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Carlsbad, CA Real Estate News

By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
I previously wrote about the Monarch Butterfly nursery on our back patio on April 12. At that time we were able to see 11 caterpillars of various sizes.In the last few days the caterpillars started leaving the milkweed plants and crawling onto the table, the patio window, and the edge of one of the flowerpots. Within a day or so we could only find 3 of the 11 caterpillars. Hopefully the others found safe places to hang for the next stage, the chrysalis (pupa). We have looked around but haven't been able to find them so they are either well hidden or perhaps became some bird's dinner.One caterpillar is on the edge of a flowerpot and is not looking very healthy, but there are 2 that have now formed the chrysalis - one on window frame (above) and the other on the edge of the another flower...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
The Carlsbad real estate market continues to evolve, and the data for August show a number of changes since July 2008. This does not include any private sales nor manufactured housing; the numbers are derived from the MLS. Because the media reports speak in general terms, rather than local, the information you hear in the media may not represent the reality of our local market, so having data from a knowledgeable agent about your particular market conditions benefits you as the buyer or seller. The following data are more positive than what is being reported in the media about San Diego in general. In August 2008 there were 99 homes sold in Carlsbad's 4 zipcodes, about 16% fewer than sold in July. Here's the breakdown of overall activity. TOTAL HOMES Detached Attached Number 99 65 34 P...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
Carlsbad home owners likely know all about the town dump - more formally the recycling and buyback center at the City of Carlsbad Public Works and Operations Center just north of Palomar Airport - as well as the weekly trash pick-up and recycling services provided by the city through Waste Management. READ MORE: Let's Talk Carlsbad Trash Carlsbad Home Owners - Are YOU Recycling? Most folks don't have too much trouble getting rid of trash, but hazardous waste is another matter. Landfills won't accept it and you can't just take it somewhere and leave. Carlsbad recently approved a pick-up service through Clean Harbors. Residents can call Clean Harbors at 1-800-444-4244 to schedule a pick-up at their homes for $10 (the city pays the balance of the cost). All you have to do is put out your h...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
Folks relocating to Carlsbad from other areas most likely will visit at least once, if not more than once, for a house hunting trip in their search for a new home. READ MORE: Making the Most of Your House Hunting Trip More on House Hunting Trips  And if you are flying in for your house hunting trip, read about the San Diego airport which is your gateway to your house hunting. Unless you have family here you will need a hotel to stay in while house hunting. So here's a list of some possibilities with a range of budgets. And of course visitors to our paradise might be interested in knowing some of the places to stay here. You really have two choices if a high end hotel is what you are seeking: the Four Seasons Aviara Resort in South Carlsbad, and the La Costa Resort and Spa about 1 mile e...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
Carlsbad has a new artistic celebration - Art in the Heart of the Village. The Art in the Heart of the Village Program is responsible for the transformation of utility boxes and fire hydrants in Carlsbad Village into animal-themed art. Participants who pay between $300 and $750 can either paint the boxes and hydrants themselves or commission an artist to do so. A total of 28 utility boxes and fire hydrants are available. A large portion of the proceeds from this project benefits the Military Outreach Ministry Camp Pendleton. This non-profit group provides food, furniture and household items to military families.
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
The Carlsbad Magazine is a terrific bi-monthly magazine chock full of information for visitors and residents. I find I always learn something, and I share the free publications with as many folks as I can who are thinking about moving here. It's a fabulous resource. The Carlsbad Magazine is a great source of information about things to do, restaurants, events, shopping, the beaches, activities, and much more. And it's FREE. I was thrilled to see the summer edition, and flattered. Or perhaps they should be flattered. I know it wasn't intentional but I can't help but think we are thinking along the same lines. Take a look at the front cover of the July-August 2008 edition of Carlsbad Magazine. Now take a gander at my blog, created using the ActiveRain Customizer some months ago. Ha - I be...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
The area to buy cars in Carlsbad in Carlsbad Car Country, just off the 5 freeway north of Palomar Airport Road and South of Cannon. READ MORE:  Carlsbad Bar Country Accolades go out to North County Hyundai. I had to turning my lease car recently and after test driving a number of cars, and deciding to buy a pre-owned vehicle rather than leasing, North County Hyundai was the winner. In a matter of a couple of hours the deal was done and I drove off with my new car. We even negotiated a great deal on getting leather seats installed. What really prompted me to write this was that my vehicle was in for its first service appointment today. It was a good opportunity to see how they would handle the service call. The greeting was friendly and efficient. Everything was explained, a coupon was a...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
The annual Art Splash outdoor festival is coming to Carlsbad again. It's hard to believe another year has gone by already. One of Carlsbad's favorite outdoor events, this year's festival will be on Saturday and Sunday, September 20 and 21, from 10 am til 6 pm on Saturday; 10 til 5 pm on Sunday. Read more: Carlsbad Things to Do - Art Splash 2007 Art Splash is a terrific family outdoor event and one of the highlights of the outdoor festivals in Carlsbad. The event is FREE as is parking located at scenic Armada Drive just north of Palomar Airport Road and just a short distance east of the 5 freeway. Visit the website for more details. This should be another stellar outdoor arts festival in Carlsbad! ************************ If I can provide more information about Carlsbad and surrounding a...
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By Tim, Josh, and Ally Heers
(ERA Ranch & Sea Realty )
Time to go back to school. Hopefully all of you had a great summer! I miss school, well college. I am still learning a lot every day though! I love learning about new things. Learning helps the mind stay sharp too. Have you learned anything new lately? Taking a new class a local community college is exciting and pretty cheap depending on what you take. I took a beginning golf class last year, it cost me about $60 for around 4 months of lessons. Now that is unbelievable! Especially when it cost $60 or more for one hour of lessons almost anywhere else. Now that summer is about over I need to get back into my routine. After all Carlsbad is known for golf, so I need to keep my game up.You don’t need to take a community college class to keep your brain sharp though, just doing those little c...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
Are you a homeowner and need to enter the Carlsbad real estate market by selling your home? Do you have a POA (Power of Attorney)? Is there a Conservatorship in place? Mind you, I am NOT an attorney and cannot provide legal advice here, and what applies here in California may not be an issue in your state. So I would recommend chatting with your attorney before you get too far along in the process of selling your home. In my recent experience with POAs it seems that the title company will have some particular requirements in order for the POA to be enforceable in the transaction. Specifically the POA must address the issue of the particular property you are acting on, to provide for you to specifically act as seller for that property on behalf of someone else. It seems that POAs may som...
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Hoping to break ground in 2009, The Poseidon Resources received its final approval from the California State Lands Commission and now has all the permits needed to proceed with construction of its desalination plant on the grounds of the Aqua Hedionda Lagoon in 2009. In a vote yesterday, Poseidon may proceed to co-lease the Encina Power Plant's intake of seawater. The Encina Power plant currently uses the seawater for it's power plant's cooling system but will be soon be converting to an air cooled system. The Poseidon's Desalination Proposal of using the seawater intake had stirred opposition from environmentalists and a recent legal opposition by environmentalists was dismissed against one of the permits this past week. All Systems Go! Poseidon expects to deliver drinking water to nin...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
I often have inquiries from out of area or relocation buyers interested in the Carlsbad real estate market, or housing in nearby communities. Many time buyers do not have a good handle on the pricing and, I suspect, are rather surprised when they see what they can buy for the money. Or they are searching on my site and I can tell, given their price range, that they will have difficulty finding what they want in their stated budget. The following is a summary table of average selling prices and prices per SF, for homes in selected communities for sales in the first 6 months of 2008. The numbers are quite telling, and provide buyers with a good feel for pricing. Keep in mind that these are averages, and only sales reported in the SANDICOR MLS are included here. There will be homes that a...
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By Tony Cannon, Real Estate - Oceanside Carlsbad
(Bressi Realty Carlsbad)
For those wondering which direction the market is headed, here is an area in Carlsbad that seems to be headed in the right direction. Part of the reason is this area does not contain many newer homes, so either local builders are not slashing prices and bringing down the values, or recent buyers who bought too much house are not foreclosing or doing short sales as much as many other parts of San Diego. I used the Sandicor MLS looking at 6 month intervals from 2003-2008. Detached homes with an average size of 1900 square feet and built before 2000. Olde Carlsbad is an area east of I5, west of El Camino Real, south of Hwy 78, north of Cannon Rd. If you find this information useful, and would like to see it for other neighborhoods, let me know and I'd be happy to generate the data.
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
Sometimes good things come in small packages. And branding your product or service in key to generating consistent business. In the case of Tiny’s, well, it seems we have both. Tiny’s Shoe Repair is hunkered down in the middle of a parking lot along El Camino Real, a major thoroughfare running north and south through Carlsbad, and just north of Alga Road. The shopping center where Tiny’s is located has all sorts of stores, services and a few eateries, typical of what you expect to find in the strip malls so prevalent in our area. The visibility gained by its location is obvious. Smack in the middle of the parking lot and not lost among all the other stores. And it is highly visible to those driving along this stretch of road in the La Costa area of Carlsbad. You can't miss it as you dri...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
The Carlsbad real estate market continues to evolve, and the number for July show a number of changes since June 2008. This does not include any private sales; numbers were taken from the MLS. Because the media reports speak in general terms, rather than local, the information you hear in the media may not represent the reality of our local market, so having data from a knowledgeable agent about your particular market conditions benefits you as the buyer or seller. In July 2008 there were 118 homes sold in Carlsbad's 4 zipcodes, just a few more than were sold during June (up 5%). Here's the breakdown of overall activity.             TOTAL                            Detached                               Attached                  Number 118 75 43 Price Range $169,900 - $2.399 M $285K - ...
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By Roberta Murphy, Carlsbad Real Estate and Homes
(San Diego Previews Real Estate)
This morning, I thought I would drop by the Grand Opening of Apple's new store at the Carlsbad Forum before heading out to show properties. As I pulled into that large parking lot, I couldn't believe my eyes.  There was a line four-deep that stretched from one end of the Forum to (and around) the other.  There were young and old and every age in between. Black-coated security guards maintained crowd control, and Jimbo's Market from around the corner offered crisp organic apples to those waiting in line.  Everyone seemed in good spirits, and I heard cheering in  the distance coming from within the store, which had not yet opened. Orange-shirted Apple employees were lined up ready to greet excited customers, one group at a time. When asked, one of the security guards volunteered that the ...
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Mt Calavera & Carlsbad   The Luiseno Indians lived on the coast of Carlsbad back in the late 1700s-they lived on seafood, food crops and reportedly led peaceful lives-they worshipped the Great Spirit, the Sun-God. They currently live on a reservation near Palomar Mountain approximately 60 miles away. The area changed hands when the Spanish arrived. In 1886, the town of Carlsbad was established after the artesian wells were found and the Carlsbad Land & Water Company purchased the land. Today, Carlsbad is rich with history and has a distinctive mix of homes, parks and many businesses. It was known as the Avocado Capital in the 1920s and the Flower Capital in the 1940s. Visit the Carlsbad Historical Society on Beech Street where you can see a variety of beautiful gardens and learn more ab...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
I have been sharing some thoughts on real estate investing, and this is the next installment in the series. If you missed the previous articles, here they are - I think you will find them useful in planning your financial future. READ: Financial Planning and Your Carlsbad Home Purchase A Financial Planning Guide to Down Payments Financial Planning and Your Second Home    You might also read Investing in Real Estate - Learnings from a Master for some suggestions on calculations and issues to keep in mind when doing your due diligence For some buyers, the benefits of investing in real estate are in buying below a below market price and selling for a quick profit.  While making a quick strike can be exhilarating, investing this way is risky.  What if you misjudged the market and can't rese...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
We have heard lots about the water problems facing Southern California, and efforts are underway to address those issues through several means. It seems doubtful that the current methods will, in fact, be sufficient, and we continue to see controversy between environmentalists and proponents of these measures, such as the desalination plant in Carlsbad. The public does not seem to be fully aware of the significance of the issue nor are they being told effectively. And the issue is clearly NOT being addressed sufficiently, or quickly enough, by those who have the power to do so in our communities. Read William Johnson's recent post on the desalination plant for more details (William is very up to date on this issue of water problems and often writes about these concerns). Related to the ...
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By Jeff Dowler, CRS, The Southern California Relocation Dude
(eXp Realty of California, Inc.)
La Costa is a wonderful residential area surrounding the famed La Costa Resort and Spa, the first full service spa in the US. This community offers a diversity of lifestyles, homes, and things to do, with proximity to the beaches and other Carlsbad attractions. READ MORE: La Costa - A Great Residential Community There is a diversity of housing in the La Costa area. Need more information about the Carlsbad real estate market in La Costa?? READ MORE: La Costa Greens - Master Planned Community in Carlsbad La Costa Ridge - Master Planned Community in Carlsbad La Costa Valley - Carlsbad Homes La Costa Valley La Costa Condos La Costa Oaks - La Costa Master Planned Community Carlsbad Real Estate at Sea Point Tennis Club Carlsbad Communities The map (which seems to work fine with Mozilla but no...
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By Michelle Aarnes
(Elite Redesign)
A staged home not only increases the curb appeal to the buyers, it also help potential buyers to move in mentally. It also slows down the buyers during the touring process and helps them to remember the listing. More importantly, the internet has done wonders to the real estate industry by shifting the marketing plan to something that is more internet-friendly. The buying habits of the buyers also have changed drastically. NAR’s (National Association of Realtors) new statistics said that now 80% of buyers shop online first before actually seeing a home. A staged home photographs better than a vacant one or a non-staged, lived-in home because it’s more edited and styled professionally to appeal to a broader range of buyers and to showcase the pluses and spatial relations of the listings ...
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