by Roberta Murphy There is little I can do to stop global warming, the melting of icebergs, rising sea levels and the inevitability of dandelions. But here are some big and small things I have implemented into our home and lifestyle to lessen the impact of our carbon footprint on this planet. 1. The biggy? I traded in a Mercedes 420 for a cool Camry Hybrid. I enjoy the cars…
AVVO is to Lawyers as Zillow is to Realtors
by Roberta Murphy It seems nobody is immune from the power of the internet or the inevitability of progress. Zillow shook the real estate industry (and lots of homeowners) with last years unveiling of its near-instant online real estate valuations. The complaints came primarily from Realtors who feared the public would come to rely on Zillow Zestimates for home valuations and from homeowners whose property values were decimated by the…
San Diego Home Losses Mark New High
by Roberta Murphy According to the latest from Dataquick, a record number of foreclosure notices have been sent to California homeowners during this past quarter, setting a new ten-year record. Why? Dataquick reports that œflat appreciation, slow sales, and post teaser-rate mortgage resets have contributed to these financial casualties. The San Diego Union Tribune reports that San Diego County endured 1,182 foreclosures from January through March, 2007 -or almost eight…
In Praise of Front Porch Swings
by Roberta Murphy Todays tragic massacre at Virginia Tech leaves us all wondering how such a thing could happen and what we might have done to prevent such a horror. And oddly, I find myself longing for a front porch swing. There is the predictable push for gun control, the demands for metal detectors on campuses, and more efficient lockdowns. I suppose these are all good and reasonable solutions, but…
Luxurious Smart and Intuitive Homes
by Roberta Murphy Peering into the future, it is nice to imagine a home that is smart in every sense–and inviting to all. Sunset Magazine and Popular Science recently team-conceived the Idea House, the House of Innovation , in Alamo, California. This intelligent $5 + million smart home provides a trajectory of design and technologies that will end up in homes of tomorrow. It is loaded with sustainable materials and…
Instant Homes Values via Your Cell
by Roberta Murphy Disruptive technologies are a special favorite on this blog, and HouseFront is the newest to hit my desk. And it happened about twenty minutes ago, when I opened an email from James Eberhard, CEO of Housefront. The premise is simple. Want to know the value of a home? Follow these simple steps with your cell phone: 1. Text any address to 46873. 2. Open your results a few seconds…
The Bigger the Home, the Harder They Fall?
by Roberta Murphy A recent study of publicly traded CEO homes found a correlation between the size of the CEO’s home and the company’s stock price. It may come as a surprise to some, but the larger and more luxurious the CEO’s home is, the poorer the company’s stock tends to fare. The study is an interesting one, with credit going to Arizona State Crocker Liu and New York University’s…
Real Estate Bloggers Make Headlines
by Roberta Murphy Blogging has become a key marketing tool for real estate agents. Michelle Mowad, a talented writer for the San Diego Business Journal, called last week inquiring about real estate blogging and the impact it is having on our San Diego real estate business and life. We talked about Web 2.0 social networking sites like MySpace and how blogging is such a natural communications platform for real estate…
Avoid These Home Buyers Like–the Flu
by Roberta Murphy Todays real estate market is different for all, including luxury home sellers, their agents and home buyers. Though multiple offers have returned on a selected basis in the San Diego and Manhatttan real estate markets (well-priced, well-located and well-appointed homes), it is still a buyers market. And with many buyers returning to these markets, sellers and their agents need to be wary of certain types of…
ipayOne Real Estate Going Down the Hole?
The Carlsbad, CA discount real estate broker, ipayOne is no longer taking any new real estate listings and will be liquidating its assets. The once high-flying brokerage spent hugely on advertising, even purchasing for $2.5 million the five-year naming rights to the San Diego Sports Arena which was renamed the ipayOne Center. Their real estate business was primarily centered in the San Diego area, and there were reported plans to…
