Best Buys In Ojai/Team Deckert – Our daily blog spotlighting the best in Ojai Valley real estate!

August 25, 2026

Quote of the Day

Twenty-five of San Francisco’s top bootleggers were arrested during the days of the Volstead Act [Prohibition], and as they were being arraigned, the judge asked the usual questions about their occupations. The first 24 all claimed to be engaged in the same professional activity – each claimed he was a Realtor. Then the judge asked the 25th defendant, “What are you?” The fella says, “Your Honor, I’m a bootlegger.” The judge is surprised, but he laughs and asks “Well, how’s business?” The bootlegger says, “It would be a lot better if there weren’t so many Realtors around.”

~ Ronald Reagan

[And this sentiment still holds true today. – Ray]

This Day in History

August 25, 1945: John Birch killed by Chinese communists. On this day in 1945, John Birch, an American missionary to China before the war and a captain in the Army during the war, is killed by Chinese communists days after the surrender of Japan, for no apparent reason. His death would inspire a small but vocal group of conservative anticommunists.

After America had entered the war, Birch, a Baptist missionary already in China, was made a liaison between American and Chinese forces fighting the Japanese. But on August 25, Birch, commanding an American Special Services team, was ordered to halt by Chinese communist troops. A scuffle ensued, and according to his commanding officer, Gustave Krause, Birch argued violently with the communist officer trying to disarm him. The Chinese shot Birch and bayoneted him repeatedly. “Birch made the communist lieutenant lose face before his own men,” said Krause. “Militarily, John Birch brought about his own death.”

In the 1950s, Robert Welch would create a right-wing, anticommunist organization called the John Birch Society. For Welch, Birch was “the first casualty in the Third World War between communists and the ever-shrinking Free World.”

Ojai Weather

Mostly sunny – High 100 / Low 62

Lake Casitas water capacity – 96.3%

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

12:00 p.m.

There are three new or “coming soon” listings on the market:

921 Shokat Drive – $2,250,000

1975 Maricopa Highway #23 – $399,000

314 Descanso Avenue – $829,000 (coming soon, 8/26)

Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”

182 Mountain View Street – $495,000 (this had recently been withdrawn on 6/12)

Pic of the Day

Captain Ramius: “We will pass through American patrols, past their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city and listen to their rock and roll…while we conduct missile drills.”

Picnickers: “Look, it’s a manatee!””

Friday, August 21, 2026

10:15 a.m.

There are four new or “coming soon” listings on the market:

569 Tico Road – $1,500,000

418 Descanso Avenue – $922,000

575 E. Thomas Street – $880,000

233 El Plano Drive – $1,149,000 (coming soon, 8/27)

Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”

365 Encino Drive – $1,995,000 (this had recently been cancelled on 8/14).
16825 Maricopa Highway – $2,995,000 (this had recently expired on 7/2).

Have a great weekend!

Pic of the Day

Realtor humor

Thursday, August 20, 2026

1:55 p.m.

There are no new listings on the market, but here’s a quick market update: Normally, I would include the graphs from Altos Market Data – but upon further investigation, I find their statistics to be off by quite a large margin. So, I have done the research myself on a few of the basic metrics we watch as Realtors & Brokers – including days on market, average and median sales prices, and the average list-to-sales price percentage.

These statistics include Ojai and Oak View only, and only residential homes (no commercial, mobile home, or land parcels):

Last quarter of 2025 – 10/1/25 through 12/31/25

Average Days On Market – 89

Average Sales Price – $1,388,668

Average Price Per Square Foot: $768.00

Median Sales Price – $1,175,000

Highest Sales Price – $3,848,000

Last quarter up to today – 5/20/2026 through 8/20/2026

Average Days On Market: 49

Average Sales Price: $1,541,926

Average Price Per SF: $766.00

Median Sales Price: $1,330,000

Highest Sales Price: $5,500,000

Overall, I would say (mostly from “feel”) that there’s a slight buyer’s edge in the market – allowing buyer’s to negotiate a little more effectively to secure a lower purchase price on their home. The large difference in Days On Market is likely seasonal – spring to summer are typically more active months than fall to winter.

Pic of the Day

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

2:50 p.m.

There is one new listing on the market:

1225 S. Rice Road #36 – $429,000

Pic (video) of the Day

(Click on the photo below)

“Yes, it was very sad when the guy stopped…drawing the deer.”

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

12:40 p.m.

One new listing has come to the market since Friday:

259 Prospect Street – $890,000

Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”

203 N. Fulton Street – $919,000 (this had recently expired on 7/27).

Pic of the Day

I can’t wait to see your Pong-inspired bathroom

Friday, August 14, 2026

11:35 a.m.

There are two new listings on the market:

160 N. Encinal Avenue – $939,000

306 E. Matilija Street – $2,200,000

Recently cancelled, expired, or withdrawn listings – back on the market as “new:”

16096 Maricopa Highway – $1,449,000 (this had recently been cancelled on 7/10).

Have a great weekend!

Pic of the Day

Amazon driver, arriving at Charolotte’s place:

“Aw, hell no!”

Thursday, August 13, 2026

10:00 a.m.

There is a new “coming soon” listing on the market:

125 Oak Drive – $835,000 (coming soon, 8/14)

Pic of the Day

Actual listing photo – what kind of orgy house is this?

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

10:55 a.m.

One new listing hit the market in the last five days, but it’s already a pending sale:

11374 Oakcrest Avenue – $850,000 (already under contract)

I just returned from a 10 day trip to visit my family in Chicago. It was a combination of sadness and joy – the sadness consisted of saying “goodbye” to our family home that the Deckerts had owned for 52 years. My younger brother – who bought the home from my father 15 years ago – made the move to a new home just 20 minutes away. We went through the last of the older family photos, letters, notes, and other memorabilia between my mother and father, combined their ashes and put them in smaller urns that all the kids could take with them (I received a minor inquisition from the O’hare TSA when I carried it with my on-board luggage), held a vinyl album lottery of my dad’s 1,500 or so records; sawed open an old safe that belonged to my younger sister (with her approval, of course) – hoping for a more exciting reveal than that of Al Capone’s vault; and my brother’s mother-in-law made throw pillows out of several of my father’s old work uniforms – complete with his name patch, as well as the company’s logo. Indeed, tears were shed.

But there was much joy as well: The six of my younger siblings and myself, goofing on each other during the album lottery; the last Deckert family baseball game to be held in the side yard; one of my younger brothers – who stopped playing sports by the time he was 10 years old – hitting a home run over the house; seeing my little sister, who only a year ago first signed up with the School of Rock adult band in order to learn to sing, then watching her perform live in front of a room of 200 people and absolutely nailing “You Got Today” (by Maggie Rose) – causing me to get the chills and tears to form in my eyes; watching my sister’s kids also perform live on that same stage; stopping at Portllo’s twice to get the famous Chicago-style hot dog (which I would pick over steak and lobster any day); and staying up until 2:00 a.m. just shootin’ the breeze with my brother.

All great and cherished memories of my former home – but it’s good to be back home in Ojai, my “forever” place to be!