The realtor sex scandal isn’t over yet.
The homeowners were unsatisfied with the response from CB, so they are publicizing their story on their own website:
http://www.coldwellbankerstinks.com/
CB is claiming that now they are the victims, and accused the homeowners of extortion. Then the accused realtor’s wife followed him to a motel and beat the crap out of the realtor mistress!
Rich does a great job every month documenting our local market trends:
http://piggington.com/june_2014_housing_data_rodeo
Here is one of his 16 graphs for June, showing how the San Diego active inventory is 55% above last year’s pace:
He also noted that pricing increased but sales dropped, which is natural when every seller is asking more, but fewer get/deserve it.
Another interesting point is how the active inventory didn’t drop off the second half of last year, when normally it does. Will more sellers hang around longer this year hoping for the lucky sale? Probably.
It will look and feel like a stagnant or waning market, unless sellers and their agents reduce expectations. You may not be far off! Just keep lowering the price until showings and offers start happening!
See all of Rich’s great analysis here:
We went to the Furs show at SDSU’s Open Air Theater on August 25, 1984, after they had enjoyed years of steady play on 91X and had just released their ‘Mirror Moves’ album – it was a big show in the day.
(I thought I hit the ‘publish’ button last night)
Hat tip to W.C. Varones for sending in this article on Crisp and Cole, the two real estate agents in Bakersfield who were found guilty of defrauding banks out of nearly $30 million:
FRESNO — For their roles in a mortgage fraud case that rocked Bakersfield, David Crisp was sentenced Monday to 17 1/2 years in prison while his wife, Jennifer, received what the federal judge in the case called “the break of a lifetime”: five years probation.
David, 34, was immediately remanded to custody to begin serving what amounts to the same sentence given in February to his former business partner, Carl Cole, who like Crisp had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud. Both former principals of Crisp & Cole Real Estate and Tower Lending were ordered to pay restitution of more than $28 million.
In a news release, federal prosecutors said David had finally “crashed hard” after flaunting his “ill-gotten wealth” and going around in exotic cars, Armani suits and a private jet.
“David Crisp lived in the fast lane, steering a real estate company that was all image and no substance,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner wrote.
As the housing bubble burst, Crisp & Cole’s projects fell through, home defaults mounted and lawsuits were filed. By September 2007 the IRS had slapped David and Jennifer Crisp with a $111,170 lien in back taxes and the FBI began investigating. Within days, more than 75 federal agents swarmed over 13 properties related to the former Crisp & Cole company.
In his plea agreement, David Crisp admitted that he and his co-conspirators caused losses of at least $29.8 million to defrauded lenders.
The Crisps’ guilty pleas brought to 14 the number of defendants who have done so in the case.
As for the success he appeared to achieve as a young real estate mogul, Crisp told the judge, “It got to my head, your honor.”
His Fresno lawyer, Eric Kersten, portrayed Crisp as an inexperienced “kid” caught up in a booming market. Kersten tried to shift some of the blame to Cole and the bankers anxious to give out loans during the real estate boom.
“Everybody was making money. It was like the wild West,” Kersten said.
Hat tip to AH for sending in this article on the Chinese money laundering:
Here is the follow-up on zerohedge too:
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My take on it:
The gist of the story is that the Chinese banks have been allowing citizens to secretly funnel more than the $50,000 allowable to America and other countries. Much of the money has been used to purchase high-end real estate in places like Vancouver, San Francisco, Irvine, and here in Carmel Valley.
People want to know what will happen if the flow of big-money would stop – doesn’t it mean that high-end real estate markets would tank?
We’ve already seen and heard that as many as 70% of the buyers in Carmel Valley are Asian, and a good portion of them from China.
If they stopped buying, the Carmel Valley market wouldn’t tank, instead it would turn into the same sluggish market like we have in Rancho Santa Fe. Sellers are affluent, and wait until somebody comes along.
RSF Detached Homes
Active listings: 240
Avg LP/sf: $706/sf
Avg DOM: 131
June Sales: 31
Avg SP/sf: $523/sf
Avg DOM: 96
The Ranch has a 7.7-month supply of homes for sale, and a 35% gap between the ask/sell average pricing.
When you talk to agents who work these types of markets, they just accept it as fact that it takes months to sell a house. It’s an environment that is likely to permeate through any market where sellers are flush, and don’t have to move. They will just wait, Chinese or not.
You could make a case that Del Mar Terrace is under-valued, compared to the rest of Del Mar. The views are bigger due to fewer trees, and you can get to the freeway or beach in five minutes – how many places can say that?
Ken Rochetti was the architect of the featured home above, and quite a few others in the north coastal region – here’s one on Whale Watch in La Jolla with some trick drone work:
It was announced that Zip Realty is being bought by real estate conglomerate Realogy (Coldwell Banker, ERA, Century 21, Better Homes and Gardens, and Sotheby’s International). Commenters at the bottom of this article scoffed at the benefit:
http://www.inman.com/2014/07/15/realogy-acquiring-ziprealty-for-166-million
But Zip has a very effective software program that tracks the viewing habits of clients, and then relays the tendencies to individual agents for follow-up.
Their system tracks the homes you search and the time spent looking. Agents are prompted to contact viewers as their searching increases.
I think Redfin and Zillow are doing a similar thing – tracking the homes you view on their website, and then sending you others nearby.
It feels a little like Big Brother stalking, but maybe it is the compromise that gets agents and portals to reach a lasting agreement? Realogy could partner with Zillow and make the software available for the new Zillow agent?
The North SD County Coastal region (Carlsbad to La Jolla) has 1,091 houses for sale currently – and 78% of them are listed over $1,000,000. If you take Carlsbad out of the mix, then 90% of the homes for sale are listed over $1,000,000!
How do the 2014 sales compare?
Though the median sales price is at a new peak, sales remain strong. In spite of this year’s median SP being 20% higher, sales were 10% higher than in 1H11.
Here are the first-half (Jan-June) sales for each year:
| Jan-Jun | ||||
| 2001 | ||||
| 2002 | ||||
| 2003 | ||||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2005 | ||||
| 2006 | ||||
| 2007 | ||||
| 2008 | ||||
| 2009 | ||||
| 2010 | ||||
| 2011 | ||||
| 2012 | ||||
| 2013 | ||||
| 2014 |
The number of listings isn’t directly related to the number of sales, but is a great indicator. Look at how the number of new listings was declining until 2006, then as sellers sensed a peak, the inventory exploded. As long as new listings stay in check, buyers will probably stay in the hunt.
We now have 20 NSDCC houses listed for more than $15 million, including this one owned by the gambler caught up with Phil in the alleged Clorox scandal (Phil was cleared last week):
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Rancho-Santa-Fe/17625-Via-De-Fortuna-92067/home/4183483
They are conducting a no-reserve auction on August 15th, which should be entertaining. He paid $8.5 million in 2010, so he has to be expecting at least that much. It’s open daily 1-4pm.
North SD County’s Coastal Region (La Jolla-to-Carlsbad)
The UNDER-$800,000 Market:
| Date | ||||
| November 25 | ||||
| December 2 | ||||
| December 9 | ||||
| December 16 | ||||
| December 23 | ||||
| December 30 | ||||
| January 6 | ||||
| January 13 | ||||
| January 20 | ||||
| January 27 | ||||
| February 3 | ||||
| February 10 | ||||
| February 17 | ||||
| February 24 | ||||
| March 3 | ||||
| March 10 | ||||
| March 17 | ||||
| March 24 | ||||
| March 31 | ||||
| April 7 | ||||
| April 14 | ||||
| April 21 | ||||
| April 28 | ||||
| May 5 | ||||
| May 12 | ||||
| May 19 | ||||
| May 26 | ||||
| Jun 2 | ||||
| Jun 9 | ||||
| Jun 16 | ||||
| Jun 23 | ||||
| Jun 30 | ||||
| Jul 7 | ||||
| Jul 14 |
Will buyers mind being next to the water tanks + church and be right off a busy street near the Palomar Airport flight path? Not when Davidson is building!
Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
