April 24, 2024
Quote of the Day
Criticism is something you can easily avoid – by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
– Aristotle
This Day in History
April 24, 1980: Iran hostage rescue mission ends in disaster. On this day in 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ends with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued.
On November 4, 1979, the crisis began when militant Iranian students, outraged that the U.S. government had allowed the ousted shah of Iran to travel to the U.S. for medical treatment, seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran’s political and religious leader, took over the hostage situation and agreed to release non-U.S. captives and female and minority Americans, citing these groups as among the people oppressed by the U.S. government. The remaining 52 captives remained at the mercy of the Ayatollah for the next 14 months.
With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission as a last ditch attempt to save the hostages. During the operation, three of eight helicopters failed, crippling the crucial airborne plans. The mission was then canceled at the staging area in Iran, but during the withdrawal one of the retreating helicopters collided with one of six C-130 transport planes, killing eight service members and injuring five. The next day, a somber Jimmy Carter gave a press conference in which he took full responsibility for the tragedy. The hostages were not released for another 270 days.
President Carter was unable to diplomatically resolve the crisis, and the April 1980 hostage attempt ended in disaster. Three months later, the former shah died of cancer in Egypt, but the crisis continued. In November, Carter lost the presidential election to Republican Ronald Reagan, and soon after, with the assistance of Algerian intermediaries, successful negotiations began between the United States and Iran. On the day of Reagan’s inauguration, January 20, 1981, the United States freed almost $8 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and the 52 hostages were released after 444 days. The next day, Jimmy Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans on their way home.
Ojai Weather
Partly cloudy – High 65 / Low 45
Rainfall accumulation from 4/22 & 4/23 – .07 inches
Total rainfall for the season – 36.20
(Note that in my last rainfall update, I had the incorrect number of 35.89 inches as the total rainfall for the season. It was actually 36.13, as I had mistakenly entered my own rain gauge total, rather than the total from the 5 weather stations where I retrieve rain data.)
Lake Casitas water capacity – 100.0%
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
11:45 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
(Note: this is “coming soon” but will be officially on the market tomorrow)
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
11:50 a.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
680-1/2 W. Lomita Avenue – $425,000
11100 Sulphur Mountain Road – $9,250,000 (coming soon, 4/26)
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Pic of the Day
Monday, April 22, 2024
10:40 a.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
940 Hackamore Street – $885,000
3627 Thacher Road – $3,890,000 (coming soon, 4/29)
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”
- 1204 Gregory Street – $975,000 (this was last listed on 3/16; it had been cancelled and off market since that time).
Just a couple of notes about Lake Casitas, now at 100% capacity:
- The lowest water level that Lake Casitas reached (at least in my 19 years living here) was 29.2% on 11/28/22. In the span of roughly one year (from 11/28/22 to 11/21/23), the lake level increased 41.8%.
- From 11/21/23 to today, the lake level has increased an additional 29% – leading to our current lake level at 100%.
- Based solely on the last 4 years (the only data I have), the average amount the lake recedes from May to December is about 5 to 6%. So even with our usual, warm summers, we should still see Lake Casitas near 94-95% by the time the next rainy season starts.
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 19, 2024
1:40 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
The open house list for this weekend has been updated, as has the “Things to Do in Ojai” list, and the 2024 Libbey Bowl concert schedule. There are 24 concerts currently booked between now and October 12th! Enjoy the weekend…
Pic of the Day
Looks like the Windex (SC Johnson) executives can go ahead and buy that yacht
Thursday, April 18, 2024
11:40 a.m.
There are five new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
2835 Hermitage Road – $15,000,000
502 Vista Hermosa Road – $4,325,000 (coming soon, 4/20)
293 McAndrew Road – $2,795,000 (coming soon, 4/20)
37 Taormina Lane – $950,000 (coming soon, 4/23)
Mortgage Rate Update
Mortgage rates finally moved a bit lower yesterday after hitting their highest levels since mid-November on Tuesday. Rates improved about an eighth of a percent, which is on the bigger side for a day-over-day change for conventional 30-yr fixed rates. As nice as it is to see a big improvement, it’s important to understand the nature of the move. Even when rates are spiking consistently higher, its direction is invariably punctuated by brief moments of reprieve. And although recently seen, it’s very rare for a rate spike to play out with each successive day being higher than the last.
In other words, as of today, it’s not safe to view this improvement as anything other than a token bounce that exists as a normal byproduct of what came before it. Whether mortgage rates continue to chart a higher course, or ease back, as they are expected to do before the year’s end, it will depend on the economic data coming out in May. The jobs report, to be released on May 3rd, will be an important tone setter for the month. However, the number one mortgage rate mover is likely to be the April inflation data, which will be released May 15th.
30-yr fixed: 7.43%
15-yr fixed: 6.84%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.62%
30-yr FHA: 6.90%
30-yr VA: 6.92%
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
1:45 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
309 N. Fulton Street – $1,198,000
(This was recently on the market in November at $1,225,000. It did not sell at that time.)
Pic of the Day
Monday April 15, 2024
2:00 p.m.
There are no new listings today, but here is a prior “coming soon” listing that is now on the market:
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 12, 2024
2:45 p.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
410 Church Road #12 – $949,000
417 W. Matilija Street – $2,879,000 (coming soon, 4/15)
Here’s the updated Open House list for this weekend, as well as the updated list of Things to Do in Ojai. Have a great day!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 11, 2024
11:35 a.m.
There are four new listings on the market:
12617 Koenigstein Road – $2,400,000
2267 Burnham Road – $1,375,000
417 McAndrew Road – $6,550,000
Pic of the Day
Pac-Man gets rabies
(Following up on yesterday’s pic…)
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
12:00 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
302 N. Montgomery Street – $1,695,000
(This is a commercial property)
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
12:40 p.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Pic of the Day
Monday, April 8, 2024
2:55 p.m.
Two new listings have come to the market since Friday:
1084 Woodland Avenue – $1,319,000
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 5, 2024
1:20 p.m.
There are no new listings today, however, the open house list for this weekend, as well as the list of Things to Do in Ojai have been updated. Have an enjoyable weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 4, 2024
1:40 p.m.
There are no new listings today.
Pic (video) of the Day
Darth Realtor
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
2:55 p.m.
Two new listings have come to the market since Monday:
124 Done Felipe Way – $259,000
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 12101 MacDonald Drive – $3,850,000 (this recently expired on 3/31)
Pic of the Day
If anyone actually considers manufacturing these – I’m customer #1
Monday, April 1, 2024
10:45 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 12246 Sisar Road – $1,900,000 (this expired earlier today).
Here’s a check-in on current mortgage interest rates:
30-yr fixed: 7.05%
15-yr fixed: 6.50%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.35%
30-yr FHA: 6.46%
30-yr VA: 6.49%
Pic of the Day
