County of Castles: Orange County Real Estate Blog

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Real Estate Agent - no current broker affiliation
orange county real estate, lake forest, first-time homebuyers, condos, homes in orange county, affordable homes

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2007 

This article on MSNBC.com talks about how the sales of new homes dropped again in November.  Even when we deal in resale homes, it is important to be aware of what the new homes are doing, as they're often a leading indicator for what's ahead in the resale market.Now, I'm not terribly surprised t...
12/28/2007
I'll get to the point of this post in a moment, but first, a story:So apparently I'm "magic".  And not just because I help make buyers' home ownership dreams come true.  No, this is a deeper kind of magic.  The kind of magic that makes chocolate materialize, just by thinking about it.  That's som...
12/20/2007
It seems it's been a while since I did an interest rate update.  Let's see how they're doing, shall we?Today's National Averages Mortgages        APR 30-yr. fixed      6.00% 15-yr. fixed      5.64% 1-yr. adj.          6.12%Last time I mentioned interest rates was on November 19th:Mortgages       ...
12/14/2007
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We knew this would happen, right?  With the real estate market virtually frozen as buyers continue to sit on the fence, the demand for apartments and other rentals is on the rise.  According to this article on MSN, the average rent in Orange County has risen 5.6%.Now, this doesn't mean the market...
12/14/2007
Starting tonight and running through Sunday night is the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, once described by the New York Times as "One of the top ten holiday happenings in the nation".  Local Orange County boat owners decorate everything from kayaks to yachts in thousands of lights and decora...
12/12/2007
Article hereAs expected, the Fed cut rates a quarter point in today's meeting.  That puts the Federal Funds Rate (the interest rate banks charge eachother) at 4.25%.Interestingly, one of the voting members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC, or the Fed), Eric S. Rosengren, actually wanted...
12/11/2007
Well kids, here we are, December 11th, and the last Fed meeting of the year.  It is expected (not hoped, expected) that the Fed will drop interest rates again today.  The question, of course, is how much?  If the Fed wants to play it conservative, they may only drop rates another quarter percent....
12/11/2007
There is lots of fun to be had for the holidays in Lake Forest.  Details can be found on the city's website.Breakfast With Santa - This Saturday, December 8th.  Seatings at 8am and 10:30am in the Lake Forest Community Center (25550 Commercentre Dr.).  Cost is $5/child and $7/adult for a delicious...
12/05/2007
Laguna Niguel will be having its 2007 Holiday Parade this Saturday, December 8th (rain or shine).  The parade takes place at 10:00am along Crown Valley Parkway.  Celebrity guests include Tommy Lasorda (others can be seen on the official website for the parade)What a great chance to get out with y...
12/05/2007
This is a recipe I just sort of threw together last night.  I still have a lot of leftover meat from a turkey I cooked on Friday, and I'm at that use-or-freeze point, so it made sense to make some soup.  Technically, you could do this exact same soup using chicken meat and it's a basic chicken no...
12/05/2007
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Cindy Kalionzes

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