Note: Some of the links below may take you to a blank page with the verbiage, “This is not a valid link.” These links have expired from the Ventura MLS and are no longer accessible. Ojai MLS links are not affected in this way.
Friday, December 30, 2022
10:50 a.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Below is perhaps one of the greatest gifts yet to come this holiday season?
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai. Have a happy New Year; see you in 2023!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, December 29, 2022
9:50 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
110 W. Matilija Street – $2,575,000
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
11:35 a.m.
No new listings on the market today, but here’s a quick interest rate update (with special thanks to Martin Rosenblum at Motif Mortgage (805) 377-5432 for his input):
Though mortgage interest rates will remain volatile going into the New Year, we can still have a healthy economy with today’s rates. Will rates stay at these levels? The answer is no, as they will eventually come back down. Will they go back down to 2.5%? Most likely not.
Over the next 12 months rates will probably sit somewhere between 6% and 7.5%. Eventually, rates will likely drop – and when they drop from 7% to 6% or 6.5% to 5.5% – that will spur refinance activity, giving today’s buyers the opportunity to significantly lower their payments.
Well, why shouldn’t you wait until rates drop? Housing prices will drop too, right? Not so fast! It’s unlikely prices will drop in any significant way anytime soon. As dips will occur, combined with continued low inventory, you’re going to see enough demand on the dips to keep home prices from going down by any true measure. Appreciation will slow to where normal appreciation typically sits (roughly 5% to 6% per year). Add to this, when interest rates do drop, demand will peak, causing housing prices to go back up again. The limited supply of houses will keep markets incredibly competitive, and while demand has recently softened, lower rates will only create a stronger seller’s market.
Buyers are trying to time the markets, but the likely outcome is that they’ll be waiting for a long time.
Current Rates
30-yr fixed: 6.54%
15-yr fixed: 5.85%
30-yr jumbo: 5.70%
30-yr FHA: 6.11%
30-yr VA: 6.19%
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
12:15 p.m.
No new listings have come to the market since last Friday.
I had a chance to spend Christmas with family up in Truckee, California. It was the first time I’d seen snow on Christmas day in over 30 years! Recent “storms” led to there being about four feet of snow on the ground by the time I had arrived, but the skies were clear the entire time I was there. The main streets were plowed and clean, but the neighborhood streets still had some packed snow on them – which I actually love to drive on. It reminded me of my years in Chicago and the serenity of driving on freshly fallen snow (as long as only a couple of inches are on the streets themselves).
I can recall two occasions in which my driving skills were no match for the fallen snow and slick streets. Both times I was on a two-lane highway road. On the first occasion I was by myself and simply slid off the right side of the road into a snowbank. Moments later another motorist stopped and lent a hand to push me out, quite easily.
On the second occasion I was on my way to work with my co-worker and girlfriend. I recall hitting what is commonly referred to as “black ice” – and thus began a 360 degree spin that took me across the opposing lane of traffic and deep into a snowbank. I can vividly recollect – while in the midst of the spin – looking over to my girlfriend and calmly and matter-of-factly saying, “hang on.” That excursion led us to waiting for someone to eventually come by with a four-wheel drive vehicle and a tow chain.
I oddly miss the camaraderie of fellow motorists lending a hand in the dead of winter. (But not enough to leave SoCal!)
Pic of the Day
Friday, December 23, 2022
11:20 a.m.
As you might suspect, there are no new listings for today. Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai over the next week.
Happy holidays; enjoy the the long weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, December 22, 2022
11:00 a.m.
No new listings for today.
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
9:05 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
11:00 a.m.
Two new (or “coming soon”) listings have come to the market since Friday:
1202 Loma Drive #19 – $219,000
140 N. Encinal Avenue – $779,000 (coming soon, 1/6)
Pic of the Day
Over the weekend I was looking for a replacement for my now broken rolling garage stool, and I decided on this little number from Craftsman. I got a chuckle out of the obvious fake background in this photo, not to mention that they chose possibly the worst surface ever to roll a stool across!
Friday, December 16, 2022
12:25 p.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
410 Church Road #17 – $765,000
501 Vallerio Avenue – $949,900
310 E. Matilija Street – $3,800,000
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai; have a great weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, December 15, 2022
9:10 a.m.
No new listings have come to the market since Tuesday. Here’s a quick interest rate update:
Stocks slid yesterday, giving back early gains, as investors absorbed the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate hike decision in its efforts to crush inflation. The Fed delivered a widely anticipated 50 basis point rate hike at the conclusion of yesterday’s policy meeting. Fed officials also forecast raising rates through next year, not lowering rates until 2024. Although acknowledging that inflation is finally easing, the Fed’s focus will continue to be a restrictive stance of policy to assure a return of inflation to lower levels.
30-yr fixed: 6.27%
15-yr fixed: 5.65%
30-yr jumbo: 5.65%
30-yr FHA: 5.75%
30-yr VA: 5.80%
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
9:10 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
1009 Grandview Avenue – $1,339,000
Pic of the Day
Monday, December 12, 2022
11:15 a.m.
No new listings since Friday.
Pic of the Day
Friday, December 9, 2022
10:10 a.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
815 Foothill Lane – $2,395,000
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai; have a nice weekend and enjoy the rain!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, December 8, 2022
10:55 a.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
1109 Mercer Avenue – $1,350,000
1975 Maricopa Highway #49 – $429,000
Here’s another point of view regarding a potential “housing bubble” from our friends over at REsource.TV.
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
9:40 a.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
10:40 a.m.
Recently cancelled or expired listings, back on the market:
410 W. Ojai Avenue – $2,250,000
(Last on the market at $2,300,000 on 11/9/22)
Pic of the Day
Monday, December 5, 2022
1:00 p.m.
No new listings have come to the market since Friday, but there are two prior “coming soon” listings that are now active:
Here’s your real estate market update for Ojai valley listings, including sales that occurred in November 2022:
~ 27 new listings came to the market in November, compared to 28 in October.
~ 17 residential properties sold in November, compared to 13 in October (does not include land parcels, commercial properties, or mobile homes).
~ Of the 17 properties that sold in November, 5 sold above list price, 1 sold at list price, and the remaining properties sold below list price. For comparison, in October, 3 of the 13 listings sold over full price, 2 at list price, and the remaining below list price. The average number of days on the market for properties sold in November was 51 days (32 days in October). (Note: For purposes of these statistics, “list price” is the original list price of the home and does not take into account any subsequent price reductions or increases after the home was initially listed on the market.)
~ The average sales price for homes in November was $1,633,976 while the median sales price was $1,534,654. The lowest sales price for a home in November was $700,000 while the highest sales price was $4,000,000.
~ As of today there are 49 single-family residential homes available on the market (does not include land, commercial property or mobile homes). For comparison, there were 55 active listings on the market on November 3rd (the date of our last market update). Of the 49 active listings on the market at this time, 18 of them are listed under $1,000,000 (there were 21 such listings on November 3rd). If I remove the outlier listing that is priced at $65,000,000 in upper Ojai, the average list price for homes on the market today is $2,182,939 ($1,838,750 in November), while the median listed home price is $1,324,500 ($1,349,000 in November).
~ During the month of November there were 24 price reductions on listings (22 in October). Note: For this metric, price reductions includes ALL types of listings (residential, land, mobile home, commercial) so that you have an overall view of what the entire market is doing.
Though things have settled a bit (e.g., 24 price reductions in November), I still want to point out that five listings closed above list price last month. This is still unusually high. In a “normal” market, we might see one or two of these per month. In addition, though we saw a mortgage rate jump to 7.30% on November 3rd, today we are almost a full-point lower than the previous high for a 30-yr fixed rate mortgage.
Current interest rates:
30-yr fixed: 6.33%
15-yr fixed: 5.78 %
30-yr Jumbo: 5.75%
30-yr FHA: 5.80%
30-yr VA: 5.82%
Pic of the Day
Friday, December 2, 2022
10:50 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
2980 Grand Avenue – $2,600,000
Recently cancelled or expired listings, back on the market:
- 407 Bryant Circle #A – $1,575,000 (last listed on 6/29/22 at $1,600,000)
Prior “coming soon” listings now on the market:
Since it appears it will be raining off and on the next few days, I’ll total up the rainfall on Monday. For reference, my rain gauge indicates that we’ve received .61 inches of rain thus far.
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai; have a splendid weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, December 1, 2022
12:40 p.m.
A comment about today’s “This Day in History:”
Although an instant-classic ballad back in the 80s and early 90s, “Wind Beneath My Wings” quickly became overplayed – not to mention mocked and maligned – as classic wedding fare. But one of my fondest memories as a musician was learning the song on piano so that I could accompany my friend, Raquel, while she sang the song at her sister’s wedding. Raquel had never sung in front of anyone, let alone on stage in front of 200 people. In the months leading up to the wedding, Raquel and I spent hours in my studio as I worked with her on pitch, phonation…and remembering the words. I gave her several mnemonic cues to help her remember the words – and to ease her tension – most of which were humorous and unmentionable here. We had a great time learning together and I recall many moments of laughter throughout the process.
When the wedding day arrived, I hadn’t played in front of a crowd for a couple of years prior to this performance, so I was a bit nervous – but not nearly as nervous as I was for Raquel. It was just Raquel and I on the stage (the band had stepped off while we performed), but as soon as I began playing the opening riff, my performance mentality kicked in and the nerves went away.
I hung on every note she sang…willing her to remember every word…to hit every note. Raquel performed the song flawlessly. By the time we were finished, I felt so much pent-up pride that I could barely contain my enthusiasm as I enveloped her in a great, big bear-hug. Tears had welled-up in her eyes. My ebullience on-stage led her family to erroneously believe that there must have been something “going on” between us. No, I just felt such an immense sense of achievement for her in that moment that I could barely contain myself. It was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen someone accomplish.
It still gives me goosebumps to this day when I think of it…
There are two new listings on the market:
406 Descanso Avenue – $799,000
1225 S. Rice Road #28 – $159,900
Prior “coming soon” listings now on the market:
Pic of the Day
