by Roberta Murphy Sellsius Real Estate is one of my favorite blogs. Its full of hip news, developing real estate stories and intelligent opinion. Its a place I visit often. Founders Rudy Bachraty and Joseph Ferrara have now unveiled a new site that so caters to real estate buyers who wants more precision in their property search results. BMW and Mercedes engineers couldnt have done a better job. Its a…
La Costa Chateaus: A Tale of Two Sisters
by Roberta Murphy It was a developers mistake that should have never happened. Sometime around 1970, the developers of the original La Costa Resort and Spa allowed for the construction and sale of two 48 unit condominium buildings inside what would eventually come to be known as œthe gates of La Costa. These two buildings are the first to be seen by anyone approaching the resort from its main entrance….
La Jolla, California: A Coastal Jewel
by Roberta Murphy Some cities are the embodiment of luxury,and La Jolla, California is no exception. La Jolla is a paradise for both the traveller and the resident. Sitting just north of San Diego, it offers a spectacular coastline with heart-stopping views. Add to the natural beauty a charming village, upscale shopping, fine dining and lodging, a top-ranked university (UCSD) and medical school—along with a climate that is arguably the best on earth—and…
A Carnival of Luxury
by Roberta Murphy In case you have never visited or participated in a blogging carnival, please allow me to extend a hand and introduce you to a dizzying world of fun, opinions and amazing information. I have participated several times in the real estate blogging carnivals and look forward each week to reading the winning entries. I imagine it takes huge effort on the part of the host to read through all…
The Luxury Blingdex
by Roberta Murphy Luxury is booming and Wall Street is keeping a keen eye on how the rich are spending their wealth. And what better way to measure that hedonism than by creating a variety of indexes that track the shopping of the ultra-rich that we can call the Luxury Blingdex. The demand for four-figure handbags, five-figure baubles, six-figure cars, luxury resorts and travel, insurable art and heady wines has…
6 Ways to Shave Your Carbon Footprint
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…
