The Nordstrom Way for Real Estate!

When looking for a new home, be it a condo or house, what are your top requirements? If you go into Nordstroms you have your personal shopper waiting, here you have your personal Realtor to help you!

As with Nordstroms, you have your wants and needs - Is having a washer and dryer in your condo a priority, parking spaces, a pool, rec room, ground floor with patio, upper floor with balcony, low HOA’s?

How about a house – how big of a yard, attached/detached garage, combo kitchen/family room, corner lot, quiet neighborhood or urban? Again the Nordstrom Way is replicated!

Apart from the number of bedrooms and baths in your new house or condo, all these things, and many more help you choose exactly what you are looking for. When we search the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for you we can narrow down your criteria with much more detail than if you were to look on Zillow, Trulia, even Realtor.com.

Think of us as your personal Nordstrom assistance a la real estate! You call, stop by, email or text and we service your requirements! And most importantly for us to search for you is completely FREE, just like the Nordstrom way, if you don’t like what we show you, we’ll keep searching until we find that perfect house or condo that fits you perfectly!


Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

Home prices are rising in virtually every corner of the state. They've climbed for nine consecutive months, and in July posted a 10.4% gain year-over-year. That puts the state's median price at $315,000 -- nearly twice the national median of $183,000.
And the news is even better in coastal cities.

San Francisco posted the biggest gain of any U.S. metro over the past year, rising 14.3%. The median price there is now more than $607,000. Meanwhile, San Diego has climbed 11.2% (median price: $389,000) and Los Angeles jumped 9.2% (median price: $345,000).
Meanwhile, Florida, Arizona and Nevada -- California's erstwhile bubble-state partners -- continue to struggle. So where is the Golden State's strength coming from?

"I think it comes from the fact that prices went down so far and so quick," said Lesley Appleton-Young, California Association of Realtors' chief economist. "That left a lot of people here saying, 'Wow, affordable California housing.'"
However, a quick home price rebound was delayed by the crush of foreclosures that accompanied the subprime mortgage meltdown. California real estate had become so expensive that a basic single-family home required many buyers to overextend themselves with exotic loans.

That is no longer the case. Most of the subprime-related distressed properties have been flushed from the system. And when a foreclosure does hit the market, it's snapped up. The median days it took to sell a home in July was just 44 -- lightening fast.

"It's the dearth of supply for distressed properties that has put pressure on home prices," said Appleton-Young. "More than half the homes on the market last year drew multiple offers."

Plus, the California economy is picking up. Even in a recession, it has remained one of the world's 10 largest economies, mainly because it is driven by every major industry -- aerospace, tech, software, finance, agriculture, tourism. So as more of those industries recover and employment picks up, demand for housing will jump.

"California is a much larger, stronger and more diversified economy than the other [bubble] states," according to Stuart Gabriel, director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA.

Courtesy of CNNMoney.


Jane LovedayWindermere
Real Estate Agent
Licence # 01439083
janeloveday@cox.net
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

San Diego Downtown Condos

San Diego Downtown condos were a hot commodity a few years ago, buildings were going up left and right. As of right now there are 442 San Diego Downtown condos for sale with a huge difference in prices!

The least expensive San Diego Downtown Condo is listed at just $144,900, it's a studio with stainless appliances and a monthly HOA fee of $410.00. The most expensive San Diego Downtown condo is listed at a mere $8,695.00 (see photo above) for 3 bedrooms and 4 baths, and a monthly HOA fee of $1,396.00 - yes that's right - over $1,000 a month!

The average list price per square foot for the least expensive San Diego Downtown condo is just $203.45 with the penthouse at $1,951.75!

The average asking price for a San Diego Downtown condo is $721,000, which makes for a variety of properties to choose from.

If you are interested in buying a condo in Downtown San Diego, let me know, I amhere, I can help!


Jane LovedayWindermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

First-Time Home Buyers - Attention Please!

First-time home buyers are having a tough time - why? The tax credit has expired which encouraged all first-time home buyers to think about getting into their first home. Now prices are flattening out and first-time home buyers are thinking they are going to fall again.

When you hear talk of the median price of a home in the U.S. it is understandable, but that is like saying the median temperature in the U.S. is 60 degrees, when it could be 110 degrees in the deserts and 45 degrees in the Northern states. Prices are regional.

In San Diego, first-time home buyers have a great opportunity to get out and begin thinking again, we have a lot of homes for sale, our prices are stable, we aren't seeing any decreases in most areas, and the interest rate is at it's all time historic low, just over 4% for a 30 year fixed, and just over 3% for a 15 year fixed mortgage.

If you are thinking of buying, search the internet, search here for ALL the up-to-date property listings http://www.janeloveday.com or visit my First-Time Home Buyers page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiegoonline

I am here, I can help!

Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

5 Ways to Protect Yourself from ID Theft!

This may seem obvious, but sometimes it's not! Here are 5 short ways you can protect yourself from identity theft:

1. Don't carry your social security card - duh - obvious, memorize it and leave it in a safety deposit box along with your passport, or somewhere extremely safe at home!

2. Don't talk about personal financial stuff on your cell in public - you never know who is eavesdropping!

3. If you put your full name, date of birth and place of birth on anything online, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, anywhere - someone could possibly use just that to get a duplicate birth certificate, social security card, passport, and become YOU!

4. If you ever fill out a resume online for a company position, OMIT your social security number if asked for it, it is not necessary and they can get this information in person from you, there are too many scams out there for that number to be anywhere public!

5. Finally - every had the temptation to apply for something and get something free in return - an application for a grocery store card? membership to somewhere? And get a T-shirt or like back for doing so? Don't put anything too personal - read above - you never know!

Not all doom and gloom but be aware of scammers, they are smart and for a good reason!




Jane LovedayWindermere Real Estate Agent

619-519-1615 Cell

http://janeloveday.com

http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

Interest rates and Mortgage Payments - boring? Read on ....

As you may have heard interest rates for mortgages are at an all time LOW! We haven't seen them this low for at least 30 years if not longer. So how low are they?

4.25% right now, have been for a few weeks. Can they go back up - definitely - that's one reason to keep your eye on them if you are thinking of buying instead of renting and paying your Landlord's mortgage for him.

Back in the mid 90's interest rates actually went up to around 18%! Not anticipating that again though, just an FYI!

So if you are thinking of buying, and you are looking at a purchase price say, $250,000, your monthly payment would be around $1,230 a month, with approximate property taxes of $260 (you can include those in your mortgage or pay twice yearly to the City) and insurance is approximately $40 for a condo, $75 for a house.

If the interest rate starts to rise, and you are pre-qualified for $250,000, the amount you would then be pre-qualified for would go DOWN - that's because it would cost you more for your mortgage! If you have questions, let me know, I am here to help!

Love your Home, Love your Realtor!

Jane LovedayWindermere Real Estate Agent Lic # 01439083 619-519-1615 Cell http://janeloveday.com http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

Using Social Media to Sell Real Estate!

There are plenty of social media sites today, more so than back when AOL first hit our screens. Then it was easy to keep track of friends, make new connections and promote your business. Now we have literally hundreds of websites that feed our content, but how does that impact buying or selling houses as a Realtor?

When MySpace first started, I maintained a business page (still have it)and in the first year sold 4 properties to 'friends', kept up with my blog there, useful tidbits and news. That was just one site. Now it's all about Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and more. These days we have to make videos, link our Twitter to Facebook, our blog (this one) to all of the above and many more sites. We have to create a constant presence in order for our name to be recognized and valued as a leader in the latest news, views and ideas in Real Estate. Not many people go door-to-door anymore leaving door hangers, or calendars on our doorsteps, it's all about online presence.

It's challenging, exciting, very educational too. Just posting a new property listing is interesting - sending it not only to Craigslist, or Backpage, but out to Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow, Hotpads, Enormo, Front Door, Oodle, Vast, GoogleBase .... and so on.

You have to be savvy in order to satisfy your client's needs to market their properties, there's plenty of help to be found as to how to do it, and I wish everyone who is starting to market via the internet GOOD LUCK! It's fun, a lot of work, but worth it in the long term!

Jane LovedayWindermere Real Estate Agent619-519-1615 Cell http://janeloveday.comhttp://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego