| Montecito | Santa Barbara | Emily McBride |

Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Kicked Off Yesterday

2012-01-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

Join hundreds of filmmakers and thousands of film enthusiasts as Santa Barbara welcomes the best of new and unique cinema. Hundreds of films including World Premieres, U.S. Premieres and titles representing various countries are on tap for the silver edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

This year's Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) marks the 27th year of the festival in town, and has a motto of “11 Amazing Days, 10 Starry Nights." It kicked off yesterday, Thursday January 26th at 8pm, and comes to an end Sunday February 5th. Opening and closing night festivities take place at Santa Barbara's historic Arlington Theater in downtown Santa Barbara. Film screenings, and tributes take place all throughout the day at various locations. For more information and the full schedule, visit sbiff.org.

Established in 1985, the Santa Barbara Film Festival (SBIFF) is an 11-day festival that showcases a broad array of independent American and international films, along with documentary cinema. The International Film Festival is held within the beautiful setting of downtown Santa Barbara. The SBIFF is dedicated to the art of filmmaking, and strives to raise the consciousness of film as an art form. The SBIFF attracts more than 70,000 visitors each year, and endeavors to enrich the community both culturally and economically.

Get glamorous and enjoy some films!

Just Sold - Polo Fields - 200 Lambert Road

2012-01-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

Just Sold:

This parcel of land at 200 Lambert Road is one of the most outstanding parcels in the Santa Barbara area, with 51.87 acres of gorgeous land across from Padaro Beach, and over 35 of the 51.87 acres dedicated to polo fields & paddocks. In addition, the parcel offers an ocean view estate site, numerous oak groves, and a seasonal creek. Lambert Road has become the superior equestrian area for Santa Barbara.

Last offered at $15,000,000.

Positive Numbers for Santa Barbara's Real Estate Market

2012-01-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Santa Barbara South County's CORT (Computer Oriented Real Estate Technology) Report is showing some positive numbers. December of 2011 showed the highest number of closed sales we have seen in any month since May of 2007.

May of 2007 reflected 180 closings, and December of 2011 showed 170 closings.

*Click on the image below to view the graph if it does not fit entirely in your screen.

2011 Santa Barbara Real Estate :: Year-End Market Statistics

2012-01-20T14:08:00.001-08:00

Home/Estate Market - Last Year vs. This Year

Total Active Listings
2010: 2,419
2011: 2,406
DOWN -0.5%

New Listings
2010: 1,756
2011: 1,762
UP +0.3%

Median List Price (of New Listings)
2010: $999,000
2011: $967,000
DOWN -3.2%

Number of Properties That Went Into Escrow
2010: 894
2011: 1,051
UP +17.6%

Number of Sold Properties
2010: 904
2011: 950
UP +5.1%

Median Sales Price
2010: $850,000
2011: $790,000
DOWN -7.1%

Median Sales Price (Without Montecito & Hope Ranch)
2010: $775,000
2011; $701,500
DOWN -9.5%

Average Sold Price
2010: $1,459,457
2011: $1,185,013
DOWN -18.8%

Average Sold Price (Without Hope Ranch/Montecito)
2010: $1,104,995
2011: $860,127
DOWN -22.2%

Sold Volume
2010: $1,319,349,511
2011: $1,125,762,394
DOWN -14.7%

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2012-01-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

For the week of 1/2/2012-1/8/2012:

58 new listings
33 price changes
24 sales pended (16 under $1M, six $1-2M, one $2-4M, and one $4-8M)
29 closed (17 under $1M, two $2-4M, and one $10M+)

The new listings typically pick back up around this time of year.

Happy New Year 2012 to everyone!

New Listing ~ 337 Vista Pacifica ~ Ocean Views on the Mesa

2011-12-01T11:45:00.001-08:00

This lovely ocean & island view 3B/2B Vista Pacifica home awaits you, with a 2-car garage, high ceilings, step-down living room, beautiful landscaping, and a fabulous location on the Mesa. Enjoy views of the ocean through the large living room windows. Experience privacy with the manicured hedges. Head outside to nearby parks, beaches, one of our top local health-food markets, numerous restaurants, and so much more. Call or email Emily McBride at 805.252.2773 or emily@villagesite.com. Offered at $969,000.

MiniListings - Agent Spotlight on Emily McBride

2011-11-28T15:33:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the MiniListings Team for placing me in their "Agent Spotlight" this month. Here is the article... Or, view the article here.

Agent Spotlight: Emily McBride

This month’s agent spotlight is on Emily McBride, an agent with Village Properties in Santa Barbara. Emily has over ten years experience in real estate, and she has made the most of her time in the industry developing a wealth of knowledge and a deep network of contacts. She has been involved and represented both buyers and sellers in a variety of transactions covering all types of residential sales to real estate development projects. Even through this difficult market, Emily has continued to succeed, a product of her hard work, positive attitude, commitment, persistence and integrity. Emily also has a strong creative side which is evident not only in her real estate business but also in her passion outside of real estate, painting.

I’ve included a few of Emily’s paintings in this article. Clicking on any of the images will direct to a full size version of the painting at her website.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Emily about how she got into real estate, why she likes it, how she uses technology in her business, what advice she gives to new agents, and her passion for painting.

How did you get your start in real estate?
I started out in real estate on the mortgage side of the business. I worked for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage while I was working on my Business-Economics & Accounting degree at UCSB. The job was great, but the mortgage side did not provide a lot of personal interaction with clients, so I decided to make the switch to real estate sales. Being in real estate provided more interaction with clients and allowed me to use more of my creativity. In 2001, while still in college, I worked with an agent team at Coldwell Banker here in Santa Barbara for a couple of years doing marketing, overseeing inspections and managing escrows. Learning both the finance and the sales sides of the business while in college was a great experience. Once I got my own license, I spent more time selling homes at Coldwell Banker and I even closed my first escrow within 30 days!

You’ve been with Village Properties since 2004, what drew you to them?
Village Properties is special because it is a high quality, boutique brokerage that is locally owned. With about 150 agents, it’s the largest locally owned brokerage in Santa Barbara. Being able to know and interact with the ownership is great and has enabled me to take on some unique projects that may not have been possible at other places. For example, during 2008, I spent a lot of time in New York City selling residences at the W New York. I was working on both coasts, spending 10 days in New York City, and 4 days in Santa Barbara every two weeks. Renee Grubb & Ed Edick, the co-owners of Village Properties, understood it was temporary and that it would allow me to strengthen my network of contacts. It was a great experience that has helped me in my career. In fact, my W New York experience was one of the reasons that I was selected to work on Alma del Pueblo, an exciting new real estate development project with 37 residences and commercial space in downtown Santa Barbara.

What do you like most about working in real estate?

In real estate, every deal is a new challenge and every client is unique, which makes every transaction different. One of the special projects I’m currently working on is an estate property in Montecito know as El Fureidis, which has quite a bit of history. It was built by architect Bertram Goodhue from 1890-1906. Charlie Chaplan was married there, rumor has it that John and Jackie Kennedy spent part of their honeymoon there, it was the source of the rare palm trees now in Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise ride, and it was featured in the 1983 film “Scarface” as Tony Montana’s mansion. I’m also selling some polo fields locally, and that’s been a very interesting experience that I have enjoyed very much. I like working on these larger projects because it requires me to use all of my resources and creative energy, which I really enjoy.

What role does technology play in your business?
The majority of my business is done through referrals, so I use technology as a platform to generate and receive them. I maintain a website, a blog, a Facebook business page, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter account. I also use a service called Emma to send out a regular newsletter. My goal is to use technology to stay in front of people so they remember me when they, or someone they know, are ready to buy or sell a property. My online presence also helps me with my Google search results. Since people will usually “Google” you before hiring you, maintaining a strong online presence helps build credibility and reinforces their decision to work with me.

How does mobile technology, particularly your phone, help you with your business?
I use my phone to stay connected and up-to-date on my business through email, texting, and phone calls. I probably write more emails on my phone these days than on my computer! Texting is also a tool that I use a lot. I use texting with all of my clients, and not just the younger crowd. I’ve used text messaging to communicate with clients who range in age from 20 to 85 years old.

What phone are you currently using?
I have the iPhone 4, not the 4S, so I don’t talk to my phone just yet. I also have an iPad2 with 3G that I use a lot.

Do you use a lot of apps on your phone?
Yes, I use a lot of apps, so many that I had to put them into folders to categorize and keep track of them! My latest favorite is an app called Sign-N-Send. It’s great for viewing and forwarding documents, but the most amazing feature is that it lets you sign them right there on your phone, too.

Speaking of apps, how do you use and promote your miniListings app?
My miniListings app is another tool in my technology toolbox. I like to give it to my clients so they can show their friends when their looking for properties. It also demonstrates to my clients that I am keeping up with the latest technology by having my own mobile application. In addition to showing my clients the app, I also promote it in my email signature, through my newsletter, and also on my Facebook page.

When you’re not working on real estate, you like to paint. How and when did you get started?
Interestingly enough, it was one of my real estate clients, Cheryl Marquis-Hilliard, who inspired me to start painting. I saw the paintings she had done, and she encouraged me to try it out. I started painting in 2003 under the guidance of Buck Paulson, who was her mentor as well. A number of years ago, I sold Cheryl’s beautiful house in Hope Ranch, which was where our group would get together to paint, and we were sad to see her move away, but our group is still together over 8 years later, and Buck Paulson is still my mentor. Most of my paintings are landscapes – typically waves or ocean scenes. I’ve had a lot of fun doing shows around town in 2009 and 2010 where my paintings were on display, but I haven’t been doing many shows this year. I do have plans for one or two shows in 2012, and no matter how busy I get with real estate, I still make it a point to get in the studio at least once a week and block the time out on my calendar to make sure it happens. Typically, I can finish about one or two paintings a month.

You can see more of Emily’s beautiful paintings by viewing the gallery on her website at emilykmcbride.com, or by clicking here. You can also order prints of Emily’s work at http://www.twism.com/collections/emily-mcbride.

One last question, you’ve worked with and mentored new agents. What advice do you give them, particularly younger agents who are just starting out?
There are two things that have worked for me that I tell new agents. First, find a top producing agent that you can work for who will act as a mentor. It’s the best way to learn the business, and best of all, you will actually get paid while you are learning. Second, be willing to work on all types of property transactions as it will open up doors to bigger and better projects. My goal when I started out was to work on all types of properties, and having those experiences has definitely opened up some amazing opportunities for me in my career.

I’d like to thank Emily for participating in this month’s agent spotlight. Emily is proof that experience is not just a function of age but also a function of hard work, commitment and persistence. She has accomplished an incredible amount in her 10+ years in the business, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she accomplishes in the future.

If you’d like to learn more about Emily, check out her website, emilymcbride.com, and if you go to her website using your phone, you’ll get to see her miniListings web application in action.

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2011-11-28T15:30:00.001-08:00

For the week of 11/21/2011-11/27/2011

16 new listings
24 price changes
34 sales pended (25 under $1M, seven $1-2M, two $2-4M)
16 closed (10 under $1M, three $1-2M, two $2-4M, and one $4-8M)
26% of the closed sales were over $1M

The new listings typically slow down around this time of year, and will be picking up again after the holidays. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Helping Underwater Borrowers ~ An update from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)

2011-10-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent release from the Federal Housing Finance Agency:

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, on Monday announced changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to help more borrowers.

The program will continue to be available to borrowers with loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009, with current loan-to-value (LTV) ratios above 80 percent.

The new program enhancements address several other key aspects of HARP including:

Eliminating certain risk-based fees for borrowers who refinance into shorter-term mortgages and lowering fees for other borrowers;
Removing the current 125 percent LTV ceiling for fixed-rate mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;
Waiving certain representations and warranties that lenders commit to in making loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac;
Eliminating the need for a new property appraisal where there is a reliable AVM (automated valuation model) estimate provided by the Enterprises; and
Extending the end date for HARP until Dec. 31, 2013, for loans originally sold to the Enterprises on or before May 31, 2009.

Fannie and Freddie plan to issue guidance with operational details about the HARP changes to mortgage lenders and servicers by Nov. 15. Since industry participation in HARP is not mandatory, implementation schedules will vary as individual lenders, mortgage insurers and other market participants modify their processes.

More info

Recently Sold ~ 455 Foxen Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

2011-10-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Recently Sold ~ Represented Buyers

455 Foxen Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Offered at $1,235,000

Four Bedrooms, Two Bathrooms
2500 Square Feet
2-Car Garage
Hardwood Floors Throughout
Large, Open Kitchen
Gorgeous Den
Hot Tub in Back Yard
Great for Entertaining
Formal Living Room
San Roque ~ Great Neighborhood
Beautifully Redone
Cathedral Ceilings
3 Fireplaces
French Doors
New Kitchen
Granite Counters
Viking Appliances
Crown Molding

Recently Sold ~ 4Plex ~ 614 Kentia Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

2011-10-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

Recently Sold ~ Represented Buyer

614 Kentia Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93105

4-Plex consisting of four 2B/1B units. Rents ranging from $1450-1550/unit.
Close proximity to downtown, schools, parks, the bike path, and freeway access.
Laundry on site.

This particular escrow took 7 months to close, due to some repairs that needed to completed. The property had been in escrow prior to our escrow, when a buyer discovered mold at the property. That buyer canceled escrow after his request for a large credit was declined. I heard about the shaky escrow & informed my client. We wrote an offer immediately, making it part of our offer that the mold work be completed prior to the close of escrow. It was a large feat and very costly to move out and rotate four sets of tenants & fully remediate the mold, and put the building back together, but the Seller held up their end of the agreement & performed the work as agreed. The property was fully rented again before the close of escrow. This property makes for a great long-term investment!

Recently Sold ~ 403 Alameda Padre Serra, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

2011-10-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

Recently Sold ~ Represented Buyer

403 Alameda Padre Serra
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Closed at $795,000
*Originally offered for $1,195,000

Elegant, Spanish-Style Town-Home
Brand New Construction
Ocean/Harbor/City Views
Turn-Key
Riviera Location ~ Close to Downtown
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Bathrooms
Hardwood Floors
Attention to Detail
2-Car Garage
Backyard
Stainless Steel Appliances
Sandstone Fireplace
Gorgeous Fixtures

Cinque Terre - Love this place!

2011-09-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

I was a little worn out after the South of France wedding events...and after missing two flights just to get to Nice, and then leaving Nice a day late and uncertain if we would make the train to Cinque Terre, I almost ruled it out and went straight to Tuscany. Remember, we didn't plan a thing, so it wasn't like we had hotels to cancel... It's a good thing we made that train and didn't skip what has become another one of my most favorite places in the world. There were other trains too...I had just lost some "travel patience" at that point, and my feet hurt after all that dancing in the cryptic abbey...so it wasn't like that was our only chance to get to Cinque Terre...

Here is a map of the towns:

Map of Cinque Terre

The train from Nice to Cinque Terre only took a few hours. Don't ever eat on a train. I had forgotten that from my last Europe trip... It's like a sin to eat that terrible food when the best Caprese in the world is just beyond the train tracks. We arrived in Cinque Terre, one of the most visited places in the world, with nowhere to stay. That's one thing I wish we had planned for. We had hoped (and read online) that the first station in Cinque Terre (Monterrosso al Mare) would have lockers where you could store your luggage, so we thought we'd do that and then trek around looking for a great place to call home for a couple days. Not the case. Monterosso al Mare has a "Tourism" office right by the train station, and they always keep track of what hotels have room. Luckily we found something. I was a little scared of it at first (this shady looking Italian guy walks us out the building where the front desk was, around the corner, and down the street to another building that was too dark for me, and we proceed up 3 flights of stairs and past another shady looking Italian guy who is sweating and has a tank top on...so that wasn't a good start), but once we got down another hallway and into our room, and we opened the hurricane shutters, I saw that it was clean, could sleep up to 4 people, and had a great balcony with views of the mountains and the ocean. And, since it was the only place available & I didn't feel like schlepping luggage up and down the hills of Cinque Terre (if you go there you'll know what I mean), we took it. Later we did torture ourselves in the other towns by asking if they had available rooms (which they did & I would have been willing to pay for a really nice place), but I didn't want to waste time on switching places.

We spent that first afternoon walking (or climbing, rather) around Monterrosso. We walked by a restaurant called L'Ancora della Tortuga and saw that they didn't have many tables & it was perched high up, overlooking the Med. We asked the girl working if we could get a table for that night. She went through the reservations, and we snagged one of two available tables that evening & said we'd be back at 9pm. Lucky us! See, you don't always have to have plans... This was the best food I think we ate in Italy (and that's saying a lot because the food is amazing everywhere). I wish I had photos of our dinners to show you here. We ate a plate of raw seafood, with lobster, salmon, and other fish with only olive oil and lemon. We also ordered a pasta that I wish I could re-create but I know I'll never be able to, and of course a bottle of red wine. Here are a couple photos of the restaurant I found online, just to show you the setting & why we were lucky to get a table!

View of the patio from above...

View from above (& it's steep below too).

The servers come up to the patio from the restaurant below.

The hiking, the air temperature, getting in the ocean, the food, the wine, the views....I don't know how you could beat this place unless there were waves... I want to spend a few months here at some point in our lives.

The next day we did the full Cinque Terre excursion....We went to all the towns & we ate in every town! We took the train to Riomaggiore, which is the farthest town, and spent the day working our way back to Monterrosso. I won't go into detail on every single town, but I will say that Vernazza was my favorite town. Riomaggiore and Corniglia probably came in 2nd, but they were all fantastic. Normally I watch what I eat...blah blah....but in Cinque Terre (and Italy in general), my only goal was to eat as much as I could. The food is THAT good. We kept saying that God must have kissed this area, because the tomatoes are so juicy and tasty, the olive oil is exceptional, the wine won't give you a hangover (so drink as much as you'd like!), the seafood is so good, and it's like everything has 10x the flavor that it does at home (and we eat well in Santa Barbara...). I read a woman's blog that said, "You haven't lived until you've had pesto in the Cinque Terre" and now I agree with her. If you hike the trails, you will see all the grape vines and the olive trees. In town, you will see all the little gardens & how well they use their space. They have built gardens that grow horizontally, vertically, and every which way.

This is where we ate in Riomaggiore.

Looking back & down on the restaurant where we ate next to the bluffs...Riomaggiore.

There is great art in these towns, both in the shops and as you walk through town...

Walking by a mural...in Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

The hike between Riomaggiore & Manarola. Also called Via Dell'Amore (or roughly "Lovers Walk").

Manarola

A church in Manarola

It's hard to describe how blue & clear the Med is....

Views everwhere...

The streets of Manarola

In Manarola, we found this amazing restaurant up a somewhat hidden lane called Trattoria dal Billy. If you visit this town, you have to eat there! We found it on our own, but it turns out that TripAdvisor and Rick Steves have recommended it. We ordered a seafood appetizer, and they brought 12 different types of seafood in their own little dishes to our table. I did get pics this time...

Steep stairs...it's 3 flights down to the patio.

Next we were off to Corniglia...It's very steep when you arrive in this town. You have to climb about 400 steps to get up to the town. Because it's so steep, it's hard to photograph, so we took pics of it as we hiked out to Vernazza.

Church in Corniglia

Church in Corneglia

Looking back on Corniglia

Getting further out from Corniglia...on our hike to Vernazza.

The trail has a lot of steps & it's pretty steep. A lot of ups and downs....

Don't forget to jump in!

A classic looking elderly Italian couple

Then Vernazza (our favorite)...We arrived around sunset & we raced across town because I wanted to get some photos before sunset. We could see Vernazza from Monterrosso, so we knew the sun hits the little town at the perfect angle around sunset, and we wanted to end our ventures here & have dinner at sunset. We timed it perfectly!

Vernazza

At dinner in Vernazza

At dinner. Great restaurant by the water: Gambero Rosso.

And last, we took the train back to Monterrosso al Mare to crash & get up early to head to Tuscany...

We ended back in Monterrosso al Mare

Monterrosso al Mare

South of France

2011-09-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Nice, ready for the wedding events... J's sister and her fiance had booked "The Stones Villa" which is named after the Rolling Stones because this was their house. They bought it in their younger years as a place to get away & to record music. It has been sold to another family at this point, but it's not hard to picture them spending time at this villa. It's tucked away far up in the hills, overlooking Nice, just outside a town called Vence (pronounced Vance). Twenty of us stayed there and had plenty of space. It has gorgeous views of the Mediterranean & the towns below, with decks and balconies everywhere you look, and a great swimming pool. We had a "Rockers on the Riv" 70's costume party, along with a Welcome BBQ for all the wedding-comers (although it was more like a gourmet catered dinner than a BBQ) at this house, and it served as a great pad to head out for day trips to check out the area.

Part of the 70's Crew

Welcome BBQ at the Stones Villa

I had been to Nice & Saint-Tropez with my girlfriend Christy a few years back, but that was a different experience. She's a clothing designer, so our only goal was to gather "market research" (aka "shopping!"), hang at the beach, and relax. We stayed in Saint-Tropez, which is still one of my favorite places, but I never saw the beautiful hill towns up above the beach towns. You can get to the French Alps in 1.5-2 hours from the Mediterranean.

We went to Antibes to spend time at the beach, and we would have spent more time checking out the beach towns if the traffic wasn't so bad. There was a yacht convention going on, so that brought in a lot of people... We stopped in amazing little town called Saint-Paul de Vence, and I think this was one of my favorite towns. It's perched up on a hill with an old stone wall around it. You could take a photograph of any street, any corner, any view, or shop & it would be worth framing. It's worth the visit. *On any of these photos, click once or twice to make them larger...

Saint-Paul de Vence

We also cruised up to Saint-Jeannet (which is where the wedding was held) to hike the Baou de Saint-Jeannet. The hike takes about 60-90 minutes to get to the top (I can't remember exactly how long it took us), and it's a pretty steep hike. It felt great to me to get some exercise, after all the eating! The trail has views as you hike up, and we passed a group of billy goats and sheep with all their bells on. Two of the billy goats got into it & had a full fight in front of us so that added some entertainment along the way. I have a video of it, and I'll load it eventually & add it here. The view from the top is incredible. Here are a couple photos... All of these photos are iPhone photos so forgive the quality...

billy goats

view from the top

View of Saint-Jeannet from the Baou

The rehearsal dinner was in the town of Vence, at Restaurant de Siegneurs. The groom's family has been eating at this restaurant & celebrating big occasions there for a long time (I think they said at least 35 years, if not longer...). Great food, lots of fun, good company, creative speeches by the family, and an overall great atmosphere! Here we are....all dressed up.

Em + J - Town of Vence

Restaurant Des Seigneurs, Vence, France

Inside the restaurant...

The wedding itself was amazing. Not only were the bride and groom looking stunning, but the church in Saint-Jeannet dates back to the 16th century, and the town of Saint-Jeannet is blanketed with flowers and overlooks the Med. You can't beat it! I can't wait to see the professional wedding photos because I know they will be timeless....not to mention make my iPhone photos look terrible. The cobblestone streets are so small that you can't drive a car down most of the roads. I wish America had more of that architecture. We just don't spend much time on our buildings, we don't have that craftsmanship, and we don't build them to last like they did back then. After the wedding ceremony, we got in vans and went down to L'Abbeye for the reception. They had at least 10 different appetizers, yummy cocktails, and we all had a chance to check out the Abbey. Then it was a delicious dinner that I'm still thinking about. It's the best food we had while we were in France, and it was a 3-star Michelin restaurant. I hear that the Michelin stars are pretty hard to get...and 3 stars is the highest a restaurant can get on the scale. It was a lovely setting, and then they topped it off with a dance party in the chapel at the abbey that is dated to the 10th century. It was a dark-stone chapel that felt cryptic because of the darkness and the uneven floors. They put a DJ in there, gave us all sandals so we wouldn't break any bones (I still did something to my knee...and I know I'm not the only one!), and also loaded us with flashing toys (disco balls, squishy stars, sunglasses that lit up and flashed lights everywhere). That was all it took to have every one of us soaked with sweat and laughing until the wee hours... I was too busy dancing to get any pics of that part of the wedding. The night ended with our taxi's transmission going out, attempting to get back up to the Stones Villa which is not an easy trek for a car. We all had to walk the rest of the way home but no one cared... It was a great wedding!!

Church of Saint-Jeannet

Saint-Jeannet

Views from Saint-Jeannet

Flowers throughout the town of Saint-Jeannet


Bride (Ashley) & Maid of Honor (Sara)

We had planned to head to Cinque Terre the next day, but we weren't moving very fast so we stayed at the villa for another night and left a day later. My next post will be the start of Italy...

2011 Travels (going backwards) ~ Starting with Paris

2011-09-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

Time has been flying by, and I've neglected to write about my travels throughout 2011....so here I go...The travels will include Paris, the South of France, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, Rome, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kauai, and Belize, and I'll do a blog entry for each & probably add more photos later so feel free to take a second look at these posts. I'm afraid I won't remember all the details if I don't write them down, so this is both for you and me. :) I'll start with our most recent trip & work my way back to January.

My significant other's sister got married in Europe, so we built our trip around that event. I'll refer to my significant other as J from now on. I took a trip to South America with my girlfriend Jessica a couple years ago, and I remember her saying, "Emily on vacation is not like Emily at home." Jessica is a dear friend as well as a client, and she said this because she knows how organized and scheduled I can sometimes be at home...but on vacation, I don't like to plan anything (which drove her a little nuts but we worked it out!). So, our Europe trip was the same (good thing J works the same way as I do...). We didn't book tickets until about 2 weeks before we were going because we couldn't decide where to go and what to do. We eventually decided to fly into Paris and fly home from Rome. That was all we really knew, other than the wedding plans. The good thing we did, and here's a travel tip: We got large data plans for our phones...not because I wanted to be on the phone really, but because I wanted access to my email if I needed it and because I could get online & use Google Maps or book hotels or do anything I needed to do, without the stress of carrying around my laptop or trying to find wireless. I got 800 megabytes (I had to learn how big a megabyte is) in a 2-week period for about $85. Worth it!

So we arrive in Paris & we have no idea where we're staying... We got a taxi (seems like all their taxis are Mercedes) and found a hotel online called Hotel Agora Saint Germain (http://hotelagorasaintgermain.com) & had our driver take us there. I was so exhausted (we left LAX at 9am and got into Paris the next day around 10am) & J only let me lay down for about 5 minutes before I was dragged out into the city. We ate at this great cafe (Cafe Le Barnum Brasserie) across the street. They served us such a big breakfast that we took up two tables... Yummy tea, fresh bread, all sorts of jam, greens, water, and eggs with veggies. Then we walked to Notre Dame and to the Eiffel Tower. I've been to Paris a couple of times before, but J had never been there, so this was all new to him. Along the way to the Eiffel Tower, I discovered an art store with the most beautiful colors (walls covered with every color you could imagine) and brushes I had ever seen. I was in a mini heaven. We didn't go up into Eiffel Tower. I've still never been up in it - - every time I've been to Paris the line is too long. It's great if you can go around 9:30pm because it sparkles for about 30-60 minutes around that time. If I ever go back, I'll work up my patience level....

That night we walked to the Latin Quarter to have dinner. We ate dinner at a supposedly really nice place, but the food in France is mostly not good. I'm not saying it's all bad, because I have had great food in France, but it's much more difficult to find good food in France than it is in Italy (which I'll get to in a minute). I was afraid of something at almost every meal! (What's in that sauce? Did those vegetables come out of the microwave? Why so much butter??) The people at the restaurant actually asked us why we weren't eating more and if we were hungry. Pretty funny. J said something about how we're feeling strange due to the time change and it was really breakfast-time for us, and I tried to explain that French food is just rich so we can't eat as much of it. That probably wasn't good, because the guy walked away at that point. : )

The next day we did the Louvre. We ran into some friends there, and it was funny because we ran into that same set of friends (also in Europe for the wedding) in the middle of the Sistine Chapel in Rome a week later. What are the odds?! This day was a bit rough for me. I was grabbed and yelled at by a crazy woman in a pastry shop (great shop called Boulangerie Patisserie). The shop workers had to kick her out...and then in the subway someone tried to steal my purse. Luckily I know Paris has a lot of petty crime, and I was paying attention... I saw a guy posing with his "girlfriend" coming up behind me a little too close -- I was watching them in the glass reflection of a window -- and at the last second I snatched my purse up and over to my other side as he lunged for it (it was a purse that has a strap that goes across your body). I gave the guy a terrible look, and the "girlfriend" hissed at me. It definitely pissed them off that they failed at getting my purse, and the guy almost started a fight with us. I was afraid he had a knife or something (it turned out there was a group of 4 of them), so we left the subway. Of course, we saw them back up in the street trying to do their thing to other people...but I steered clear. Lame people. Anyway, the last time I was in Paris I also refused to wait in line for the Louvre, but this time we did it, and it was worth the wait. You can't imagine the sheer size of the Louvre until you're in it, and even then it's hard to grasp. The paintings and artifacts are breathtaking, and it's also worth seeing Napoleon's apartment. You'll never see anything else like it. We also went to the Arc de Triomphe. It's beautiful, and it's worth going there just to watch how many cars nearly get into accidents trying to go around that round-about.

J walking to the Louvre

You can see part of the line here...click on the photo to enlarge it. The line wrapped all the way around the glass diamond...

Photo from inside the Louvre, looking across the way... I took it from my iPhone but it looks fake!

A shot inside Napoleon's apartment.

Arc de Triumph

I've flown EasyJet in the past, and it was great. I would still recommend it, but don't miss your flight and you can't have too much luggage! We missed two flights in a row, trying to get out of Paris. First, we booked a driver to the airport & gave them our flight time (yes, we actually planned for something...and it would have been better if we had just grabbed a taxi). In California, if a van picks you up on the way to the airport, they might pick up other people, but they always take into account your flight time and they would only pick people up along the way. Not the case in Paris. Our driver actually picked up people 40 minutes the other direction, despite our panicking that we were going to miss our flight (we were watching him on Google Maps). We were late to the airport and missed our flight. Unbelievable. So we had to pay €60 each for adjusted tickets and €40 in train fees to get across Paris from Charles de Gaulle to Paris Orly (the other airport) to try to make another flight out. The gentleman at the desk said we would definitely make the next flight. Not the case. We ran as fast as we could (J even had to throw a suitcase over some entry bars to the train) to get on the train, make some transfers, and get to our next flight. We missed the cutoff by 10 minutes!! EasyJet tried to make us buy entirely new tickets (I about lost it but J is more diplomatic than me, and so he convinced the girl to give us free tickets). We felt that missing the 2nd flight wasn't our fault and that EasyJet should have told us we wouldn't make it. By then it was late at night, so we booked another hotel room near the airport, got a few hours of sleep, and we were back at the airport and on our way to Nice - - early - - we weren't going to miss another flight.

"July" ~ A new painting (& the process)

2011-08-19T23:23:00.000-07:00

Painting Process ~ I thought this might be fun for you to see how a painting comes to life ~ Enjoy!

"July"

Oil/Canvas

36" x 60"

And....the finished product:
(click on the image to see a larger view)

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2011-07-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

For the week of 7/11/2011-7/17/2011

52 new listings
67 price changes
30 sales pended (25 under $1M, three $1-2M, one $2-4M, one $8M+)
38 closed (27 under $1M, nine $1-2M, two $2-4M)
29% of the closed sales were over $1M

Montecito currently has 10 months of inventory (homes).

Hope Ranch currently has 14 months of inventory (this swings regularly due to the small number of listings and sales).

Santa Barbara currently has 5.5 months of inventory (homes).

Goleta currently has 3.3 months of inventory (homes).

The condo market currently has 5 months of inventory (condos).

The entire Santa Barbara South County market has 6 months of inventory (homes).

Price Reduced : : 110 Orizaba : : Now $2,690,000

2011-07-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

*Click on the photo to enlarge the image*

Celebrating the 15-Year Anniversary of Village Properties!

2011-06-06T14:12:00.000-07:00


~Happy 15th Anniversary to Village Properties~

We have such a great team here at Village!
So happy and proud to be a part of it...

VW on Stearns Wharf

2011-05-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

VW on Stearns Wharf by Emily K. McBride

VW on Stearns Wharf

Oil/Canvas

9' x 12"

By Emily K. McBride

First Quarter Santa Barbara Real Estate Update

2011-05-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

First Quarter 2011
Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update
By Jackie Walters

Spring is here and March has brought a welcomed sense of renewal to the local real estate market, following a sluggish January and February. 135 residential buyers entered escrow in March, compared to 104 in February and 86 in January. The 135 pending sales in March represent four to five South Coast buyers per day writing deposit checks, signing contracts and showing continued confidence in investing in real estate. There were 143 pending sales one year ago, in March 2010, a difference of only 5.9% from last month's number, illustrating the fact that the market has now stabilized and the pace of sales activity is steady and sustained. Even our old friend appreciation is beginning to show its face in certain local entry-level sub-markets.

Let's do a little thumbnail retrospective on the local real estate market over the past several years. The pinnacle of residential real estate values, generally speaking, was in 2005. Most of us wistfully remember what our homes were worth at the "high-tide mark". It is said that "all real estate is local", in fact, as you will see, neighborhoods within a broader market can be on very different courses. Entry-level housing in Goleta and Carpinteria was the first market segment to stall in 2005. Foreclosures followed and bank-owned homes languished unsold month after month. The Santa Barbara market held its own from 2005 through the end of 2007 with a steady median price of around $1.2 million.

Montecito area values defied faltering neighboring markets and enjoyed an almost clockwork annual appreciation of 10% in its median and average price right through the end of 2007. 2008 saw a slow down in sales in the 93108 zip code and a plateauing in values. Following the financial meltdown, 2009 saw drastically reduced sales numbers in the high-end and a steep decline in prices. This was at the same time as sales in entry level homes, in Goleta, Carpinteria and certain Santa Barbara neighborhoods surged back to life absorbing the swollen inventory of distressed homes. Eager buyers took advantage of several government-backed incentive programs, as well as historically low interest rates. Enthusiasm for entry-level housing remains strong today both among cash investors and excited first time buyers. According to the California Association of Realtors, affordability, (the number of households in a community who can afford to buy an entry-level home), is at an amazing 58% -- up from a mere 14% in 2007.

Today's entry-level home buyers need to be prepared for what can be an emotionally draining process. Strong-willed buyers, however, are finding a pot of gold at the end of their journey. One local buyer shopped for over a year putting in various offers on short sales, foreclosures as well as regular sales. For various reasons, often due multiple offers or unrealistic sellers, his offers were never accepted. At times he would sit on the fence for weeks to "catch his breath". Just when he was about to give up on his dream, his Realtor found him a foreclosure property just as it was hitting the market for $417,000. He made an offer of $450,000 and it was accepted. (The very next day someone else made an offer of $500,000 but it was too late.) He has achieved his dream and couldn't be happier. Another couple, after being unsuccessful on 14 different properties, were finally the successful bidders in their 9th multiple offer situation.

The first quarter of 2010 saw a resurrection of the high-end market, with several significant closings in the first quarter over $8 million. Buyers are seeing alluring values everywhere along the South Coast. While activity remains focused in the under $1 million price range, we are seeing an increasing percentage of sales in the over $1 million market and throughout the upper price ranges. Motivated sellers with well-presented and well-priced homes, in all price ranges, will garner buyer attention and possibly even multiple offers. A chic and spacious downtown penthouse, listed for sale for $5,250,000, as unfinished space, just closed.

Table 1 shows a first quarter 2011 median price of $787,500 for houses and PUDs and $399,000 for condos. This is compared to $811,250 and $420,000 respectively for the same period 2010. There were 174 closed escrows for houses and PUDs in the first quarter, the same number as the first quarter of 2010. 66 condos sold in the first quarter of 2010 as compared to 53 condo sales for the first quarter of 2011. Contrary to the widespread notion that inventory numbers are bloated, the current inventory of active residential listings is down to 660 from 677 one year ago.

Table 1 also shows months-of-inventory, often referred to as "market velocity". This statistic illustrates how many months it would take to sell the existing inventory of homes, in a particular market segment, at the current pace of sales. Under 3 months of inventory is indicative of a seller's market; 3-6 months-of-inventory could be viewed as a balanced market; 6-9 months-of-inventory is a buyers' market and in excess of 9 months of inventory is a weak or soft market. Months-of-inventory market-wide for all price ranges and all neighborhoods, for condos, houses and PUDs, is 4.9 for March 2011. March 2010 had 4.7 months of inventory.

This month's headline is certainly in the months-of-inventory numbers for Santa Barbara and Montecito. Santa Barbara's 3.5 months-of-inventory for March 2011 is on the threshold of a sellers' market. 49 homes and PUDs entered escrow last month. Montecito's number of 7.7 months-of-inventory is close to half of the number of 13.5 for March 2010. 21 Montecito homes went into escrow last months vs. 13 for March 2010.

Table 2 compares the past year's closed escrow numbers by month to the 5 year average. An upswing in closings for the last two months of 2010 depleted results for January and February 2011; March has seen a nice recovery with 104 residential closings beating the 5-year average of 99 for the month. Sales pending for January through March remained strongly above the month's closed escrow numbers.

Table 3 illustrates the spread of closings by price range. While the bulk of the sales activity remains solidly in the $500,000 to $700,000 price range, you will also see a nice spread of activity in the upper ranges.

With the recession officially over in the summer of 2009, the first quarter of 2011 finds the South Coast real estate market in bloom. In her recent local presentation, Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, declared that "the worst is over" and "we are in recovery". She predicts a rise of approximately 2% in California's median price for 2011 and that coastal communities will lead the way. In our beloved Santa Barbara and surrounding areas, where one of the leading industries is the business of "residential living" the real estate market seems to reflect the promise of spring!

Snow Clouds Above the Harbor

2011-05-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Snow Clouds Above the Harbor
Oil/Canvas
36" x 60"

By Emily K. McBride

Gaviota Coast Painting

2011-03-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

Gaviota Coast
Oil/Canvas
36" x 60"
By Emily K. McBride
$2545

*Available for viewing at Yoga Soup soon

Months of Inventory - Santa Barbara Homes

2011-03-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

Here are the current months of inventory for the Santa Barbara South Coast, (Carpinteria to Goleta), homes only, (not condos).

Months of Inventory, or Market Velocity, is the number of months it would take to sell all the current active listings, at the current pace of sales, assuming no new listings are added. To calculate this, we use the number of properties that entered escrow in the immediate past 30 days. This is a much better indication of buyer confidence today vs. closed sales that reflect buyer activity 2-4 months ago.

As a rule of thumb, 0-3 months of inventory indicate a sellers' market; 3-6 months indicates a "balanced market"; 6-9 months is a buyers' market and 9+ months is indicative of a weak market.

As of a few days ago, there were 479 homes for sale on the South Coast; 84 homes went pending in the immediate past 30 days, giving a market-wide rate of 5.7 months of inventory.

Breakdown by neighborhoods is as follows:

Carpinteria & Summerland: 7 mos of inv.

Montecito: 9.8 mos. of inv.

Santa Barbara: 4 mos. of inv.

Hope Ranch: 11 mos. of inv.

Goleta: 4.3 mos. of inv.

By price range:

$0-1 million: 3.1 mos. of inv.

$1-2 million: 6.8 mos. of inv.

$2-3 million: 8.1 mos. of inv.

$3-4 million: 16 mos. of inv.

$4-8 million: 7.7 mos. of inv.

$8+ million: 20+ mos. of inv.

One can see that the "hottest" segments of the market are the Santa Barbara & Goleta homes under $1 million; and the softest part of our local market is Montecito $8+ million.

New Listing - No Minimum Bid Auction April 21st - Originally Listed at $3,390,000

2011-03-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

Quick Description:

AUCTION | APRIL 21 | No Minimum Bid Required! Open Daily 3/19-4/21 from 1-4pm. This exquisite estate offers a rebuilt 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath home with matching carriage house and 3-car garage, potting shed & guest apartment/office. The home is light-filled with a large chef’s kitchen, vaulted ceilings, and slate roof. Private & serene. 2-acres w/100-yr-old oak & olive trees, seasonal creek, expansive lawns, stonework and panoramic mountain views. The result: Pure perfection.

Overview:
This natural light-filled estate features an open floor plan, complete with a large chef’s kitchen, vaulted ceilings and stunning Chinese multi-colored slate roofs and flooring – it is truly a place where craftsmanship and a heightened attention to detail are most evident with no expense spared. Elegant interior features throughout the home include custom-made Santa Barbara doors; Douglas fir flooring, interior doors and woodwork; custom-made wrought-iron light fixtures; dual-paned windows; and copper gutters and downspouts. The home is also outfitted with a host of modern amenities, including a whole-house water filtration system, a two-zoned forced air unit with air conditioning and circulating hot water. But perhaps the best amenity of all is the view. Snuggle with a good book in the living room’s charming bay seat window; Sip a morning cup of coffee on the spacious porch; or host a dinner party on one of the inviting patios, perfectly poised for entertaining, al fresco dining or just relaxing — all while enjoying the natural ambiance of the breathtaking outdoors and views beyond.

Gathering:
There is no denying that the heart of the home is the living room. Ideal for gathering, the living room is inviting, open and spacious. With floods of natural light pouring through its walls of seemingly endless picture windows, the room was built to showcase the home’s simply spectacular views. Cream-hued walls elegantly stand contrast to rich Douglas fir hardwood flooring and wood beamed Cathedral ceiling.

Entertaining:
Open to the dining room, complete with wood-burning fireplace, the gourmet chef’s kitchen is ideal for entertaining and is outfitted with top-of-the-line amenities that are sure to please even the most discerning of cooks and food enthusiasts alike. A true fusion of beauty and functionality, the kitchen offers plenty of storage space tucked away in its charming, custom-made maple cabinetry. Even the anchor of the room, a 10-foot-long center island with matching granite countertop, provides ample storage options with its glass-encased under cabinets and shelving. High-end finishings include a Wolf range, Subzero refrigerator and freezer, Sharp microwave drawer, Miele dishwasher and Franke sinks. Additional features include a reverse osmosis system to the faucets and ice maker, instant boiling water tap and walk-in pantry.

Rest & Relaxation:
Each of the home’s four bedrooms are luxurious retreats. Incredibly spacious, the master bedroom suite features a large walk-in closet, unrivaled mountain views and full bathroom with his and hers Mahogany vanity and tub surround, Kallista faucets and Water Works tiles. A second bedroom suite also offers plenty of living space and a second entrance, making it ideal for in-laws or an au pair. A walk-in closet, sitting/study area and full bathroom with custom cabinetry complete the room. Two more bedrooms can be found in the home’s guest/children’s wing. They share a bathroom, while each has a separate entrance and is outfitted with custom cabinetry. The home also features a powder and laundry room, complete with built-in ironing board, cabinetry and laundry sink.

Carriage House:

A unique feature of the estate, the matching carriage house makes for an ideal caretaker’s or guest apartment. Beautifully-designed, the house serves as a wonderful addition to the property and features mirroring interior elements of the main residence throughout. Amenities include a spacious upper-level wrap-around deck, perfect for taking in spectacular views, a full bathroom, a finished three-car garage with built-in cabinetry and a potting shed with farmhouse sink and built-in cabinetry.

As seen on the New York Daily News: http://bestplaces.nydailynews.com/voyeur/best-place-week-110-oribaza-rd-santa-barbara-california
In partnership with Concierge Auctions: www.AuctionSantaBarbara.com
110 Orizaba on the Village Properties Official Website: http://www.villagesite.com/properties/detail/mls_id/11-1019
Please call Emily McBride at 805.252.2773 with any questions or for auction materials.

Yahoo Tech Ticker - Warren Buffet is Bullish ... On Housing

2011-03-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

This may be past news to some of you since it was posted about a week ago, but I thought it was worth sharing the thoughts and activities of the Almighty Warren Buffet. I agree that the housing market will recover. We don't know when that will happen, but it will happen eventually. If you haven't read Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports, they are very interesting. Click here.

February end-of-month statistics will be posted soon.

Luxury home sales jump 21% in California - L.A. Times Article

2011-02-21T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting article from the L.A. Times dated February 12, 2011:

Even the rich love a deal.

California homes priced at $1 million or more experienced a sales boom in 2010, the first increase in five years, even as overall home sales in the state declined, a real estate information service reported. The reason: High-end home shoppers went bargain hunting as certain parts of the economy improved but luxury home prices remained depressed.

Last year, 22,529 homes sold statewide for $1 million-plus, a 21% increase from 2009, according to DataQuick Information Systems in San Diego. In contrast, the total number of California homes sold last year dropped 9%.

"Prestige home buyers respond to a different set of motivations than the rest of us. Their decisions are less dependent on jobs, prices and interest rates, and more on how their portfolio is doing," DataQuick President John Walsh said.

"When the financial world was full of uncertainty a couple of years back, and the jumbo-loan market dried up, luxury sales plummeted. As the economy started its top-down recovery, some wealthy buyers went looking for a bargain," he said.

Savvy shoppers trying to time the market swooped in before discounted prices could turn the corner.

"Certainly, we're pretty sure we're at the bottom" for home prices, said economist Christopher Thornberg, principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles.

Even if prices fall further, he said, "if you are borrowing, buying today makes a lot of sense because interest rates are just incredibly low."

Two other reasons for the $1-million-and-up market increase are the return of the jumbo mortgage market in 2010 and a comeback in the stock market, which saw huge losses in 2009, Thornberg said. "A lot of folks who were reeling from equity losses bounced back."

Cash purchases also inched upward among $1-million buyers last year to 29.4% of sales, up from 28.9% in 2009 and the highest for any year since 1994. But even cash purchases can be motivated by low interest rates.

"A lot of cash offers are done on the basis of the person trying to get a leg up and then they turn around and refi," Thornburg said.

Million-dollar-plus sales hit a high of 54,773 in 2005 and then dropped through 2009. Last year's sales increase came despite a winnowing in the category; 3,380 of the homes that sold statewide for less than $1 million had previously sold for $1 million or more, DataQuick analysis shows.

"There are not as many million-dollar homes kicking around as there were during the boom years," Thornberg said.

L.A.-area real estate offices also noticed the uptick in $1-million-plus sales.

"I think last year there were a lot of buyers who said now is the best time to buy," said Jeffrey Hyland, president of Hilton & Hyland, whose Beverly Hills office doubled its dollar volume from 2009. "We noticed it on the high end."

His office, for example, sold seven houses for more than $20 million last year.

"That's a good sign to the market of where we are" that high net-worth buyers are making purchases, Hyland said.

"It's like those people don't read the doom and gloom" news reports, he said.

Plus, the rich do often get richer. "Some people are more wealthy now than they were before," Hyland said.

Most of the high-end sales, 79%, fell between $1 million and $2 million. The median-size home in the million-dollar-plus category was 2,840 square feet, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and the median price paid per square foot was $601, down 0.6% from $605 in 2009. For the overall California housing market, the median price per square foot was $164 in 2010, up 10.1% from $149 in 2009, DataQuick said.

The most expensive confirmed purchase statewide last year, based on public records, was a 35,000-square-foot-plus mansion on 2.2 acres in Bel-Air that sold for $50 million.

But not all mega-deals are subject to the bright light of public curiosity, if buyer and seller employ legal sleight of hand.

"A lot of the sales … may not appear on public records," Hyland said of the most expensive transactions.

So the number of $1-million-plus sales, he said, could be even greater than reported.

lauren.beale@latimes.com

Photo Caption: The 48,000-square-foot Le Belvedere in Bel-Air sold for $50 million to $72 million.

New Listing at 1425-1427 Almond Avenue

2011-02-10T12:09:00.001-08:00

New Listing!
1425-1427 Almond Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Offered at $699,000
Two Craftsman Homes on one lot. Both are 2B/1B homes, with living rooms, kitchens, yard space, and parking. The front house has one extra room. Separately metered for gas and electricity.
Please call Emily at 805.252.2773. Do NOT disturb the tenants.

Sunset at Fernald Point

2011-02-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Gorgeous sunset Friday night at Fernald Point

CAF Entry Form - Santa Barbara Million Dollar Home Raffle

2011-01-31T17:41:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! It's the Santa Barbara 7th Annual Million Dollar Home Raffle!

For every $150 ticket sold through Village Properties, the Teacher's Fund will receive $50 in funds. If you enter the raffle, be sure to use the application below or mark Village Properties on the regular application. If you call for ticket, be sure to mention Village Properties and the Teacher's Fund.

Please sign up for some tickets and tell your friends to do the same. Thank you!

Put on by the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (SBCAF).

Village Properties just came out with a live page ~ Please visit to sign up!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO PRINT IT OUT.

2010 Year End Montecito Real Estate Market Statistics

2011-01-31T14:15:00.000-08:00

Active Listings:
Last Year (2009): 573
This Year (2010): 575
% Change: 0%

New Listings:
Last Year (2009): 394
This Year (2010): 389
% Change: -1%

# Homes Under Contract:
Last Year (2009): 146
This Year (2010): 156
% Change: +6%

# Homes Sold:
Last Year (2009): 143
This Year (2010): 153
% Change: +6%

Sold Volume:
Last Year (2009): $492,534,075
This Year (2010): $540,101,644
% Change: +9%

Average Sales Price:
Last Year (2009): $3,444,294
This Year (2010): $3,530,076
% Change:+2%

The percentage of sale price to list price is remaining the same, hovering between 91-92% of asking price.

2010 Year End Graphs Depicting Santa Barbara's Real Estate Market

2011-01-31T13:36:00.000-08:00

*These graphs show sales through the end of 2010 for all Homes/Estates in Santa Barbara South County (this includes Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Hope Ranch, and Goleta).

Harbor Bird

2011-01-21T13:48:00.000-08:00

Oil/Canvas

Santa Barbara Harbor Bird

By Emily K. McBride

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2011-01-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

For the week of 1/3/11-1/9/11:

54 new listings
63 price changes
17 sales pended (12 under $1M, four $1-2M, one $4-8M) *29% over $1 million
20 closed (19 under $1M, one over $1M at $4,250,000)
24 off market (11 expired, 8 canceled, 5 withdrawn)
17 back on market

More Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Statistics...

2010-12-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some other useful numbers on the Santa Barbara real estate market (comparing 2010 to 2009):

Active listings: up 4.2%.
New listings: up 7.7%
Properties that went into escrow: up 8.2%
Sold properties: up 9.3%
Average sold price: up 6.9%
Sold volume: up 16.9%
Months of inventory remained consistent at approximately 8 to 9 months.

*Homes/Estates (These numbers do not include condos)

Rincon Point Painting

2010-12-30T13:24:00.000-08:00

Rincon Point

8" x 10"

Oil/Canvas

By Emily McBride

Visual Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Statistics

2010-12-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

Here are some very resourceful graphs showing a picture of the Santa Barbara real estate market. These statistics were published through the Santa Barbara MLS on December 3rd.

He/PU=Home or PUD (Planned Unit Development)

CO=condo

All graphs run from the beginning of January through the end of November.

It's clear from these graphs that 2008 was our lowest performing year, we are seeing an uptick in the market, and prices are still low. There should be some good opportunities in 2011.

Bird Refuge

2010-12-04T15:10:00.000-08:00


Montecito Bird Refuge - Oil/Canvas - 24" x 48" - By Emily K. McBride

New Listing - 609 Bath Street

2010-10-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

New Listing!

609 Bath Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

MLS #3683

2B/1B

Built in 1920

Short Sale

Call Emily McBride for an appointment.

New Listing - 705 W. Mission Street

2010-10-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

New Listing!

705 W. Mission Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

MLS #10-3546

3B/2B

2-Car Garage

Lovely Landscaping

Completely Redone

Short Sale

Call Emily McBride for an appointment.

Market Update - Through September 2010

2010-10-31T18:46:00.001-07:00

Market Update (Through the end of September 2010 - Santa Barbara South County Real Estate)

**Statistics come out around the 5^th of each month. October statistics will be out soon.

For the Home/Estate market (not including condos) through the end of September, the amount of sales declined compared to August. September showed 74 sales, and August showed 80 sales. Our median sales price went up, however, rising over $100,000 from $776,000 in August to $879,750 in September. The average sales price also went up substantially, rising from about $1.16 million in August to $1.57 million in September.

Looking by District: (Single family homes)

Carpinteria/Summerland

Sales are up from 52 last year to 55 this year, with the median sales price declining slightly from $687,500 last year to $662,500 this year.

Montecito

Sales are up from 105 in 2009 to 109 in 2010, and the median sales price dropped from $2.57 million last year to $2.41 million this year.

East Side of Santa Barbara

Sales are up almost 20% going from 156 in 2009 to 185 in 2010. The median sales price was $900,000 last year and is currently at $929,000.

West Side of Santa Barbara

Sales are also up over 20% from 114 last year to 142 this year, and the median sales price is up from $730,000 last year to $800,000 this year. It looks like that level of sales and prices should continue on the West Side with pended properties coming in at the same percentage as sales and the median list price on those escrows still hovering right around $800,000.

Hope Ranch

Sales are moving forward from where they were last year. We saw 10 last year, and we have 14 sales this year. The median sales price is also maintaining a lead over last

year when it was $2.175 million. This year those 14 sales have given us a median sales price of $2.675 million and an average sales price of $3.51 million.

Goleta South

There have been 79 sales this year compared to 61 last year, but the median sales price has declined slightly from $700,000 last year to $675,500 this year.

Goleta North

Sales rose from 115 last year to 123 this year, and the median sales price has gone up slightly from $703,000 last year to $710,000 this year.

Comparing September 2010 with its 74 sales and about $880,000 median sales price to

September 2009, we see sales down from the 85 of a year ago, but the median sales price is up from $750,000 last year to $880,000 this year. Essentially for the past 12 months the median sales prices have remained stable from month to month at around $850,000. There have been some peaks and valleys in this time frame, but the overall effect is that the median sales price for the area remains at around $850,000. The decline in the numbers of sales over the past 6 months can be attributed to 3 factors: 1) the end of the 1st Time Buyer Credit, 2) the usual seasonal slowdown and 3) the substantial numbers of foreclosures that we’re still being told are coming from the banks. If and when those foreclosures get released, sales will go up, but the median sales price could see a decline, since foreclosures tend to happen in the lower end of the marketplace, and this will shift the median, which is dependant on the bracket of homes that sell.

For the Condo market in September, sales went up to 23 rising from 22 in the previous month. The median sales price also went up rising from $427,500 in August to $460,000 in September. The average sales price rose from $507,027 to $529,538.

The Sales Price to Original List Price Ratio has remained strong for Condos all year hovering around the mid to low 90th percentile which means that when a property comes on at the right price, it goes out very close to that price. There have been 238 Condo sales through September 2010 compared to 226 at this time last year. The median sales price for 2010 of $437,000 is below the 2009 number of $467,000, but the median list price on the pended properties is $469,000 for both years. I think the disparity in the median sales price and median list price on the pended properties is due to the fact that most of those sub $400,000 condos are gone, so if something is going into escrow it’s higher up in the price range.

Looking at the Districts: (Condos)

Carpinteria/Summerland

The sales are up by about 30% going from 107 to 140. But, the median sales price has declined from $411,500 last year to $385,000 this year.

Montecito

Both sales and prices are up. For 2009 there were only 4 sales compared to 14 this year and the median sales price rose from $697,000 last year to $1,022,500 this year.

East Side of Santa Barbara

There have been 55 sales this year up from 43 last year, but the median sales price is down from $529,500 last year to $475,000 this year.

West Side of Santa Barbara

Sales are up, from 54 to 59 but the median sales price declined slightly from $510,000 last year to $495,000 this year.

Goleta South

Sales dropped by over 40% basically due to a lack of inventory. Last year there were 55 sales and this year there have been 38. The median sales price has also dropped from $453,000 last year to $370,000 this year despite a huge rise in the sales price to original list price ratio, which went up to 97.56%.

Goleta North

Sales have declined, from 38 to 30 for a 23% drop, but unlike Goleta South, the median sales price in the North has gone up from $375,050 to $408,500.

The decline in the numbers of Condo sales is much more pronounced when compared

to the drop in Home sales. Condo buyers would be the ones more substantially affected by the ending of the 1st Time Buyer credit and the numbers we see in this sector more closely resemble the numbers we see in the rest of the country for home sales. Just like with home sales, those three factors of 1st Time Buyer Credit, Seasonal Slowdown and the spectrum of more foreclosures about to be released is affecting whether people are going to buy or not.

Overall Santa Barbara is doing better than most of the rest of the country when you look at the Real Estate market. There is some uncertainty out there, which can make buyers feel timid. The results of the upcoming elections could resolve some of that insecurity, but there are still questions to be answered before we’ll see a big surge in both the number of units sold and a rise in the median sales price combined.

Cabrillo Boulevard - Morning Fog

2010-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cabrillo Blvd in the morning fog - By Emily K. McBride - 24" x 48" - Oil/Canvas

TOMS 'Style Your Sole' Event - - Tomorrow!

2010-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

TOMS shoes has reached the mark of donating 1,000,000 pairs of shoes to those in need. For every pair that is purchased, they give a pair away. To celebrate this feat, stop in at 'Dressed' on Coast Village Road in Montecito tomorrow between 10am-5pm. Local artists such as Hank Pitcher and Michael Drury will be there to hand paint your shoes. I am unable to participate this year as an artist, but I will be on the team next year to paint your shoes and make them uniquely yours! Enjoy!

2010 Tour of Green Homes

2010-09-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sign up for the 2010 Tour of Green Homes benefiting Habitat for Humanity. Showcasing five homes in Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Goleta, as well as the Habitat for Humanity San Pascual affordable housing site, the Tour will demonstrate how environmentally friendly construction methods and materials can be incorporated into any project.

ABOUT THE HOMES:

Montecito Rebuild: Built to be faithful to the footprint of the origninal house built in 1947 by the owner's father, this home achieved a Three Star rating by the Santa Barbara Contractors Association's Built Green Program.

Downtown Historic Victorian: Originally dating back to 1890, a new home has been built to reflect the beauty and design of the original. The property was submitted for Platinum certification with the Green Building Council's LEED for Homes program, with 118 out of a total of 132 possible points, more than any other home project to date.

Goleta Sustainable Garden: The garden of this ranch-style home has been transformed from a typical suburban landscape to a riot of color, sound and life. Meander through the pathways and find surprises to delight: passion fruit vines, fruit trees, and drought-tolerant plantings that give way to mountain vistas.

Mission Canyon Fire Safety Remodel: A lovely home in a wooded setting, this home is an example of what can be achieved with an eye to sustainability and fire resistance.

Hope Ranch Estate Landscape: Overlooking the ocean, the owners of this home recently undertook a green remodel of both the home and added a highly sustainable landscape.

Habitat Affordable Housing Site: Habitat for Humanity of SSBC is building a four unit owner-occupied condominium on San Pascual. The project is being constructed with volunteer labor and donated, recycled and/or purchased materials.

Purchase Tickets Now!

Regular self-guided tour - $25
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Learn how to incorporate green design into your home
See how green building techniques can be affordable
View homes in Montecito, Santa Barbara and Goleta
Tour the Habitat Build Site

VIP guided tour - $125
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Transportation provided in Airbus type comfort
Boxed lunch courtesy of Whole Foods Market
Professional presentations en route
Post-tour private reception

All proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity as we strive to eliminate substandard housing from Santa Barbara.

I hope you'll join us!

Joyce McCullough

Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County

mail@sbhabitat.org

(805) 692-2226

Mark Schniepp Speaks on the Economy

2010-09-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Mark Schniepp was back recently to speak on the economy in Santa Barbara South County. The Santa Barbara Newspress article (dated Sept 17th by Sonia Fernandez) covering the event opened by asking the question that everyone wants answered, "Are we heading into a double dip recession?" Mark Schniepp says we are not.

The outlook was focused mainly on commercial real estate, but Mark also covered the local and national economy, and local residential real estate. According to Mark, the recent drop in the unemployment rate is due to a "hangover" caused by the ending of census jobs and "not indicative of a second recessional dip." He says that jobs will recover and we will see job growth from here on out....just slowly, and that part of the speed of the recovery has to do with people and their behavior. Consumption is a large portion of our GDP and the amount that people are spending is down, due to saving more and changed financial circumstances. (I know I am one of them ... I have been much more conservative about my spending in this market. I see it in my clients too.)

Investors are looking for more certainty when they spend their money, and Mark counted real estate as a more solid investment for people to make & said he believes stocks will continue to put out a lower percent in returns over the next ten years. Real estate prices are expected to rise gradually. Compared to other locations in California, Sonia Fernandez wrote that "the South Coast real estate condition is somewhat protected, given location, constraints on growth, and what Radius Group Commercial Sales Principal Broker Scott Glenn called the "93108 effect" -- that is, Montecito-based investors who are taking advantage of the lower prices and investing cash in local real estate."

In terms of commercial real estate, "Downtown Santa Barbara is still king," according to Scott Glenn. Also, the students in the area are the reason why Isla Vista has the lowest vacancy rate of anywhere in the South Coast. The general vacancy rate for rentals (for the entire South Coast) is still only at 3-4%. This is also due to more people renting instead of buying at the moment.

Dr. Schniepp believes improvement is more likely to be visible by 2012, which is the same summary he gave earlier this year. (Earlier this year, he said 2010 will be better than 2009. 2011 will be better than 2010. And, 2012 will be better than 2011, etc.) He still believes there are some uncertainties out there that could impact consumer confidence and behavior, including the end of Bush-era tax credits, our health care system, and some energy policies that will impact the bottom lines of people and businesses ... but credit is starting to loosen which helps buyers and investors get back in the market. It was essentially the same news we've all been hearing. We are seeing improvement. It's just a gradual shift, and quite honestly, I think a gradual shift is the more sustainable thing we could ask for. It might not be sexy and full of instant gratification, but that's fine with me.

Feel free to share your thoughts!

Open Sky

2010-09-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

Open Sky
Oil/Canvas
48" x 72"
Price Upon Request
By Emily K. McBride

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-09-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

For the week of 9/6/2010-9/12/2010

44 new listings
63 price changes
31 sales pended (22 under $1M, four $1-2M, four $2-4M, one $8M+)
*The number of sales over $1M is 27% for the week
16 closed
31 off market (18 expired, 7 canceled, 6 withdrawn)
3 back on market

Santa Barbara South County Real Estate Sales YTD

2010-09-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to enlarge the graph.

Sandspit

2010-09-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a new photo of an older painting.

Sandspit
Oil/Canvas
36" x 60"
Sold

Price Reduced

2010-09-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

The price has been reduced on this lovely rental listing at 19 Francisco Drive to $3895/month! Please contact Emily at 805.252.2773 for showings. Pets accepted! Peabody School District.

Have Rental Available ~ San Roque Foothills

2010-09-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

Please visit www.19franciscodrive.com to view all photos and more information...

Wonderful home in the San Roque foothills with spectacular views on 1.35 acres. Three-bedrooms, two full baths, living room, family room, large kitchen, and 2-car garage. Two fireplaces. Plenty of storage. Light and bright. Located on a cul-de-sac street. Very quiet and private. Per owner, this is located in the Peabody elementary school district. Priced at $4000/month for a 1-year lease. Pets considered. Please contact Emily McBride at 805.252.2773 or emily@villagesite.com for showings.

Working on a new painting...

2010-09-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

...not quite finished. This is being commissioned by a friend in Chicago who has a burgundy/merlot colored couch. I've got her approval so far... ;0

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-08-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

For the week of 8/23/2010-8/29/2010

37 new listings
70 price changes
28 sales pended (18 under $1M, four $1-2M, four $2-4M, one $4-8M, one $8M+)
*The sale over $8M is 571 Sand Point Road, which is listed at $13.8M
*The number of sales over $1M is 36% for the week
21 closed
29 off market (11 expired, 12 canceled, 6 withdrawn)
13 back on market

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-08-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

For the week of 8/9/2010-8/15/2010

53 new listings
73 price changes
37 sales pended (20 under $1M, nine $1-2M, five $2-4M, three $4-8M) *46% over $1 million
28 closed
25 off market (9 expired, 15 canceled, 1 withdrawn)
19 back on market

Katiet

2010-08-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

Katiet

Oil/Canvas

30" x 40"

Price Upon Request

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-08-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

For the week of 8/2/10-8/8/10:

58 new listings
53 price changes
31 sales pended (19 under $1M, eight $1-2M, four $2-4M) *38.7% over $1 million
27 closed
32 off market (13 expired, 13 canceled, 6 withdrawn)
11 back on market

Have a great week!

Emily's Notes from Mark Schniepp's Economic Forecast

2010-07-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

Below (meaning, two or three blog entries below) you can read the Newspress article dated July 9th, 2010, relating to Mark Schniepp's Economic Outlook that he presented at the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion on July 8th. The Newspress didn't share a great amount of data in their article, but I attended this event and was able to jot down quite a few notes and numbers, so here they are for you. Enjoy!
___________

Mark started by asking, "Why you should feel better about the economy and housing?" and followed up his question by stating: a) The recession is over, and b) Why aren't you convinced? I can't get a job.

(He says that our response mirrors the broader response.)

Mark stated that the recession ended in the first part of last year and that "data shows solid recovery but concerns remain." He always begins on a macro level, speaking to global and national issues, and then dives into data on the State of California and then specifically into Santa Barbara South County. (That's how these notes will be laid out as well.)

Mark stated there are mixed signals for the recovery, including housing. Housing starts are way down. The country lost 8.3M jobs in the recession. This is improving, but latest job creation has not yet mopped up the full size of the loss. Interest rates are the lowest ever, since we've been tracking them (beginning in 1971). The credit markets are the only thing limiting housing. Recovery is underway, although it is losing pop as the second half of 2010 arrives. Mark said that in recent news commentary, the weak reports are overstated. The workweek is lengthening in terms of hours across almost all sectors. which is creating stronger stream of income. There is greater confidence in economy. U.S. economic indicators clearly point to growth. We have surging stock profits and higher prices. Credit is moderating... Most lenders are no longer tightening their loan standards.

We are expected to have 3-4.1% GDP growth this year, but the GDP growth isn't high enough to mop up the unemployment rate. The higher unemployment rates will persist for an extended period, and will also prevent the Fed from raising rates soon. This will evolve the recovery into an expansion, and Mark states this is an important factor for a durable recovery.

California State will lag behind U.S. due to the budget. "It's broken!"
Commercial real estate is still weak. Business/Vacation travel is up. Labor markets are beginning to recover. Trade has risen sharply at world ports. We are seeing lots of exports. The Los Angeles film industry is up 25%. For California, housing sales have been strong since lows were hit 18 months ago. Even prices are rising. They are way off the lows, which were so exaggerated downward & influenced by distressed sales. They are 32% off the trough in California.

Notices of Default (or NOD's) are at the lowest level since 2007. We're seeing distress decline. What about the "shadow inventory"? Foreclosures were expected to rise but they're lower. More lenders are accepting short sales, altering principle, conducting loan modifications, and using other new solutions, as well.

Santa Barbara County:

The labor market is weak and the commercial real estate market is weak. The unemployment rate is improving, but there is not much job creation. We are also seeing more tourism but not enough to correct the jobs we have lost. Office vacancy rates are at about 14%, but Mark stated that this is still not bad compared to other areas. Santa Barbara Bank & Trust will probably survive and this saves 1000 jobs locally. Home sales are sharply higher in Santa Barbara South County.

Santa Barbara South Coast Real Estate (Single Family Residences):

With our number of sales, we are seeing a big improvement since last year.

By area:
Carpinteria +30.81%
Montecito +7.7%
Santa Barbara East +50%
Santa Barbara West +10.3%
Hope Ranch +42.9%
Goleta South +18.6%
Goleta North +12.7%

South Coast Overall +21.9%

The percent of sales over $1M is now at 38%, which is a great number. It was up to 60% at the peak of the market. The overall median price for the area increased 4.6% compared to 2009. The percent of sales under $800,000 is at 42%, and it hasn't been there since 2002 or 2003.

The origin of the buyer being from outside south coast hit the highest level since 2005. We are beginning to see investors enter the market again. We are also seeing more 1st time home buyers...the highest number we have seen since 2004 when we began to conduct surveys on where they buyers are coming from.

Condo sales are also up, and the inventory of condos is down, relative to where it was.

Here is our unsold inventory for homes:

$1M + = 16.3 Months
$750- 1M = 7.5 Months
$500-750 K = 4.3 Months

*You can see that the inventory goes way down as the price brackets go down. We have more inventory in the high end, specifically the $4M+ bracket, than we do in the low end of the market. We have 3.8 months of supply for California inventory.

Our median is currently $855k without Montecito and Hope Ranch. It is $911k if you include those two areas. This is higher than it has been for 12-18 months. Our median price for Montecito is currently $2,994,000, and the median price for condos is $458,000.

We do not have many short sales closing per month in S.B. County. We have roughly 6-8 sales per month. The same is true for REO (or bank-owned) sales. We have about 8-9 per month.
For the month of May, we had 6 foreclosures (1 in Carpinteria, 1 in Goleta, and 4 in Santa Barbara).

Summary

Homes are selling, especially cheap ones. Selling values have stabilized. Unsold inventory is low. There is virtually no new home building. Imbalances are growing. Home distress is down and foreclosures are in decline. A healthy market is waiting to emerge. Conventional recovery Q4 2010. Input observed by Q2 2011. It's coming, just slowly. 2010 is the transition year. Bumpy! It's why you feel the way you do. More convincing signs this quarter. Companies will begin hiring again.
Commercial Real Estate lags (as usual). State government will produce a drag. Interest rates are likely to rise from this point on.

Mark Schniepp, P.h.D.

California Economic Forecast
6489 Calle Real, Suite C, Goleta, CA 93117

mark@californiaforecast.com

Dr. Schniepp is currently Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara. The Company prepares forecasts and economic commentary on the regional economies of California.

Thanks Mark! The next economic outlook will occur in September, and I will provide more data at that point. Feel free to call me at 805.252.2773 or email me at emily@villagesite.com for discussion.

Price Reduced!

2010-07-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

The price of this spacious property has been reduced from $835,000 to $799,000 and is easy to show. Call Emily @ 805.252.2773 for a showing.

Mortgage Update

2010-07-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

Mortgage Update Through the First Half of 2010
By Adam Black of Coast Village Lending, a Division of Prospect Mortgage

While we are still as an industry working our way through the challenges of the “Credit Crunch”, so far 2010 has brought many of positives. First, rates have been at historic lows at a point when most industry analysts were expecting them to go higher. As part of the 2008 Stimulus Act, the Fed was buying mortgage backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the tune of $1.25 trillion.

At the start of 2010 the Fed started to slowdown and ultimately stopped their mortgage backed security purchase program by the end of the 1st Quarter of 2010. Without the Fed buying mortgages from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the unanimous expectation was that their rates at would start to inch up. In fact, the opposite happened and we are now seeing conforming rates at all time lows.

Second, FHA financing continues to provide opportunity for more buyers to get into the market with little money down with loan amounts up to $729,750. Although the upfront mortgage insurance premium (the charge FHA adds to their loans as an insurance against default) increased from 1.75% to 2.25% FHA it is still a great financing option for buyers that otherwise may not have one.

Also, we have seen more use of the FHA 203k renovation loans. These loans allow buyers to finance home improvements into the purchase loan. Now, fixer properties become more of an option to first time buyers as they can use the renovation loan for anything from a new roof to new appliances, kitchen or bath. This loan can also be used by existing homeowners that do not have much equity, but would like get additional funds to improve their home.

Last, Jumbo and Super Jumbo financing is really starting to open up. Over the last few years Jumbo financing has been very difficult to find, and when we did find it, it was very restrictive. In the last six months we have seen the Jumbo loan market start to heat up. There are new products available, more investors offering Jumbo programs and extremely low rates. We now have a broad offering of well priced 5, 7 and 10 year ARM’s as well as competitively priced 30 year fixed loan options.

Written by Adam Black, Senior Loan Officer
Coast Village Lending, a Division of Prospect Mortgage
Adam can be reached at: 805-452-8393

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-07-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

For the week of 7/19/10-7/25/10:

73 new listings
64 price changes
34 sales pended (27 under $1M, six $1-2M, one $4-8M) *20% over $1 million
28 closed
31 off market (12 expired, 16 canceled, 3 withdrawn)
9 back on market

Have a great week!

Recent Newspress Article on the Economic Outlook Presented by Mark Schniepp

2010-07-29T14:22:00.001-07:00

Santa Barbara News-Press
SOUTH COUNTY REAL ESTATE MARKET ON STRONG REBOUND
STEVE SINOVIC, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

July 9, 2010 5:44 AM

South Santa Barbara County's residential real estate market has managed to tread the troubled waters of the economic downturn and is now making a double digit rebound.

That was the message delivered Thursday by economist Mark Schniepp, who gave a decidedly more upbeat mid-year economic update to 200 members of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors at the Cabrillo Arts Center. He said home sales are up 22 percent from the same six-month period (January-June) of a year ago: 428 transactions. The median price, less Hope Ranch and Montecito, was $855,000, up 17 percent from last year's rock-bottom median of $730,000.

Like many other regions in California, "We're doing better than we did last year at this time," said Mr. Schniepp, principal of the California Economic Forecast. "Last year was completely different because many people were concerned about their day-to-day business operations and wondering if they would have a job.

Consumer confidence was very low and people were scared to make large purchases.

According to a survey conducted by Mr. Schniepp's office, about 30 percent of the home and condo sales in the first six months on the South Coast were to investors. "Certainly, some of these are people of means who are coming in to purchase second homes or rentals," observed Mr. Schniepp. "But we've also seen a lot of first-time home buyers taking advantage of lower prices, interest rates and tax credits -- especially for condos in the 400s.

Of the 400-plus transactions, Mr. Schniepp said 38 percent were over $1 million; approximately 42 percent were under $800,000. "We haven't had that many (in this price point territory) since 2002," said Mr. Schniepp.

That's where the market's hot right now.

Statewide, California median home prices are up 32 percent from the trough.

For those who can afford to purchase homes in south Santa Barbara County, Mr. Schniepp calculates about 25 percent of the transactions are cash sales. Those who need to acquire mortgages are finding tighter lending requirements where jobs, good credit scores, down payments and co-signers are part of the equation, even at the lower end.

Mr. Schniepp said potential home buyers now can secure a 4.57 percent interest rate on a 30-year mortgage. "That's a historical low compared to what it was 10 or 20 years ago,” he said.

But all the news he presented wasn't good.

While some may be ready to take the home buying plunge, South Coast residents, including many of the real estate agents present, aren't convinced the recession is entirely over, thanks largely to chronically high unemployment.

"It's not surprising you feel that way, but the recession ended a year ago," declared Mr. Schniepp, who displayed a dozen charts showing growth in key areas of the economy. "Unlike previous recessions, there are just so many fits and starts, especially on the jobs front," said Mr. Schniepp, who said the economy has managed to register three consecutive quarters of growth to its gross domestic product.

"We're seeing consumers spend again, but not in the numbers following earlier downturns. They are just tiptoeing back into stores.”

"The stock market is up 70 percent over the low, but we've seen some weaknesses and corrections lately, thanks in part to the dubious news about the European debt phenomenon that is weighing on (some) investors.

Will that contagion affect us? Mr. Schniepp believes, barring an unforeseen event, that it won't derail the U.S. economic recovery and push us into a double-dip recession.

The dearth of significant job creation is causing all the gloom, especially concerns of how the private sector will absorb 8.3 million Americans who lost their jobs in a brutal two-year period back into the economy. Complicating the recovery are 70 million Gen Yers, the cohort born after 1990, and looking to enter the job market.

"We haven't had this demographic phenomenon" in past downturns, said Mr. Schniepp, adding Santa Barbara labor markets are weak, and he doesn't predict any significant uptick until the end of the year and into 2011.

"The current year is a bumpy one, a transitional one," said Mr. Schniepp, echoing a sentiment from previous presentations. Signs of "a more exuberant expansion" will be felt in 2011 and 2012, when higher employment figures, continuing home sales and increased construction will be significant contributors to economic growth, said Mr. Schniepp.

For more information about Thursday's presentation, contact mark@californiaforecast.com

e-mail: ssinovic@newspress.com

Leo Carrillo Diptych

2010-07-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

Leo Carrillo - Diptych
Oil/Canvas
24" x 48" each panel (48" x 48" total)

Hobsons

2010-07-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

Hobsons - Diptych
Oil/Canvas
10" x 30" (each panel)

(close up)

Have San Roque Rental Available

2010-07-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

This hilltop San Roque rental with breathtaking views is available now for $1175/month. Please call Emily at 805.252.2773 for more information or for a showing. We begin our showings next week.

Cabrillo Boulevard

2010-06-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Cabrillo Blvd
Oil on Canvas
10" x 20"

Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update - Through April 2010

2010-05-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

Statistical Update for our Santa Barbara Real Estate Market (ending April 2010)

During April 2010 for the Home Estate/PUD market, sales were in the mid 80’s with the median sales price remaining steady around $880,000. For contrast in April ’09 there were 68 sales with an $840,000 median sales price. Even with the increased activity in the marketplace, the median sales price is remaining level. One nice number, though, is the average sales price for April 2010 was over $2 million compared to April 2009 when the average sales price was about $1.3 million. This shows a substantial increase in the sales of our higher priced homes.

April 2010 saw 120 new escrows open, which is up from about 100 in March and 62 in February. The median list price on those escrows remained around $890,000. What took a tumble in April was the Sales Price to Original List Price Ratio which again dipped to about 77%. This decline in the ratio is due primarily to higher priced properties that have started to sell but at a significant reduction from their original list price.

The inventory went up substantially in April with more than 200 new listings. The overall inventory rose by more than 100 homes from the month of March. We ended April with about 580 properties available for purchase. The new listings median list price of just over $1 million continues to get closer to the median sold price for the month, which means that sales should continue to surge forward. Also, the median list price on the overall inventory continues to fall and is currently hovering around $1.7 million down from about $1.8 million for most of 2009.

Montecito home sales are approximately 20% ahead of where they were last year, ending the month with 36 sales, but the median sales price is locked at right around $2.4 million for both years. The pending sales are up about 50% from where they were last year with 46 escrows opened this year, but the median list price on those escrows is down from $2.8 million in 2009 to $2.4 million in 2010.

East of State St home sales are about a third ahead of where they were last year with 65 closed escrows, but the median sales price has dropped about $25,000 to approximately $925,000. The average sales price has remained steady at about $1.1 million. Over on the West Side of Santa Barbara home sales are about 10% ahead of where they were last year with 53 purchases so far, and the median sales price has come up about $50,000 to $800,000. The average sales price is remaining steady at around $890,000.

In Hope Ranch, sales are more than double the number of last year with 9 sold properties this year. The median sales price has risen from $2.55 million last year to $3.5 million this year. The average sales price is also up by more than $1.5 million with some big sales in the area and is currently at around $4 million.

The overall median sales price continues to hover at around $860,000 for the area with prices going up in Carpinteria/Summerland, West of State St and Hope Ranch. Montecito and Goleta North prices seem to have stabilized, compared to 2009 with median sales prices falling for East of State and Goleta South.

For condos, the sales in April moved up from March (ending in the low 30s), but the median sales price bounced back up to around $455,000. For most of last year, condo median sales prices have hovered right around $450,000.

The Sales Price to Original List Price Ratio remains at about 90% which is illustrated by the median list price of the new listings coming on at about $490,000 and the median sales price at around $450,000. There were about 50 new listings that come on the market in April, raising the total inventory to approximately 160 condos for sale from Carpinteria to Goleta.

Since the May numbers should be in shortly, I'll be writing with more stats soon.

(Thanks to Gary Woods for his continued support of SBAOR with monthly statistics.)

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-05-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

Beginning the week of 5/17/10-5/23/10:

66 new listings
65 price changes
28 sales pended (22 under $1mm, four $1-2mm, two $2-4mm)
33 closed
24 off market (7 expired, 9 canceled, 8 withdrawn)
17 back on market

Quintessential Isla Vista is Complete

2010-05-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

Quintessential Isla Vista
Oil on Canvas
24" x 48"
By Emily McBride

Commissioned by the UCSB Housing Department for the cover of their Housing Guide

2010 Readers' Choice Award

2010-05-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Village Properties for winning the 2010 Readers' Choice Award. What a great company to be working with!

Congratulations to Reed

2010-05-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my little brother Reed McBride (although he looks a lot bigger than me here) for graduating from Berkeley's Law School at Boalt Hall this week! He graduated in The Order of the Coif, which is an honor society for those who graduate in the top 10% of their class. Yay for Reed! He will be working with Orrick up in Northern California.

Quintessential Isla Vista Begins To Take Shape

2010-05-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

This morning I started the painting above. It's only a start...but "Quintessential Isla Vista" is beginning to have a personality. I'll post the progress next time I work on it.

Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update - End of 1st Quarter 2010

2010-04-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

Santa Barbara Real Estate Market Update - Through March 2010

Covering Santa Barbara, Montecito, Hope Ranch, Carpinteria/Summerland and Goleta for the Home Estate/PUD market, the number of sales rose from February, and the median sales price also came up. The median sales price has risen every month since January when it was $762,000. It hovered just below $800,000 in February, and landed at $890,000 in March. The average sales price remained at about $1,250,000 for February and March, falling from approximately $1.3 million in January. The sales price to original list price ratio also came up in March finishing in the high 80% range, which is excellent compared to about 75% back in January and about 70% in February.

Another big increase we saw in March was the number of escrows being opened. January escrows were in the low 50's, followed by February where we watched pending properties rise to about 65, but March showed that number at over 100. The median list price of those opened escrows was right around $880,000 in March. Inventory stayed about the same, and rose by less than 5% from February (around 550 homes for sale).

For the first 3 months of 2010 compared to the same period for 2009, the number of sales were up by about 20%. The median sales price came down slightly, from $822,500 last year to about $812,500 this year. The average sales price went up this year from $1,185,336 in 2009 to about $1,270,000 this year.

**We are beginning to see the $1-2mm range pick up in activity.

The condo market saw sales begin to rise in March, but the median sales price declined for the month dropping from $457,500 in February to $417,500 in March. The number of condos going into escrow also rose in March, coming up from 25 in February to 40 in March, but the median list price on those condos going into escrow fell from just under $500,000 in February to about $420,000 in March.

Comparing the first quarter of 2009 to the same period in 2010, the number of sales is way up, going from 36 last year to 65 this year (an 80% rise). The median sales price declined from $483,750 last year to $420,000 this year (a 13% drop). The number of escrows has gone way up with 91 this year compared to 62 in 2009 (a 47% rise).

The condo inventory did not come up substantially for the month of March, remaining in the low 140 range from Carpinteria through Goleta. The median list price of the inventory rose from just under $600,000 to about $630,000 during March.

Sales are starting to rise for the condo market as we move into spring, with about 1/3 of those sales in March arriving in the $500,000+ range. A big part of that rise is coming from Montecito, where we have 5 sales this year compared to none last year. The sub $300,000 range is also well represented with the median sales price for Carpinteria/Summerland and Goleta South still falling.

Sales are up for both homes and condos, but the median sales price has declined for both property types. There’s upward pressure for home prices below $1 million. This combined with more activity in the higher priced condos should bring up the median sales price for that category. Increased inventory is still believed to be the key to maintaining momentum, particularly in the $650,000 to $900,000 range for homes, and the $500,000 and under range for condos.

Changes in FHA Lending Guidelines

2010-04-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some excerpts from an article in the L.A. Times dated April 25, 2010:

To better manage risk, increase capital reserves and ensure the long-term viability of the FHA insurance program, the agency has taken several steps that will, as Stevens bluntly put it, require "more skin in the game from borrowers."

Beginning this month, down payment requirements on FHA-insured loans have been increased. Although borrowers with credit scores of 580 or above will still be able to make the traditional 3.5% down payment, those with lower scores will need 10% down.

In addition, the upfront mortgage insurance premium has been raised from 1.75% to 2.25%. The premium can be financed as part of the mortgage.

Finally, the agency is reducing permissible seller concessions from 6% of the loan amount to 3%. This change conforms to industry standards, and means that even if a seller were to agree to, say, pay all of the borrower's closing costs, the borrower could count only that portion equal to up to 3% of the loan amount as if it were his own money.

To read the full article, please visit this link: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-0425-lew-20100425,0,7739757.story?page=1

No More California State Tax On Forgiven Debt

2010-04-28T19:09:00.000-07:00

From C.A.R.'s Realegal ~ April 2010 :

Leading the Way...® in Real Estate Law

Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

NO MORE STATE TAX ON FORGIVEN DEBT

"Qualified principal residence" indebtedness is defined as debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving a principal residence. It includes both first and second trust deeds. It also includes a refinance loan to the extent the funds were used to payoff a previous loan that would have qualified.

The tax breaks apply to debts discharged from 2009 through 2012. Californians who have already filed their 2009 tax returns may claim the exemption by filing a Form 540X amendment.

Taxpayers who do not qualify for the above exemptions (e.g., second home or rental property) may nevertheless be exempt under other provisions. Most notably, taxpayers who are bankrupt are exempt from debt relief income tax. Also, taxpayers who are insolvent are exempt from debt relief income tax to the extent their current liabilities exceed current assets.

For more information about mortgage forgiveness tax consequences, go to California Franchise Tax Board's Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Extended webpage and the Internal Revenue Service's Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation webpage. The full text of Senate Bill 401 is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.

*As always, be sure to contact your CPA or Financial Planner for tax advice.

Santa Barbara Harbor

2010-04-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Santa Barbara Harbor
Oil on Canvas
24" x 36"
By Emily McBride

Painting The Cover - UCSB Housing Guide

2010-04-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

UCSB's Housing Department has requested that I paint the cover for their next Housing Guide, and I'm absolutely honored! I couldn't exactly remember the last time I was out in Isla Vista... I think I took some clients out there to look at residential income properties they wanted to purchase quite awhile ago, and I remember feeling very old...the same way I felt today! I made a trip out there at the end of the day to take some photos for material to paint. Isla Vista had that same gloomy sky hanging over it (of course the rest of Santa Barbara was bright and sunny) and the familiar Isla Vista signature scent. I decided long ago that it's a mixture of the ocean, tar, beer, and urine. That's what you get with 25,000 (+/-) students living in a square mile right on the ocean! Luckily I didn't fall off the cliff taking the photos. I took quite a few, and it brought back a lot of memories. Right now I'm leaning toward painting one of, or a combination of, the photos above, and I'm thinking of doing a Facebook vote with my fellow UCSB alumni to see which photos they like. I'll post the final results soon - the waves will get bigger and the sky will magically turn blue - Bagel Cafe anyone??

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-03-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Beginning the week of 3/15/10-3/21/10:

56 new listings
38 price changes
31 sales pended (25 under $1mm, three $1-2mm, two $2-4mm, one $4-8mm)
19 closed
15 off market (8 expired, 6 canceled, 1 withdrawn)*
9 back on market

*This is the lowest number since November, which is a good sign. "Off Market" homes have failed the marketing test, so it's good to have this as a low number.

March Newsletter Link

2010-03-17T13:18:00.000-07:00

Click on the title of this blog entry to view my March newsletter.

Malcolm Gladwell on 'Miscalibration'

2010-03-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

Miscalibration? What does that mean? It's not in the dictionary.

Last Wednesday Malcolm Gladwell spoke at the Arlington Theater here in Santa Barbara, and he coined this term. I sat down in my seat and expected him to speak on The Tipping Point or Outliers, but it was a both a nice surprise that Malcolm had a different subject in mind and that he was such a powerful speaker.

He shared the story wrapped up with the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863 and how it relates to what has just happened with this financial crisis. He asked, "What should we have learned?" Typically when a catastrophe occurs, we seek to learn from it. If it is a car accident, you would ask, "Was there alcohol involved?" and other leading questions. We like to make sense of things. We have just and still are experiencing a catastrophe caused by smart, savvy, experienced people. Have we really extracted what caused this whole thing? These people who caused the financial crisis were not drunk. They were clear-headed and brilliant. So what happens when experts screw up? Malcolm discussed how we hate incompetence, and we do what we can to get rid of it. But, incompetent people tend to have trivial jobs and therefore make trivial mistakes. With the failure of experts, the impacts can be massive.

The Battle of Chancellorsville was at the midpoint of the Civil War, and the outcome of the war was in doubt. Robert E. Lee was known for being an "extraordinary military tactician" and was no small opponent. Lincoln hand picked the "blue of eye" and "square of jaw" Fighting Joe Hooker to lead the Yankees against the Rebels and Robert E. Lee, as Malcolm put it. (He jokes he can get away with saying this because he's Canadian.) Fighting Joe Hooker studied Lee diligently. He had twice as many men as Lee, twice the guns and ammunition, he had Lee surrounded, and Lee was 56 years old (which was relatively old back then) and in poor health. He had just about 'perfect' information about his opponent, and this caused him to become over-confident. Hooker ultimately lost the battle and did not change his course despite new information as it arrived. Despite clear advantages, the perfect battle plan, and perfect information, he lost the battle.

Malcolm discussed another example of child psychiatrists diagnosing cases. At first, they were given 25 questions with short answers. As they were given more information (and eventually entire files on these children), the new information did not make them more correct in their diagnosis, but more information did make them more confident that they were correct. They didn't get any better at diagnosing, but they thought they were better at it.

Malcolm said that that over-confidence is the "disease of knowing too much" while incompetence is "the absence of knowledge." Again, the "disease of the idiot verses the disease of the expert" is that the first disease is common. In Malcolm's words, "Idiots screw up all the time but at a low level," whereas the thought of expert failure terrifies us, because these authorities, experts, or people in high positions can really impact our lives if they make a mistake.

In the case of Wall Street, these people who failed thought they were equipped with new tools that led them to believe they had "perfect information about the marketplace" and they could predict exact levels of risk. Malcolm's position is that "perfect information always creates miscalibration" and his stance is that we also need humility from our experts. We need to be confident enough to be good, yet not so arrogant in that confidence to stop learning or wind up going through anything like this again.

I appreciate his perspective, and that's Malcolm in a nutshell...opening our minds to new thoughts and ways of looking at the world. Thanks to Malcolm Gladwell for visiting Santa Barbara!

February 2010 Economic Forecast (long summary)

2010-03-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

Piggybacking on my blog entry "February 2010 Economic Forecast (short summary)," here is the longer version, since I mentioned I would write a longer version for those of you who love details.

The speakers at the Forecast were:

Karen Bailey Shiffman, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust
Randy Glick, Prudential
Robert Kleinhenz, Deputy Chief Economist of C.A.R.

Karen Bailey discussed the department she is involved with at SBBT, which handles foreclosures and short sales. She stated that there were 355 foreclosures on the Santa Barbara South Coast in 2009, which represents 25% of the foreclosures for Santa Barbara County. Most of the foreclosures are occurring in the North County of Santa Barbara. From 2008 to 2009, short sales had increased by 167% for homes and 140% for condos. Short sales and foreclosures accounted for 13% of our market in 2008, 22% in 2009, and are expected to be about 15% of our sales in 2010.

Randy Glick stated on behalf of Realtors, "It's nice to be needed." I believe he made this statement because it takes quite a bit of expertise and understanding to make sense of what is happening in this market, and it is taking much more work and knowledge to get homes sold in these times. If you are speaking about a $500,000 condo verses a $4 million estate, you are dealing with completely different stories on the market. Randy also said that "clients need true professionals," and I do agree with him. He discussed real estate malpractice and agents being afraid to tell their clients the truth, which damages them in the end and is not a good business practice.

From Randy's numbers for Santa Barbara South County, we saw an 18% median price drop for single family homes in 2008, and another 18% median price drop in 2009. That's about a 35% drop in the last two years, although this isn't true for all homes. These numbers "look bleaker than they should," as Randy put it, and he says, "We are not so bad!" Inventory has dropped every year since 2006. From 2008 to 2009, we saw a 2% drop in our inventory. We are not doubling and tripling our inventory, which is a great sign. Our low for last year was December when we had 428 homes for sale, and the high was in July when we had 639 homes for sale. That really is not a lot to choose from! Randy also stated that he feels we are back to 2003 numbers. (For more on the predictions for 2010, please refer to the commentary and statements in the short summary I wrote below dated February 25, 2010.)

From Robert Kleinhenz, he first took a look at the overall economy. In 2009, referring to our GDP, he said we saw "the largest annual drop since 1938 of -3.4%." He discussed how we had very few social safety net programs back then, such as unemployment benefits. On the $787 billion stimulus package, he said that "less than one-third has been spent," and he went on to show us those dollars still left to enter the economy. (Out of $288 billion for tax benefits, $92.8 billion has been spent. Out of $275 billion for contracts, grants, and loans, $73.2 billion has been spent, and out of $244 billion for entitlements, $102.8 billion has been spent.)

The California unemployment rate is above 12%, at its highest since 1940, and our number is higher than the rest of the U.S. As of December 2009, the Capacity Utilization Rate (this tells you how much capacity of the economy is being used) of our economy is at 72%, and 83-85% is considered full capacity, so we have a lot of room for growth. He stated that "with this much slack in the economy, the threat of inflation is low" and that he believes it will be "two to three years before we need to worry about [inflation]." Robert also said that "Bernake thinks we're still fragile and he thinks it's too soon to raise rates." Mr. Kleinhenz believes we may see a 0.5% increase this year in interest rates, but that March 31st is a "wild card" with the Federal Reserve Bank being scheduled to end it buying of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae securities. He said that "Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have capital limits, and in 2009, they didn't come close to their limits, so they have the capacity to make these loans."

Robert also said that the "consumer sector is still making a transition" and that this sector has less access to credit, but he believes the "worst is behind us, as far as the economy is concerned" and that we will see mixed signals for the next 6-12 months and a below par GDP for 2010.

When he spoke about the housing market for California, he said that we have been above the mid-500,000 levels in terms of the number of sales since mid-2008 and that these were the average levels before the real estate boom. California returned one year ahead of the nation for the number of sales, and a large number of these sales were distressed properties. The California median price went down 59% from its peak of $594,530 in May of 2007 to $245,170 in February of 2009. February of 2009 has been named as the bottom of the California market, and now the median price has pushed up 17% since the bottom. The U.S. median price is up 6% and California has outpaced the nation.

He said "It's a relief to have a trough to refer to now," and that this is true for most regions of California & that most regions hit their trough in the first half of 2009. Inventories have dropped dramatically, and inventory was low this past year, but prices were still falling. Robert said this is due to the shadow market. A number of properties were purchased on the sidelines and on the courthouse steps. He stated that California has about four months of inventory across the board, and "inventory under six months typically correlates to price gains." He believes the "idea of a double dip is a possibility but remote due to this concept." He also believes we will see more sales in the first half of this year than the second half, due to government help. For the California market over $1 million, California had 26.9 months of inventory last year, and this year it is down to 14.8 months, so even the higher end price brackets are seeing an improvement in the market.

When Robert discussed real estate finance, he shared that "Notices of Default maxed out in the first quarter of 2009 and have dropped each quarter since then." He also shared that trustee deeds have leveled out and lenders are working things out. Cancellations are rising with foreclosures, and this is a good sign. Bank owned sales have slowed down. One interesting thing he shared was that 84.6% of all sub-prime loans had already reset by the end of 2009, and 46.9% of all Alt-A loans had reset by that same time. 7.4% of the Alt-A loans will reset in the next 12-23 months, and another 40.4% in the couple years after that. We expect to see 2.4% of sub-prime loans reset in the next 1-2 years, and another 5% left to shake out beyond the next 24 months. This means we have seen most of the bad loans already shake out, and he said this is "becoming a smaller and smaller part of the story." Before, we were seeing 6/10 sales that were distressed, and now it's more like 3-4 out of 10 sales.

All in all, Robert Kleinhenz expects to see single digit median price gains for California this year. His advice to buyers was to find the right home at the right price, get the lowest interest rate possible, to be educated, and to use the tax credits. He also mentioned that Santa Barbara now has a 50% rate of affordability for first time home buyers, so now is a good time to make a move.

More information from the Forecast is available at www.car.org and at www.sbaor.com.

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-03-03T16:24:00.000-08:00

Beginning the week of 2/22/10-2/28/10:

67 new listings
30 price changes
32 sales pended (22 under $1mm, seven $1-2mm, one $2-4mm, two $8mm+)
28 closed
29 off market (21 expired, 5 canceled, 3 withdrawn)
7 back on market

*We are beginning to see more sales particularly in the $1-2mm range, and more movement is happening in the higher price ranges as well.

Update: Months of Inventory (broken down by price range and district)

2010-03-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick little update on the months of inventory for the Santa Barbara South County Real Estate market.

Carpinteria through Goleta (Homes & PUDs only, not including Condos):

Our total market has 610 active listings (not in escrow) right now, and this is trending up. In addition, we had 78 homes go "pending" in the last 30 days. This is also trending up. I think this trending up is normal, as we enter the spring and summer. This is the time when more sellers put their homes on the market and more buyers tend to be out looking. We currently have 8 months of inventory, which is steady.

Months of Inventory, broken down by price range:
$0-1mm: 4 months (steady)
$1-2mm: 7 months (this is down sharply & a great improvement)
$2-4mm: 22 months (steady)
$4-8mm: 48+ months (trending up - i.e. further weakening)
$8+ mm: 48+ months (trending up and further weakening here as well)

Months of Inventory, broken down by district:
Carpinteria/Summerland: 20 months (trending up - further weakening)
Montecito: 19 months (steady)
Santa Barbara: 5 months (steady & showing improvement)
Goleta: 5 months (steady)
*Hope Ranch: 5 months (trending down - good improvement)

*There are very few sales in Hope Ranch, and since the numbers are small, the months of inventory tends to fluctuate more than the other districts. One thing to note about Hope Ranch is that the 4 pending sales in the past 30 days have all been under $2 million. Some agents believe Hope Ranch has found its bottom.

Condos:

We have a total of 148 active listings, and this is trending up. We have seen 30 pendings in the last 30 days, so the number of sales has gone up sharply, and this is a good sign. The months of inventory is at 5 months, which is trending down and also a good sign.

February Newsletter Link

2010-02-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

Click on the link above to view the February newsletter.

January Newsletter Link

2010-02-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

Click on the headline above to view the January newsletter.

February 2010 Economic Forecast (short summary)

2010-02-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended the Real Estate & Economic Forecast at Fess Parker's Doubletree Hotel. Here's my short version, and soon I will provide a longer version for those of you who love details.

To quote Deputy Chief Economist of C.A.R., Mr. Robert Kleinhenz, he says that "Things are getting less worse." (And he told us to forgive his grammar.)

In 2009, we sold $1.2 billion ($1,171,024,679 to be exact) in home sales, and we sold another $175 million in condo sales. Our market is still moving. 2010 is being called a "transition year" with the economy giving mixed signals for the next 6-12 months, but the numbers show that the worst is behind us (February 2009 was the trough, based on the numbers), and the economists are relieved to now have a benchmark to look back and refer to. Dr. Mark Schniepp said to Randy Glick that although the popular opinion is that we are bracing for another shoe to drop, he believes the recession is over. He says there will be no double dip, we are stable, high end lending will thaw, the economy will heal on its own, the job market will improve, our number of homes sold will go up, and and we will see a 5-7% increase in the median sales price in 2010 in Santa Barbara. His quote was, "Be patient. It's still raining but the biggest storm has passed." And to quote Randy Glick, "We wake up in a beautiful city. A study came out that showed Santa Barbara was the 5th best city in the United States in which to live, and the study is flawed...because we live in paradise." (I agree with Randy.)

To give my two cents on this, our Santa Barbara real estate market under $1mm is getting tighter. The high end homes still may see further price adjustments, and I will back up the statements above soon when I write more thoroughly on the data provided yesterday.

New Painting ~ Indonesian Village

2010-02-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

Indonesian Village by Emily McBride, Oil on Canvas, 36" x 60"
(This canvas is very large so I am including a few photos of the painting closer up to give a better sense of the colors and detail.)

Fitness 805 (Event)

2010-02-25T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here's an invitation from our friends at Fitness 805:

Come join us for an afternoon of heart healthy fun as Fitness 805 hosts our first fitness fair! Are you interested in a great foot and hand massage? Come in and check out our incredible reflexologist! Would you enjoy a vacation destination cruise that specializes in heath and fitness? If so, talk to our health cruise and spa retreat specialist! Or, how about purchasing some equipment for your home workout area? We will have one of our top equipment representatives to assist you in what to buy to fulfill your goals. Enjoy healthy appetizers prepared by Fitness 805’s personal chef and participate in (4) different presentations of fitness, including hula hoop, balance and core training, yoga and corrective exercising. Not only will you learn about the many different in-home health services offered to you through this great local company, but you will also get a short workout and focus on your health as your #1 asset! There is something for everyone at this fair. And best of all, enter our raffle to win $500.00 worth of services provided by Fitness 805! What a great way to kick start your new, healthy you!

Event Details:
524 Chapala Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Friday, March 12, 2010

Noon to 1:30 pm

Admission is FREE!

For more details please go to www.Fitness805.com

Shows Her Face...

2010-02-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine said to me today that this painting looks like a face...with the lip of the wave being the front of the face and the actual face of the wave looking like hair. Do you see it? Anyway, I thought that was great. Just finished this painting earlier this week:

What Clients Are Saying...

2010-02-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my client Jessica for saying such nice things on LinkedIn today!

---

"Emily is very talented and trustworthy. Emily supported me with my first home purchase. I appreciated her detailed explanations and her attention to detail. Emily was very in tune with my needs and always made herself available to any questions or concerns that I brought to her. She is patient, warm, and extremely professional. I highly recommend Emily for any real estate related resources." February 18, 2010

Top qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity

Jessica Solomon hired Emily in 2009.

Jessica's new view:

2009 Sales By Price

2010-02-08T15:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a very useful chart showing the 2009 Santa Barbara real estate sales by their price range. As you can see, the properties priced under $1,000,000 were the hottest segment of our local market. We will keep an eye on this trend as we progress into 2010...

From Fear to Action

2010-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

This article was written by a Village Properties agent for Santa Barbara Newspress and CASA. I have covered a lot of this information already on my blog, but this article includes some great charts, and good information never hurt anyone!

2009 Year-End Real Estate Statistics
From Fear to Action!

Happy New Year! We begin 2010 with some encouraging trends in place in certain
segments of the local real estate market.

First, a little retrospective. The year 2009 began with heightened uncertainty:
approximately four years of softening real estate values were followed by a near
meltdown in the banking and financial industries in the latter part of 2008. Subsequently, the availability of credit became even more restricted; there was little to toast in the early months of last year. For the month of January 2009 there were only 63 real estate transfers on the South Coast (all closings including homes, condos, land and commercial properties). It was the weakest January for at least six years.

But, as they say, “that was then.” We closed 2009 with the second strongest number of
December closings, 161, for any December since 2004. Also, the total number of closings
for all of 2009, at 1433, beat 2008’s total of 1365.

What happened during this transitional year of 2009? Confidence returned to investing in Santa Barbara South Coast real estate, primarily in entry level homes and condos.
Historically, the reestablishment of a strong low-end market forms the foundation for a
future market-wide recovery. We begin 2010 with only two months of inventory for
properties priced at $800,000 and below -- firmly in sellers’ market territory. (As a rough gauge, under three months of inventory would indicated a sellers’ market; three to six months, a balanced market; six to nine months a buyers’ market and over nine months a very soft market.)

Buyers who decided to step into the market this past year quickly found they were not
alone and were often unsettled to find themselves in multiple-offer situations. Many well-qualified buyers who went through the painstakingly detailed process of getting “pre-approved” with a lender found themselves usurped by one of the high number of cash
buyers waiting in the wings for the right property. Savvy investors, who have “bought
low and sold high” across many real estate cycles are now buying in large numbers.

A large number of first-time buyers remain anxious to buy as we begin 2010. Attractive
prices, coinciding with historically low interest rates has increased the affordability ratio dramatically. According to Tim Taylor of Prospect Mortgage, interest rates remain in the high 4% to low 5% range for loans under $729,750 and indications are that the Fed will not move to raise rates through at least the end of 2nd quarter of 2010.

The government sponsored income-tax credits further fueled this solid recovery in the
low end, for which 2009 will be known. According to estimates from the National
Association of Realtors, 4.4 million Americans will look to take advantage of the home-
buyer tax credit before it expires on April 30, 2010, (a bona fide contract negotiated prior to April 30, 2010 would need to close escrow before June 30, 2010 to qualify).

For all this encouraging activity in the under one million dollar price range, the statistics show a distinct “tale of two markets.” As one compares the various market segments by price range … under one million dollars; one to two million; two to four million, and on up … as the prices increase, the pace of sales slows significantly. The high-end market remains very soft -- soft, but not dead. There were two closings in the beachfront community of Padaro Lane in December, one for $17,500,000 and another for $25,500,000. Additionally, a spacious and deluxe downtown penthouse condominium closed in December for an astounding $4,175,000. However, there are currently 42 properties for sale on the South Coast over $8 million in the MLS, giving us a sluggish 20+ months of inventory for that market segment.

Chart 1 clearly demonstrates this dichotomy in our market. Goleta, with a predominance
of entry-level housing has only 4.4 months of inventory, whereas Montecito has 24
months of inventory. (Months of inventory, or “market velocity,” is the number of
months it would take to sell all available listings in any one market segment, at the
current pace of sales – assuming no new listings). The average for the entire market, for homes and PUDs, is 8.6 months of inventory – reflecting an “active” buyers’ market.
Condos are selling steadily and we have 7.5 months of inventory in that particular
market.

The good news for sellers in the $1 million+ price range, as compared to one and two
years ago, is that there are buyers, (again, many with cash), now ready to submit a bid
when the right property comes along. Many have been watching and waiting for up to
three years; they now feel that asking prices have adjusted enough to reflect value.
Buyers are cautious, but nonetheless excited to find their “deal.” The fear that gripped buyers 12 and 24 months ago of “catching a falling knife” has all but gone.

So, how can a seller, in the upper price ranges, attract the buyer, who has, say, 16 homes to choose from? Pricing in all market segments, of course, is key .. the perception of “overpricing” will mean fewer showings and most probably no offers. Homes that are listed “too high” will see the weeks turn into months with little or no activity. A price reduction will then be tried, but nothing can recapture that all important “15 minutes of fame” as a new listing. Sellers would be well advised, when considering a price “range” for their home ($2.2 to 2.5 million, for example) to select a list price toward the lower end of the established “range.” In this market, “trying” a list price for the first several weeks of marketing a home will most likely be counter-productive for a seller.

Secondly, sellers should, where possible, complete unfinished repair projects or minor property upgrades; buyers are seeking out well-presented homes in good to excellent condition; “fixer properties” are only selling at heavily discounted levels.

From a national standpoint, there is enough competing data on the US economy to keep a debate team at Harvard busy for months. The impact of ongoing widespread unemployment will continue to be the driving force behind high foreclosure numbers in 2010: according to research conducted by Prospect Mortgage, nearly 307,000
households, or one in every 417 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in
November 2009. The Santa Barbara area has its share of distress sales … bank-owned
properties as well as short sales, (where the lender agrees to take less than is owed on a mortgage). However, these distressed properties are selling well and are being absorbed steadily across all market segments.

As the saying goes … “all real estate is local”. Our climate, vibrant community and pure beauty of the Santa Barbara environment is no secret to the tens of thousands of people across the US, and indeed from other countries, who have dreamed of moving to Santa Barbara “someday.” Someday has now come for many, as they find they can now afford to buy a home here. With the South Coast median price for homes and PUDs, currently at $849,700, which is down almost 18% over 2008, the word is out that “value and opportunity” is alive and well here in our real estate market.

Historically speaking, here on the South Coast, across all real estate cycles, slowed demand has created pent-up demand. The valve is now open and demand is flowing … gushing in the low-end and trickling in the high-end … but it is flowing.

Chart 2 demonstrates well the steady strengthening of the South Coast market. Looking
at the “5 year average solds” you will notice how the trend follows the accepted seasonal flow of “more sales in summer vs. fewer sales in winter.” The trend for 2009, however, sets a new course of steadily increasing sales, ending the year with December’s sales being only slightly below the highest month of June 2009. The dip in “sales pending” for the year-end, may be the result of first time buyer activity that peaked the month before as the tax credit was due to expire. With the extension of that credit deadline, even more buyers will have the time to take advantage of the opportunity to purchase in Santa Barbara.

We look forward to another strong year in real estate activity … activity solidifies values. Whether you are a buyer or a seller there are advantages in today’s market for you. Have a healthy and prosperous 2010.

Today's Santa Barbara Skinny from LoveMikana.com

2010-02-01T11:02:00.001-08:00

Written by http://www.lovemikana.com:

Making Waves in Eden
Monday, February 1, 2010

We all know that living in Santa Barbara means that a veritable paradise is just outside our door. And if you visit Eden this Thursday evening, life inside your home can be paradise, too. Local artist, Emily McBride, will show her spectacular oil paintings at Eden home and gift boutique from 5pm - 8pm, for February's First Thursday event. Complementing the unbelievably chic home and gift items already offered at Eden, McBride's works feature gorgeous ocean scenes and landscapes from picturesque places she's been, including Indonesia, France, Fiji, Tahiti ... and some from Santa Barbara.

Visit Eden on Thursday. Temptations are waiting.

February 4, 2010 "1st Thursday"

2010-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

Come spend some time in downtown Santa Barbara this THURSDAY February 4th from 5-8 p.m. Many locations are hosting "1st Thursday" and this is a FREE event. While you're out, come enjoy some live music, refreshments, and say hello to me at Eden (17 W. Ortega Street by Wildcat Lounge). See map below, and grab a "February Passport" at any of the participating locations.

Weekly Snapshot Statistics - Santa Barbara Real Estate Market

2010-01-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

Beginning the week of 1/4/10-1/10/10:

53 new listings
38 price changes
17 sales pended (11 of these were under $1mm, six $1-2mm)
29 closed
37 off market (15 expired, 12 canceled, 6 withdrawn)
23 back on market

*The percentage of sales over $1mm is 35%, the highest number we have seen lately!

Beginning the week of 12/28/09-1/3/10:

16 new listings
8 price changes
19 sales pended (15 of these were under $1mm, two $1-2M, two $2-4mm)
25 closed
98 off market (90 expired - this is due to the end of the year, 5 canceled, 3 withdrawn)

2009 Year End Statistical Review

2010-01-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

Santa Barbara Real Estate (2009 compared to 2008) for Santa Barbara South County
[Montecito, Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria and Summerland]

For the Santa Barbara area, single family residence sales trailed 2008 for most of the year until the end of October, when sales moved ahead of 2008 by about 7% to finish the year with around 830 sales. Condo sales started the year way behind 2008 but then surged forward, and finished the year about 16% ahead of 2008.

The median sales price was a different story. Single family residences went from a median sales price of $1,050,000 in 2008 down to $850,000 in 2009. When you remove Montecito and Hope Ranch from the equation, the median sales price for 2009 was $750,000 for the year down from about $870,000 in 2008. This drop in the median sales price for the whole area means that from 2007 to 2008 single family residence median sales prices fell 12.5% and from 2008 to 2009 prices fell 19%. This totals a decline of 30% in the past two years in the median sales price for homes.

Condo sales prices were not affected quite as much as Single Family residence prices in 2009. They went from a $535,000 median in 2008 down to a $465,000 median for 2009. This translates into a 13% decline for the year. In 2007 the median sales price for condos was about $630,000 which means from 2007 to 2008, there was a decline of 15% and from 2007 to 2009 there was a drop of roughly 26% in the median sales price.

This decline in the median sales price for both single family residences and condos puts it right around the median sales price for 2003, which is comparable to the rest of the country having declined at the same rate in most of the United States. In 2003 the country, and the world, was awash in money for home loans. It was at that time that financial brokerages (along with Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac) began packaging loans and selling them to investors in derivatives and colateralized debt obligations. The effect of these packages combined with looser underwriting standards for loans spurred a 20% rise in the median sales price from 2003 to 2004, and then a 25% rise from 2004 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007 the median sales price remained stable at around $1.2 million locally, and then in 2008 those loans began to unravel, causing the decline in the median sales price almost everywhere from 2007 to 2008 and a further decline on into 2009 ending with the 30% decline in the median sales price for most of the country.

For about the last six months of 2009, prices began to stabilize, and there has been some upward pressure on prices, particularly in the condo market. There are three main factors in causing the upward price pressure. First, there is a general decline in the number of properties available for purchase in the sub-million dollar range. Second, we have the $729,000 maximum FHA loan limit (which is evidenced by the $850,000 median sales price, showing this has become the hot price range), and third is the first time buyer’s income tax credit which has brought a lot of people into the marketplace.

If things remain as they are right now, and things are always uncertain, it looks like sales will continue to increase and will eventually cause prices to rise. This is evidenced by the significant numbers of properties that have entered and remain in escrow at this time. But, there are a couple of elements which are still lurking. First, there is a considerable number of what are called pre-foreclosure properties. The owners of these properties have either fallen behind in their payments or have stopped paying their mortgages altogether. Also, there are a lot of variable rate mortgages which are going to re-set in 2010 with a number of these loans in the million dollar plus range. Whether these pre-foreclosure properties turn into foreclosures and whether it’s a flood or trickle will have a great significance on the marketplace.

The second element that will affect prices is interest rates. At this point interest rates remain close to an all time low, which has allowed Real Estate sales to continue moving forward. Rates are expected to remain level for 2010, but with the government continuing to run up huge deficits, it is only a matter of time before interest rates go up. When interest rates go up we will have a whole different landscape to deal with. People’s ability to qualify for higher loans will be diminished if rates increase, which should cause prices to decline further, and could mean a decline in the numbers of sales.

Two of the most important numbers that determine where the market is going is the number of sales compared to the number of properties that went into escrow. When the number of properties going into escrow is higher than the number of sales, the market is picking up. Conversely if there are fewer homes going into escrow than are sold, the market is slowing.

For 2009 the number of single family home escrows opened was about 120 above the number of sales. For condos the opened escrows were almost 100 over the number of sales. Both of these numbers are significantly ahead of the numbers posted in 2008, which means there is a lot more activity in the marketplace in 2009 compared to the previous year. This shows there is still a great deal of vitality in residential real estate.

A lot of this increase in activity we experienced is the increase in the number of what are called “short sales.” This is a situation in which the seller owes more on the property than the property is worth. A “short sale” generally takes longer because the lending institution or investor can take a great deal of time in deciding whether to accept the reduced price as full compensation for the debt. This is one of the big reasons that there were so many properties remaining in escrow at the end of the year.

Going into 2010, there’s still a lot of strength in the Real Estate market. Sales continue to grow, and there are a substantial number of properties that entered escrow in 2009, most of which will sooner or later become completed sales. The number of homes available for sale has continued to decline, but some of this is seasonal with some sellers taking their properties off the market during the holidays. The number of homes for sale will grow as we move into the year and listings begin to pick up at the end of February. There are still a lot of short sales and bank owned properties on the market. Somewhere between 15% and 20% of the available single family residences and condos are either short sales or foreclosures, what are called REOs (Real Estate Owned) that make up the available properties for sale in the area. Until these properties are gone, prices will remain roughly where they are right now with some upward pressure.

---Statistics from the Santa Barbara MLS

Organic Living ~ Santa Barbara

2010-01-10T15:43:00.000-08:00

Organic Living Santa Barbara is a new company in town that offers fresh, organic, healthy lunches to your door. From $9-11/day, you get organic food from local farmers based on your nurtitional profile. I am going to try them out....you should too!

Contact them:
Email: info@organiclivingsb.com
Phone: (805) 252 8217
Address: Organic Living, PO Box 61414, Santa Barbara, CA 93160

Link to December Newsletter

2010-01-10T15:41:00.001-08:00

You can view my December Newsletter by clicking on the headline above. Email me at emily@villagesite.com if you want to join my mailing list!

New Listing: 2309 Vista Madera, Santa Barbara

2009-11-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

Spacious and private townhome that feels like a house with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (ground floor master), attached 2 car garage and large fenced backyard with spa and fruit trees (including Mexican lime, Blood & Valencia orange, and tangerine).

Many upgrades, updated kitchen and baths, convenient location on a quiet and private street.

Very low maintenance.
Association dues are currently $275/month.

Please call Emily McBride at 805.252.2773 for a showing.

Proudly offered at $835,000.

Information on the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit

2009-11-11T23:07:00.001-08:00

Here is some important information from Mortgage Market Guide's Weekly report regarding the extension of the home buyer tax credit. Your local and national Realtors have been pushing to extend this tax credit, including myself, and we are very happy that this extension has been granted. The data has shown that this has really helped home buyers to get into the market, and I have seen this impact my own clients.

Tax Credit for First-Time Homebuyers

FTHBs (that is, people who have not owned a home within the last three years) may be eligible for the tax credit. The credit for FTHBs is 10% of the purchase price of the home, with a maximum available credit of $8,000.

Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

Tax Credit for Current Homeowners

The tax credit program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.

Single taxpayers and married couples filing a joint return may qualify for the full tax credit amount.

What are the New Deadlines?

In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010. Those in the military do have some special extensions on the timelines available.

What's So Great About a "Tax Credit"?

The benefit of a tax credit is that it's a dollar-for-dollar benefit, rather than a "tax deduction", or reduction in a tax liability that would only save you $1,000 to $1,500 when all was said and done. So, if a first-time homebuyer who qualified for the entire benefit were to owe $8,000 in income taxes and would qualify for a tax credit of $8,000, she would owe nothing.

Better still, the tax credit is refundable, which means the homebuyer can receive a check for the credit if he or she has little or no income tax liability. For example, if a first-time homebuyer is eligible for a tax credit of $8,000 but is liable for $4,000 in income tax, she can still receive a check for the remaining $4,000!

Higher Income Caps

The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased.

Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible.

Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price

Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sales price of $800,000.

*As always, please contact your CPA, financial planner, or attorney when making financial decisions.

Upcoming 1st Thursday Event (& mention of my painting group .. )

2009-10-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right. 1st Thursday is here again, and it's happening next week (November 5th) all over downtown. Come stop by Eden at 17 W. Ortega from 5-8p.m. to see my most recent oil paintings, hear live instrumental music by The Refreshments, and have some refreshments (local wine, etc.). It will be a good time with good people. You can grab a 'Passport' from Eden that you can use as your guide through downtown for the evening.

Speaking of my recent oil paintings, I want to mention my amazing painting group and say that I would not be painting if it weren't for them. I have been a part of this group for over six years now, and we are all so different, and we all paint such different things, but somehow we work really well together. We give encouragement and feedback, fun conversation, and as you can see from these somewhat blurry photos, a lot of joking around. (Anne Wright attacked me with red paint after I started laughing at her for having green paint all over her mouth.) I tend to paint really large pieces these days, although I do all sizes, and others paint very tiny and detailed pieces. Some are detailed and others are impressionistic, and that's what creates all the chemistry, because no one is trying to compete. Lots of love to my group!

See you next Thursday...