Comparing September with August data with August of single family homes sold in Ventura, the number is similar in the smaller and medium sized homes but 50% less in the largest homes while the price per square foot appears greatly increased, but the stats can be skewed because of the fewer number of homes sold.

In Oxnard, there was a big increase in number of smaller homes sold while the price per square foot was correspondingly less in the largest sized homes.

In Camarillo, the number of homes sold was a bit more than for August. It is difficult to analyze the price per square foot in the largest sized homes because there were several very expensive homes sold which can skew the stats.

Homes that are considered “pending” means homes that are in escrow and under contract. For Camarillo, in comparing the first 3 quarters of 2008 as compared to 2007, there is somewhat a tie without major differences. In Oxnard, all three quarters are still screaming up compared to 2007. For Ventura, the first 2 quarters were slightly stronger than 2007 but the third quarter screamed up over 2007! See the hard numbers here.

The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article buried on page A6 this morning. Sarah and Todd Palin reported income last year (AGI) of $166,000. In 2006 they reported $128,000.

John and Cindy McCain spent $270,000 for household help. Hmmmm…..

The Palins gave $3,325 to charity last year on their income. Joe and Jill Biden reported $320,000 (AGI) last year, and gave $995 to charity. But I understand – it’s expensive living in Washington.

We’ve gone from a 3 page bill to a 110 page bill (defeated) to the Senate’s 451 page bill (passed). Hmmm…

If you thought our political process was all about helping “Wall Street” or “Main Street” or the “homeowner”, think again! The first and overarching priority is to keep your job. Read the rest of this article »

Buyers have asked us for a fast way to find REO listings in the MLS. Here’s how:

• Click on the MLS search link.
  

• You’ll see Property Search. You’ll see 2 tabs – General criteria and Additional criteria.

• In General criteria, select Property Types:Residential, select your City (use the icon). Now select the Additional criteria tab and you’ll see the REO/bank owned field (choose Yes).

• You can slice and dice any way you want to look between the General criteria tab and the Additional criteria tab. Have fun!