I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date. Housing Inventory Snapshot May 30, 08   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $595,307 $579,000 81 Single Family over $1M $2,083,635 $1,558,000 68 Condo/Townhome under $600K $377,112 $369,950 78 Condo/Townhome over $600K $784,189 $710,000 61 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $651,546 $648,792 76 Single Family over $1M $2,491,382 $1,549,000 61 Condo/Townhome under $600K $434,283 $434,900 86 Condo/Townhome over $600K $857,808 $729,000 69 Santa Cruz County, CA Single Family under $1M $604,565 $599,000 98 Single Family over $1M $1,919,672 $1,495,000 93 Condo/Townhome under $600K $385,978 $389,900 93 Condo/Townhome over $600K $929,884 $824,500 123 Monterey County, CA Single Family under $1M $436,213 $375,000 104 Single Family over $1M $2,570,319 $1,795,000 124 Condo/Townhome under $600K $310,521 $289,900 106 Condo/Townhome over $600K $1,023,047 $799,000 134 San Benito County, CA Single Family under $1M $471,233 $400,000 101 Single Family over $1M $1,482,781 $1,300,000 138 Condo/Townhome under $300K $193,999 $183,500 77 Condo/Townhome over $300K N/A N/A N/A Alameda County, CA Single Family under $1M $481,571 $449,999 77 Single Family over $1M $1,681,350 $1,388,000 74 Condo/Townhome under $600K $363,131 $359,000 77 Condo/Townhome over $600K $731,178 $695,000 56 Contra Costa County, CA Single Family under $1M $396,399 $345,500 89 Single Family over $1M $1,786,557 $1,489,000 81 Condo/Townhome under $600K $290,288 $260,000 89 Condo/Townhome over $600K $731,164 $699,000 69

Well I was surprised to hear that San Jose/Sunnyvale and San Francisco area was in the top 10 for being green.  This is according to researchers at the Brookings Institution   who stated that emissions of carbon dioxide per capita are lower in our area!  They say it's due to our use of mass transit.

Way to go Northern Cal...

The site is for the mortgage professional.  I've used this site a few times when trying to place a loan that might be difficult.  You must be a member for the site to have value.  Of course being a premium member has its best advantage. 

Has anyone out there tried this site?  I'm looking for how this site has help you.

http://www.brokeroutpost.com/

Last weekend I attended the Watsonville air show with my family. What a great time we had. Watching the old planed give a demonstration was fun to watch. The crowd got a big kick out of the flying lawn mower. I tried to film it but it didn't come out as well as I would have liked. This was my first time at an air show!

Last weekend we enjoyed another "Boogie on the Bayou event".  The event is hosted by the Campbell Chamber of Commerce.  2008 was the 30^th anniversary for the Chamber's Spring Festivals.

 

 

The event was well attended by the community.  The weather was perfect, not too hot and warm enough to feel like spring.

 

If you've never attended this event, don't miss it next year!

Last weekend we attended the air show in Watsonville.  We were concerned about attending the event due to the Wildfires in the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

Even with the fires looming above us the air quality was fine.  I heard this morning the fire is now 85% contained. As you can see from the pictures the area is a very steep terrain. 

We had firefighter from all over the state helping us with this devastation.  Thanks to all that risked their lives!

I just heard about a group of telemarketers calling to solicit consumers for credit card loss protect insurance. They ask the consumer for their credit card number and other personal information as part of the insurance process.  The sad truth is this type of scam works.  I guess with all the media reporting on numerous scams and how the consumer has been cheated out of money...it just goes to show people for some reason want to believe what they hear.

A blonde female gets pulled over by a female blonde cop.  The blonde cop asked for the blonde's drivers.  The blonde driver said, "What does the driver license look like?"  the cop said, " its small and rectangular".  The blonde driver pulled out a small rectangular mirror and handed it to the blonde cop.  The blonde cop looked at it and said, "Oh my gosh, I didn't realize you were a cop and let her go...

I heard on the news this morning some additional foreclosure scams.  Squatters seems to have become a big problem in our vacant home foreclosures.  Once they find out the home is in foreclosure and is abandoned, the squatters move in.

A second issue is scammers.  When these crooks find out the home in foreclosure and abandoned they rent the properties out to unsuspecting renters.  The scammers pocket the money.  The renters loose their deposits.

I'm sure it will get worse before it gets better....I know we aren't the only area with creative crooks!

What's going on in your area?

 

A good message for cell phone users.  Isn't that pretty much everyone?

 There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it.
FIRST Emergency
 
The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

SECOND  Have you locked your keys in the car?
 
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors(or the trunk).
 
 
THIRD Hidden Battery Power
 
Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

FOURTH  How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
 
To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least  you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
 

FIFTH Free Directory Service for Cells
 
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800)373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.

An additional safegard is to add your emergency person as ICE (In case of an emergency).  Police, firemen and such will look in your cell phone contacts for "ICE" if they find this, they will hit send and your emergency contact person can give information on your behalf if needed.