Orange County home sale prices gains are holding.  Orange County's median home prices are on tract for the eight month of gains and holding.  The sales numbers that include the begining of October show more increases.  The year over year home prices show gains and they are holding.  These gains for Orange County are after 24 straight months of decreases.  Data Quick showed a median price of $432,000 for a single family residence and condos combined.  That number is 2.9 percent shows a gain of 2.9 percent from a year ago.  If we look back to the peak in June of 2007 we are 33 percent below the median price of $645,000 Single family homes Median price is $500,000. Condos median price of $310,000. New homes are at $491,000 10/25/2009

The September numbers show that we had the largest up tic in resale home sales in 26 years.  Resale home sales are up 9.4 percent just as the tax credit is about to expire.  Resale home sales jumped up 9.4 percent to a sensonally adjusted anual rate of 5.57 million last month.  In August we were looking at a we were moving down at a rate of 5.1 million.  This home sales up tic is just what we have been looking for.  This is real activity and it looks great.  That is a major turn around in a short period of time. National sales for resale homes are up 24 percent from the bottom in January.  However, we are down 23 percent from the high 4 years ago.  Prices will still be dragged down because of the short sales and the foreclosures in the area. 10/24/2009

The average rents fall $80 a month in Orange County as we fall back to 2006 levels.  The oversupply of apartment units was reported by apartment tracker RealFacts.  The average rents fall in Orange County's larger apartment complexes in the third quarter down $80 a month or 5 percent in a year.  It is the 4th month in a row that we have seen drops. This is the biggest yearly fall in rents since 1994 according to RealFacts.  The national average for the drop of rents in 3.7 percent while the fall in Orange County in 5 Percent.  Well above the national average. The vacancy rate is increasing during the same time period from 5.3 percent to 6.6 percent. Vacancies fell from the second quarter by 1 percent again the biggest drop in seven years.    10/23/2009

The Mission Viejo City Council facing potential cuts in bus service hours and routesby the Orange County Transportation Authority will draft a letter asking the OCTA Board of Directors not to cut the bus routes.  The Council asked that they scale back rather than cut the bus routes all together. The item was brought to the council by Councilwoman Trish Kelly on Monday night.  The OCTA will hold public hearings on Monday to discuss on of several options to scale back services.  The bus routes cuts are scheduled for March 2010.  The reason given for the bus routes cuts was a decline in state funding and tax revenue, approximetly $30 million less than last year, will force the board to make changes.  This is on top of the 133,000 service hours that were cut countywide. The council voted un... 10/23/2009

Default notices drop by ten percent in California now that is good news.  Mortgage defaults notices filed against homeowners dropped in the last quarter of the year.  There have been some loan modifications or work on loan modifications and short sales.  Those two actions can slow the process of foreclosure but the banks usually will still continue on and file the defaults.  There were nearly 112,000 morgage default notices that were filed during the July to September time period.  The second quarter April through June had 125,000 mortgage defaults.  The good news is the that is a drop of 10 percent.  Data Quick Pres. John Walsh told the Associated Press that he thought the banks did not want to flood the market with cheep properties.  It would not be in the best interest of the banks b... 10/22/2009

There are now six waterfront properties available in Mission Viejo, CA. The sizes run from, right around 4,000 sq.ft. to 6,850 sq.ft., with 3 to 5 car garages, some include a pool and spa. All of them a standard sales ranging from $2.3 to $3 million. This is the best kept secret in Orange County! One of the finest lakes with crystal clear water maintained at the highest quality and white sandy beaches! Available right out your back door, fishing, swimming, sailing, boating and kayaking to be enjoyed whenever it hits your fancy. Community Holiday Boat Parade is coming up, concerts during the summer, outdoor movies at the park, view the firework show right from your backyard and go from your dock right to the shops or restaurants that are also located on the lake. All this in the safest a... 10/21/2009

Just did a check on how the market in my area is doing. I work out of Mission Viejo, CA Population is over 95,000 Total Active on the market        9/21/09- - 239 detached houses.               10/18/09- - 238 detached houses. Short Sale Active        9/21/09- -82 out of 239                           10/18/09- - 76 out of 238 REO Active       9/21/09-11 out of 239                              10/18/09/- - 8 out of 238 In Default Active properties       9/21/09- - 2 out of 239                             10/18/09- - 2 out of 238 In Probate this month are 4 properties That leaves 149 out of 238 as equity sellers for 10/18/09 October is looking better than September did. The changes that have happened in Mission Viejo are for the better. We are showing an idecrease in distressed properties... 10/18/2009

This weeks market report for Mission Viejo and surrounding areas shows that Orange County Median Prices for the resale homes were up 4.2 percent, for new homes it is down 2.4 percent and for resale condos up 3.4 percent.  The sales volume is up for resale homes 7.5 percent and up 11.9 percent on condos and down 31.4 percent for new homes. Mission Viejo  Zip Code 92691  sales prices are down 6.0 percent and the sales volume is down 5.5 percent. Mission Viejo  Zip Code 92692  sales prices are down 5.9 percent and the sales volume is up 38.3 percent. Aliso Viejo  sales prices are down 7.9 percent and the sales volume is up 18.3 percent. Laguna Niguel  sales prices are down 4.9 percent and the sales volume is up 47..7 percent. Rancho Santa Margarita  sales prices are down 19.6 percent and t... 10/18/2009

      Hometown Halloween is a public celebration in Misssion Viejo for all ages of our community to come enjoy. It will be held on Saturday 24th at the City's Norman P, Murray Community and senior Center, 24932 Veteran's Way, from 4 to 8 P.M. and will be a colorful fun-filled event. Wear your scariest, most creative costume and plan on pratisipating in games, crafts, pony and hay rides. Mission Viejo Halloween Celebration includes mouth watering treats and the Wacky whitchin Kitchen- a pint sized haunted house. Children that are dressed in their favorite costume, Superman, Princess, Bob the Builder, Tinkerbell, Ghosts, Pirate and any others that they think of will enjoy walking the red carpet during the costume parade. The free parade is from 4:30 to 7:P.M.. Don't forget your camera!   ... 10/16/2009

Halloween comes at the end of October and coincides with the last of the apple harvesting. producing such favorites as candy apples, caramel or taffy apples, which are a common treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky syrup. sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts. There was a custom that my family did when I was young, My parents bought pure Apple Cider at the apple orchard's farm stand and would keep it in the basement or put it out in the snow till Thanksgiving, by then it would have fermented. They seemed to enjoy it. One custom that is still honored in Ireland is the baking of a barmbarack which is a light fruitcake into which a ring, a coin and other charms are placed before cooking- similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany. We associate other fo... 10/13/2009

It was reported last week that the number of newly laid-off Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since early January, as layoffs eased a bit. The last five weeks have seen four drops in new claims, hopefully it is a sign the labor market is slowly healing. Employers are still reluctant to hire new workers, so  the unemployment rate is expected to continue to climb well into next year. The Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 521,000, better than analysts expected and down from 554,000 the previous week. We can only hope that as the unemplyment rate adjusts upward, we will see an improvement in the economy and a better housing market. 10/12/2009

The dog park was approved by the city of Mission Viejo City Council.  Last Monday night the Mission Viejo City Council heard from those pro and con on the construction of the new dog park.   The City Council voted 4-1 to allocate funds to build the dog park. When the City Council approved the funds to build the dog park they also on a vote of 3-2 to put that park at Oso Viejo Park, North of the Murray Community and Senior Center, adjacent to Village Green.  It is interesting that the pro-park people had blue shirts that read "MV DOG PARK VOLUNTEER".  I guess since the City approved the dog park they have plenty of volunteers. 10/11/2009

What is the report for the last 4 weeks?  Let's look at the numbers. For the whole of Orange County resale home prices are up 2.0 percent, New home prices are up 0.2 percent and resale condos down 1.7 percent.  The number of sales or sales volume for resale home sales are down 3.3 percent resale condos sales are down 3.9 percent and new homes are also down 33.2 percent. Mission Viejo zip code 92691 prices are up 2.1 percent and the sales are down 9.8 percent. Mission Viejo zip code 92692 prices are down 16.2 percent and the sales are up 20.4 percent. Aliso Viejo prices are down 4.1 percent and the sales are up 8.1 percent. Laguna Niguel prices are down 0.2 percent and the sales are up 21.6 percent. Rancho Santa Margarita prices are down 16.0 percent and the sales are up 6.3 percent. Sa... 10/11/2009

The 7th Annual "THINK PINK" Breast Health Wall of Honor is presented by Capistrano Volkswagen and will be taking place throughout the month of October-Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the The shops at Mission Viejo (lower level, center court). Mission Breast Health Services will once again be the beneficiary of the proceeds raised from this event. Proceeds are to further the awareness,screening and treatment of breast cancer. Shoppers and supporters of Mission Hospital can pay tribute to loved ones, patients ans survivors by making a $25 donation to place a Honor Card on the wall. This could be something that is held in communities all over the country! Let us know what you community is doing to help fight Breast Cancer during October                                                   . 10/09/2009

Casta del Sol Mission Viejo, CA Market report from January 1st till October 1st 2009. September had a showing of 10 closed escrows making it a total of 75 houses sold this year to date. Way ahead of the last couple of years. There were 11 properties that opened escrow in September. The activity is good for this time of the year and hope we can hold on though the fall months. Pricing hasn't changed in the last few months.   Let's take a look at the last 10 years from highest to lowest prices.                         Lowest Sold                     Highest Sold 2009                 $268,000                        $501,500 2008                 $307,000                        $585,000 2007                 $390,000                        $659,900 2006                 $390,000                ... 10/09/2009

Heal the Bay and environmental group out of Santa Monica, California gave good news to beach lovers in Orange Counmty's beaches excellent marks for water quality.  Of the 103 water sampling locations along the Orange County coast, all but one received an A or B grad for water quality.  That is why all us beach lovers find this to be good news. There have been reports prior to this year where locations had been challenged to do better Like San Juan Creek mouth at Doheny State Beach and Baby beaches in Dana Point,  All received an A grade.  Demonstrating the efforts of the communities in Orange County all helping to keep runoff clean. Another piece of good news : no known sewage spills were recorded in Orange County during the summer of 2009.  For water board, surfers, or just beach lover... 10/09/2009

Consumer credit fell in August as banks tighten the credit and cause 7th straight month of keep consumers from getting to more credit.  The consumer is reluctant ot borrow due to job losses and uncertainty in the market place.  The total package of restrictive lending terms and the job situation causes the banks reluctance and the consumer is also reluctant to borrow or lend.  That is the reason Consumer Credit Fell. The consumer credit fell by 12 billion or 5.8 percent at an annual rate, to 2.46 trillion according to the Federal Reserve report released Wednesday.  These continued drops month to month are the longest since 1991.  The demand for credit has had a sever drop families are trying to pay down debt and not interested in taking on debt.  Revolving credit such as credit cards dd... 10/08/2009

Did you know that the Mallorca Homeowners Association asked the City of Mission Viejo to take over landscape maintenance of the slops owned by the association. The slopes that the Mallorca Homeowners Association asked about, line Marguerite Parkway from Ameno to Vista Del Lago and amount to about 5 acres. The agenda report written byKeith Rattay, the city's director of public services, the city has been approached by Mallorca Homeowners Association on other occasions.  The association asked the city to take over the landscape maintenance of the slopes, proposing that the city pay the bill to landscape and the Mallorca Homeowners Association would pay the cost to transfer the water and electricity to the city. The estimated cost to the city would be $32,000 per year and an additional $35... 10/07/2009

As the charts show for Mission Viejo we have a good amount of properties SOLD and many that are under contract. Our properties aren't staying on the market as long either but the winter months will tell the story!       10/06/2009

Bank owned real estate inventory by all calculations will increase in the next few months.   Legal snarls, bureaucracy and well-meaning efforts to keep families in there homes are slowing the flow of properties headed toward foreclosure sales, even when borrowers are in deep distress. While that buys time for families to work out their problems, some analysts believe the delays are prolonging the mortgage crisis and creating a growing "shadow" bank owned inventory of pent-up supply that will eventually hit the market.    The size of this bank owned shadow inventory is a source of concern and debate among industry experts who worry that when the supply is unleashed, it could interrupt the budding home recovery and ignite a new waive of stress in the housing market.    As of July, mortgag... 10/06/2009