Compared to the year before, sales of single-family, re-sale homes in Orange County rose 83.9% in September. This is the third month in a row home sales have been up year-over-year. The good news for buyers - the median price for single-family, re-sale homes in Orange County fell 4% from August. Year-over-year, the median price was off 26.7%.
Just as several years ago at the height of the market, the large number of million dollar plus sales skewed statistical prices upward. The current large numbers of bank-owned properties working their way through the market are skewing statistical prices downward.
My last post was about the Dia de los Muertos Festival in San Juan Capistrano that my wife and I attended. It was held at the public library and featured face painting, dancing and colorful altars dedicated to friends and family.
As we wandered through the library we found a small outdoor patio. Normally used as a location for a quiet read today the patio had been set aside for people to pay tribute to someone departed. Small pots of marigolds were set neatly on the concrete benches and under the pots were placed notes. Marigolds are thought to attract the dead with their pungent scent.
As my wife wrote a note to her mother and sister, a particular note caught my eye. It read simply, "Dad, I hope there are BIG FISHwhere you are. I love you."
I pictured a father and son or daughter spending time together after a busy week. Dad relaxing and enjoying the moment when your biggest worry is catching a fish. I thought the note showed incredible strength from a child not thinking of himself but hoping that his father is doing ok.
The Day of the Dead festival struck me as a very positive and joyful holiday, a time to celebrate and honor the lives of the deceased.
The San Juan Capistrano Library presented a Day of the Dead festival last weekend that my wife and I attended. Dia de los Muertos is a week-long holiday when the souls of the dead return to be with their families for one night, Nov. 1 and the early morning of Nov 2.
The Library featured altars, paintings and best of all ...dancing. But first the altars - the celebration is not sad and dreary but cheerful. People are happy to think that the person they loved will return to be with them and enjoy the pleasures of life with their family. The altar, or Ofrenda, is loaded with the things he or she loved in life because the spirits of the dead return to partake of them (tobasco sauce, adult beverages, etc.).
The altar includes four main elements of nature - earth, wind, water and fire.
Earth is represented by crop: the Mexicans believe the souls are fed by the aroma of food.
Wind is represented by a moving object: tissue paper is commonly used to represent wind.
Water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar.
Fire is represented by a wax candle. Each lit candle represents a soul and an extra one is placed for the forgotten soul.
The kids (and adults) enjoyed face painting, decorating sugar skulls and dancing. The stage was filled with colorful costumes and lively whirling dancers.
Death in the Mexican culture doesn't have the same meaning as it does among North Americans and Europeans. Mexicans joke about death and poke fun at it in their art, literature and music. You'll often see toys and candies in the shapes of skulls and skeletons. Death is thought of as in inevitable part of the natural cycle and like life, death is filled with ironies, not the least of which is that the dead are never really dead but return for this one night of the year.
Driving the streets of Shady Canyon feels like you've suddenly been relocated to Italy. You almost expect to see a donkey cart ambling along. "Almost" as in "it'll never happen", Shady Canyon is a very exclusive gated community in the coastal hills of Irvine. The homes range from $2,850,000 to $18,995,00. The private Tom Fazio 18-hole golf course blends seamlessly with the natural open space.
I recently toured eight featured homes in Shady Canyon, each one more spectacular than the last one. There are approximately 400 luxury homes and home sites surrounded by 16,000 acres of natural sanctuary. Shady Canyon has extensive trails, a clubhouse, a tennis and swim center with a junior Olympic swimming pool and spa.
Spotlight on: 24 Wells Spring
This Tuscan home features 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms (you can't have too many bathrooms). It's a 7,600 square foot home on a 24,589 square foot lot. There is open space behind the home with a spectacular rock outcropping. Private pool, spa, outdoor barbeque and mini vineyard complete the backyard. The basement has a full wine room and room for a home theater.
... and there is an assumable loan of $3,300,000 with a low 5.85% interest rate.
The annual Laguna Beach Classic Car Show was held on a cool fall Sunday in October. This event is sponsored by the local Rotary organization and takes place on the grounds of the Festival of Arts, the location of the local art shows that take place every summer.
The show was like attending a class on the history of car design.
American muscle cars - Corvettes, Camaros, Barracudas, hot rods - looking like they just came off of the lot - ready to growl, eat up blacktop and guzzle 29 cent gas.
Classic Jaguars, Fiats, and Aston Martins. Elegant Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz. Sleek Porsches and practical Woodys.
Cars that if you owned one, you'd set your alarm clock early so you could go stare at it in the garage.
My personal favorite - the VW Bus. During my college years my buddies fellow students and I would pile in my '67 Bus and head to UCI. A 20 minute trip in any other car would take us 45 minutes. Top speed being 55 mph I would usually have a line of cars behind me as we navigated the hills to Irvine. Good times, good times.
Located in the heart of Irvine, Rancho San Joaquin, a public golf course has terrific views of the newly evolving city. The just built high rise condos, the corporate buildings and proximity to John Wayne Airport make this area the new business center of Orange County.
I've played similar courses in other cities, such as Encanto Golf Course in downtown Phoenix and always enjoy the park like setting of a golf course surrounded by city. You can't help thinking how nice it is that those people in the buildings are hard at work and you're not.
Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course has 3 small lakes which luckily don't come into play too much but the potential for disaster is always there. Palm trees are everywhere and one of them was nice enough to knock down one of my errant shots and keep me on the fairway. Speaking of the fairways, many of the public courses in Orange County use a kukuya type of grass which is not my favorite type of grass to hit off of. The pros wouldn't go near it. If you don't mind an occassional wrist sprain go ahead and try taking a divot with a wedge.
But for us average hackers it's the thrill of that one big drive, a wedge shot that lands softly on the green or the bending 30 foot putt that finds the bottom of the cup that keeps us coming back for more.
As I've mentioned before I play with a group of local Realtors with the very accurately descriptive name "The Laguna Hackers". Our team captain for the day, Andy, was able to get a very good group rate of only $37 including the cart. It was a beautiful day, the course was in great shape and it was a good day to ponder life's injustices: Why can't we do this everyday?
Whenever I need perspective on this crazy real estate market I stop by a mortgage broker that I've known for many years. These are the people that actually pay attention to the movement of the 10-year treasury, the ever changing guidelines and the economic reports. What's even more amazing to me is that they actually enjoy it!
Nothing makes them happier than a small blip of economic activity that means interest rates may drop an eighth of a point. But they also love expounding on the news that some small storm in some unknown country means that the price of oil will go up which means that the value of the dollar has gone down which means that they should carpool to the office and not stop at Starbucks.
With the demise of Merrill Lynch the conversation turned to the banks where the mortgage broker and the other loan officers started their careers. California banks such as Crocker Bank were eventually swallowed up by Wells Fargo which also took over the popular First Interstate Bank.
Before Bank of America's recent purchase of Countrywide, Security Pacific merged with Bank of America in 1992 in one of the largest bank mergers in history.
We believe and trust in banks and count on them to protect and look out for us. It's a tremendous shock when banking institutions fail. We lose a little faith each time this happens. Even worse is the fact that people lose savings and investments that they can't afford to lose.
I don't have any answers but in speaking with my mortgage broker we agreed that the housing industry is an integral part of our economy which in turns affects the world economy. Any recovery has to start with the housing sector; get the inventory started downward, increase the opportunity to refinance and have better and more realistic guidelines.
One of our continuing family traditions is to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and, in a slightly more twisted bent, I'm proud to say that my daughter can quote almost every line from the National Lampoon Christmas Vacation movie. Chevy Chase's performance is definitely Oscar material in our household.
Of the two pieces, Charlie Brown, though somewhat dated, has the more wholesome sentiment with Charlie Brown decrying the commercialism of Christmas. Even his dog Snoopy, much to Charlie Brown's dismay, wins the annual house lighting competition by decorating his doghouse in grand style.
As a Realtor my favorite part is when Lucy tries to comfort Charlie Brown with this dialogue.
Lucy to Charlie Brown, "I know how you feel about all this Christmas business, getting all depressed. It happens to me every year. I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that."
Charlie Brown, "What is it you really want?"
Lucy, "Real Estate."
As we enjoy our homes and families and wonderful weather I'm reminded of those not so fortunate or away from home. Our homes are very special to us and I often wonder how young people will be able to afford to purchase property in the future and raise a family. But, somehow, young people do find a way to buy homes and then their kids will find a way to come home for the holidays. And maybe if they are real lucky, unlike Lucy, they will get Real Estate for Christmas.
Looking for unique and unusual gift ideas for Christmas? Stop by the Laguna BeachSawdust Winter Fantasy Festival. Over 150 artists display thier work in booths that the artists designed. You'll find beautiful handcrafted items from pottery, to glassware, to paintings, to jewelry and much more. The Sawdust Winter Festival runs Saturday and Sunday from the end of November to December 9.
My wife has been sitting a booth with her artist friend, Linda Smith, who makes amazing glass jewelry and stars (see photo). The first few weekends have been very successful for her and although she is tired she is also ecstatic with the reception.
Bring the kids to see Santa Clausand play in the snow (not something we see a lot of in Laguna Beach). For 17 years the Sawdust Festival has opened its gates to bring in the holidays. It's so much better than going to the malls!
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My last post was about the 
The 
sad and dreary but cheerful. People are happy to think that the person they loved will return to be with them and enjoy the pleasures of life with their family. The altar, or Ofrenda, is loaded with the things he or she loved in life because the spirits of the dead return to partake of them (tobasco sauce, adult beverages, etc.).
The kids (and adults) enjoyed face painting, decorating sugar skulls and dancing. The stage was filled with colorful costumes and lively whirling dancers.
You almost expect to see a donkey cart ambling along. "Almost" as in "it'll never happen", 
This Tuscan home features 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms (you can't have too many bathrooms). It's a 7,600 square foot home on a 24,589 square foot lot. There is open space behind the home with a spectacular rock outcropping. Private pool, spa, outdoor barbeque and mini vineyard complete the backyard. The basement has a full wine room and room for a home theater.
The annual 
Located in the heart of 
Whenever I need perspective on this crazy real estate market I stop by a mortgage broker that I've known for many years. These are the people that actually pay attention to the movement of the 10-year treasury, the ever changing guidelines and the economic reports. What's even more amazing to me is that they actually enjoy it!
I don't have any answers but in speaking with my mortgage broker we agreed that the housing industry is an integral part of our economy which in turns affects the world economy. Any recovery has to start with the housing sector; get the inventory started downward, increase the opportunity to refinance and have better and more realistic guidelines.
One of our continuing family traditions is to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and, in a slightly more twisted bent, I'm proud to say that my daughter can quote almost every line from the National Lampoon Christmas Vacation movie. Chevy Chase's performance is definitely Oscar material in our household.
wholesome sentiment with Charlie Brown decrying the commercialism of Christmas. Even his dog Snoopy, much to Charlie Brown's dismay, wins the annual house lighting competition by decorating his doghouse in grand style. 
;)
;)
