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Monday Morning Coffee – Memorial Day Tribute

Monday Morning Coffee

Memorial Day Tribute

Good Morning,

I hope you had a nice Memorial Day. This is running a day late as, well – it was a holiday. Although the month is not officially over yet, a quick peek at the sales numbers for May showed some of the expected results, but also some that were not expected:

There are 11,257 homes currently on the market. This is 10% more than at this time last year and is the first time in 24 months that inventory has grown.
The number of closed homes is slightly behind last May, but I expect that to change as the reporting closes out this week. The surprise here is that that number was expected to be higher than last year due to the expiring tax credit and the fact that some people pushed their April closings into May to take advantage of the State tax credit.
The number of homes in escrow fell significantly. Down 21% from last year and 8% from just last month. This combined with the lower than expected closings in May is a little worrisome for sales moving forward.

Next week I will take another look at the numbers as reporting should be finished and they will be a little more solid.

Also next week, I will have one or two new condo listings for you. We just need to get them all pretty for pictures.

That’s it, enjoy the Memorial Day Coffee. I checked it out and it has been verified as true – I hope you stopped for a moment yesterday to give thanks to those for whom we were celebrating.

Diary Of A Last and Final Flight Home

February 17, 2007,
0350
I was at curbside at 24th and M, Washington DC . 16 Degrees with a light breeze. Going home after my second week of freezing temps to my warm home in SoCal. Take a walk on the beach, ride a horse, climb a mountain and get back to living. I’m tired of the cold.

0425
paying the taxi fare at Dulles in front of the United Airlines counter, still cold.

0450
engaged the self-serve ticker machine and it delivers my ticket, baggage tag and boarding pass. Hmmm, that Marine over there is all dressed up in his dress blues a bit early this morning… “Good Morning Captain, you’re looking sharp.” He says, “Thank you, sir.”

Pass Security and to my gate for a decaf coffee and 5 hours sleep. A quick check of the flight status monitor and UA Flt 211 is on time. I’m up front, so how bad can that be? Hmmm, there’s that same Marine. He must be heading to Pendleton to see his lady at LAX for the long weekend, all dressed up like that. Or maybe not. I dunno.

The speaker system announces “Attention in the boarding area, we’ll begin boarding in 10 minutes, we have some additional duties to attend to this morning, but we’ll have you out of here on time.”

The Marine Captain has now been joined by five others. BINGO, I get it, he’s not visiting his lady, he’s an official escort. I remember doing that once, CACO duty. I still remember the names of the victim and family, The Bruno Family in Mojave – all of them, wows, that was 24 years ago.

On board, 0600:
“Good morning folks, this is the Captain. This morning we’ve been attending to some additional duties, and I apologize for being 10 minutes late for push back, but I believe we’ll be early into LAX. This morning it is my sad pleasure to announce that 1st LT Jared Landaker, USMC will be flying with us to his Big Bear home in Southern California. Jared lost his life over the skies of Iraq earlier this month, and today we have the honor of returning him home along with his mother, father and brother . Please join me in making the journey comfortable for the Landaker family and their uniformed escort. Now sit back and enjoy your ride. We’re not expecting any turbulence until we reach the Rocky Mountain area, but we’ll do what we can to ensure a smooth ride. For those interested, you can listen in to our progre ss on Channel 9.”

Click Channel 9: “Good morning UA 211. You are cleared to taxi, takeoff and cleared to LAX as filed.”

4 hours and 35 minutes later over Big Bear MT, the AB320 makes a left roll, a steep bank and then one to the right-Nice touch. Nice tribute. Five minutes out from landing, the Captain comes on the speaker: “Ladies and Gents, after landing I’m leaving the fasten seatbelt sign on, and I ask everyone to please yield to the Landaker family. Please remain seated until all members of the family have departed the aircraft. Thank you for your patience. We are 20 minutes early.”

On roll out, I notice red lights, emergency vehicles approaching. We’re being escorted directly to our gate, no waiting, not even a pause. Out the left window, a dozen Marines in full dress blues. A true class act by everyone, down to a person. Way to go United Airlines for doing things RIGHT, Air Traffic Control for getting the message, and to all security personnel for your display of brotherhood.

When the family departed the aircraft everyone sat silent, then I heard a lady say,”God Bless you and your family, and thank you.” Then a somber round of applause. The Captain read a prepared note from Mrs. Landaker to the effect, “Thank you all for your patience and heartfelt concern for us and our son. We sincerely appreciate the sentiment. It’s good to have Jared home.”

After departing the a/c I found myself along with 30 others from our flight looking out the lobby window back at the plane. Not a dry eye. It was one of the most emotional moments I’ve ever experienced. We all stood there silently, and watched as Jared was taken by his honor guard to an awaiting hearse. Then the motorcade slowly made it’s way off the ramp.

I realized I had finally seen the silent majority. It is deep within us all. Black, Brown, White, Yellow, Red, Purple, we’re all children, parents, brothers, sisters, etc – we are an American family.

Official Report: February 7, 2007, Anbar Province, Iraq .. 1st LT Jared Landaker United States Marine Corps, from Big Bear California, gave his live in service to his country. Fatally wounded when his CH-46 helicopter was shot down by enemy fire. Jared and his crew all perished. His life was the ultimate sacrifice of a grateful military family and nation.

His death occurred at the same time as Anna Nicole Smith, a drug using person with a 7th grade education of no pedigree who dominated our news for two weeks while Jared became a number on CNN. And most unfortunately, Jared’s death underscores a fact that we are a military at war, not a nation at war. It has been said that Marines are at war. America is at the mall.

1st LT Landaker, a man I came to know in the sky’s over America on 17 February 2007, from me to you, aviator to aviator, I am unbelievably humbled. It was my high honor to share your last flight. God bless you.

Semper Fi

Stuart Witte

Have a Great Week – because you can,

Scott Voak

Monday Morning Coffee – May 23

Monday Morning Coffee

Good morning,

I hope you had a great weekend. Things are a bit crazy here as Kim, my assistant has been on vacation – have to remember to remove employee vacations from the program because I am dead beat. As with last week, the number of homes put into escrow this month is trailing last month by about 25%, but we are all busy getting those that went in last month to close. I have two new listings for you this week:

Santaluz Condo – This is a condo in the Sycamore Walk development nestled between Santaluz and Rancho Santa Fe. It features 3 beds, 2.5 baths and over 1,400 sf of living space. It is highly upgraded with wood and travertine floors and crown molding throughout. The home is priced at a range of $400k – $420k.

4S Ranch Condo - Very similar to the home above, but located a little east in 4S Ranch. This Ravenna condo has 3 beds, 2.5 baths and over 1,400 sf of living space. Features hardwood floors, crown molding, and plantation shutters. The home is priced at a range of $400k – $430k.

Also – it looks like we are going to have a short sale on a fantastic unit available. 3 beds + loft and over 1600sf. We need the strongest patient buyer on this one, so if you know someone looking to get into 4S Ranch, please have them call me asap.

That’s it, enjoy the Coffee!

The Miracle of a Brother’s Song

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his s sister in Mommy’s tummy. He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.

The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, an active member of the the Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee. In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute. But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor. Would a C-section be required?

Finally, after a long struggle, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee.

The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst. Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for t heir new baby they found themselves having to plan for a funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him se his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying. Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over. Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not. If he didn’t see his sister right then, he may never see her alive. She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket. The head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, ” Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed.” The mo ther rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse’s face, her lips a firm line. He is not leaving until he sings to his sister” she stated. Then Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began tossing. In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang: “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray.” Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. “Keep on singing, Michael,” encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. “You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away. “As Michael sang to his sister, the baby’s ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr. “Keep on singing, sweetheart.”

“The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms”. Michael’s little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her. “Keep singing, Michael.” Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don’t take my sunshine away…”

The next, day…the very next day…the little girl was well enough to go home. Woman’s Day Magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother’s Song. The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love.

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his s sister in Mommy’s tummy. He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, an active member of the the Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown, Tennessee.

In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute. But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor. Would a C-section be required? Finally, after a long struggle, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee.

The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst. Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for t heir new baby they found themselves having to plan for a funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him se his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying. Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over. Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not. If he didn’t see his sister right then, he may never see her alive. She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket. The head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, ” Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed.” The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse’s face, her lips a firm line. He is not leaving until he sings to his sister” she stated. Then Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside.

He gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began tossing. In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang: “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray.” Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. “Keep on singing, Michael,” encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. “You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away. “As Michael sang to his sister, the baby’s ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr. “Keep on singing, sweetheart.”"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms”. Michael’s little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her. “Keep singing, Michael.” Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don’t take my sunshine away…” The next, day…the very next day…the little girl was well enough to go home. Woman’s Day Magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother’s Song. The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God’s love.

The baby was named Marlee and as of August, 2008, she is a 16-year old high school student who describes herself as “just like any other teenage girl.” She told TruthOrFiction.com that she sings in her church choir as well as school choir and is a student athletic trainer for her high school’s athletic department.

Have a Great Week!

Scott

858 688 0189

Monday Morning Coffee – San Diego Market Slows Down

Monday Morning Coffee

The San Diego Housing Market is Slowing a Bit

Good morning,

I hope you had a great weekend. We celebrated Zach’s 4th birthday on Sunday and of course June Gloom in San Diego decided to show up early this year – only because we had the party at a water park. Still a great time. Grandma and Grandpa came out from Arizona and although we offered to let them babysit for a week, are moving on this morning.

I speculated a couple of weeks ago that activity would slow down once the tax credit ended on April 30th (Federal version). It has certainly seemed to be the case, so I took a quick look and through the 16th of this month, we have put 1,470 homes in escrow in San Diego County. Through the 16th of last month it was at least 1,900 (I say at least because I can only measure homes that went into escrow and are still in escrow or have closed, I cannot measure homes that went into escrow and then fell out and are back on the market). This represents a minimum of a 23% decrease in month-over-month activity. This will not show up in closed activity that gets reported until the end of June or July, but I will let you know if it looks like it is continuing.

We have one new listing on the market this week (but should have 2 condos next week). This is a short sale in 4S Ranch. It is 4 beds and over 3,300 sf of living space. The asking price is $700,000.

That’s it – Enjoy the Coffee!

If you are a regular reader, you are probably aware that our son Zach has Fragile-X Syndrome which is the leading genetic cause of autism and mental retardation. We are fortunate that he was diagnosed early and with a phenomenal amount of help (for which we are extremely grateful) he is doing great. A lot of his friends have similar limitations and it is very rewarding and hopeful to see them develop and realize that all these kids have a great potential. With that in mind, I wanted to share the following video on an autistic man and his unique ability:

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=0k4lsi1dql

Have a Great Week!

Scott Voak

858 688 1089

Monday Morning Coffee – Post tax credit

Good morning,

Hope you all had a great weekend. We slowed down a bit this weekend after a crazy last week trying to help sellers and buyers take advantage of the expiring federal tax credit. Most people in the industry we talked to were seeing the same thing we were – and all are hoping it continues into the summer.

I took a quick look at the numbers for San Diego in April, and though I have not had time to blog on the results, here are the highlights:

2939 homes sold (this will rise a bit as agents finish reporting). This is up 9% from last year and overall we are up about 2% year-to-date over last year.
10,534 homes on the market at the end of the month. This is the highest it has been since the low number of 8200 last October, but is still 24% below last April.
Active numbers are seriously skewed right now as last May, short sales were considered Active if the bank was looking at offers and this year there is the classification of Contingent for those homes. If you add the Active and Contingent homes together, there are about 8% more homes on the market this year than last year.
The market has been severely skewed by the tax credit. Under $800k, there are 3.3 months of inventory on the market in San Diego. Over $800k (where buyers have not been motivated to purchase by a $6,500 tax credit) the inventory in San Diego is over 13 months.

I think the tax credit was a very large issue in driving the lower end of the market, but the lack of availability of jumbo loans was also a factor. While the expiring tax credit will likely slow down sales at the lower end of the market, the increasing availability of jumbo loans will help the top end pick up a bit. I expect (which means it won’t happen) is that by the end of the summer we will see the low end at about 5-6 months inventory and the highend at about 9-10 months of inventory.

Speaking of the high end, take a look at this gorgeous home we have in the Silver Saddle area of North Poway. 4 Beds, 3,600 sf with a pool and absolutely stunning sunset views. It is also a great entertaining home that can easily handle 100 guests on a nice summer day.

That’s it for this week. The coffee is a little different this week – and appologies to those of you who thought last week’s was not uplifting. My intention was that it showed to value what you have because there is no guarantee your loved ones will be there tomorrow. A couple of people thought it was too depressing – sorry, it wasn’t meant to bum you out. This week is more of a look at a the humanity that can come out of the most inhumane situations we face and that compassion in any place is an amazing healer:

ANOTHER WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

John Gebhardt’s wife, Mindy, said that this little girl’s entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head…but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John’s hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing.