Posts Tagged ‘North Ranch homes’
My grandmother used to say, “We are running around like chickens with our heads cut off!” That’s the way it’s beginning to feel out here in the trenches of Conejo Valley real estate. The supply of homes on the market is down 28% from last year, and sales are running strong. So far, the number of closed sales is trending about 7% higher than last year, but I expect this number to grow, because the number of pending sales is up dramatically.
Reason to cheer? Perhaps! For the Conejo Valley, the February 2012 supply of homes and the number of homes entering escrow set encouraging benchmarks. At day’s end on February 29, there were only 580 active listings, fewer than at the end of 2011 (see last month’s spin). In fact, we’ve not seen such low inventory since the first half of 2005 and then again in the last quarter of 2009 and early 2010.
Meanwhile the number of opened escrows – a leading indicator – hit 300, a number not repeated since 2005. For the past year we’ve dealt with a low supply of homes throughout the Conejo Valley, but demand has been light.
Tune in to next month’s “Spin” to see if this good news bodes a positive trend!
This report does not include sales in the Master Series, the Ben Johnson Fairway homes, Fairway Oaks or Fairgreen Townhomes. For this information or for a 2012 update to this report, please contact me.
The information in this report was provided through the Southland Regional Association of Realtors MLS as of 2/6/12. The listings and sales are not exclusive to Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty and may have been represented by other brokers. Display of MLS data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed by the MLS.
Listed at $5000/month. To shee this home, contact me at 805.906.1001.
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4438 Guildhall Ct. – New Listing in First Neighborhood Open 2 – 5, Sunday, 7/17!
Stylish pool home with to-die-for kitchen: Zambian Blue King slab granite counter tops, Thermador
cooktop and oven plus a second oven, built-in frig, huge center island with eating area, SieMatic cabinets with pull-outs, garden window too. The addjoining family room has a wall of built-in cabinets. Both the kitchen and family room have warm wood flooring. Originally a 4-bedroom, this home now offers a super-master with a sitting area and a walk-in closet, plus a large master bath with spa tub. The two secondary bedrooms are spacious and airy. Ceiling fans, two skylights, smooth ceilings, newer heating and AC units, and a security system too are among tis home’s other upgrades. A very private backyard sports a pool with diving board, while the front entry features a gated garden courtyard. Situated on a cul-de-sac street, this charming home offers the opportunity to get to the top-rated elementary school, greenbelt, community center and community park without any streets to cross. Move-in ready just in time for school in the highly ranked Las Virgenes District. Photos and YouTube video coming Monday.
Listed at $698,000, one of the handful of homes in Westlake Village listed under $700,000.
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811 Sunstone St. – Charnming North Ranch Town Home, Open 2 – 5, Sunday, 7/17!
Charming Braemar North Ranch C plan, with 2 bedrooms, 2½ baths, plus a downstairs den that could be made into a third bedroom. French doors in the living room lead to a large yard, covered patio, lush landscaping, and even a private spa. This light and bright home boasts a laundry room with built-ins, ample closets, and built-in storage in the garage. Located close to shopping, hiking trails and park with tennis courts and playfields.
Listed at $499,900 – lowest price in Braemar Town Homes.
Listed at $1,495,000 by Dana Olmes, Ewing & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty.
If you want to follow the trends, just follow the headlines. In the past two weeks we have seen headlines pointing to a more positive real estate market. From the Huffington Post and other news outlets, 30-Year Mortgage Rates Top 5%. Why is this positive? As interest rates creep up, sooner or later home buyers begin to notice. The sentiment that there is no hurry, that an even better deal will be there tomorrow, begins to slip away. As this article points out, if interest rates rise from 5% to 6% and the price of a home drops from $500,000 to $450,000, the actual cost of the home over 30 years will be $90,000 higher.
From the LA Times, California Luxury Home Sales Jump 21% (even the wealthy like a bargain). And the Wall Street Journal, Cash Buyers Lift Housing, cites data from the National Associations of Realtors indicating 28% of home sales last year were all-cash deals – double the rate in 2008.
Finally, from the LA Times again, Now May Be the Time to Buy a Home. Says the usually pessimistic economist Christopher Thornberg, principal with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles, “Certainly, we’re pretty sure we’re at the bottom” for home prices, as quoted in the luxury home sales article.
What does it all mean? If you are a home buyer, it may be time to step up to the plate. Stories of homes selling in multiple offers are not uncommon. This means you could soon find yourself paying both a higher interest rate for your mortgage and a higher price for your home.
If you are a seller who is buying up, now may be the time to pick up that dream home. And if you are selling because of a personal or financial situation, don’t wait for prices to rise dramatically unless you have a lot of time. During the 1990s, in the LA area,it took 9.5 years for home prices to regain their 1990 peak.
In 1975, the North Ranch area was being planned and developed. However, there was a caveat. A fire station was required in order to safely service the North Ranch Community. Although the agreed upon location eventually became a park, North Ranch was erected.
At the time, the City of Thousand Oaks wanted to save the Wildwood Mesa on the west end of Avenida de los Arboles as open space, so the city reached an agreement with the owners of Wildwood Mesa. Wildwood mesa agreed to allow homes to be built in the North Ranch area. As part of the agreement, Conejo Recreation and Park District would agree with the city and Mesa owners only if they could have the original fire station site to add to their park site. Therefore, a second fire station site was agreed upon, which is the northeast corner of Kanan Road and Upper Ranch Road. This is the site of today’s fire station: Fire Station 37.
Many residents of North Ranch and throughout the Conjeo Valley live in a Wildland Urban Interface, that is, bordering a natural area. Many others live within a mile of a natural area – the Ember Zone – and are at risk of embers blown from a wildfiare. It’s comforting to know that in North Ranch we have a great fire station ready to service our area if we need help. And by the way, this stations doubles as a polling center on Election Days.
Information retrieved from: North Ranch Living, October 2010.
CAbi. It’s a noun, it’s a verb. It’s even an adjective. Carol Anderson by Invitation. For the unitiated, Carol Anderson has been designing women’s clothing for three decades. She first displayed in Nordstrom, and then other retailers as well. She is well known for her reversible skirt.
In 2001 she reinvented herself, going directly to her customers. Now CAbi is sold only through in-home parties. It’s a marketer’s conundrum: Women who shop for sale merchandise all the time will go to a friend’s house for a CAbi party, have a glass of wine, try on clothes in front of each other, and pay full price. In this stubborn recession, CAbi enjoyed its best August in its history.
I have CAbi-ed for seven years at my friend Betsy’s home in North Ranch – twice a year, rarely missing a show. Last night Betsy’s CAbi rep, Debi Rote, unveiled the new fall collection. The theme this season is New York: Soho, Chesea, Madison Avenue – you get the idea – and the color is black. As the rep said, black is the new black. There were black stretch pants, black skirts, black sweaters, black dresses, black tubes, black jeans – with interesting colors such as spruce, blueberry and hot tamale sprinkled throughout. (Carol’s colors are never simply green, blue and red; even black is not black; it’s licorice.). You can see the collection online, but you can’t buy it there, and in truth the online presentation doesn’t do it justice. In fact, it’s not supposed to: You have to go to a party and get inspired, get undressed and get your wallet out. In short, you have to CAbi.
Prices aren’t cheap, but they are easy to justify. The fabrics are soft and non-wrinkly. The styling is detailed and glides sinuously over all types of bulges and bumps. And for those who really do their homework, CAbi leggings, for example, are at least $40 cheaper than a recent number at Nordstrom, and Carol’s Paris jacket a bargain compared with a dashing Nanette Lepore at the same store.
So 13 women, some plump, some skinny, some tall, some short, some 20-something, some “we shall not whisper their age,” some friends, some strangers – CAbi-ed last night. It was great fun, and I know those black leggings and that Chanel-like jacket will look smashing. And think of all the money I saved!





















