Places like this apartment complex are losing renters left and right due to the reduced prices in the housing market.

454 Vista Trucha: $845,000, 3 Beds, 3 Baths, 2,155 SQ. FT.

407 Vista Flora: $860,000, 3 Beds, 3 Baths, 1,850 SQ. FT.

1106 Hightland: $1,699,000, 4 Beds, 3 Baths, 2,500 SQ. FT.

1242 Somerset Ln: $2,185,000, 4 Beds, 5 Baths, 3,250

5 Monaco: $2,395,000, 3 Beds, 3 Baths, SQ. FT. not listed

806 Harbor Island Dr: $4,995,000, 5 Beds, 4 Baths, 4,300 SQ. FT.

 A sample of Cynthia’s work

Redfin: Can you define stagging for me? Cynthia Pastor: Staging is both an art and a science. It creates an experience that allows the buyer to really feel what it would be like to live there. Professional staging uses proven concepts where families can see themselves in the home. The professional stager takes the burden off of the realtor by creating a visual that would not have otherwise been there.

Redfin: What are the benefits of having your house staged? Cynthia Pastor: To create a lasting sensory impression that will send buyers back to your home. In our current real estate situation there is a lot of inventory out there and it is a buyer’s market, which allows people more time to make a decision. Staging leaves more of a lasting impression. Also, the buyers are limited by what they first see, staging refines the space the realtor has to work with and makes it more visually appealing.

Redfin: What does it cost to have your house staged? Cynthia Pastor: An average cost for staging is a one dollar per square foot. If the client has their own furniture that is in good shape, that makes the process easier and cheaper.

 Redfin: What are the differences you have seen between people that have their houses staged and those that don’t? Cynthia Pastor: The visual appeal and it creates an emotional sense. We also do a lot of de-cluttering, which can make the space seem larger that what it actually is. I go by what I call the three F’s, which are floor plan, functionality and flow. In addition, stagers also address the front of the house as well, exterior work is done because it is the first thing that people see before they walk in.

Redfin: Do you think that staging is something that will continue even when the market rebounds? Cynthia Pastor: Yes absolutely, I think the public’s awareness of staging from channels like Home & Garden Network has increased the visibility of my field. Plus, the overall investment of staging compared to what you actually get out of it makes it all worth it. The good thing about staging is that you can always improve upon the condition of a home. It is an unfixed variable unlike the location of a house. When it comes to staging you can mix it up to fit whatever particular need is necessary.

 Home Sales and Demand Trends

 Homes for Sale

 Housing Market Conditions

 Price per Square Foot

 Real Estate Price Trends

 Real Estate Price Trends

 Homes for Sale

 Housing Market Conditions

 Price Per Square Foot

 Real Estate Price Trends

As I suspected, my previous blog elicited many comments, some agreed, some did not. There were a few different areas that I wanted to go into, but wanted to remain focused and to the point. No tangents in this here blog. Later yesterday evening I went in to shoot Lary King Live and as luck would have it, they talked about the exact same thing that I wrote about. King had a full panel of experts that included Ben Stein, economic columnist for the New York Times Paul Krugman, CEO of 1-800-CashOffer, Jeremy Brandt, Author of “Girl Get Your Credit Straight,” Glinda Bridgforth and star of the Bravo television show “Flipping Out,” Jeff Lewis. As you can imagine, it was quite the heated discussion. All seemed to agree with what I wrote and many of your comments, some were even harsher than Mr. Leykis or Mr.Beck.

People are saying we are in a economic recession because of the housing crises…umm, no no no, we are in a housing crisis because of greed. Many are not aware or don’t realize or simply don’t want to admit that you can have a strong economy and have a bad housing market and vice-versa. It is possible that one can have nothing to do with the other. What is happening with the housing market was bound to happen regardless of how the economy is. It is a cyclical market and is going to experience ups and downs in both good and bad economic times.

A good example of this would be Orange County. An area that can boast of having one of the largest economies in the world, has experienced up to a 45% decrease in both sales and housing prices in some areas. For the entire county as a whole, sales are down 26% from this time last year and the median home price is down 23% from this time last year, according to Dqnews.com. To note: The 92649 area code of Huntington Beach has experienced a staggering 57% decrease in sales…OK, that just may be the recession

Glen Beck, of CNN Headline News is one of those people. “Using public money to help out a private situation is insane,” stated the host of his own radio and evening news show. For  people that understands government and the economy, they will find some level of truth to his statement. (Side note: He also feels that Barack is a Socialist, there is some level of truth to that as well.) Of course, Glen Beck is a right-wing type of fellow and thus his remarks are not too surprising. Never the less, his views are widely shared.

Tom Leykis, (small L Libertarian and registered independent) controversial radio talk show host of the “Tom Leykis Show,” is one of the most financially savvy individuals around (and a certified genius) and you could not pay him to give an ounce of sympathy for people who are losing their homes. “They’re all idiots, they should have paied a real estate lawyer to read over their contracts if they did not understand them.” The problem with this statement is that it is highly idealistic and does not take into consideration that real estate lawyers cost a pretty penny and the buyers may not have been able to afford one, especially during an already financially strapped time.

The whole issue boils down to greed on both sides of the fence. Hungry and greedy real estate agents and brokers not being 100% truthful to their clients. And the clients knowingly biting off more than they can chew. Better judgment should have been used by both parties as they made these real estate transactions, because now, in the end, everyone loses.

Now to our good friend, Mr. George W. Bush, who as of today signed into law a bill that aims to boost our struggling market and provide a fail-safe Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to CNNmoney.com. The bill is twofold: 1. To offer affordable government-backed mortgages to homeowners at risk of foreclosing on their homes. 2. To bolster Fannie and Freddie with a temporary rescue plan and a new more stringent regulator. Ironically, Bush promised to veto the bill as of last week, but decided to sign at the last minute. He still is opposed to one aspect of the bill though – giving aid to states to buy foreclosed property. Hmmm, go figure.

I was just having a conversation the other day about how the two major natural disasters that Southern California has to deal with are fires and earthquakes. Well today we just experienced that latter and boy was it a shaker. I have lived in So Cal for most of my life, so quakes are nothing new to me. Although, I must say this one had me a tad bit concerned. I lived outside of the Los Angeles area for eight years and I often heard people say ” I could never live out there [California] too many earthquakes.” Of course, they have their own set of natural disasters to deal with, but found a way to justify a Nor’ Easter over a little ground movement. Hey, give me a little ground shaking any day over a hurricane. Ironically enough, the ground started to move just as I sat down to begin this blog, so I thought, hmm, why not find a way to incorporate that. When looking for a place to live in Southern Cali, there are many things to take into consideration, but the thing about earthquakes is that they can happen anywhere in the southland, so it makes it difficult to gage. Where as fires are more prone in certain areas. The 5.4 quake that was centered in Chino Hills will certainly do little to stop folks from buying in Southern California, especially the more desirable areas such as Newport Beach. The biggest effect that earthquakes have on the market is earthquake insurance, which is very expensive, but optional. There is no indication why people sold these homes in Newport Beach, but I have a strong hunch it was not because of the earth moving beneath them.

200 Paris Ln: sold for $583,000, 1 Bed, 1 Bath, 975 SQ. FT. Condo style/built in 1989

2418 Holly Ln: sold for $850,000, 3 Beds, 1.5 Baths, 1,179 SQ. FT. Residental style/built in 1954

2518 Margaret Dr: sold for $875,000, 4 Beds, 2 Baths, 1,701 SQ. FT. Residental style/built in 1954

2101 E. 15st: sold for $625,000, 3 Beds, 2.5 Baths, 1,596 SQ. FT. Condo style/built in 1990

35 Ocean Vista: solf for 1,047,500, 2 Beds, 2.5 Baths, 2,276 SQ. FT. Condo style/built in 1981

3605 W. Balboa: sold for 1,169,000, Beds and Baths not listed, 1,659 SQ. FT. Residential style 1959

610 Clubhouse Ave: sold for 1,190,000, 2 Beds, 2 Baths, 2,500 SQ. FT. Residential style/1972

547 Tustin Ave: sold for 985,000, 2 Beds, 1 Bath, 1,391 SQ. FT. Residential style/built in 1947

Past sales nationwide are looking a tad bit slow these days and Huntington Beach is no exception, with the average house in H.B. sitting on the market for 114 days, according to Altosresearch.com. The amount of vacant homes available for sale nationwide currently stands at 2.2 million, this has remained unchanged from last quarter, according to the Census Bureau. Not surprisingly, California is home to many of these vacancies. Dean Baker, co-director of the Center of Economic and Policy Research, says “The west has been hugely hit by the collapse of the California housing market, that’s ground zero of the meltdown.” These past sales provide some good insight into the H.B. market.

7351 Coho Dr: sold for $382,000, 2 Beds, 1 Bath, 873 SQ. FT.

9531 Flounder Dr: sold for $450,000, 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1,176 SQ. FT.

8222 Katherine Dr: sold for $542,000, 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1,009 SQ. FT.

8772 Grant Dr: Sold for $525,000, 3 Beds, 1.5 Baths, 1,010 SQ. FT.

9852 Argyle Dr: sold for $247,515, 3 Beds, 1.5 Baths, 1,100 SQ. FT.

19745 Keswick Ln: sold for $320,000, 3 Beds, 1 Bath, 1,120 SQ. FT.

19132 Tigerfish Cr: sold for $615,000, 2 Beds, 1 Baths, 896 SQ. FT.

19132 Bushard St: sold for 470,000, 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1,176 SQ. FT.

8742 Lauder Cr: sold for $640,000, 4 Beds, 2.5 Baths, 1,624 SQ. FT.

I watch quite a bit of news while I am at home during the day composing these blogs for you all to read. The most common reoccurring headline I hear is something negative to say about the real estate market. As difficult as it may be, I like to look at the glass half full, even in the middle of a real estate downfall. With mortgage applications down 6.2% according to Cnnmoney.com, obviously fewer people are looking for housing, but this could mean less competition for you. As cited from the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey, refinance applications have declined 5.6% and the purchase volume fell 6.7% on an adjusted basis. Refinance applications accounted for 3.9% of all applications, of course this means that more than a 1/3 of the applications were from people that already owned their home. Also, according to the association, the average interest rate for a traditional 30 year fixed loan to 6.59%. So what does all this mean for you? Well it’s simple, more leverage for you when you go in to purchase home. Take a look at some of these great abodes that Newport Beach is offering for open house.

454 Bolero Way: $479,000, 2 Beds, 2 Baths, 970 SQ. FT. Open this Saturday from 1 – 4

454 Vista Trucha: $845,000, 3 Beds, 3 Baths, 2,155 SQ. FT. Open this Sunday from 1 – 4

2311 Redlands Dr: $849,000, 3 Beds, 2 Baths,  1,571 SQ. FT. Open next Sunday from 1 – 4

511 Park Ave: $1,329,000, 3 Beds 2 Baths, 1,152 SQ. FT. Open this Sunday from 1 -4

1948 Santiago Dr: $2,249,0005, Beds, 4 Baths, 3,900 SQ. FT. Open next Saturday and Sunday from 1 – 4

204 Via San Remo: $2,395,000, 3 Beds, 4 Baths, 2,915 SQ. FT. Open this Sautrday and Sunday from 1 – 4

Just when you thought you have seen it all, this comes along and blows you away. According to the Los Angeles Times, a home in Southern California was recently priced as 2,486,398 euros. Now I know the dollar is weak, but come on now folks. The builder and co-owner, Joe Folender will also list the dollar price of $3,895,000. His objective is to attract foreign buyers looking for a bargain during America’s economic hard times. “The dollar is weaker, we are capitalizing on the strength of other currency, whatever works, said Folender.” According to the article the trend has not become huge across the country yet, but has been seen in New York as well. You gotta love California, we set the trend for all things, both good and bad. It is hard to say how far this will go and how many agents throughout the country will utilize this practice, but one thing is for sure, people will always be looking for a bargain – both foreign and domestic.

 Here are some bang for your buck homes in the Huntington Beach area – With no euro signs!!!

8275 Cherrywood Cr: $335,000, 3 Beds, 3.5 Baths, price per suare foot $264. This condo style residence was built in 1974 and has been on the market for 86 days.

18756 Roxbury Ln: $799,000, 4 Beds, 4Baths, price per square foot $307. This single family residence was built in 2005 and has been on the market for for 143 days.

7305 Arcadia Dr: $639,999, 3 Beds, 3 Baths, price per square foot $243.  This single family residence was built in 2005 and has been on the market for 24 days.  

18737 Sinclair Ln: $779,000, 3 Beds, 3 Baths, price per square foot $300. This single family residence was built in 2005 and has been on the market for 161 days.

409 E. Utica Ave: $313,219, 2Beds, 2 Baths, price per square foot $285.  This condo styly home was built in 1989 and has been on the market for 23 days.  

19912 Sheffield Ln: $318,753, 3 Beds, 2 Baths, price per square foot $290. This single family residence was built in 1963 and has been on the market for 45 days.