by Roberta Murphy We are seeing luxury scaled down on many fronts, and luxury hotels and timeshare resorts are taking it on the chin as well. For the first five months of this year, according the the Wall Street Journal, U.S. hotel occupancy has declined 53 percent. This is the lowest drop in occupancy since 1987, when Smith Travel Research began tracking these numbers. While both luxury and budget hotels…
In the blogging world, an absence of six weeks is almost unforgivable. But had I draped a black cloth over it on April 24, 2009 you might have understood. That’s the day my Dad and best friend, Bob Michelson, died in Encinitas, CA after a lengthy illness. It’s really tough to become an orphan when the last parent exits–especially if the relationship has been a close one. I shared this…
by Roberta Murphy When the combination of urban luxury and sandy beaches come together, we might think of high rises in Miami, Los Angeles, La Jolla or Honolulu. San Diego County now boasts a second urban and beach destination: Oceanside Terraces, the new luxury midrise residence in downtown Oceanside. We spend a great deal of time here and think we are in heaven, because we are dealing with amazed guests…
Luxury Real Estate Market: What is Normal? I often turn to Billy Taylor, financial services guru at San Diego’s Villa Sotheby’s, when I want to hear the latest scoop on the mortgage market. Just last week, for example, Billy shared that Chase had moved out of the jumbo mortgage market entirely. That leaves a mere handful of lenders who will even consider doing jumbo loans, which help fuel much…
Roberta Murphy Investors are moving back into the San Diego real estate market with impatient wallets. And luxury real estate investors are no exception. They are seeking well-priced foreclosures, pre-negotiated short sales and most favored of all: Real estate investments with income streams. So-called bargains in sub-marginal areas may not be the wisest real estate investment move anywhere. Perceived bargains in outlying markets may be nothing of the sort, and…
by Roberta Murphy Any verbiage I add to this photo would probably be superfluous, since this chatty picture already exceeds the expected thousand words. Hats off to someones clever recycling of mobile homes. Not sure if the intent was green construction, but the designer certainly managed to minimize the footprint of this little mobile home park. I also wonder about the relation of people who live here. And what about…
by Scott Murphy Discriminating luxury home buyers in the San Diego area are starting to raise sophisticated eyebrows at some of the better real estate buys in luxury neighborhoods such as Rancho Santa Fe. One of the best buys on the market these days is a magnificent 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath single story estate on two level acres that was recently remodeled. This Rancho Santa Fe Farms home features a lagoon pool,…
by Roberta Murphy Sometimes you walk into a home, sense both timeless 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…
by Roberta Murphy Last summer we sold a lovely $1.8 million Carlsbad, CA home to an out of area partnership. One partner lived in Los Angeles, and the other in New York. It was to be their La Costa retreat in paradise, and a place to meet potential clients. In two short months, this paradise has turned into a real estate nightmare that could rival that 1990 Melanie Griffiths film, Pacific…
