What can you buy for 38.5 Million in Orange County CA.

Who says we are in a slump? Jon Lasner at the OC Register was the first to report the would be record holder of Orange County Real Estate home sales. Not $3 million, not $10 million, not even $30 million, but or a tidy sum of $38.5 million you can be the record holder of real estate gaudiness. This Newport Beach Bad Boy is a site to see.

Lasner reports:
It’s palatial and French neoclassic. Big dock on the water. You can find it in Newport Beach now up for sale for $38.5 million. It’s palatial and French neoclassic. Big dock on the water. You can find it in Newport Beach now up for sale for $38.5 million. And if that price target is hit, this sale could break the record $35 million price paid for actor Nicolas Cage’s Newport Bay home nearby in January.

May News Update

May News Updates

The first week of May 2008 has flown by and the thunder storm of troubling financial news is still ever present in the media but I still have questions to ask? Does the media think anyone owns a home they can afford and intend to live in for the next 10 years? If you purchased a home in 2000 for $300K and it went up to $900K in 2007 and it has lost 25% or $225K of its peek value in 2008 are you in financial trouble? News you can use:

• Is the Housing Crisis Over
• Be sure to insure your residential construction project
• San Diego Design Showroom wins National Award
• DAD's Construction maintains a green thumb.
• Ready, Set, Makeover in Dove Canyon
  

IKEA commercials on Youtube

I noticed that Ikea spent a mother load on getting first page placement on Youtube.com. I am happy to see Ikea doing some outside of the box marketing, as the brand is not the most advertised in the world, their following is almost cult like.

What do you think about this commercial?

Kitchen Remodeling Still Going Strong

The unique characteristic about kitchen remodeling is that when home sales fall, kitchen remodeling usually is a matter of personal choice not a financially motivated move. I have seen this in Orange County; that many remodeling companies are not raising prices, but jobs are not that far from normal.

A recent study revealed these facts:

• 46 percent of U.S. kitchen remodels were completely do-it-yourself, while 62 percent were at least partially DIY.

• “Buy-it-yourself,” or BIY, remodels—in which the consumer buys the products and has a contractor install them—account for 21 percent of kitchen remodels.

• Women initiate most kitchen-remodeling projects. Still, men initiated 31 percent of kitchen remodels, up from 18 percent in 2003.

Full Story Here.

How those contractor days have changed!

Can you remember just how difficult it was to find a good contractor 2 years ago? And even the contractors I had worked with for 5 years, were rarely returning my first phone call. Talk about the best of times. Now that the market has turned, you can find great remodeling talent as great prices. And here is the kicker they are even willing to negotiate. Amazing.

Jennifer Openshaw of MarketWatch.com gives some great tips on securing a contractor in a buyers market! Now, if you want to take advantage of the current housing misfortunes to buy real estate, such as perhaps a foreclosure, all kinds of help can be found. Real-estate professionals are lined up waiting for your phone call, and Web-based services such as Zillow, RealtyTrac, and the National Association of Realtors are waiting for your mouse clicks.

All well and good if you're buying real estate, but what about finding a contractor? Here's a 15-minute tour of the basics. Full Story.

Builders head back to remodeling roots.

With so much bad news in media surrounding construction and real estate especially in the OC, its a wonder how any builders survive at all. What do you do when the market changes overnight from feast to famine? Some builders go back to the basics.

In this uncertain economy and with interest rates so low, many homeowners are going the remodeling route. With fewer homes being built, homebuilders are taking on remodeling jobs.

In this tough economy, Connie made a decision about her home near 132nd and West Center Road. Low interest rates helped convince her to remodel. "I've always wanted a breakfast bar. I've thought about it for years. I've been in my house 16 years and I've probably thought about it for 10 of those 16."

"I think most people are trying to do things just to survive the down times," notes builder Keith Uhing, whose company is doing Connie's project. The builder behind. Full Article Here