Richard’s new listing hits the open market on Thursday, and it is stunning. Re-designed and rebuilt from the ground up over the last eleven months (with permits), virtually everything is brand new. A ten-year warranty too!
Four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, and 2,421sf with commanding ocean views from both levels. New roof, HVAC, decks, siding, flooring, and kitchen! $1,575,000 – open house 11-2 on Saturday, May 19th.
Klinge Realty CA DRE #01388871 Richard Morgan (619) 200-3844.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour is coming to the Mattress Firm Amphitheatre on Saturday night, May 19th. Back in the day when we communicated by CB radios, my handle was ‘Freebird’. I’ve seen them play a couple of times, and they are exactly what you’d expect – hard-drivin’ southern rock, and a lot of fun.
My brother Dave is their biggest fan, and he’s going to the show next Friday after winning tickets. The local Bay Area radio station had Gary Rossington in studio, and had him tell a story about writing one of their songs – and the first caller who could name the song would get tickets.
Gary began the story with, “Ronnie and I walked into a bar…..” and boom, Dave is calling in with Gimme Three Steps!
Will the day come when boomers need to sell their house to survive? The reverse mortgages have offered a solution for some, but they are expensive and loan limits have been cut back recently. The general real estate market may not feel the impact of boomers running out of money, but you could see flare-ups of more inventory in older areas.
The grim outlook for many Americans approaching retirement age has some new stark statistics: One-third of respondents in a recent survey said they’d saved less than $5,000 for retirement.
Among baby boomers, one third said they had $25,000 or less in retirement cash available, according to a new data release from life insurance provider Northwestern Mutual.
Looking at the wider pool of Americans in general, 21% reported that they had zero retirement savings, while exactly three quarters agreed that Social Security is unlikely to exist in its current form when they eventually retire. And just about half said they’d done nothing at all to prepare for a future in which they outlived their retirement savings — despite the fact that two-thirds said that scenario was at least somewhat likely.
“As financial implications of retirement become increasingly complex, inertia just isn’t an option,” Northwestern Mutual vice president of planning Rebekah Barsch said in a statement announcing the results. “The good news is that it’s rarely too late to start.”
The survey also revealed that many Americans have resigned themselves to the idea of working longer before retiring, a strategy that’s increasingly preached even by financial planners. Nearly 40% of respondents in the Northwestern Mutual poll said they would work until at least age 70, more than the 33% who said they were targeting a retirement date sometime between 65 and 69.
In addition, the desire for more disposable income slightly outweighed professional satisfaction when respondents were asked why they planned to work past 65. That’s a shift from 2015, when the same study determined that 66% of Americans simply wanted to continue working for the fulfillment of it — as opposed to 60% who cited income as a concern.
“Continuing to work later in life should be a personal choice and not a mandatory requirement for survival,” Barsch said. “Proactive financial planning can be the difference between a desired and a default retirement lifestyle.”
Sherwin-Williams has a mobile app for paint colors. Either it will help you visualize how your home will look with their paint colors, or you can select a color from an image and it will match it to their corresponding color!
The house I had listed in Carmel Valley closed yesterday for $1,080,000. We hit the MLS on the morning of Thursday, April 5th, and the marketing began right away with YouTube video on the blog, the 48-hour Facebook ad (above), and open house on the weekend.
Carmel Valley has been the hottest market in North County, so it was no surprise that we were getting 300+ hits on the ad and on the Zillow page.
The only offer was submitted on Tuesday, April 10th, and we questioned whether to counter at $1,090,000, or just accept the $1,080,000. We used this graph below to help decide it – the phone wasn’t ringing, and the Zillow views were dropping quickly:
My sellers signed the offer.
The initial urgency around a new listing dwindles faster than ever, and it doesn’t get better later, unless other higher-priced new listings happen nearby.
Is it a sign of a slowing market? Or just the reality of real estate sales in 2018?
Buyers have ample internet tools, and are making decisions in an instant.
It’s that time again – more school bonds! In an area like Carmel Valley where there is already Mello-Roos bonds on the books, it feels like doubling up – you may want to get involved!
A recent survey showed that voter sentiments have not changed significantly on a potential Del Mar Union School District (DMUSD) bond in November 2018 to address facilities needs.
At the school board’s Feb. 28 meeting Adam Sonenshein, vice president of FM3 Research and Associates, reported that support for a bond is right at the 55 percent necessary to pass, 10 points below where the measure tested in 2016.
The Carlsbad Unified School District – which is still paying for the last bond issue of $198 million through 2035 – is considering more bonds too:
Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD) has provided an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment to students in our community since 1958. Our world-class elementary, middle and high schools improve our quality of life and protect the value of our homes.
We are proud of the education that our district provides, but some of our schools were built more than 50 years ago and don’t have the modern classrooms, science labs or instructional technology that local students need. Our older schools need upgrades to meet the same academic and safety standards as newer schools.
In order to succeed in college and careers, local students need to be skilled in the use of today’s technologies and have a solid background in science, math, engineering and technology. Local schools need to be updated to ensure that school buildings, science labs, technology and facilities can continue to support high achievement.
State funding for school improvements is limited. In order to maintain high-quality education in local schools, the CUSD Board of Trustees is considering placing a bond measure on an upcoming ballot to generate up to $328 million for facility repairs and updates.
The new-listings count cooled off this week – only 99 vs. 138 last week – but the total number of houses in escrow jumped 9%! Rising rates are probably playing a role in the decision-making by buyers, and the expectation of another Fed move is likely to keep the housing market hopping:
The Federal Reserve is almost certain to raise short-term interest rates at its June policy meeting and will likely follow up with another increase in September, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.
Among professional forecasters surveyed in recent days, 98% predicted the Fed’s next rate increase will come at its June 12-13 meeting, with the average probability of a move then pegged at 85%.
We know that mortgage rates aren’t tied to the Fed rate, but buyers are already jittery about prices – the thought of potentially-higher mortgage rates should keep them very active!
