removal and lawn care, there can be some “very bad financial consequences” when owners allow condos and homeowners associations to run themselves, says Patrick Hohman, the Louisville, Ky.-based author of “Condos, Townhomes and Home Owner Associations: How to Make Your Investment Safer.” Hohman says there have been instances of “stunning, multi-million dollar assessments within the entire complex…which meant special assessments up to several hundred thousand dollars per unit owner” in high end luxury buildings because the infrastructures started showing their ages, and there simply was not enough money in reserve for maintenance. Boards and associations that commission Reserve Studies, which entails both an engineering analysis and a financial analysis, anticipate and budget for major repairs. “When you buy into a condo, you may not have to do physical labor to maintain the property, but you still have to be alert,” Hohman says. Read quarterly newsletters, attend meetings. “Stay involved in the property. You’re trading physical labor for more mental labor. You have to be aware of what’s going on, like any investment.”

Property at top presented by Baltic Sotheby’s International Realty, property ID #4000015926. Tel: +37129129810

Strong Rebound in Pending Home Sales

2010-12-13T19:49:00.001-08:00

This just in from the National Association of Realtors:

Pending home sales jumped in October, showing a positive uptrend since bottoming in June, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 10.4 percent to 89.3 based on contracts signed in October from 80.9 in September. The index remains 20.5 percent below a surge to a cyclical peak of 112.4 in October 2009, which was the highest level since May 2006 when it hit 112.6.

Last October, first-time buyers were motivated to make offers before the initial contract deadline for the tax credit last November. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said excellent housing affordability conditions are drawing home buyers. “It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels. The housing market clearly is in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market and consequential boost to household formation will help the recovery process going into 2011,” he said.

“More importantly, a return to more normal loan underwriting standards and removal of unnecessary underwriting fees for very low risk borrowers is needed and could quickly help in the housing and economic recovery,” Yun said. Recent loan performance data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac clearly demonstrates very low default rates on recently originated mortgages, much lower that the vintages of 2002 and 2003 before the housing boom.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Private mortgage modifications reach 1.5 million to date, 125,000 in October

2010-12-11T06:10:00.000-08:00

I like this story by Kerry Curry for 2 reasons:
1) People are getting help, and
2) the private sector is doing a much better job of it than the government!

Hope Now, a private sector mortgage alliance, said the mortgage industry has completed more than 1.54 million permanent loan modifications for homeowners from January through October, as foreclosure suspensions affected foreclosure sales and starts.

For October, mortgage servicers completed about 101,000 proprietary loan modifications and 24,000 Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, modifications for an estimated total of 125,000.
"There were anomalies in the October data that affected 60-day plus delinquency, as well as foreclosure, metrics which we believe may be largely attributed to widespread foreclosure delays across the country," said Faith Schwartz, executive director of Hope Now.
Several large mortgage servicers nationwide delayed foreclosures in light of the robo-signing controversy. Hope Now said foreclosure starts dropped 16% to 205,000 and sales were down more than 41% 69,000, respectively while the number of homeowners more than 60 days delinquent increased slightly to 3.4 million.
Here are the highlights:

Proprietary loan modifications decreased by 117,000 in September compared to 101,000 in October.
60-plus days delinquencies increased to 3.4 million in October compared to 3.2 million in September.
Foreclosure starts decreased from 245,000 in September to 205,000 in October.
Completed foreclosure sales decreased from 118,000 in September to 69,000 in October.
Loan modifications outpaced foreclosure sales in October 125,000 to 69,000.

A full spreadsheet of comparing Hope Now modifications to HAMP mods can be viewed by clicking the below graphic:

Write to Kerry Curry.

Is social media the new 'comfort call'?

2010-12-06T20:31:00.001-08:00

This piece made me laugh. Reminded me of my cold calling days....

December 3, 2010
By Todd Carpenter, Social Media Manager, National Association of REALTORS®

When I first started originating mortgages in the early 1990s, the refinance market was booming. Because my sales manager wanted to assure my long-term career efforts, he used to make me perform a set number of sales calls to real estate agents before I could spend time on floor duty, working those refi leads.
Cold or warm, making sales calls is hard work. Especially in-person calls. I would get stood up, thrown out of offices, asked for a bribe, or blown off on a regular basis. Even the deals that lead to good business were often demanding and stressful. But every once in a while, some agents would welcome me into the office, offer me a cup of coffee, and talk to me like I was their best friend for as long as I wanted. These “Amiable Joes,” as I call them, were fun — a welcome respite from a typical day of sales calls.
But my sales manager called them comfort calls, and told me they’re a waste of time. He was right. Amiable Joes tend to have a lot of spare time on their hands to share with you because they are not very busy closing any business of their own. They had nothing to offer other than nice words and a cup of joe. Making comfort calls isn’t as ineffective as getting the car washed or picking up the dry cleaning, but if they are the highest level of business activity you do in a day, you really didn’t work.
Most of the activity I see from real estate pros on social networks can be classified as comfort calls. Liking your friend’s funny jokes, checking in at Starbucks on foursquare, commenting about last night’s episode of The Apprentice, or reminiscing about the conference you went to six months ago with a group of fellow practitioners may be critical to your value as a member of a larger community, but don’t call it work.

December Nights

2010-12-05T07:04:00.001-08:00

December Nights festival in Balboa Park kicks off

SAN DIEGO, Calif (CBS 8)—There is plenty of music, entertainment and holiday cheer in Balboa Park this weekend, as the 33rd annual December Nights festival kicks off.

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Open house sunday!

2010-12-05T06:25:00.001-08:00

Visit out website to see what homes we're holding open today...Coronado, Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Mission Hills, La Mesa, and Alpine.

PacificSothebysRealty.com

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Housing rebound

2010-12-05T06:20:00.001-08:00

The recession is over

2010-12-04T11:10:00.001-08:00

This Recession Is O-vah!: ‘Zombie Bears’ Edition
November 24, 2010 by Brian Summerfield · 5 Comments
Filed under: Economics
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
The latest in a crowd of pronouncements that the recession is officially behind us comes from economic analyst Barry Ritholtz, whose book I reviewed a while ago. Ritholtz, one of the most bearish commentators during the downturn, believes that the economy has finally turned a corner (hooray!), but adds that “zombie bears” who have staked their reputations on the idea that we’re stuck in the doldrums won’t acknowledge it.
Now, calling the end of the recession isn’t exactly a new trend. (In fact, I wrote about it more than a year ago.) But Ritholtz may well be right. I, for one, hope he is. And the chorus he’s joining seems to have gotten much louder in the past few months. (If they’re correct, though, why the need for QE2?)
Here’s the thing, however: Even if they are right, Ritholtz and other economists are speaking about the recession in a very narrow, literal sense. When they say it’s over, what they referring to is a return to a sustained period of growth at the macroeconomic level. They aren’t arguing that economic normalcy for consumers is just a few weeks or months ahead, or that we’ll return to full employment soon, or that housing values will shortly ratchet back up to 2005 levels. Most importantly, it doesn’t mean that continued recovery is a sure thing.
What it could mean, though, is that financial institutions, feeling more secure, will start to lend again. Businesses of all sizes could slowly but surely begin hiring again. And consumers who rightfully put the brakes on spending and began saving at a rate not seen in more than a decade may begin to put some of their accumulated capital toward a home purchase.
In short, it might signify that after searching for a floor during these past couple of years, the economy is finally starting to move in the right direction. That’s something we could all be thankful for.
Editor’s Note: Because of the holiday, there will be no Daily News on Thursday or Friday. Happy Thanksgiving from REALTOR® Magazine!

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Location:Nichols St,San Diego,United States

News From the Updesk...: Jane Loveday -- San Diego Real Estate Blog

2010-12-04T09:07:00.000-08:00

News From the Updesk...: Jane Loveday -- San Diego Real Estate Blog: "A Crazy Day in the Life of this Realtor!One house I visited recently had nothing, no cabinets, no bathtubs, no toilets, nothing! But some da..."

Open House This Weekend!

2010-12-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

San Diego, CA

3BR/2BA Single Family

$749,000

3 bedrooms

2.0 bathrooms

1,664 sqft

6,590 sqft lot

Built in 1930

view detailed listing

For Sale: 3BR/2BA Single Family House in San Diego, CA, $749,000

Open House This Weekend

2010-12-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

Open House Saturday and Sunday 1-4PM

San Diego, CA

4BR/2BA Single Family

$659,000

4 bedrooms

2.0 bathrooms

1,652 sqft

7,801 sqft lot

Built in 1960

view detailed listing

For Sale: 4BR/2BA Single Family House in San Diego, CA, $659,000

FIRST TIME OPEN!

2010-12-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

Open House Saturday, 1-4PM and Sunday, 12-4PM

San Diego, CA

4BR/3BA Single Family

$875,000

4 bedrooms

3.0 bathrooms

1,818 sqft

7,200 sqft lot

Built in 1949

view detailed listing

For Sale: 4BR/3BA Single Family House in San Diego, CA, $875,000

Open House Today 2-4PM

2010-12-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

La Jolla, CA

3BR/3BA Condo

$647,000

3 bedrooms

3.0 bathrooms

2,070 sqft

829,382 sqft lot

Built in 1971

view detailed listingFor Sale: 3BR/3BA Condo in La Jolla, CA, $647,000

Jane Loveday -- San Diego Real Estate Blog

2010-12-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

A Crazy Day in the Life of this Realtor!

One house I visited recently had nothing, no cabinets, no bathtubs, no toilets, nothing! But some days are just golden, take my latest clients, we went out looking on their first day, they found a cute little house, backing up onto a park, in what seemed a quiet residential neighborhood. We submitted an offer which was accepted 3 days later and we then went and had our property inspection done. All seemed very good and right in the world. Until…

Right after the property inspection we were taking some measurements when we were visited by three very large members of the local Police Gang Control Unit, asking if they could enter the property to search for a weapon that had been used in a drive-by homicide the night before. It was a first for me, and definitely a first for my first-time homebuyers who were devastated to hear this news. The crime had taken place in the park behind and although no evidence of any weapon showed up, my buyers knew immediately they did not want to proceed with their purchase.

We are still looking, all is good now, but you just never know, we really do earn our money out there in this crazy world, our days are never, ever the same, we learn to expect the unexpected, to go with the flow, and to keep our thoughts and chins up.

Crazy is usual sometimes, as is frustrating, exciting, amazing, satisfying and much more! Our days are always an adventure, we have properties to preview, sellers to contact, buyers to organize, ads to place, appointments with sellers to make, schedules to arrange, and always, properties to navigate.

You can always keep up with me at http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego andhttp://www.twitter/com/sdrealestate

Fannie, Freddie Spar With Regulators on Foreclosures

2010-12-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

Fannie, Freddie Spar With Regulators on Foreclosures

By Lorraine Woellert and Meera Louis - Dec 1, 2010 7:59 AM PT

Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said that his agency is directing national bank servicers to suspend foreclosures for borrowers actively seeking to qualify for loan modifications. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

Federal banking regulators said they are pushing lenders to suspend foreclosure proceedings while distressed borrowers seek new mortgages.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said in testimony prepared for a congressional hearing today that his agency is directing national bank servicers to suspend foreclosures for borrowers actively seeking to qualify for loan modifications.

Dual-track processing, where lenders pursue foreclosures at the same time as borrowers seek new loans, is “unnecessarily confusing for distressed homeowners,” Walsh said.

The Senate Banking Committee is holding its second hearing on foreclosures as lawmakers question bank regulators about what actions they have taken to ensure that home seizures are fair and legal.

Executives from government-owned mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac insisted that it was better for both borrowers and lenders if foreclosure proceedings are not suspended.Freddie Mac Executive Vice President Donald Bisenius said that the dual-track process minimizes losses, protects communities from blight and ultimately helps borrowers.

Process Shouldn’t ‘Drag On’

“It is not in the borrower’s interest for the process to drag on indefinitely,” Bisenius said in his prepared testimony. “The longer the borrower’s delinquency goes uncured, the farther behind he or she gets and the harder it becomes to bring the loan current.”

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman Sheila Bair took the opposite position, saying that the dual-track process could increase unnecessary foreclosures.

“It is vitally important that the modification process be brought to conclusion before a foreclosure sale is scheduled,” Bair said in prepared testimony. “Failure to coordinate the foreclosure process with the modification process risks confusing and frustrating homeowners and could result in unnecessary foreclosures.”

Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. temporarily halted foreclosures in September after claims that legal documents were mishandled.

State attorneys general and federal regulators are investigating mortgage companies after revelations that some relied on so-called “robo-signers,” or people who sign affidavits without actually reviewing the facts underlying foreclosures.

Weaknesses in Servicing

The Federal Reserve’s preliminary review suggests “significant weaknesses” in loan servicing and foreclosures, Fed Governor Daniel K. Tarullo said in prepared testimony.

“The problems are sufficiently widespread that they suggest structural problems in the mortgage servicing industry,” Tarullo said. “It has now become evident that significant parts of the servicing industry also failed to handle foreclosures properly.”

Attorneys general, consumer advocates and congressional lawmakers have said that delinquent homeowners seeking to renegotiate their mortgages through government- or bank- sponsored programs such as the Home Affordable Modification Program are often surprised and confused to discover that their foreclosures haven’t been suspended.

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and other purchasers of home loans, including the Association of Mortgage Investors, said the dual- track system balances the interests of everyone involved.

Delay is ‘Counterproductive’

“While we believe that borrowers who already are under significant stress arising from their financial situations should not be subjected to needless confusion, we also believe that unnecessary delays in an already lengthy foreclosure process would be counterproductive,” Bisenius said.

His comments were echoed by Terry Edwards, executive vice president at Fannie Mae. The two mortgage companies are controlled by the U.S. government and have been surviving on taxpayer aid since 2008.

“The longer the process takes, and the further in arrears the borrower becomes, the less likely it is that the borrower will succeed with a modification and the greater potential there is for loss to Fannie Mae and the U.S. taxpayer,” Edwards said in prepared testimony.

The average foreclosure takes 449 days, Bisenius said, providing sufficient time to explore alternatives. The company and its servicers suspend foreclosures when a loan workout, short sale or other option becomes viable, he said.

Freddie Mac of McLean, Virginia, and its Washington-based rival Fannie Mae purchased or guaranteed 70 percent of new mortgages in the third quarter.

The U.S. Treasury Department took control of the two companies in 2008 after losses on subprime loans pushed them to the brink of collapse. Since then they have drawn more than $150 billion in aid to remain solvent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington atlwoellert@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net.

Home Ownership Matters!

2010-11-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

Did You Know: Net Worth, Home Owners vs. Renters

November 16, 2010

By Danielle Hale, Research Economist

In the past 12 years, the net worth of the typical home owner has ranged between 31 and 46 times that of the net worth of the typical renter.
Home owner equity is a substantial component of home owner wealth. The Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted once every three years, provides a snapshot of family income and net worth along with basic demographic details and more detailed information on where families keep the wealth they have accumulated.
The most recent survey, concluded in 2007, offers a picture of the situation before home price declines and the tumbling equities market hit household balance sheets. At that time, median home owners had well over $200,000 in net worth or 46 times that of the median renter who had just over $5,000. Furthermore, $200,000 was the median value of owners’ homes.
Looking at aggregate data, the National Association of Realtors® estimated the impact for renter and home owner households through mid-2010 taking home price and stock market performance into account. The result suggests that despite declines in equity and housing markets, homeowners have a net worth orders of magnitude greater than renters.
How has the recovery of the stock market and a sluggish housing market affected owners and renters? For the first time ever, the Federal Reserve resurveyed the 2007 participants in 2009 to directly measure how the crisis and recession affected their finances. These results are expected later this year.

This is one in a series of commentaries by the Research staff of the National Association of REALTORS®. Read more commentaries >

Comments? Questions? E-mail NAR Research.

Photos Can Help Prepare for Unexpected Losses

2010-11-24T09:23:00.001-08:00

Photographing the interior of your home is a great way to document your belongings & most valued possessions, just in case disaster strikes. While it is never convenient for theft, natural disaster, or fire to damage your property, unfortunate things do happen and being prepared can give you a great head start in rebuilding your life.

To create a digital inventory of your home and possessions, simply use a digital camera to take shots of each room at varying angles, while making sure to include all valuable objects. These digital images can later be used to identify your exact losses.

Photos should be stored on a flash drive or CD-R and kept in the safe or safe deposit box, and this digital inventory should be updated every few years.

Marking time on the La Playa Trail

2010-11-24T09:06:00.001-08:00

Monument to days gone by has moved

BY MATTHEW T. HALL

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010 AT 8 A.M.

PATTI ADAMS / LA PLAYA TRAIL ASSOCIATION

A decades-old monument to the centuries-old La Playa Trail endures in the Midway area.

First erected in 1934, a concrete monument marking the oldest European commercial trail in the west weathered time relatively unnoticed in a median on Rosecrans Street until a community group formed to give it some care and attention five years ago.

Now that group, the La Playa Trail Association, has intervened again to make sure the marker endures.

Recent improvements to the busy intersection south of Midway Drive prompted the removal of the monument, and the nonprofit organization found a new home for it in front of a nearby strip mall along a more modern commercial trail, called a sidewalk, which connects stores like Pick Up Stix and Jamba Juice.

"The beautiful plaque and inscription could only be read and appreciated by those awaiting the change of traffic light at Midway," Realtor Patti Adams said. "It has now been replaced in a grassy area on the east side of Rosecrans in a spot much safer to stop and admire the monument."

The marker was one of six historical monuments designed by Old Town sculptor Rose Hanks and erected in the 1930s to memorialize the 1769 La Playa Trail. Two of the six markers have since been lost, and the others have all been refurbished, according to the La Playa Trail Association's website. The route was the main link between the San Diego Mission and La Playa, which served as the area's major port until Alonzo Horton's founding of New San Diego in 1869.

From the association's website: "The La Playa Trail is every bit as relevant to the history of the United States as are the better known Lewis & Clark Trail, U.S. 101, Boston's Freedom Trail, or Tidewater, Virginia's Colonial Parkway. In fact, it predates them by many score years. There is a strong argument that the Trail should be recognized and treated as a National Historic Site with heroic plantings of trees, monuments, public art, and an air of continual celebration."

Well, one step at a time.

matthew.hall@uniontrib.com • (619) 293-1335 • Twitter @SDuncovered

10 Autumn Home Design & Décor Trends

2010-11-19T15:39:00.001-08:00

10 Autumn Home Design & Décor Trends

By Elaine Williamson, Elaine Williamson Designs

With temperatures reaching record highs throughout the U.S., thoughts of autumn seem but a woeful wish. The fall season evokes thoughts of home and hearth, as families and friends eagerly anticipate re-connecting with one another amid busy lives.

Of course, most want a home design and décor that will impress, and help de-compress, impending company – one with that autumn sensibility that exudes comfort and warmth … and duly stimulates the senses.

With this in mind, here are 10 top home design and décor trends for fall:

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

1. Vintage accents. What’s old is new again. French-burlap is no longer just for sack-racing. This Earth-friendly fiber is being used for chic pillows imprinted with a vintage stamped design or even a family initial.

Accent chairs can also be seen covered in gray linen imprinted with vintage “document” script writing. Vintage couture lamps (and their replicas) are utter perfection this year, especially those with milk glass and natural material bases, drum shades, and antique brass finials.

Aged, color-washed wood accessories such as candlesticks, urns, and bowls are popular as oversized accessories to accent and update a time-worn look.

2. Wallpaper! With a decreasing demand for faux finishes and walls painted in solid primary colors, wallpaper is making a comeback in a big and decidedly fashionable way.

From bright and bold to subdued and elegant, today’s wallpapers are easy to apply and even easier to remove, making updating the seasonal look of a room easier than ever before. here are a seemingly endless number of choices from solids to patters, and everything in between.

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

3. Timeless art. When shopping for items to occupy wall space, ditch the quick fix, “matchy-matchy” picture. Art doesn’t have to be expensive but it should certainly have meaning. Buy what you love. Mix mediums and styles. To add depth and character to your pieces, forego the glass cover that can be distracting and casts a glare that actually detracts from your interior design.

4. Elemental color. While neutrals have made a strong showing in design this year for primary design elements like walls and baseline furnishings, boldly colored accent pieces give a space visual interest and appeal.

Brightly colored and/or patterned pillows, rugs and other accessories will bring an otherwise bland space to life. Of course, these accessories can be readily transitioned to exude the spirit of a given season.

5. Space simplification. With a strong desire to ease and reprioritize our homes and lifestyles, de-cluttering — even with respect to editing down furnishings and accessories — is the best way to gain control of your surroundings and feel a refreshed sense of purpose.

It is very important to streamline not only the lines of your furniture, but the bulkiness as well. But, this does not mean giving up comfort for style. Many times we place too many items in a room by way of accessories, pillows, throw rugs, and family photos.

Pick and choose very carefully the most important items and then pare down from there. There is brilliance in restraint.

6. Rug rage. There has never been a more exciting time than now in the area rug industry. Whatever style, shape, and design you can imagine is within your reach.

Even if a space has wall-to-wall carpeting, place an area rug to establish a layered look and add depth and personality to a room and also tie in other disparate color components. A rug’s color palette and pattern can easily establish the desired style and tone of a season.

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

7. Bed basics. Bedding has also changed this year. The pomp and circumstances of overstuffed pillows that seem to multiply in the night are out. Way out.

Exquisite, neutral colored linens are in, especially when paired with a luxurious top blanket and a clean lined duvet.

For those who desire more color that’s representative of fall or any other season, indulge in two medium sized pillows placed in front of each sham.

Photo Credit: Elaine Williamson Designs

8. Pillow talk. Today’s pillow designs offer an array of textures, colors, shapes, sizes, and accents, and can completely transform a room’s aesthetic. Accordingly, pillows have become the ultimate interior design accessory, especially since they are so versatile.

Choose an assortment of pillows for the spring and summer and other set for the fall and winter. This is an easy way to seasonally transition a room in an easy and budget-friendly way.

Also, resist the urge to “karate chop” pillows to give them a center crease as this look is not style savvy.

9. Window treatments. While many love luscious fabrics, an overuse of material on your windows can quickly overpower an otherwise streamlined room. Linen panels are now very trendy since they beautifully outline and soften windows. This classic and timeless fabric is now available in a staggering array of colors to coordinate with any interior palette.

10. Brass. Yes, brass is back but a bit older and wiser. Antiqued brass and even antiqued gold have both made a large comeback on everything from drapery rods, to cocktail tables, to door and cabinet knobs to décor figurines.

The light reflecting surface of brass adds warmth, glow and movement to a space and, thus, is perfect in a room with a fireplace.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Luxury interiors expert Elaine Williamson is the principal of Elaine Williamson Designs, a full service, award-winning firm specializing in high-end residential and commercial interior design. She may be reached online atwww.ElaineWilliamsonDesigns.com, accessed on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/ewd-facebook, and followed on Twitter at “ElaineWDesigns”.

$5.3 million 'shack' just 651 square feet

2010-11-19T15:27:00.000-08:00

$5.3 million 'shack' just 651 square feet

When calculated for square footage, this home is actually the nation's most expensive.

Posted by Mai Ling at MSN Real Estate on Friday, November 19, 2010 10:47 AM

Just how much are you willing to spend on a view?

What's the value of a view?

This 651-square-foot home overlooking California's Pacific Coast may look like little more than a shack, but it's actually worth more per square foot than Candy Spelling's $150 million mansion.

Stephane Fitch with Forbes argues that this home, listed at nearly $5.3 million, is actually the nation's most expensive home -- at a cost of $7,060 per square foot. (Thanks to HousingWatch for the link.) Fitch says that's nearly three times Spelling's asking price per square foot for her 123-room, 56,500-square-foot home set on 4.6 acres in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Bing: Photos of some of the world's best beaches)

Check out some of the world's most expensive homes

In contrast, the beach home pictured above, in the tony beach community of Carpinteria, has three bedrooms and just one bathroom, and it sits on just less than a half-acre. But listing agent John Henderson notes in the Forbes post that its 92 square feet of beachfront are twice what neighboring properties have.

So yes, you're really just buying the view. Already, the city has given its approval for the existing home to be torn down and replaced with a 2,600-square-foot house. Fitch considers the options:

So maybe it's not so expensive. If you plunk down $5.3 million for this house and spend $300 a square foot building a high-end home that fits with the approved plans, the $6.1 million total investment will bring your per-square-foot price down to $2,300.

But honestly, I don't see what's so wrong with the existing beach home, and I personally wouldn't call it a shack. Sure, it's a little on the small side, and Henderson even notes in the Forbes piece that, "It’s got probably the smallest master bedroom I’ve ever seen," but it's way too bright and cheery for my idea of a shack.

Check out photos of the listing on Realtor.com (an MSN Real Estate partner)

However, homebuyers with $5.3 million to spare on beachfront property may have a very different interpretation of what is "cute" and what is a "shack."

And believe it or not, the home has quite a bit of competition for the most-expensive-per-square-foot category. In research Zillow conducted for the Forbes piece, it found plenty of other homes smaller than 1,000 square feet listed at more than $1 million, including about a half-dozen also worth more than Spelling's mansion.

Scene stealers: How to deal with view-blocking neighbors

News From the Updesk...: Pacific Sotheby's International Realty® Launches i...

2010-11-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

News From the Updesk...: Pacific Sotheby's International Realty® Launches i...: "SAN DIEGO (Nov. 22, 2010) Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC today announced that Windermere Pacific Coast Properties in San Dieg..."

Pacific Sotheby's International Realty® Agent Recognized by The San Diego Association of Realtors®

2010-11-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Press Release

The San Diego Association of Realtors® today recognized Patti Adams for providing volunteer services in her community.

San Diego, CA November 12, 2010: At the 2010 Annual Meeting held November 12, 2010, The San Diego Association of Realtors® recognized Patti Adams of Pacific Sotheby's International Realty® for her volunteer service in her community. This is the fifth year that Ms. Adams has been honored for her community service. Her efforts this year included her work with the La Playa Trail Association which erected another monument marking the La Playa Trail, The Point Loma Associations Summer Concert Series which presented five free concerts for the community this summer, and the Fall Town Hall Forum for the Point Loma Association held this last month.

The award states that the “ San Diego Association of Realtors® is proud to recognize your outstanding volunteer commitment and dedication to the community”.

Adams credits her fondness for community service to her years as a Branch Manager in the Banking business, particularly San Diego Federal Savings and Loan. “Gordon Luce was our mentor and encouraged all the staff and officers of the S&L to be involved in our communities” said Adams. “It really is a great way to really know what is going on in the community and that helps me better serve my clients,” she added.

Since moving from the financing side of real estate transactions to the sales side in 1997, Adams has excelled. Her previous education as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) enables her to help her clients feel safe and well protected in today’s complex Real Estate Market. She likes to live by a quote from Albert Einstein: “Let us not strive to be people of success but people of value and when we are people of value to our companies, our clients, and our communities, then we will be successful.