Carmel Valley Real Estate Blog: October 2008

My children and their friends have always loved Halloween in Carmel Valley.  They especially like the fact that every neighborhood has loads of opportunities for treats!  In addition to "walking the neighborhoods", here are some other places to have fun with your children this Halloween! 

The Haunted Birch Aquarium, aimed at kids 13 and under, is on October 24, 25 and 26 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.  This should be lots of fun for the little ones and not too scary!

The teens will especially like the Scream Zone at the Del Mar Fairgrounds which is open nightly, through Saturday, Nov. 1. My daughter just went last weekend and actually left part way through... very scary and she hates clowns who chase people while waving heads without torsos!

There is also the Haunted Hotel downtown and the Haunted Trail in Balboa Park, also through Nov. 1. We haven't tried these, but definitely on our list.  Let me know how you like them!

Copyright  2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Halloween Fun for Carmel Valley Kids".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 

PROVENCE in Carmel Valley was developed by Standard Pacific and is a smaller Carmel Valley development featuring only 58 detached homes that were built between 1998 - 1999.  The Provence homes offer 4 to 6 bedrooms and have 3 to 5 1/2 bathrooms. Ranging in size from 3,292 to 3,779 square feet of living space, these homes also feature vaulted ceilings and Spanish red-tiled roofs.  There are no HOA dues for Provence, but there is Mello-Roos.

Provence offers six floor plans:

Plan 1 - Approx. 3,521 sq. ft., 4 Bdrms/3.5 Baths, 3 Car Garage, Two Story

Plan 2 - Approx. 3,292 sq. ft., 5 Bdrms/3.0 Baths, 3 Car Garage, Two Story

Plan 3 - Approx. 3,521 sq. ft., 5 Bdrms/3.5 Baths, 3 Car Garage, Two Story

Plan 4 - Approx. 3,429 sq. ft., 5 Bdrms/4.5 Baths, 3 Car Garage, Two Story

Plan 5 - Approx. 3,779 sq. ft., 5 Bdrms/5.5 Baths, 3 Car Garage, Two Story

Plan 6 - Approx. 3,439 sq. ft., 6 Bdrms/5.5 Baths, 3 Car Garage, Two Story

The street names for Provence include Bradshaw Court, Pearlman Way & Seashell Place.

CURRENT AVAILABLE LISTINGS IN PROVENCE

1. $1,249,000 - $1,299,000 - 6 bdrms/6 baths, approx. 3,779 sq. ft.

If you are interested in searching for homes in Provence or the San Diego community of Carmel Valley or Del Mar, researching the current value of your home, viewing our Carmel Valley real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright  2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Provence - A Standard Pacific Development in Carmel Valley, San Diego".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.  Listing information is from Sandicor and subject to change without notice.

I am a Coldwell Banker real estate agent and today our company announced that Realogy (our parent company) has approached the U.S. Department of Treasury with the call to lower rates from 4.5% or lower on 30 year fixed rates mortgages.

"There are millions of credit-worthy people ready to jump back into the housing market, but they need to be motivated," said Realogy President and CEO Richard A. Smith. "In our view, the incentive of substantially lower mortgage rates would directly stimulate the housing market - both in sales volume and price - and thus accelerate the overall U.S. economic recovery."

Realogy's proposal calls for a short-term government buy-down of mortgage rates to at least 4.5%, or lower, for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (down from current rates of approximately 6.04%). This homebuyer incentive would apply to the purchase of all new and/or existing homes sold up to $1 million in price.

Here are the key findings from the Realogy broker survey:

• 95% of brokers said they would expect an increase in home sales if 30-year conforming fixed-rate mortgages were available at 4.5% rates today.
• Most notably, 54% of all responding brokers said the impact of a 4.5% mortgage rate would significantly increase home sales in their markets.
• Of the brokers who answered that rates would increase, nearly half (46%) indicated that they would anticipate unit sales levels to increase between 10% to 25% if 4.5% mortgage rates were available today.  

The majority of brokers also agreed that substantially lower mortgage rates would have a strong stabilizing impact on average home sales prices.

• 51% of brokers felt home prices would increase somewhat and 38% felt home prices would stay the same.
• Of the brokers who felt prices would increase or significantly increase due to 4.5% mortgage rates, 22% felt the home price increases would be in the 3% to 5% range and 13% felt it would be in the 5% to 7.5% range.

About Realogy Corporation

Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services, has a diversified business model that includes real estate franchising, brokerage, relocation and title services. Realogy's world-renowned brands and business units include Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate, CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, The Corcoran Group®, ERA®, Sotheby's International Realty®, NRT LLC, Cartus and Title Resource Group. Collectively, Realogy's franchise systems have approximately 16,000 offices and 300,000 sales associates doing business in 92 countries around the world. Headquartered in Parsippany, N.J., Realogy (www.realogy.com) has approximately 13,000 employees worldwide. Realogy is owned by affiliates of Apollo Management, L.P., a leading private equity and capital markets investor.

If you are interested in searching for homes in the San Diego community of Carmel Valley or Del Mar, researching the current value of your home, viewing our Carmel Valley real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright  © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Coldwell Banker & Realogy Propose Buy-Down in Mortgage Rates".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 

Important information for all Carmel Valley Homeowners!

Sp00ky fish fun for everyone!

The recent roller coaster ride of the stock market has left many of us confused and anxious.  The financial news this morning said that the Dow has lost 33% this year, the Nasdaq is down 35% and the S&P is down 36%.  That sounds awful when we consider what our retirement and savings funds are worth today, especially if they are relatively "new" investments. 

In 1987, my husband worked for Merrill Lynch International as a Financial Consultant in downtown San Diego and I was with Merrill Lynch Realty in La Jolla.  I had just won a listing contest for Merrill Lynch and they sent the winners to Europe for the prize.  My husband and I were in St. Tropez and having breakfast when another American nearby showed us the French newspaper with the title something like..."Le Stock Market Plunge".  We realized then that life as we knew it would change for us given our professions, and it did. 

It has been over 20 years since that happened and since that October, the Dow has been up a whopping 409% since 1987, the Nasdag up 486% and the S & P up 318%, according to Fox Financial News today.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the stock market is a roller coaster ride and sometimes going up takes longer than coming down which can often times be a breathtaking fast ride.  Next time you are considering investing, you might want to consider the less volatile real estate market with today's short sales, foreclosures and low interest rates being offered for good credit... at least you and your family can have some measure of personal control over "real property", be able to improve on it to add value, or simply live in your investment and enjoy the ride from your front porch.

If you are interested in searching for homes in the San Diego community of Carmel Valley or Del Mar, researching the current value of your home, viewing our Carmel Valley real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright  © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Stock Market & Real Estate".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 

Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve Chairman, said the U.S. housing market will begin to recover in the first half of 2009, according to an article he wrote for Emerging Markets Magazine published on Friday.

Greenspan wrote that the recent slowing in the rate of decline in U.S. home prices is the first positive note in the year-long trauma and that eventually, frozen credit markets will thaw "as frightened investors take tentative steps toward re-engagement with risk."  "More conclusive signs of pending home price stability are likely to become visible in the first half of 2009 and a healing housing market will aid the credit crisis" he wrote.  To read the full article on MSNBC.com - click here.

If you are interested in searching for homes in the San Diego community of Carmel Valley or Del Mar, researching the current value of your home, viewing our Carmel Valley real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright  © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "U.S. Housing Market to Recover in 2009 per Alan Greenspan".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.  Listing information is from Sandicor and subject to change without notice.

PROMONTORY HOMES by Pardee are 155 homes built from 1997 to 2000.  These estate-size homes feature gourmet style kitchens, family rooms, three car garages & most are situated on larger-sized lots.  The homes have four to five bedrooms and three to four one-half bathrooms.  They range in size from 2,751 to 4,015 square feet of living space.  Many of these lovely homes are situated on cul de sacs and are conveniently located near Ashley Falls Elementary School, Torrey Pines High School, the Del Mar Heights Shopping Center and easy freeway access.

There four floor plans are as follows:

Plan 1 - 4 bdrms/3 baths, 3 car garages, two stories & approximately 2,751 square feet

Plan 2 - 4 bdrms/4 baths, 3 car garages, two stories & approximately 3,124 to 3,157 square feet

Plan 3 - 5 bdrms/4 baths, 3 car garages, two stories & approximately 3,124 to 3,728 square feet

Plan 4 - 5 bdrms/4.5 baths, 3 car garages, two stories & approximately 3,413 to 4,015 square feet

There is a low HOA fee that covers the common area maintenance and there is Mello-Roos.  Click here for more information about Mello-Roos. Promontory street names include Winstanley Way, Flaxton Terrace, Chelterham Terrace, Wellworth Point, Thurston Place, Wendover Terrace, Baywind Point, Wyngate Point, Bayliss Court

If you are interested in searching for homes in the San Diego community of Carmel Valley or Del Mar, researching the current value of your home, viewing our Carmel Valley real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Promontory - A Pardee Development in Carmel Valley".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 

The annual Taste & Art Stroll in Del Mar is Saturday, October 4th and destined to be a fun time for all!  The Art Stroll is free and open to the public and if you want to taste the very best that our restaurants have to offer.. then the taste tickets cost $40.00 each.  The tasting portion is my favorite because here is where you can nibble on delicious culinary creations by some of the finest local chefs in our restaurants, along with tasting the California wines and beers from our local breweries.  This year there will be 70 local and regional artists participating and being judged.  Come stroll by the art and judge for yourself!  Great talent!

The Taste & Stroll Program Map - Click Here.  More information and to purchase tickets online - Click Here.

If you are interested in searching for homes in Del Mar, researching the current value of your home, viewing our  real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright  © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Taste & Art Stroll in Del Mar - October 4th Event".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. 

PRIVATE COLLECTION is a beautiful development with estate-sized homes that were built in 1998 by Davidson.  A small development of 39 homes, they feature four to six bedrooms and three & one-half to 5 bathrooms and range in size from 3,826 to 4,346 square feet of living space. These large homes feature spacious and flexible floor plans on larger sized lots - below are the specs for the floor plans:

PRIVATE COLLECTION FLOOR PLANS

PLAN 1 - 4 bdrms/3.5 baths, approx. 3,826 sq. ft., 3 car garage, two story

PLAN 2 - 5 bdrms/5 baths, approx. 4,240 - 4,337 sq. ft., 3 car garage, two story

PLAN 3 - 6 bdrms/4.5 baths, approx. 4,311 - 4,346 sq. ft., 3 car garage, two story

PLAN 4 - 6 bdrms/4.5 baths, approx. 4,180 - 4,311 sq. ft., 3 car garage, two story

The Private Collection homes are on Pearlman Way & Harwick Lane.

If you are interested in searching for homes in the San Diego community of Carmel Valley, researching the current value of your home, viewing our Carmel Valley real estate website, or learning more about the current housing market, give us a call anytime at  (858) 245-9905. 

Copyright  © 2008 Susan Laxson. All Rights Reserved. "Private Collection - A Davidson Development in Carmel Valley".  Information from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.  Listing information is from Sandicor and subject to change without notice.

Click here for more information about Mello-Roos.