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, September 30, 2022
12:10 p.m.
There are no new listings for today. Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai, and have a wonderful weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, September 29, 2022
11:30 a.m.
Three new listings have come to the market since Tuesday:
165 Brandt Avenue – $1,675,000
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
12:15 p.m.
Two new listings have come to the market since last Friday:
614 Country Drive – $1,200,000
Prior “coming soon” listings now on the market:
For those of you in the area that receive your water from Casitas Municipal Water District, you likely received the recent flyer that announced, among other things, the water supply status and drought status update. Since many of you likely utilize other water companies (with Casitas acting as a backup), I figured I’d update you on the status of the water supply – as per the flyer:
Water Supply Status
“Water resource management requires responsible stewardship of our limited water resource in Lake Casitas and local groundwater. As such, Casitas is constantly working to manage local supplies and plan for a more sustainable water future. This process involves taking a comprehensive look at our available water supplies, demand management practices, and assessing how we can ensure there will be enough water to go around for the needs of all our customers, both now and into the future.”
“Based on updated Lake Casitas modeling analyses, the Casitas Board adopted a lower long-term operation supply yield compared with a 2004 study. The updated analysis accounts for several factors including hydrologic variability and climate change, the existing non-jeopardy Biological Opinion for Steelhead Trout related to Robles Diversion operations, and current lake capacity. The modeling results were incorporated into the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan which plans supplies for the next 20 years.”
“Casitas also evaluates its near-term supplies for drought management. The near-term supply outlook indicates that the District’s current water demands can be met through the next 3-4 years, using a combination of water from Lake Casitas and groundwater. This is based on a conservation assumption of continued dry conditions and no significant inflows to Lake Casitas [emphasis mine].”
“Even with our drought and current lake level, Casitas has water resources for the future. The District is adaptively planning for water security, and several water supply projects led by Casitas have been completed or are underway. These include the Robles Diversion Facility forebay cleanout and fish screen enhancements, replacement and rehabilitation of Casitas’ local groundwater wells, and design of intertie pipeline projects that will allow access to Casitas’ State Water Project water supply.”
Drought Status
“According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 100% of the state is currently suffering from abnormally dry to exceptional drought conditions. Casitas has been in an extended multi-year drought condition, with current levels in Lake Casitas at 75,000 acre-feet, 31.7% of capacity [30.8% as of today], which is sufficient for several years of water supply at the current demand levels.”
“Water supply conditions are reviewed by the Casitas Board of Directors annually in the spring, after the typical rainy season has ended, for consideration of necessary customer conservation mandates. The Board will be considering Stage 4 drought condition before the end of the year as the the lake level reaches the 30% capacity level. Under the District’s Water Efficiency and Allocation Program (WEAP), a Stage 4 condition would decrease current stage 3 allocations by 10% for a total of 40% mandatory conservation compared with historical demands.”
Pic of the Day
Friday, September 23, 2022
9:45 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, September 22, 2022
11:35 a.m.
No new listings at this point for today. I’ll check in later to add anything that may come up in the meantime.
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
11:50 a.m.
There are three new listings on (or coming to) the market:
1157 Woodland Avenue – $890,000 (coming soon, 9/23)
2899 Matilija Canyon Road – $949,700 (coming soon, 9/24)
(A link is not yet available for this property. It’s a remodeled 2 bed/1 bath, 1,080 sq. ft. home.)
(This one is listed by an out-of-area agent. As such, it did not appear on our “Hot Sheet” of new
listings when it first came to the market on 9/14/22. I happened to stumbled upon the listing last night.)
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
12:05 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
12507 MacDonald Drive – $950,000
Pic of the Day
Monday, September 19, 2022
11:30 a.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
975 Fairview Road – $3,600,000
Pic of the Day
Friday, September 16, 2022
9:15 a.m.
There are four new listings on the market:
115 Fairview Road – $2,150,000
3202 E. Ojai Avenue – $2,500,000
828 Foothill Lane – $4,750,000
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai; have a beautiful weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, September 15, 2022
10:55 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
950 Woodland Avenue #15 – $395,000
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
11:00 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
950 Woodland Avenue #53 – $295,000
Prior “coming soon” listings now on the market:
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
12:25 p.m.
There are no new listings for today. However, here’s an update regarding interest rates:
It’s certainly already been an interesting year for financial markets, especially for housing and interest rates. Mortgage rates have reached their highest level since 2008, surpassing 6%, as it became clearer to investors that aggressive rate hikes from the Federal Reserve would continue. Concerns about the economy and the Federal Reserve’s mission to combat inflation have made them more volatile, as markets continue to manage the prospect of a more aggressive monetary policy.
As summer is unofficially over, traders are back at their desks, and this week brings the next installment of the CPI (Consumer Price Index) data. A few business days later, we’ll get the next Fed policy announcement, as well as an updated rate hike projection from each Fed member.
All of the above is made all the more interesting due to the fact that the Fed, by its own admission, has no idea how much it will hike rates in two weeks, and that it will only be able to decide after it sees economic data. The market’s reaction to next Tuesday’s CPI data could be tremendously interesting indeed.
Top Tier Rates:
30yr Fixed 6.125%
30yr High Balance 6.250%
FHA 5.500%
VA
Jumbo 6.125%
Pic of the Day
Monday, September 12, 2022
3:00 p.m.
One new “coming soon” listing has come to the market since Friday:
103 Taormina Lane – $849,000 (coming soon, 9/16)
Pic of the Day
Friday, September 9, 2022
12:05 p.m.
There are five new listings on the market:
431 Montana Circle – $1,749,000
1006 N. Drown Avenue – $1,500,000
Here’s the list of things to do in Ojai; I’m looking forward to the arrival of hurricane Kay (or at least the remnants)!
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
12:05 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
322 S. Padre Juan Avenue – $995,000
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
12:20 p.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
1202 Loma Drive #19 – $219,000
201 S. Montgomery Street – $550,000
How about those clouds and thunder on Sunday evening!? I called a friend who lives in the hills north of Ojai while that was going on (about a 30 minute drive from Vons), just to see if he was getting any rain. Yep, about .30 inches with a couple of nice downpours. I don’t think I can count that as official Ojai rain, can I?
Pic of the Day
Friday, September 2, 2022
11:25 a.m.
There are two new listings on the market:
Here’s your real estate market update for Ojai valley listings, including sales that occurred in August:
- 36 new residential listings came to the market in August, compared to 35 in July.
- 34 residential properties sold in August, compared to 11 in July (does not include land parcels, commercial properties, or mobile homes).
- Of the 34 properties that sold in August, 17 were sold above list price, while the remaining 17 sold below list price. Half of the sales that closed in August were above list price. For comparison, in July, 7 listings sold over full price, 1 at list price, and the remaining sold below list price. (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 August was $1,213,471 while the median sales price was $975,000. The lowest sales price for a home in August was $527,000, while the highest sales price was $3,850,000.
- As of today there are 53 single-family residential homes available on the market (does not include land, commercial property or mobile homes). For comparison, there were 51 active listings on the market on August 3rd (the date of our last market update). Of the 53 active listings on the market at this time, 20 of them are listed under $1,000,000 (there were 21 such listings in August). If I remove the outlier listing that is priced at $79,900,000 in upper Ojai, the average list price for homes on the market today is $1,867,354 ($1,862,743 in August), while the median listed home price is $1,359,000 ($1,399,000 in August).
- Despite what the media says, when 50% of the listings are selling above the list price – the market, at least as far as the Ojai valley is concerned – is still brisk. When I ask other Ojai realtors their opinions on the market, almost everyone says that it “feels” like it’s tapering off (and I agree), but I think it’s mostly due to the fact that there aren’t as many multiple-offers now on a given property as there were a year ago. The market doesn’t quite have the same “frenzied” feel to it. Ultimately, this is a good thing – as the kind of growth we’ve seen over the last two years is not sustainable and is actually unhealthy for the housing market.
Finally, here’s the list of things to do in Ojai. Have a splendid weekend, and stay cool!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, September 1, 2022
12:45 p.m.
There are five new listings on the market:
1214 Ayers Avenue – $1,500,000
405 N. Ventura Street – $850,000
304 Topa Topa Drive – $1,300,000
11480 Sulphur Mountain Road – $3,900,000
Pic of the Day
