Archive for November, 2007
21st Century Clocks
This futuristic clock doesn’t necessarily belong in the luxury home discussion, but it certainly provides some interesting global details:
- Abortions are far more prevalent than marriages.
- There are more divorcecs than HIV infections.
- Bicycle production still far exceeds auto production.
- Bicycle production also outpasses the manufacture of computers.
- Respiratory disease is far more prevalent than STD/HIV and AIDS.
- Suicides are more common than violent deaths.
- And in the time it takes to leisurely sigh, 8 more people will have joined the human race.
Check it out: World Clock
read comments (0)San Diego and Detroit Make Strange Bedfellows
Say what?
In 2004, San Diego real estate was ranked as the least affordable in the United States. Thousands of San Diegans, priced out of the coastal market, moved to Temecula, Murietta and other outlying and inland areas where homes were more affordable.
These days, according to the National Association of Homebuilders, San Diego has slipped to 16th place in California, with an improved 10.1 percent affordability for median income earners. That is just a whisper above San Bernardino-Riverside and Ontario Counties 10.2 percent.
This is phenomenal news, because San Bernardino County has traditionally been home to some of the most affordable real estate in California and few might have imagined that coastal San Diego would approach the Inland Empires affordability levels.
In searching for a market bottom, San Diego has now tied with Detroit in ranking third in the nation for dropping home prices, sharing a staggering 9.6 percent drop in pricing during the past year. This is according to a recent Standard & Poor/Case-Schiller study just reported in the San Diego Union Tribune.
All of this might lead one to think that the San Diego economy is in the same tank as Detroit, or that it has lost its perfect balmy climate and turned into a windy high desert.
But that just aint so.
And I dont know of any period in recent history when San Diego real estate has been compared to Detroits.
By my calculations, something is maladjusted when San Diego real estate has nearly the same affordability level as that in San Bernardino or Riverside Counties and has the same drop in home prices as depressed Detroit. This occurs despite San Diegos strong economy, low unemployment, and being a premier destination for tourists and affluent international retirees.
Bubble bloggers and others may take aim at me for this prediction, but I believe the bottom of the San Diego real estate market is near.
After all, when San Diego gets thrown into the same tub with Detroit and San Bernardino, we just might have a perfect example of the baby being thrown out with the bathwater
Malibu Thanksgiving Wildfire Burning Homes
by Roberta Murphy
The Malibu fire started early this morning just before 3:30 a.m. near Malibu Lake and Mesa Peak Canyon–and as of this writing, has destroyed over 35 homes. Propelled by strong Santa Ana winds and fed by dry brush and trees, this Thanksgiving weekend wildfire is currently out of control.
Over 1500 acres burned in the first five hours as huge walls of fire and smoke raged through the canyons. It jumped Pacific Coast Highway and is heading toward the Pacific Ocean, with winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour. There are sustained winds of around 30 mph.
Multi-million dollar luxury homes are in flames.
Hundreds of homes in Malibu communities have been evacuated, as has Pepperdine University, where students are urged to congregate at the campus shelter. The local Malibu high school is being used as a community shelter.
Hundreds of firefighters, aided by at least 10 water-dropping helicopters, are battling the blazes.
Southern California had been warned about the weekend Santa Ana wind conditions, and hundreds of firefighters are mobilizing.
This report will be updated during the day….
American Expats Join Foreign Rush for US Real Estate
It had to happen sooner or later.
With the falling dollar, American real estate has become a screaming bargain to foreign investors around the world. Real estate prices in many prime US locales have already declined, and must be irresistible for those who are purchasing with Euros or Canadian dollars.
Now, many Americans who have been living abroad are considering a return home, where the purchasing power of the dollar isn’t being decimated every other day. From their perspective, real estate in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California look like the same bargains Canadian and Euro-packing investors are buying.
We received a call earlier this week from an American living abroad who intends to sell his inflated European estate and move to the sunny and balmy climes of San Diego. He will exchange his invested Euros for dollars, and invest them in blue chip American real estate, where he and his wife can enjoy an active retirement in America’s Finest City.
Brian Brady with Mortgage Reports wrote a recent article about how Canadian real estate investors are “buying American real estate in droves.” Brian is currently working with one Canadian real estate investor seeking to buy a Scottsdale, Arizona home, while another Canadian is looking for a second home on the San Diego coast. Both investors from Canada will enjoy not only the depressed pricing in both real estate markets, but will also appreciate their Canadian dollars (aka Loonies) buying 30 percent more than they would have a year ago.
Many Americans living in Canada may also be considering a move back across the border, because the cost of living in the United States now is so much less than a Canadian lifestyle that must be paid in Loonies.
In the years ahead, it will be interesting to see how many second homes in America are owned not only by foreign nationals, but by former American expatriates as well.
The Timeless Luxury Home
Sometimes you walk into a home, sense both ageless soul and serenity–and can’t help but smile.
We recently listed such an estate in the beautiful hills of Vista, California. Its current and original owners are a spirited and beautiful international opera singer and her dashing husband, a retired professor of art. With loving attention to detail, it seems nothing was missed in the completion of this luxurious 2003 custom home.
When I first walked into the home, I was struck by the use of old and rich colors, antique woods, the graceful wood and iron staircase, and light classical music that filled the rooms.
At first glance, I knew this home would be exceptional.
The gated hilltop setting offers both ocean and mountain views–as well as quiet privacy. The home’s flexible 4000+ sf floorplan has volume ceilings that carry classical music well, a grand foyer, large living and music rooms, multiple dining areas, and a kitchen Alice Waters might envy.
Upstairs, we discover a substantial master suite with an adjoining study, large dressing room and bath, 
spa tub, and large, organized closets. A romantic trellised balcony overlooks both the mountains and ocean horizon, while the two-way fireplace warms both the bedroom and bath areas. Three other large bedrooms and an open bridge complete the upstairs.
The bones of a home may be magnificent, but inspiring beauty comes from surfaces, windows, doors, lighting, amenities, color and textures. I share clients’ enthusiasm when all of these elements come together.
This home lacks nothing and blends all elements well. It has rich Tuscan colors, art niches and unfluted columns. It beautifully blends the use of stone, iron and woods, and offers contemporary conveniences such as central vacuum and a discreet kitchen vent that captures broom sweepings.
Outdoors is a large covered patio, lawn, gardens and small acreage for hobbies, horses or arborists.
I have often thought that equestrian homeowners in Poway, Rancho Santa Fe and Fallbrook who were displaced by the recent San Diego fires might find this property of interest.
Located on highly-desired Elevado Street in Vista, this estate is reasonably offered at $1.5 million by owners who are anxious to retire in Crete.
We intend to help them accomplish this dream–and look forward to having terrific clients in such a wonderful corner of the world.
