Are Buyers Liars? - 02/27/07 06:27 PM
I attended a San Diego real estate luncheon last week and was handed a booklet with identical questions posed to agents--along with their printed answers. The questions were solid and most of the answers made sense. But I nearly choked on a piece of broccoli when I read this statement from a well-known agent in our area:
"Buyers are still and always will be liars. Don't talk about all the details of our business with people."
In our real estate practice, we work with a number of buyers (which our sellers appreciate) and are dismayed that any real estate professional could make such a statement. With very few exceptions, our … (6 comments)

Redfin: Reservation Agents of Real Estate? - 02/15/07 12:17 AM
I have had enough of this nonsense comparing the traditional realestate industry to the travel industry and its ultimate demise.The comparison is both absurd and il-conceived.A travel agent sits behind a desk, makes travel arrangements andcollects a commission that is likely split in several directions. Itwas a task easily assumed by consumers with a computer. They could sitbehind a desk, make travel arrangements online and save even more thanthe travel agent's commission. They could also do it at midnight, intheir pajamas, and never have to pick up the phone.I confess to doing it myself.Perhaps the travel industry business suffered because their … (19 comments)

Redfin Security Issues? - 02/09/07 05:13 AM
I just overheard a news report that Redfin is coming to San Diego, and I am tapping my pen in wonder.
I imagined one of our San Diego real estate listings and I imagined receiving a call from a stranger asking to see the property. In the natural course of conversation, I would ask if the caller was working with an agent. If the caller responded that they were working with Redfin, under normal circumstances I would ask the caller to have the representing real estate agent give me a call and would make arrangements for the agent to show the … (30 comments)

Prestige Index: San Francisco - 02/08/07 10:39 AM
The San Francisco real estate market is almost one unto itself. But that is another article for another day. What we are reporting on is First Republic Bank’s Prestige Index, which covers the huge California real estate market. And this final article in the series focuses on the results for upscale home in the San Francisco metropolitan real estate market. The perpetually hot (huh?)San Franciso Bay area rose a slight 1.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2006 and gained 6.6 percent from a year earlier. The average San Francisco luxury home is now a record … (2 comments)

Bluebloods of Blogging - 02/07/07 07:04 PM
Comes close to describing some of the attendees...and I sure like the sound of it! Yesterday a large group of real estate bloggers met at the Internet Relevance presentation in Long Beach, CA to hear Dustin Luther (left), founder of Rain City Guide, speak about the intricacies and benefits of  real estate blogging. And speak he did, at about the speed of a machine gun going full blast! There are times I wish I had studied shorthand or court reporting; hence, my notes are spotty in a number of places.
Attending this presentation were the esteemed Rudolph Bachraty (pictured with perched glasses) of  New York-based Sellsius Real Estate; Brian Brady, America's Most … (9 comments)

Coronado, California - 02/05/07 10:17 PM
… (1 comments)

Prestige Index: Los Angeles - 02/05/07 08:33 PM
With a drumroll, let’s reveal and discuss the results of First Republic Bank’s Prestige Index for Los Angeles, California. An earlier article about San Diego’s Prestige Index offered some interesting data. Hopefully the report on the Los Angeles luxury home market won’t disappoint!
As might be expected, the pace of luxury home appreciation in Los Angeles has cooled somewhat, but is far from being in the tank. The report reveals that at mid-2006, the average price for a luxury home in Los Angeles stood at  a record $2.29 million—a $253,000 increase from a year earlier. That’s a healthy 12.4 percent increase (What bubble???). … (4 comments)

Underwater Cell Phone - 02/04/07 03:37 PM
I used to joke about needing a cell phone implant that I could answer with the twitch of a nose. That way I wouldn’t have to play hide and seek with my phone—and jump out of the shower when I hear it ringing.  (It’s really not that bad these days. I am a recovered celloholic who only occasionally relapses). Fujitsu Genies, after three long years of research,  have come out with an amazing phone that is not only waterproof, but can ring underwater. This slim .7–inch  Fujitsu F703i can be held three feet underwater for 30minutes and  offers a 2.2–inch QVGA TFT … (5 comments)

Montana Real Estate Coup? - 02/04/07 03:23 PM
Magnificent Montana may come to be known as the land of Big Skies and Big Spenders.
Luxury Clues’ Bernice Ross  reports a new entry in the Billionaire Poll: Lumber and land baron Tim Blixseth.  His prime Yellowstone Club 53,000 square foot home in Bozeman, Montana will be entering the high end luxury home market at a record-breaking $155 million. Being promoted fully furnished, this ten-bedroom mountain estate boasts an indoor-outdoor swimming pool, a theater, and a gondola to Yellowstone Club’s coveted ski areas.
Private and exclusive Yellowstone Club (with it’s to-die-for Private Powder skiing) boasts a membership list that reportedly includes Bill Gates, Comcast’s Stephen Burke and a host of other financial luminaries.
If he were … (1 comments)

Prestige Home Index: San Diego - 02/04/07 03:03 PM
First Republic Bank has created the first statistical model-The Prestige Home Index-that measures changes in home values in excess of $1 million in key California markets. What are some of the common features of these indexed homes? They have at least 3000 to 6000 feet, three to six bedrooms and three to six bathrooms, according to the study. Many are substantially larger. Digested reporting of this index would probably too hefty for one blog. Instead, we'll turn it into three shorter ones.
Today's focus will be balmy and palmy San Diego County in Southern California-with emphasis on the tony towns and zips of Rancho Santa Fe (92067), La Jolla … (1 comments)

How to Hide the Bedroom TV - 02/01/07 07:25 PM
A television on display in a well-appointed master bedroom? Banish the thought!
It is a bedroom appliance never seen in home decor magazines, model homes or in Feng-Shui-directed abodes. At the very least, bedroom televisions are hidden in cabinets because sleeping areas are seen as sacred sanctuaries and spaces. Yet, how many of us watch television-while in bed-and wish we could totally hide the evidence?
MK1 Studio has been slaving for a decade to develop their underbed Television Lift. According to their site, a 50 inch panel with amplifiers, DVD and VCR players, subwoofer and seven channels of surround sound can be totally concealed beneath … (13 comments)

 
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Roberta Murphy -- Carlsbad Real Estate and Homes

San Diego, CA

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Office Phone: (877) 818-8197

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