For Christmas, I ordered a set of DNA ancestry and health testing kits for everyone in my family. It used to be your relatives who helped maintain the family tree; that’s how you knew where your ancestors came from. For our family, it was the family stories that circulated at Thanksgiving that told us where we were from. If you could get information from 100 years ago, you were lucky. I guess Continue Reading about Market Mojo Report – Jan 2018 – Are You Curious?
Market Mojo Report – Nov-Dec 2017: A Year Filled with Major Milestones
I got my real estate license in 1977. In September 2017 I reached my 40th year in real estate. When I first started selling homes on the Mesa gas was 65 cents a gallon and my first real estate car was a Volkswagen bug. I was wearing 3-piece suits, complete with vest and paisley tie. Bell bottoms were still in fashion in those days. The average 3-bedroom, 1-bath, Marine Terrace Mesa home was going Continue Reading about Market Mojo Report – Nov-Dec 2017: A Year Filled with Major Milestones
Market Mojo Report | September 2017: ADUs – Rental Units in Single Family Zones Get Approvals
Should you be the first one on your block to apply for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)? You might consider waiting a few more months before you apply for a permit to create one of these “granny flats,” as a rental in your home or garage. State and local governments are still resolving the ADU approval process. This year, the very first homeowners to apply moved through the permitting process Continue Reading about Market Mojo Report | September 2017: ADUs – Rental Units in Single Family Zones Get Approvals
Market Mojo Report|July/August 2017: Are We in Another Housing Bubble?
by Dr. Mark Schniepp, Director of the California Economic Forecast in Santa Barbara Bubble Concerns Google the words “housing bubble” and a long list of articles and blogs will come up that proclaim another bubble is back. That’s because the nationwide average of home prices is now in record territory again and that alone appears to be enough evidence to support the notion of a bubble. But Continue Reading about Market Mojo Report|July/August 2017: Are We in Another Housing Bubble?
Market Mojo Report (June 2017): 2017 Market Share – Pearls of Information
Who is doing the business? It makes a difference. Being with the leading real estate office in town, with so much business going on, means I get many pearls of information. I use this information to benefit my clients. I know which homes are selling, which are in multiple offers and which are not, which are in escrow, and at what price. Being in Santa Barbara’s top real estate company makes a real Continue Reading about Market Mojo Report (June 2017): 2017 Market Share – Pearls of Information
Montecito Connection: May -June 2017: Guest House Kitchens, Now They’re Legal
Does your guest house have a kitchen? That can make your guest house rentable. More guest houses will be rented now that the State of California allows adding a full kitchen to guest houses and accessory buildings. The new law applies to all properties in the state. The State overturned all city and county ordinances against in-home apartments, or guest house rentals, as of January 1, Continue Reading about Montecito Connection: May -June 2017: Guest House Kitchens, Now They’re Legal
Market Mojo Report – May 2017: Missing Out on New. It’s An Easy Mistake.
Aren’t new houses more expensive than older homes? That is the common wisdom. What if a new home was a better buy than a used one? Imagine. A new home with everything working perfectly may indeed be a better buy than an older home that needs repairs. We are so used to older homes with all of their issues. I’m attracted to new houses. There are a couple of new subdivisions in town that I find Continue Reading about Market Mojo Report – May 2017: Missing Out on New. It’s An Easy Mistake.
April 2017 – Second Quarter Client Newsletter
Santa Barbara Real Estate The median priced home of $1,125,000 remains exactly the same as it was a year ago. Prices have not changed in the past 12 months. Inventory is still constrained with only 3.8 percent more new listings than last year. Sales in the first quarter were solid. The number of homes sold was up 5 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016 on the South Coast. Santa Barbara Continue Reading about April 2017 – Second Quarter Client Newsletter