This is GREAT NEWS and a temporary gift to us who are buying real estate and those of us who have 2 loans on our property here in the Santa Barbara area now have a possible opportunity to refinance into one loan.  By raising the conforming loan limit to $729,750.  this allows buyers to obtain the best price available for an owner occupied purchased property all in one loan rather than having a combination of loans, at different interest rates like before.

Read the rest of this entry »

“I DON’T MEASURE A MAN’S SUCCESS BY HOW HIGH HE CLIMBS…BUT HOW HIGH HE BOUNCES WHEN HE HITS BOTTOM.” General George S. Patton And the General himself would certainly consider Bonds to be a success last week, as they moved lower to hit a technical “bottom” at the 200-day Moving Average, but then bounced significantly higher throughout the course of the week, helping fixed home loan rates improve by about .25 to .375%.

Read the rest of this entry »

While meeting with first time home buyers this past week, I was reminded of how fortunate I am to have been able to work with this very extraordinary group of buyers. Beside the fact that I learn so much from this group, there is just something about a first time home buyer, maybe it is an aura they possess, I am not sure, however, helping them into home ownership gives me the most gratifying feeling and makes my job as a realtor the very best!

Read the rest of this entry »

I bought my house in 1995 for a little over $350,000. Being in the business, I thought that I had made a good deal, but within 6 months, I think my house was worth around $25,000 less and I felt pretty sick. Today, 13 years later, my home is worth over $1,100,000, three times what I paid for it and I now I know that I made the right decision. In fact, when looking back, even if I would have paid $400,000 ($50,000 more than what it was worth), it would have been a smart purchase. You see, many of my clients ask me, when is the best time to buy a home considering what the market is like right now.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was very excited to see the article in the Wall Street Journal titled, ‘How Green is My Realtor’. So were a lot of other people I know, seeing that 4 people e-mailed it to me and 3 copies were placed on my desk at Village Properties. I am so proud that the EcoBroker program is getting press and more and more agents are signing up for it across the country.

Read the rest of this entry »

Santa Barbara is very dog friendly! I would love to list four of my favorite places to take my dog “Chasey.”

Read the rest of this entry »

I, along with Village Properties agents Elaine Abercrombie, Billy Mandarino and Joshua Ramirez, spent Wednesday morning, February 20th, sharing stories about our jobs and insights into our careers with students at San Marcos High School. After a morning breakfast and enthusiastic welcome from the school administration and event organizers, we dispatched to classrooms where we spoke to four sessions of students.

Read the rest of this entry »

All real estate is local! “South County” real estate is doing very nicely thank you! With only 40 foreclosures total on the South Coast in the whole of 2007, there is no tipping point here to bring values down any further. (Those foreclosures have, for the most part, been purchased, not sitting unsold as is happening in other locales.) Indeed, only 2 local areas have had downturns in their median prices over the past 3-4 years: Carpinteria and Goleta, both down around 15%. Santa Barbara’s median price has remained steady for 3 years at $1,015,000-$1,050,000 and Montecito has enjoyed a “non-downturn” adding around10% to its median price each year for the past 4 years.
Read the rest of this entry »

In the past 30 days we have seen more activity in the market than in the past few months.  116 residential properties have gone into escrow leaving about a 6 month supply of homes for other buyers.  This is a significant reduction in inventory over the last few months.  What does this mean to buyers?  It means the time to act is now if you want to have negotiating power on your side.

Last night we (Elizabeth Wagner & DeAnn Bauer) hosted another great Green Drinks event here in Santa Barbara. The location was the Pierre Lafond Bistro on State Street which was a perfect location and many thanks to Anne Marie Costura for setting up the event. Farmer’s Market customers and vendors were bustling by outside, a TV free zone inside with great lighting and art welcomed our 40+ guests throughout the evening. Plus the food was delicious, all organic and made by executive chef, Josh Keating formerly of the Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

Read the rest of this entry »