November 2010 RSS Feed

The holiday season is upon us and what better way to celebrate than to join in the San Clemente Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony! Santa’s elves will be serving hot cocoa and cookies while we await the arrival of Santa for the reading of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, followed by the lighting of the Holiday Tree by the mayor at 6:30pm. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, we hope you’ll stop by! This is a FREE event. For more information, call the San Clemente Recreation Division at 361-8264.

Thursday, December 2, 2010
5:30pm-6:30pm
Community Center (100 N. Calle Seville)

The Spark of Love toy program kicks off  today, November 29th, and is unique by being a part of the Orange County Toy Collaborative. The Orange County Toy Collaborative is comprised of every fire agency in Orange County, the United States Marine Corps "Toys for Tots" Program, the Orange County Social Services "Operation Santa Claus" Program, and St. Vincent de Paul. All of these entities work together to bring toys to disadvantaged children within Orange County. You can drop off a new, unwrapped toy at any fire station in Orange County from November 29th through December 24th.

Make an underprivileged child’s holiday season a little brighter by donating a new, unwrapped toy to any fire station in Orange…

The California Association of Realtors@ closely monitors and analyzes trends in the residential real estate industry. The table below contains the latest reported existing home sales series, median home prices, unsold inventory index, median time on market, first-time buyer housing affordability index, and the latest mortgage rates.

 

Considering selling your orange County home yourself? Here is some food for thought that might influence your decision.

Homes sold without the help of a real estate professional dropped to a record low over the past year. According to the 2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, unrepresented sellers made up only 11 percent of the market, down from 13 percent in 2009.

Owners who sell their home without the help of an agent usually sell to someone they already know. Factoring out those private sales, the actual number of homes sold on the open market without professional assistance was a record low 5 percent, compared to 10 percent in 2004.

Get a free Home Market Evaluation!

It's that time of year again. Time to vote for your favorite restaurant, dry cleaners, real estate office grocery store or just about any other kind of retail establishment you can think of. Don't cry the blues when your favorite doesn't win...vote today!

Nearly eight out of 10 Americans believe buying a home is a good financial decision, despite ongoing challenges with the economy and housing market. That’s according to the 2010 National Housing Pulse Survey, an annual report released by the National Association of Realtors®. 

The survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found job security concerns to be the highest in eight years of sampling, with 70 percent of Americans saying that job layoffs and unemployment are a big problem in their area; eight in 10 cite these issues as a barrier to homeownership.

Despite economic uncertainty, 68 percent of those surveyed still believe now is a good time to buy a home; while that number is down from last year (75…

Ode to Thanksgiving

To our national birds
The American Eagle
The Thanksgiving Turkey
May one give us peace in all our states
And the other a piece for all our plates

What did the Pilgrims eat on Thanksgiving? 

It is commonly believed that the first actual celebration of the harvest and blessings from God took place in Plymouth in 1621. The festivities lasted three days and included feasting, entertainment, and competitions. For more about the holiday’s history!

Who Doesn’t Love a Parade?

The first annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in 1924. That first year, it was known as the Macy's Christmas Parade. It was created to launch the holiday shopping season. Today, the parade is attended by an estimated three million people each year.…

There were 20,882 Orange County CA foreclosures in October 2010, according to RealtyTrac.com. The average sales price of an Orange County home was $668,250 while the average sales price of a foreclosure home was $605,150.

Orange County CA Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

Home price appreciation was 0.00% in October with 3,645 foreclosures.

 

 

Orange County CA foreclosure activity is based on the total number of properties that receive foreclosure filings - default notice, foreclosure auction notice or repossession notice - each month. Home price appreciation is based on month-over-month percentage change of the Home Price Index. The Home Price Index is calculated from home sales records.

Orange County CA Foreclosure Geographical…

October 2010 statistics show San Clemente had 88 new foreclosures with an average sales price of $668,250 vs. an average foreclosure sales price of $605,105, according to RealtyTrac.com.

There were 47 new foreclosures in the 92673 zip code and 41 new foreclosures in 92672, for a total of 86 new foreclosures in San Clemente. 1 in every 251 housing units received a foreclosure filing in October.

San Clemente Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

The San Clemente foreclosure rate was 0.14% above national rates, 0.10% below California rates, and 0.05% above Orange County rates in October.

San Clemente Foreclosures By Month

The number of bank-owned homes decreased from 23 homes in Sept to 12 homes in Oct. Pre-foreclosure activity…

Anticipated for some time, Target Corporation purchased 14.79 acres at 990 Avenida Vista Hermosa from the City of San Clemente for $13.8 million, or $933,000 per acre. The Target Corporation plans to build a new 142,206-square-foot store at the location, and will start construction immediately on approved plans at the site. The usable acreage at the property is about 9 acres, due to the large hill on which the parcel is situated. The price on the usable land is closer to $1.53 million per net acre.

Completion was originally anticipated by the winter of 2011.

More information can be found by visiting  City of San Clemente current projects.