Here comes Santa Ana again

自然说话。 又是热浪来袭。

Pacific Highlands Ranch

准备写一个比较完整的Carmel Valley的各个小区介绍. 先来离我最近的。 Pacific Highlands Ranch:

从Del Mar Height & Carmel Valley交界开始：

1. Arabella

Pardee在05到07年之间开发的。有3个plan. Plan1比较小，2006sf. 楼下就是客厅厨房加一个formal dining. 楼上3间卧室。 都不是很大。 Plan2是2056. Plan3最大有2456sf. 楼下可以有option加一卧室。 楼上3间卧室加一个loft(可以改成卧室）。 Lot size不大，4000左右。

价格大概80到90万之间。HOA 225, MR 220.

2. Santa Rosa

是Pardee同期开发的3000尺左右的房子。 Plan1 2952sf. Plan3 3600sf. Lot 6000到8000尺不等。

当年基本上都是110万-120万开价。

3. Portico

Pardee 2004年推出的为了配合喜欢Carmel Valley又囊中羞涩的人群开发的貌次townhouse其实是single family的房型。 一共4个房型。 从2100到2400不等。 其中plan3还得到过一个设计的award。 （plan3的设计中国人喜欢。 门在正中间，两边对称的）

4. 最新开发的楼盘Manzanita Trail. 我单独有介绍。 这里不重复了。

1，2,3 & 4 一起，算是，或者说，叫做Pacific Highlands Ranch。

Pardee总是大力鼓吹自己是living smart, 强调自己的energy saving的选择。 不过他自己才真是smart。 早在10多年前都买下了carmel valley一众空地。 虽然这几年bubble破了，在LV损失不少，但是sd这边稳打稳扎，稳赚不赔。 题外话了。

5. Santa Babara: 85 units.
顺着Del Mar Height往西走，路右手边一个gated community 是Santa Babara. 也是Pardee建的。 最外面的一圈都有canyon view. 房子比较大，3377到4000. Lot也不小。 尤其是有view的lot很大。 03年的时候都要卖到100万了。 （HOA106，MR120）Santa Babara goes to Carmel Creek which only has up to 4th grade.

6. Solein & Bordeaux

Bordeaux 是Pardee2004年的楼盘。 一共有287户。 从2500到2700. Pardee05到06年期间又在相连的地做了Solein。 Solein的户型设计颇受好评。 导致现在在卖的Bridal Ridge沿用的和Solein同样的户型。

Solein和Bordeaux go to Sycamore Ridge school. (Del Mar Union School District) Only 4 years old but very good school! (New and good API). The Principle's last name is DISNEY! And she writes a blog! Check it out!

3 Big Banks now Dominate Mortgage Market

According to WSJ, more than half of U.S. residential mortgage are being made by just three large banks. While big banks are originating lots of mortgages, they are selling nearly all of them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Treasury-backed entities are guaranteeing about 85% of new mortgages, while the Fed buys 80% of the securities into which these taxpayer-backed mortgages are packaged.

Despite the bust, conforming mortgages that qualify for government backing remain mispriced. That can be seen in the fact that banks have no desire to keep the most common mortgage on their books.

"Too Big to Fail" now becomes even more "Too Big to Fail".

推荐一种植物

Arborvitae green giant. 现在 Jackson and Perkins在sale. 这种一年可以长3个feet, check with your HOA before purchasing.

这个排名100个DIY upgrades under $100的第二。

Dense, dark, wonderfully fragrant evergreen foliage from the ground up never needs shearing or pruning. An ideal choice for a privacy screen, it is easy to grow, and very long-lived, with good deer, pest, and disease resistance. Best if grown in sun but will tolerate light shade. Reaches 30 to 50 feet tall, 8 to 10 feet wide in just 10 years. Grows 3 feet or more each year, topping out at 50 feet tall. Stands up to wind, heavy ice and snow loads, and temperatures to -20° F. Deer, bagworms, and other pests and insects leave it alone. Adapts to most any soil. Wonderful "piney" fragrance. Great alternative to Hemlock in the North, Leyland Cypress in the South. Stays green year-round and doesn't mind heat and drought. Branches right down to the ground and can be sheared to any shape. Thrives in full sun to light shade.

Derby Hills

Derby Hills in Carmel Valley almost close out.

Last Sunday when we were there, there was quite a few visitors. Now the models are totally open to public. You don't have to go through sales' judgmental greetings. Anyway, I made some sort of funny model tour videos and will be posted on my youtube channel. My client really liked them (not the house but the videos I made)

There is only one model left for sale and listed for 1600K.

Duck pond auction

搞得跟ebay一样。。。

原来卖7999K没人买， so, now, live auction, price starting from 999K.

我写这个房子是因为有太多人打电话给我想去看!

这个房子在Del Mar Mesa。 我想很多人一直住在Carmel Valley但是可能都不知道哪里是Del Mar Mesa。 这个地方相当的隐蔽。 从Carmel Country一直往山上走，过了56往左转。一直上山。 路很窄就2条lane。 里面都是各式各样的豪宅。 整个Del Mar Mesa有2000多亩地。

Duck Pond只有12户。每一户都是1-2亩地。坐落在Del Mar Mesa的最顶上。往下看就是Penasquitos Canyon。 （听说里面有一个很美的瀑布)

这个在卖的房子有10个卧室。 10，000sf. 同时还在出租一个月是22750. 房主是580万买的。 别的话就不用说了。

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold at LIVE AUCTION -- NO RESERVE PRICE. This home will be sold on October 22nd, 2009, subject to Seller's confirmation. Previously listed at $7,999,999, this home could be absolutely the best deal of the year. With no reserve price and no minimum opening bid, this is the chance of a lifetime.

总算出来俩房子

昨天cv出来2个bank owned.

一个Solein的。 799K， 下午6点去的，车都在街边趴满了。 有3家在看。 台子上已经扔了7，8张名片。 今天已经不active了。

一个Montemar的1532尺的townhouse, condition比较差。 不过估计过几天也卖了。

Hire a tough home inspector

事实上，用你自己的realtor推荐的inspector和realtor的利益是冲突的。 因为好的inspector有可能检查出来房子的一大堆问题，buyer非常有可能就退后不要这个房子了。

不过大多数的buyer在看房的过程中建立了和realtor的互相信任的关系。 就会雇用realtor推荐的人。

所以买家不如再多做点home work, 问问周围朋友的推荐，上网看看home inspector的reviews.

你可以通过以下的网站找到home inspector:

全美房屋检查员协会

加州房屋检查员协会

Updates on Terramar

Don't register on Pardee's website if you'd like rebate from a realtor!!

Terramar, new neighborhood of two-story homes with three to five bedrooms located right across street from Westview highschool.

New information will be posted when it becomes available.

Updatd on Sept. 13...I ran into the guy who replies all email inquires at Pardee and he told me that the managers are having comparables done and making the final pricing. He would think the prices would be in the 700Ks. They will start everything early 2010.

又一次的狼来了： Foreclosure Flood

Aired on CNBC August 31, 09:

我们都知道，银行一直在hold很多的房子for monthes. 大家拭目以待他们会把这些房子如何处理。 下面的录像是CNBC昨天的报道：

不过现在看这些新闻感觉就是狼来了。 叫嚣了几次了市场上的inventory还是很少。 现在很多人要买房子但是没有房源。 尤其是好区的房子大家喜闻乐见的价位的房子更是奇缺。 搞得有个好房子一出来就像早市一样拥挤。所以真的会不会有很多bank own出来，会不会影响整体房价，就只能拭目以待了。


下面也是CNBC的一个记者写的：

There have been a lot of accusations on the blogs and on the air that banks are holding on to REO (bank-owned) foreclosed properties because they don't want to put them on the market and push home prices ever lower.

In digging into this, I got a few interesting answers:

Bank of America:

• Foreclosure sales have been abnormally low since we learned of the pending implementation of the administration's Making Home Affordable program. From that point, we delayed the initiation of foreclosure proceedings and sales for customers that may eligible for a loan modification under MHA. As a result of this policy, our foreclosure sales in recent months have been as little as half the normal pace we experienced before.
• Until a foreclosure is completed, Bank of America continues to exhaust every possible option to qualify customers for modification or other solutions.
• Now that Making Home Affordable programs are operational, we do project an increase in foreclosures as we exhaust every available option to qualify customers for modifications and other solutions.
• While we have very strong loan modification programs now available, unfortunately, these foreclosure projections reflect the increasing number of customers who will not qualify for loan modification because they have suffered major life events servicers can't solve...primarily unemployment and underemployment.
• We do not hold foreclosed properties off the market. The vast majority of mortgages serviced by Bank of America are owned by third-party investors. We have an obligation to them to prepare foreclosed properties for market and sell them as efficiently as possible.

Then I spoke with Ted Jadlos of LPS Applied Analytics. He says there is no clear evidence of purposeful accumulation by the banks of these foreclosed properties. They are, he believes, working through the huge onslaught of new defaults as fast as possible, but it takes time. He says they are selling REOs at a fast clip as well, within about three months of taking them as REO.

Based upon foreclosure and REO timelines, it's going to take at least 18 months to flush the system of our current problems. But to flush the problems in only 18 months, more problem loans need to leave the system relative to the new problem loans of today and tomorrow. That does not appear to be the case right now-we aren't clearing faster than new problems are emerging.