April 19/20, 2019
Quote of the Day
They should invent some way to tape-record your dreams. I’ve written many songs in my dreams that were Beatles songs. Then I’d wake up and they’d be gone. – Alice Cooper
A pessimist is a man who has been compelled to live with an optimist. – Elbert Hubbard
This Day in History
April 19, 1897: First Boston Marathon held. On this day in 1897, John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon with a time of 2:55:10.
The Boston Marathon was the brainchild of Boston Athletic Association member and inaugural U.S. Olympic team manager John Graham, who was inspired by the marathon at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. With the assistance of Boston businessman Herbert H. Holton, various routes were considered, before a measured distance of 24.5 miles from the Irvington Oval in Boston to Metcalf’s Mill in Ashland was eventually selected. The marathon’s distance was changed in 1908 in accordance with Olympic standards to its current length of 26 miles 385 yards.
Fifteen runners started the race but only 10 made it to the finish line. John J. McDermott, representing the Pastime Athletic Club of New York City, took the lead from Harvard athlete Dick Grant over the hills in Newton. Although he walked several times during the final miles, McDermott still won by a comfortable six-minute, fifty-two-seconds. McDermott had won the only other marathon on U.S. soil the previous October in New York.
Women were not allowed to enter the Boston race officially until 1972, but Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb couldn’t wait: In 1966, she became the first woman to run the entire Boston Marathon, but had to hide in the bushes near the start until the race began. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer, who had registered as “K. V. Switzer”, was the first woman to run with a race number. Switzer finished even though officials tried to physically remove her from the race after she was identified as a woman. In the fall of 1971, the Amateur Athletics Union permitted its sanctioned marathons (including Boston) to allow female entry. Nina Kuscsik became the first official female participant to win the Boston Marathon in 1972. Seven other women started and finished that race.
In 1975, the Boston Marathon became the first major marathon to include a wheelchair division competition. Bob Hall won it in two hours, 58 minutes.
April 20, 1841: First detective story is published. Edgar Allen Poe’s story, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, first appears in Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine. The tale is generally considered to be the first detective story.
The story describes the extraordinary “analytical power” used by Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin to solve a series of murders in Paris. Like the later Sherlock Holmes stories, the tale is narrated by the detective’s roommate.
Following the publication of Poe’s story, detective stories began to grow into novels and English novelist Wilkie Collins published a detective novel, The Moonstone, in 1868. In Collins’ story, the methodical Sergeant Cuff searches for the criminal who stole a sacred Indian moonstone. The novel includes several features of the typical modern mystery, including red herrings, false alibis, and climactic scenes.
The greatest fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, first appeared in 1887, in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, A Study in Scarlet. The cozy English mystery novel became popularized with Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series in the 1920s, when other detectives like Lord Peter Wimsey and Ellery Queen were also becoming popular. In the 1930s, sometimes called the golden age of detective stories, the noir detective novel became the mainstay of writers like Dashiell Hammet, Raymond Chandler, and Mickey Spillane. Tough female detectives such as Kinsey Millhone and V.I. Warshawski became popular in the 1980s.
Ojai Weather (for Saturday)
Partly sunny – High 66 / Low 47
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Total rainfall for the season – 25.28
Friday, April 19/Saturday, April 20, 2019
Well, my flight out of Atlanta has been delayed, so I’ll be arriving back in Ojai at about 3:00 a.m. local time. As a result, I am doing the normal Saturday update now (which includes the updated open house list). There are no scheduled open houses for Sunday, no doubt in observance of Easter Sunday. I’ve added a “Quote of the Day” and a “This Day in History” for both today and tomorrow; you’ll have to do without a Pic of the Day for Saturday. The next update will be Monday morning.
5:20 p.m. (Friday)
There is a new listing on the market:
- 614 Grand Avenue – $2,200,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 1071 Rancho Drive – back on the market (had been expired).
- 500-520 N. Ventura Avenue – sale pending.
- 1210 Gregory Street – sold for $460,000 (originally listed for $470,000).
The open house list has been updated!
1:45 p.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
- 484 Avenida De La Vereda – $798,000.
- 125 Prospect Street – $579,000.
- 1273 S. Rice Road #3 – $59,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 210 N. Fulton Street – reduced from $599,000 to $575,000.
- 1014 Creekside Way #G – reduced from $439,000 to $435,000.
- 108 Shady Lane – sale pending.
- 1071 Rancho Drive – this listing has expired.
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai! The updates this week have been scattered (as far as timing) because I’ve been out of town since Sunday for business (all work and no play makes Ray miss Ojai). I’m doing this update from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, now officially labeled as the “busiest in the world.” Despite being the busiest airport in the world, they have the best WiFi connection I’ve ever seen. Not bad, considering there must be 10,000 people in this facility. Anyway, I’ll be back in Ojai this evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning (or early afternoon) with the updated open house list. Have a great weekend!
~ Ray
Pic of the Day
“Hey, Fred? You wanna give Bob a nudge? It looks like he’s been standing there a while.”
Thursday, April 18, 2019
7:15 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 621 Del Norte Road – $1,780,000. (This was recently on the market in December for $1,784,000, but did not sell at that time.)
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 12150 Mountain Lion Road – back on the market (had been expired).
- 804 N. Montgomery Street – this listing has been sold for $1,250,000 (originally listed for $1,349,000).
- 802 El Toro Road – this listing has been withdrawn from the market (had been a pending sale).
11:10 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 130 Don Felipe Way – $225,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 985 W. El Roblar Drive – sale pending.
- 402 N. Fulton Street – this Honorable Mention is now a sale pending.
- 12150 Mountain Lion Road – this listing has expired.
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
7:15 p.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
- 1070 Granito Drive – $875,000.
- 10561 Encino Drive – $2,400,000.
- 445 Mahoney Avenue – $425,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 668 Spring Street – this Best Buy is now a pending sale. Congrats to our clients/buyers and congrats to teammate Rob Perron for bringing this deal to the table!
- 848 Woodland Avenue #15 – sale pending.
- 1885 Maricopa Highway #2 – sold for $172,760 (originally listed for $169,000).
- 10999 Santa Ana Blvd. – this listing has been cancelled.
9:00 a.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- N. Ventura Avenue land parcel – back on the market (had been expired).
- 429 Vallerio Avenue – sold for $669,000 (originally listed for $699,000)
- 257 N. Lomita Avenue – this Honorable Mention has been withdrawn from the market.
- 161 Willey Street – this Best Buy has been withdrawn from the market.
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
2:45 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 108 Shady Lane – $595,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 98 Calle Cinco De Mayo – this Honorable Mention is now a pending sale.
- 1563 Gridley Road – sale pending.
- N. Highway 33 land parcel – sale pending.
- 511 Drown Avenue – sold for $600,000 (originally listed for $575,000).
- 715 Del Oro Drive – sold for $440,000 (originally listed for $450,000).
Pic of the Day
Monday April 15, 2019
6:40 p.m.
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No other changes for today.
Last week I was sitting in a waiting room and had a chance to spend about a half hour reading “From The Fire,” the book that chronicles the events of the Thomas Fire that occurred in December, 2017 (along with some magnificent photos).
Something I never knew: As people were attempting to rescue their animals, the fine people who run the Cavalia/Odysseo horse show connected with the fire department and drove all their trucks and rigs to Ojai to help corral the horses and get them out safely. We had seen the Cavalia/Odysseo show in Camarillo just a couple of weeks before. It was, of course, amazing and beautiful. What a great group of people! We have never owned horses, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the horse community is pretty tight.
Anyway, I don’t know if you knew that about the fire; I thought it was pretty cool.
~ Ray
12:55 p.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
- N. Highway 33 land parcel – $110,000.
- 619 W. El Roblar Drive – $1,995,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 1116 Mariano Drive – reduced from $685,000 to $672,000.
- 475 Montana Circle – sale pending.
- 1605 Daly Road– sale pending.
- 74 Feliz Drive– sale pending.
- 825 Azure Court– sale pending.
- 1694 S. Rice Road– sale pending.
- 929 Devereux Drive – sold for $587,000 (originally listed for $655,000).
- 434 S. Carrillo Road – this Best Buy has been sold for $569,000 (originally listed for $569,000).
- 11020 Rodeo Drive – this listing has expired.
Just a heads up; most of the morning updates this week will occur later in the day (as in, early afternoon).
Pic of the Day
Saturday, April 13, 2019
12:40 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 11195 N. Ventura Avenue #19 – $92,500
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 11827 Mirror Lake Avenue – sold for $529,500 (originally listed for $549,900).
- 418 W. El Roblar Drive – this listing has been withdrawn from the market.
The open house list has been updated; our listing at 1003 N. Drown Avenue will be open tomorrow from 1:30 to 4:00. Additionally, I have completed write-ups for all of the Best Buys and Honorable Mentions that we added to the list yesterday.
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 12, 2019
3:05 p.m.
Whoo boy, what a day! Lots of activity out there; so much so that I had to prioritize seeing the available properties for broker/agent preview this morning over doing the morning update. Strap your boots on, here we go…
There are seven new listings on the market:
- 668 Spring Street – $470,000.
- 2226 Sumac Drive – $749,000.
- 418 Descanso Avenue – $559,000.
- 433 Sunset Street – $789,000.
- 1303 Sunset Place – $689,900.
- 402 N. Fulton Street – $589,000.
- 8 Don Antonio Way – $155,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 1202 Loma Drive #15 – back on the market (had been expired) and increased from $199,900 to $209,900.
- 98 Calle Cinco De Mayo – this Honorable Mention has been reduced from $524,900 to $519,900.
- 880 Azure Court – sale pending.
- 1273 S. Rice Road #7 – sale pending.
- 163-165 N. Pueblo Avenue – sold for $550,000 (originally listed for $650,000).
- 720 Alomar Street – sold for $745,000 (originally listed for $789,000).
- 87 Don Antonio Way – sold for $146,850 (originally listed for $156,000).
- 160 N. Donna Street – this listing has been withdrawn from the market.
After seeing 10 new properties this morning, we’ve added 2 new Best Buys and 5 Honorable Mentions. I don’t ever recall adding 7 properties to the BB/HM lists in one day; this should give you an idea of where our market is at right now. I don’t have time to do write-ups on them today (I’ll do it tomorrow), but here’s the quickie list with links below:
Best Buys
Honorable Mentions
Have a wonderful weekend; I’ll update the open house list and do the write-ups for all Best Buys and Honorable Mentions tomorrow. And finally, here’s the list of things to do in Ojai!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 11, 2019
4:45 p.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 108 Farnham Road – reduced from $1,585,000 to $1,485,000.
- 12681 Sisar Road – this listing has been cancelled.
10:15 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 161 Willey Street – $729,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 304 S. Montgomery Street – reduced from $750,000 to $720,000.
- 1885 Maricopa Highway #13 – sale pending.
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
5:45 p.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 704 Daly Road – reduced from $1,350,000 to $1,295,000.
- 10999 Ojai Santa Paula Road – reduced from $3,299,000 to $2,999,000.
- 306 W. Oak Street – this Honorable Mention is now a pending sale.
- 205 N. Fulton Street – sale pending.
- 160 N. Encinal Avenue – this Best Buy has been sold for $540,000 (originally listed for $526,000).
11:20 a.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 848 Woodland Avenue #26 – back on the market (had been an expired listing).
- 1694 S. Rice Road – back on the market (had been a pending sale).
- 410 Church St. #57 – reduced from $465,000 to $450,000.
- 1205 Sunset Place – this Honorable Mention is now a pending sale.
- 422 Descanso Avenue – this Best Buy is now a pending sale.
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
3:55 p.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 113 Don Carlos Way – reduced from $149,000 to $139,000.
- 196 Mahoney Avenue – sold for $458,000 (originally listed for $539,000).
9:55 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 291 Larmier Avenue – $519,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 145 E. Ojai Avenue – reduced from $3,875,000 to $3,250,000.
- 11947 Koenigstein Road – sold for $744,000 (originally listed for $875,000).
- 3214 Matilija Canyon Road – this listing has been withdrawn from the market.
Pic of the Day
Monday, April 8, 2019
3:40 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 209 S. Ventura Street – $949,500.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 530 N. Ventura Avenue – back on the market (had been an expired listing).
- 11480 Sulphur Mountain Road – reduced from $3,490,000 to $3,480,000.
10:05 a.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
- 985 W. El Roblar Drive – $1,199,900.
- 1014 Creekside Way #G – $439,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 215 N. Arnaz Street – sale pending.
- 94 Don Antonio Way – sold for $110,000 (originally listed for $150,000).
Pic of the Day
Saturday, April 6, 2019
12:50 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 1075 Loma Drive #48 – $69,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 1117 Del Prado Court – reduced from $759,500 to $739,500.
- 127 Bundren Street – reduced from $599,000 to $569,000.
- 409 N. Montgomery Street – sale pending.
- 399 N. La Luna Avenue – sold for $639,000 (originally listed for $679,000).
- N. Ventura Avenue land parcel – this listing has expired.
The open house list has been updated! We’ll be holding open houses at 490 Mahoney Avenue (1:00 to 4:00) and 1003 N. Drown Avenue (1:30 to 4:00) – which recently had the price reduced to $829,000.
Random thought: While driving through downtown Ojai the other day I noticed the sign on the “Ojai Woman’s Club” – located at 441 E. Ojai Avenue. My first thought was, why is it titled “Ojai Woman’s Club” and not “Ojai Women’s Club?” I’m sure there’s a logical reason behind it. But even more so, as I said it aloud to Cheryl (who was in the car with me, of course), I wondered why the pronunciation of the two words sounds different at the front end of each word, rather than the back end of the word where the spelling is actually different, i.e., “wumen” vs. “wimen.” Any ideas?
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 5, 2019
3:15 p.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
- 418 W. El Roblar Drive – $399,000.
- 820 Foothill Lane – $1,398,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 507 Gridley Road – sale pending.
- 57 Don Antonio Way – sale pending.
- 250 N. Donna Street – sale pending.
- 622 Los Alamos Drive – this listing has been added as an Honorable Mention.
- 3400 Thacher Road – this listing has been added as an Honorable Mention.
- 870 Oakwood Street – this listing has been added as a Best Buy.
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai! Have a great weekend; the open house list will be updated tomorrow.
10:10 a.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
- 475 Montana Circle – $1,050,000.
- 409 N. Montgomery Street – $1,495,000.
- 205 N. Fulton Street – $499,900.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 1577-1575 Kenewa Street – back on the market (had been cancelled) and reduced from $2,650,000 to $2,399,000.
- 1003 N. Drown Avenue – reduced from $849,000 to $829,000.
- 775 Burnham Road – this Honorable Mention is now a pending sale.
The list of things to do in Ojai hasn’t been updated yet, but I’ll check it again later today and tomorrow morning. (This list is provided to us courtesy of the Ojai Valley News.) Our whole team is headed out to take a look at seven new properties this morning. We’ve had several weeks in a row where we’ve added a Best Buy or Honorable Mention…let’s keep the streak going!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 4, 2019
6:00 p.m.
There are four new listings on the market:
- 3400 Thacher Road – $1,569,000.
- 870 Oakwood Street – $895,000.
- 1202 Loma Drive #61 – $135,000.
- 959 Amber Lane – $1,895,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 211 Fox Street – reduced from $675,000 to $650,000.
- 800 Canada Street – reduced from $650,000 to $625,000.
- 118 Don Felipe Way – sold for $130,000 (originally listed for $130,000).
- 96 Valley Ridge Street – this listing has been cancelled.
10:10 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 622 Los Alamos Drive – $949,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 4330 Grand Avenue – reduced from $485,000 to $425,000.
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
3:15 p.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 233 S. Montgomery Street – this listing has been withdrawn from the market.
2:55 p.m.
- The Ojai Market Data update has been completed! It’s been an exciting spring, to say the least. Check it out here.
- The usual afternoon update is coming shortly…
10:15 a.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- Grand Avenue land parcel – reduced from $595,000 to $570,000.
- 206 Drown Avenue – reduced from $680,000 to $670,000.
- 1008 Creekside Way #A – sale pending.
- 1885 Maricopa Highway #21 – sale pending.
- 1213 Anita Avenue – sold for $430,000 (originally listed for $425,000).
- 608 Country Club Drive – this listing has expired.
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
4:00 p.m.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 10999 Santa Ana Road – reduced from $8,000,000 to $7,500,000.
- 490 Mahoney Avenue – this Honorable Mention is now a pending sale.
- 2330 Ladera Road – sale pending.
- 1577-1575 Kenewa Street – this listing has been cancelled.
10:45 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 1620 S. Rice Road – $529,900.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 142 N. Alvarado Street – sale pending.
- 295 Burnham Road – sale pending.
- 1368 Farnham Road – sold for $1,210,000 (originally listed for $1,325,000).
- 861 Oak Grove Court – sold for $2,355,000 (originally listed for $2,839,000).
Pic of the Day
Monday, April 1, 2019
4:50 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 160 N. Donna Street – $599,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 422 Descanso Avenue – we’ve added this property to the Best Buys list.
- 434 S. Carrillo Road – we’ve added this property to the Best Buys list. (However, this just became a pending sale as of this afternoon).
- 940 El Centro Street – back on the market (had been a pending sale) and increased from $729,000 to $739,000.
We’ve added new BBIO video; it’s teammate Maria DePaola, speaking with the owners of Sage restaurant here in Ojai. Check it out!
10:20 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
- 1885 Maricopa Highway #1 – $235,000.
Changes to the All Listings page:
- 825 Azure Court – back on the market (had been a pending sale).
- 422 Descanso Avenue – reduced from $639,000 to $629,000.
- 1116 Mariano Drive – reduced from $695,000 to $685,000.
- 87 Don Antonio Way – sale pending.
- 150 S. Arnaz Street – sale pending.
- 950 Woodland Avenue #102 – sold for $109,900 (originally listed for $109,900).
- 848 Woodland Avenue #26 – this listing has expired.
- 12717 Koenigstein Road – this listing has been withdrawn.
- 11249 N. Ventura Avenue – this listing has been cancelled.
Pic of the Day
Too much deuterium?
(A joke for nuclear physicists)