What did I get myself into I thought as I volunteered to be a “pylon dog” at the Camarillo air show?!?

The air show organizers tried to bring a high level of excitement and buzz to the show this year by having another organization bring their race to Camarillo. Seven aerobatic planes would “race” down the field, slaloming between 60′ – 70′ high inflatable pylons – cool!

I envisioned having to stand next to these things while the planes screamed just over my head. I’d been told that in practice (at another field), the planes got as low as 7′ – but I figured, that’s okay – I’m less than 6′ tall, so no problem…

Besides, I was told the FAA had set a minimum floor of 15′ for these guys – lots of room!

But ultimately, there was no racing because of lots of complications between the race organizers and the FAA. – bummer.

But what a beautiful weekend for an air show – lots of sun, noise and smoke as all types of planes flew throughout the weekend.

And we put up the pylons each day to give the crowd an idea of what the race may have looked like  – maybe next year! Read the rest of this article »

More homes in foreclosure have been progressing to a sale date and not being cured in the initial Notice of Default phase. Usually, about 40 – 50% end up going to sale, but July REOs were at a yearly low of 28%. This decrease might be contributed by home owners getting loan mods or successful short sales.

NODs have been steady since April at about 400; NTSs match June at 519; and REOs rolled over from 233 to 145.  See the 12 month chart.

Check out the 12 month graph for monthly foreclosure activity for Ventura County. NODs are on a slight decline; NTSs spiked up last month –  now settling back down; and REOs are on the slight increase.

See the quarterly chart showing  Q2 foreclosure activity. The long trend is: NODs are declining; NTSs show a general downward trend with a slight uptick in June; and REOs were declining but spiked in Q2 of 2011.

Prices for single family homes sold in Camarillo are trending downward; while the number of homes sold for Ventura has broken the 12 month high.

The percentage of single family homes that were distressed sales in the month of July are:

Ventura – 41%      Oxnard – 59%      Camarillo – 41%

All data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

Sold prices – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph – Ventura has been hovering at ± $400,000 for last 8 months, Oxnard is steady as a rock at $300,000, Camarillo has been hovering at $500,000 – now trending toward $450,000.
• Quarterly graph ending 2nd quarter – Ventura is on the increase, Oxnard remains unchanged and Camarillo shows a slight decrease in sold prices.

Sold prices – Condos in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12  month graph – Ventura has been see-sawing between $200 to $225,000, Oxnard is holding between $175 to $200,000, Camarillo prices were on the upswing from March (at $250k) to June (at $300k) while July shows a slight decrease.
• Quarterly graph ending 2nd quarter – Ventura shows a slight decrease, Oxnard a modest decrease and Camarillo a slight increase in sold prices.

Numbers sold – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph – Ventura broke through to the highest number in over 1 year; Oxnard is rebounding back to 80 mark; Camarillo has vigorous see-sawing between 35 – 60/ month. June was 60 while July is 40.
• Quarterly graph ending 2nd quarter – All are trending upward for number of homes sold.

Detailed data for single family homes sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed data for condos sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed monthly data for pendings (in escrow) – single family homes and condos:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo