April 18, 2024
Quote of the Day
A dog is not “almost human” and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such.
– John Holmes
This Day in History
April 18, 1958: Federal court releases Ezra Pound from hospital. A federal court rules that Ezra Pound should no longer be held at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the criminally insane in Washington, D.C. Pound had been held for 13 years, following his arrest in Italy during World War II on charges of treason.
Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho, and grew up in a suburb near Philadelphia, where his father worked at the U.S. Mint. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he met William Carlos Williams and had a romance with Hilda Doolittle, later known as the poet H.D. He earned a master’s degree in languages from the University of Pennsylvania in 1906.
He took a job teaching at Wabash College in Indiana but lost it after six months, having been accused of hosting a woman in his room overnight. In 1908, Pound moved to London, where he taught and published reviews. While working as secretary to William Butler Yeats, he met the daughter of one of Yeats’ friends, Dorothy Shakespear, who he married in 1914. The couple later had a child. During this time, he wrote important works of literary criticism, spelling out the rules for new forms of poetry. He championed young writers such as William Carlos Williams, H.D., T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway and Marianne Moore. He also began writing his own poems, including his 116 Cantos, which combined his memories, feelings, impressions, and fragments of literature.
In 1920, Pound and his family moved to Paris, where he fell in love with violinist Olga Rudge, with whom he also had a child. In 1925, he and his wife moved to Rapallo, Italy. Pound spent the summers with Rudge in Venice until World War II broke out; Rudge then joined Pound and his wife in Rapallo.
Pound strongly supported Benito Mussolini, believing that art flourishes under strong leaders. He worked actively against the Allies until the end of the war, when he was arrested by U.S. forces and held for weeks in an open cage in a prison camp near Pisa. The experience broke his mental health, although he produced one of his most beautiful works, the Pisan Cantos, there. When he was returned to the U.S., he was ruled unfit to stand trial and held at St. Elizabeth’s for 13 years. While Pound languished in prison, his Pisan Cantos (1948) won an award from the Library of Congress. Poets and authors rallied around him and finally gained his release in 1958. He returned to Italy, where he lived until his death in 1972.
Ojai Weather
Sunny – High 72 / Low 47
Total rainfall for the season – 35.89 inches
Lake Casitas water capacity – 99.4% (up from 99.2%)
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
