30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rates are Rising
Interest rates on both 30 year and 1 year mortgages increased this past week. Rates on other loans did not see any change. Read More

Second Lawsuit Challenges UTC Road Design Contract
University City: For the second time, a residential-environmental coalition has file suit against the City of San Diego in an effort to overturn an October approval of an approximate $5 million contract to create a final design for a proposed road which will go through and above Rose Canyon Open Space Park. The contract as it stands, calls for work to begin prior to the required environmental impact report is finished and published. The Friends of Rose Canyon argue that the entire purpose of the environmental impact report is to disclose to policymakers and the general public the overall extent of the environmental impact the road will cause. The group has fought the construction of the Rose Canyon Bridge and additional roads for the past six years. Read More

Pay Off Your Mortgage Early, by making extra payments to the principal during the life of your mortgage
The following chart illustrates how San Diego Homeowners can not only trim a large amount of time off their mortgage, but save themselves a bundle by adding as little as $25 extra per month to their payment! Read More

Survey Shows Most Borrowers Satisfied with Their Lender
Despite the current crisis in the mortgage market in 2007, a study of Primary Mortgages conducted by J.D. Power and Associates shows most borrowers are satisfied with their lender's level of service. Read More

Federal Reserve Injects Banking System to Treat Credit Crunch
The Federal Reserve Board made the announcement on December 12 that it had entered into an agreement with four foreign central banks its intentions to inject billion of dollars into the world's financial system in an effort to make additional money available for large banks to make loans to smaller ones. Read More

La Jolla Event Calendar
I thought I would put a list together of some of the events taking place in La Jolla in 2008. Read More

Planning for the 2008 real estate market in La Jolla, California
As if the perfect year round climate, the beautiful beaches at La Jolla Shores, the La Jolla Cove, and the surfing at The Shores, Blacks Beach and Windansea, the great schools, and being nestled on the cliffs above the beautiful Pacific isn't enough, La Jolla also has one of the finest Universities in the country, UCSD. All of these things and a few more have combined to insulate the La Jolla Real Estate market. The average home price in La Jolla has remained about the same for two years and the average condominium price over the last couple of years is actually up a tick according to the R.E. Report. The Average home price in 1998 was about $850,000, in 2005 it was about $2,200,000, this year will probably report the Market average within a few hundred dollars of that price. The number of days on the Market 10 years ago in La Jolla was 93 days and for 2006 it was 72 days, and counter intuitively the Number of homes sold last year was down almost 18% from the prior year. All in all, the chances are if you invested in your family home in La Jolla in 1998, today you would have seen almost a 300% increase in your family investment. Read More

La Jolla Home Sales Increase During Slow Season
La Jolla, CA—Home sales increase during slow season. The DataQuick president Marshall Prentice said, some people may look to October to November as proof that sales have bottomed. (DataQuick is a company that monitors real estate activity nationwide). Read More

Scuba Divers Continue to Make the Move to La Jolla Cove
La Jolla Cove is one of the best spots in San Diego for scuba diving. It is perfectly located by the picturesque sandstone cliffs and caves next to the protected ecological preserve. The underwater park is teeming with fish, lobsters and abundant sea life. Often divers will see a couple of harbor seals swim by as well. The nearby submarine canyon and kelp beds provide a nutrient-rich water to the marine life. Read More

Resident Leary of Freeway Project
Carmel Valley / Del Mar - At a meeting which was held on November 15 of the interstate 5/ Hwy 56 connector project Steering Committee, dozens of local residents were in attendance to listen to and voice their concerns over a proposed connector ramp on the west side of Interstate 5 which would connect up with the newly-completed Hwy 56 freeway. Read More

Low interest rates and great deals in San Diego make a nice combination
We are seeing the lowest interest rates in over 2 years for 30-year mortgages. Even though November and December are typically our slowest months for San Diego home sales we are seeing more pending sales in the last month than we have for the last three months. Read More

Three Places to Find Money to Put Towards A Down Payment
More and more lenders require at least 20% down on a home in order to grant a loan, making it increasingly difficult to buy a home. Below are some sources of funds that are still available and both the pluses and minuses of using them. Read More

La Jolla: Bird Rock Construction Halted for the Holidays
The Coastal Traffic Flow Improvement Project- road construction which has had a direct impact on local Bird Rock businesses has been stopped as of December 8 and will remain halted through the holiday season. Read More

San Diego Real Estate
Some owners are choosing to build their homes using a new technology that saves money on energy and protects the home against natural disasters. The new building technology stands up to natural disasters such as wild fires, earthquakes, resists termite infestation, tornadoes and hurricanes. Read More

Mortgage Application Activity Increases over Past Week
For week-ending December 8, mortgage application activity increased 2.5% up to an index rating of 811.8, up from 791.8 the previous week, on an adjusted basis. This nationwide activity information is provided by a weekly survey of mortgage bankers which is conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Read More

Tighter Standards Cause the Cost of Homeownership to Increase
Today, even borrowers in the San Diego area with decent credit are feeling the pinch of the current mortgage crisis. Read More

Big Changes for San Diego's Lindberg Field in First Stages
San Diego- there is big changes in store for San Diego's largest airport, Lindberg Field. An additional ten gates are to be added to terminal two, along with a second-level of roadway at that terminal which will allow for separate arrival and departure locations. Terminal two will also see the addition of a new short-term parking structure. On the tarmac, a new airfield apron is to be constructed which will allow more overnight jetliner parking. Read More

Federal Reserve Rate Cut Causes Dow to Plunge
In an effort to make the cost of borrowing money more affordable for home buyers in San Diego as well as the country, the Federal Reserve Board cut its benchmark short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, December 11. The markets responded poorly to the announcement which was intended to halt the current credit crisis from spilling over into other areas of the economy. As a result of the announcement, the market plunged 294 points by the end of the day's trading. Read More

5 Creative Ways for Fixing the Mortgage Market
With the San Diego as well as the entire U.S. mortgage market currently struggling, lending institutions are focusing on less- not more ways to finance a home. Presented below are 5 more creative, less risky possibilities. Read More

Federal Reserve Expected to cut rate at Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Federal Reserve Board is today, Tuesday, December 11. The board is expected to cut interested rates during this meeting. Read More

La Jolla: Recent Heavy Rains Unveil New problems with Slide Area
Heavier than expected rainfall last week revealed slight additional movement of the landslide area atop Mt. Soledad in La Jolla. City engineers are working hard to keep water off of the slide area by covering it with heavy plastic sheeting and using pumps to remove water build-up on the sheeting during rainfall. Read More

President Strikes Mortgage Relief Deal
President George W. Bush has worked out a successful agreement with mortgage lenders to offer help to home owners in jeopardy of losing their homes due to rate adjustments of mortgages. Read More

La Jolla: Parking Board Chair Steps Down
The all volunteer board which is currently at the center of controversy regarding proposed parking alterations in La Jolla will have to appoint o new chairperson. Read More

Holiday Time in La Jolla
San Diego- The spirit of the holidays was alive and well this past weekend in the village of La Jolla. Read More

Potential Buyers Should Be Aware of their Market
In today's real estate market, there is no such thing as a "national real estate market." Buyers need to be in touch with the conditions in their own market area if interest. Potential buyers should focus in on what is going on in the city and region in which they intend to buy. Most home buyers plan to purchase a home and stat in it for at least 10 years. Buyers that are looking to buy for the long-term should know that housing continues to be an excellent investment. Read More

San Diego: Our Market Will Fare Better than Others
There are specific reasons why the San Diego market is not considered to be at the epicenter of the current housing crisis: and why our area will continue to fare better than other markets. Read More

Advice for Today's buyer: Bargain Smart to Get the Best Deal
Effective bargaining is an art, especially when a buyer wants to present a seller with a rock-bottom bid. Read More

Mortgage Application Volume Slows during Holiday Week
Even after seasonal holiday adjustments were factored in, mortgage applications still showed a decrease. Read More

Bridge Approval Being blocked by Environmentalists
San Diego: The city is being sued once again over a proposed bridge that would link two dead-end sections of Regents Road in University City. The proposed bridge would provide much needed traffic relief between Clairemont, University City and the 52 freeway. Currently, Genesee Avenue is the only major thoroughfare to serve these areas. The Friends of Rose Canyon, along with the San Diego Audubon Society and the Endangered Habitats League are suing over the city's approval of a design contract over the contentious project. Read More