November 28, 2023
Quote of the Day
Relationship is an art. The dream that two people create is more difficult to master than one.
– Don Miguel Ruiz
This Day in History
November 28, 1895: Duryea Motor Wagon wins first car race in U.S. On this day in 1895, piloting a gas-powered “horseless carriage” of his and his brother’s own design, the mechanic, inventor and now racecar driver Frank Duryea wins the first motor-car race in the United States. The race, sponsored by the Chicago Times-Herald, was intended to drum up publicity for the nascent American car industry. It worked, especially for the Duryeas: In the year after the Times-Herald race, the brothers sold 13 of their eponymous Motor Wagons, more than any other carmaker in America.
The race course was originally supposed to loop from Chicago to Waukegan, Illinois, and back (a harrowing 92 miles) but, thanks to the sudden arrival of a spectacular blizzard, race organizers decided to abbreviate the route. (“With eight inches of snow,” one journalist wrote later, “Waukegan might as well have been Timbuktu.”) The racers would be driving just 50 miles, from Chicago to Evanston, Illinois, and back again. The other rules would remain the same: Vehicles had to have at least three wheels, all wrapped in twine to give traction in the snow, and they also had to be able to carry at least two people, the driver and a race-appointed umpire who would ride along to guard against cheating.
Because of the bad weather, only six of 89 racers made it to the starting line: the Duryea; three Benz cars, one sponsored by Macy’s in New York; and two electrics whose batteries died almost immediately after the race began.
About 10 hours after the race began, the Duryea chugged across the finish line. The only other finisher was one of the Benzes (not the one from Macy’s: that one collided with a streetcar on the way to Evanston and with a sleigh and then a hack on the return trip), which sloshed to a finish almost two hours later. The victorious Duryeas won $2,000 and enough publicity to establish themselves as the American motor-car company. From then on, for the Duryeas and all who followed, automobile manufacturing was a business – not just a hobby.
Ojai Weather
Sunny – High 73 / Low 38
Total rainfall for the season – 2.34
Lake Casitas water capacity – 70.9%
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
1:25 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
40 Monterey Drive – $1,249,000
Pic of the Day
1970s? I remember this box well. It seems things may have changed a bit over the years, as I am usually the one who does the dishes (since I hate to cook).
Monday, November 27, 2023
9:40 a.m.
One new listing has come to the market since last Wednesday:
2259-314 McNell Road – $10,750,000
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 1205 Country Club Drive – $2,950,000 (expired on 11/22)
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
10:35 a.m.
There is a new “coming soon” listing on the market:
535 Del Oro Drive – $2,249,000 (coming soon, 12/1)
I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! We’ve got quite a family gathering this year with about 18 members of family in town, so I’m looking forward to it!
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
12:20 p.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Pic of the Day
Monday, November 20, 2023
8:45 a.m.
Two new or “coming soon” listings have come to the market since Friday:
2111 (or 1222) Sunset Place – $1,695,000
(The address number is different in two MLSs; take your pick)
1690 Orchard Drive – $875,000 (coming soon, 12/1)
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Pic of the Day
♫ Picture yourself in a boat in a green field
with green rolling hills and clear, cloudless skies…♫
Friday, November 17, 2023
12:45 p.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
12523 Treeranch Road – $1,075,000
A quick check on the market indicates there are currently 67 active residential listings on the market in the Ojai valley. That’s more inventory than we had several months ago, but still more than half of what we’re used to seeing in a typical market. Here’s a mortgage rate update:
30-yr fixed: 7.37%
15-yr fixed: 6.75%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.75%
30-yr FHA: 6.70%
30-yr VA: 6.72%
Pic of the Day
Thursday, November 16, 2023
11:05 a.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 12507 MacDonald Drive – $950,000 (was last listed on 9/19)
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
11:45 a.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
10461 N. Dale Avenue – $765,000
418 Descanso Avenue – $840,000 (coming soon, 11/18)
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
1:35 p.m.
One new listing has come to the market since last Friday:
1225 S. Rice Road #89 – $189,000
Previously cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 410 W. Ojai Avenue – $2,275,000 (the previous listing was cancelled on 11/6/23)
Pic of the Day
Friday, November 10, 2023
11:05 a.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
1202 Loma Drive #82 – $239,000
Recently expired listings – back on the market:
- 1014 Creekside Way – $719,000 (expired 11/4 – was listed at $799,000)
- 110 W. Oak View Avenue – $525,000 (expired 9/28 – was listed at $599,000)
Have a great weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, November 9, 2023
9:50 a.m.
There are four new listings on the market:
205 S. Ventura Street – $2,950,000
2992 Matilija Canyon Road – $900,000
On a celebratory note – congrats to our client/buyer, who had their offer accepted on 118 Burnham Road!
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
9:25 a.m.
One new listing has come to the market since Friday:
921 Mountain View Avenue – $995,000
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market:
Pic of the Day
Friday, November 3, 2023
10:50 a.m.
There are five new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
216 E. Matilija Street – $2,500,000
Sulphur Mountain Road (land) – $575,000
1138 Tico Road – $1,050,000 (coming soon, 11/4)
(No MLS link available. This is a 2 bed/2 bath, 1,322 s.f. home on .57 acres)
Pic of the Day
Thursday, November 2, 2023
12:15 p.m.
There are no new listings yet for today, however here’s a property that was previously listed as “coming soon” that is now on the market:
Here’s a mortgage rate update:
Mortgage Rates Lower After Fed Announcement, But Not Necessarily Because Of It
Yesterday was “Fed Day,” and mortgage rates fell a bit. So, it must have been due to the Fed announcement, right? Not exactly…
The Fed helped, but more so by getting out of the way, as the market didn’t expect a change. The bond market was already rallying, after a series of earlier morning economic reports, as data was either in line with expectations or weaker. Lower rates love weak data!
Due to the data, along with the Fed announcement, mortgage rates dropped to an eighth of a point lower than Tuesday. That’s a big move for a single day. From here, it will be Friday’s jobs report more than anything else that has the power to add momentum to this move or to push back against it. It all depends on whether it continues showing excess strength in the labor market or signs of deterioration.
[Thanks to Martin Rosenblum with Motif Mortgage for his input and insight!]
Current rates:
30-yr fixed: 7.51%
15-yr fixed: 7.05%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.87%
30-yr FHA: 6.85%
30-yr VA: 6.88%
Pic of the Day
Beautiful home with waterfront submerged views!
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
3:15 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
Prior “coming soon” listings now on the market:
Pic of the Day
