Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Cover For Book: Haole The Penguin

Haole The Penguin
Oil on Canvas
24" x 36"
By Emily McBride

This painting was commissioned for the cover of a book called Haole The Penguin. It's an adorable book geared for elementary and middle school aged children, and it's about a penguin (Haole) who is an outcast and 'different' from all the other penguins. He's tired of just fishing, fishing, fishing all the time, and tired of being made fun of by the others. So, one day as he's off wandering, he loses track of time as the sun is setting, and he gets chased by a k-whale (a killer whale). He is swimming as fast as he can possibly go, and he gets to the surface and goes flying out of the water, through a wave, and to his astonishment, he is on top of the wave, gripping it with his wing, and surfing! This one time accident turns into a love of surfing, and then to an expansion of his world far beyond 'the berg' (the iceberg where he has lived all his life) and gloomily wasting all his days fishing.

It's definitely worth the read, even for an adult. Hopefully the book will be out soon ~ I'll let you know where you can buy it.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

For the week of 6/21/09-6/28/09:

57 new listings
60 price improvements
33 sales pended (20 under $1M, 10 $1-2M, 2 $2-4M, 1 $4-8M)
30 closed
31 off markett (14 expired, 6 cancelled, 11 withdrawn)
13 back on market

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Interesting Statistics ~ Worth Having a Look, Especially You First-Time Homebuyers!

Under $1M million market (South Coast, not Hope Ranch or Montecito):

Year to Date Numbers as of 6/16/09

Homes/SFR
# New Listings:
'09 YTD: 324
'08 YTD: 325

The inventory is staying at the same level & not building.

# Under Contract
'09 YTD: 247
'08 YTD: 165

49% Increase Year Over Year

Condos
# New Listings:
'09 YTD: 252
'08 YTD: 314

19% decline

# Under Contract
'09 YTD: 163
'08 YTD: 105

55% increase Year Over Year

Supply is flat or declining .. Demand is climbing ... Price increases will follow ..

The key with our market is that buyers are benefiting from this "perfect storm" of a buyer's market - low interest rates combined with reduced prices and motivated, (some "distressed") sellers. These two components combine to provide a low monthly mortgage payment, and this has caused the affordability factor to increase sharply. Interest rates would only have to increase slightly and the home buyers' monthly payment could jump up by several hundred dollars per month.

The other factors that buyers should understand are:
With inflation almost certainly in our future, owning real estate is a great place to be - Historical data shows us that South coast real estate has doubled or better every 10 yrs. since the 1960s.

The same benefits of home ownership remain constant:
Ability to deduct mortgage interest from income taxes (not true for rent), the forced savings aspect of home ownership, (vs. paying off your landlord's mortgage for him/her) & just as important ... the satisfaction that comes from owning your own home ... & not having to worry that your landlord is keeping current with his mortgage ...

Thanks to Jackie Walters for putting this together & keeping the Village agents up to date with great statistics!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Finished Product? (Almost, but not quite there yet...)

Uluwatu, Indonesia
By: Emily McBride
Oil on Canvas
36 x 60

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The World: By Appointment Only

Working with Christie's Great Estates is really a lot of fun. We are currently the international representative of The World, a 644-foot luxury ocean liner appointed with 165 private homes and the only residential community at sea. Christie’s Great Estates successfully sold the initial offerings of suites and apartments before the ship’s launch in 2002 and has been enlisted once again to provide premier marketing for the ship’s resale residences.

“We are delighted with our renewed partnership,” says Nikki F. Upshaw, ResidenSea’s Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales.

This is an opportunity for my clients to preview this exceptional offering. Residences are available for sale from US$800,000 to US$6.5M, with one very unique six-bedroom penthouse offered at US$17.5M.

The ship will be on the West Coast throughout June and part of July, and it can still be seen in other parts of the world at different dates. If you have legitimate interest and would like to set an appointment with me, please respond soon to emily@villagesite.com. A background check will be required for all visitors. Ask me about the requirements and how to set your appointment. We can discuss this opportunity, and I can provide you with all the details.

Please visit www.aboardtheworld.com for more information.

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

This is from the last 2 weeks:

New Listings: 124
Price Improvements: 102
Pendings: 86 (this is a nice improvement!)

Breakdown on Pendings for the 2 weeks:
0-1 million: 62
1-2 million: 12
2-4 million: 9
8+ million: 3
Total: 86

Closed: 25
Off market: 30
Expired: 15
Canceled: 8
Withdrawn: 7

Back On Market: (another great number) - only 5

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Another Painting In Progress - Uluwatu

Here's another painting I'm working on - this one is not complete yet but I am hoping to finish it by next Tuesday. It's of Uluwatu in Indonesia. I'll post it again once it's complete. Enjoy!