It is with great pleasure that I get to announce to all our friends and clients that Leslie just got the results of this rigorous test – she passed and on the first time!

Since the beginning of summer, she’s been getting up early (4:30!), staying up late, and giving all her free time to study copious amounts of arcane real estate “stuff”.  For those active in real estate, the broker level represents the highest level of technical and professional competence.

Please email Leslie or give her a call to congratulate her on this milestone in her life!

The number of foreclosures is continuing to slow down in Ventura County. ForeclosureListService.com publishes a running total going back over 10 plus years, and they show a drop from a high of 1,109 in March to 681 in September. A lot of these are the result of flushing out the sub-prime loans, but there’s great concern going into 2010 that the economy (and lost jobs) will continue to keep the numbers high.

Ventura homes for sale trends are reflected in homes that have gone into escrow, or what Realtors call “pending sales” or just pendings. It’s one sign we use to track the marketplace, but it’s influenced by different factors, one of which is level of inventory. Right now, especially in the entry level marketplace, we see low levels and marked competition for clean, well priced homes. But we’re in the home stretch for first time buyers (the $8,000 tax credit) and when that ends next month, perhaps inventory levels will climb and competition will ease in that sector. Here is the homes pending spreadsheet for Ventura. It shows that the quarter ending September is down from 2008, but substantially higher than 2007. These numbers come from the Ventura MLS.

The Oxnard homes for sale trend for the 3rd quarter 2009 has shown a marked drop off from 2008 levels, but substantially higher than 2007.  Here are the spreadsheet numbers. But you’ll note the 1st and 2nd quarters were substantially higher than 2008. The drop in the 3rd quarter is a direct reflection of the fact that inventory levels are down, especially for the first time buyer. These numbers come from the Oxnard MLS.

The Camarillo homes for sale trend bucks what Ventura and Oxnard have seen for the 3rd quarter 2009. Camarillo saw higher numbers of homes going into escrow in the 3rd quarter than 2008.  Here are the numbers for Camarillo’s home pendings. These numbers come from the Camarillo MLS.