Ditch Riding.

Man, riding these ditches in California is fun! We don't have stuff like this to ride back East so it's a real treat to go and try these new obstacles out.

Anyone see this? This guy has the gusto to say what is on alot of Homeowner's minds these days. Where do I stand? I have to agree with the guy. I mean, what's the incentive for a Homeowner to stay in a depreciating asset these days and continue to make your mortgage payments on time? If the Government is gonna bail delinquent homeowner's out of their mortgage on the taxpayer's dime what incentive is their for Homeowner's who are staying the course?

Rick Santelli Foreclosure Rant

Fun Week.

So fun I didn't have time to post in my blog. Had some friends come in from out of town that I hadn't seen in a while so we did the whole Cali touristy thing. Rode some Bmx Trails, Skateparks, and Street Spots. We also went for a little mountain bike ride at San Juan Capistrano Trail yesterday....pretty cool trail. There's about 12 switchbacks as soon as you start and the rest of the trail becomes increasingly technical. The trails is approximately 20 miles...out AND back. I'll try to get some photos uploaded within the next day or two.

Sleepless in Seattle

Well...not really. Although I was very tired when I got back. So we traveled up to Seattle this weekend to see some friends. They were kind enough to put us up in their townhome overlooking the water right outside of Seattle. We had a fun-packed weekend which included trips to Snoqualmie Falls, Bainbridge Island, Downtown Seattle, Washington's Countryside and last but certainly not least, an AMAZING DINNER at our friend's parents house.

Valentines Day Weekend

Alpine - views from Anderson Truck Trail

Began this past weekend to a good start. Two friends and I drove out to Anderson Truck Trail for a few runs down the World Cup Downhill Course. ATT is located in East San Diego County in the town of Alpine. Apart from the fact that I wrecked and we got 4 flat tires total, it turned out to be a pretty good day. I really need to get a downhill bike. Here is the one I've had my eyes on for a while now.

Here are some pictures from the ride:

Andy dropping some rocks.

Andy on a steep rock face

Rocky Narrow Chute

Dennis 1 nano-second before he flipped over the bars (look how far his front fork is compressed)

It's absolutely beautiful country out in Alpine. You only need to drive 30 minutes from the coast and you can be in expansive, rocky, mountain ranges. The views are absolutely gorgeous with San Diego, the Pacific Ocean, and the Coronado Bridge all in focus on the horizon. It got me thinking about property values out here and if Alpine had experienced heightened sales activity during the boom. I pulled sales data from the past two years (1/07-1/09) for Alpine and was surprised to see that Median Sales Price is 25% lower than it was 1/07. The Average Days on the Market is close to 80 and there is an average of 8 months of Inventory out there. Driving around in Alpine you still see Foreclosure signs up on properties as well as Short Sales in the MLS so even Alpine wasn't protected from the Housing Boom.

Downtown San Diego Housing Market Update

I ran a report for the Downtown San Diego Housing Market (92101 Zip) for a client last night and figured I'd post it up on the blog for all to see. There is some great information in here. I'm all for making informed decisions so the more data I can get my hands on the better!

Here are some highlights:
1. 1/07 to 1/09: Median Sold Price Dropped 30% from $562,500 to $395,000.

2. Saw some price stability in Nov/Dec 08 with a slight increase in January of 09.

3. 1/07 to 1/09: Active Listings have increased 8%.

4. 1/07 to 1/09: Pendings (under contract, haven't closed) are up 56%.

5. Average Days on Market (DOM) is 75 days. A "fast" market is 30, "slow" is 90.

6. Average Inventory levels in 2008 was 11.6 months. 1/09 is much lower but you can't accurately gauge the inventory levels by just looking at one month (no seasonality adjustments).

My opinion (for those actually interested in hearing it)is that we won't see the market normalize until the Inventory levels get down to around 6 months. Until then we can look forward to further price suppression. If pendings continue to trend up with the Median Sales Price (MSP)remaining flat we could be at bottom within the next 3 months.

Well those are my thoughts. Hope it wasn't too much of a snore. Keep in mind that this is an aggregate report run for all attached housing for sale in 92101 in all price ranges. Homes below the MSP typically sell faster in a down market and homes above the MSP take longer. I hope you found this report insightful.

Not much going on today...

Not much happening today. I've been emailing back and forth trying to get Market Data reports from a company I'd like to use but they are making it extremely difficult. Of course they are the only ones that generate the types of reports I'm looking for. Hmmmm....do I smell an opportunity? Nothing frustrates me more than having to WORK to actually do WORK! Drives me absolutely bonkers.

By the way, if you ever have an opportunity to ride the bike path from San Clemente to San Diego I highly recommend it. There's a bike/running/hiking path that parallels the coast and it is simply beautiful. I just hiked around last weekend but a bike ride is in the works. Definitely worth checking out.