County of Castles: Orange County Real Estate Blog

This technically affects people all over the nation, but it especially hits home here in Southern California, because so much of our economy trickles down from the work that the writers do.Now, I'm not normally a big fan of strikes, but after hearing the issues, I think these writers have every r...

Our company's latest Market Time Report came out last weekend.  What this report measures is the relationship between active inventory and demand.  In other words - how many months would it take to sell off all the homes currently on the market at the rate homes are selling right now?This report ...

I admit it, I love nothing better than a good hole-in-the-wall restaurant with good food and low prices.  My current favorite sits just below the 5 off the Lake Forest offramp.  In the rather nondescript center just across the street from Best Buy is a little place called The Snooty Fox.  (Techni...

Okay, so I admit that we're in fact surrounded by decent shopping.  Target (since that's the topic here) has locations at Irvine Spectrum, up at the Foothill Ranch center, and just above the 5 on Alicia.But now we have one even closer.  As I was driving across Jeronimo today I noticed the "Now Op...

Thought I'd break away from the serious posting for a minute here to post something fun and useful: a time-saving recipe for Thanksgiving!2 Bags frozen broccoli1 large block of VelveetaRitz crackersCook up the 2 bags of broccoli by boiling or microwaving, whichever is your preferred method.  For ...

I was perusing the MSN Money website, as I often do in the middle of the day, when this article caught my attention:Marriage Means Updating Vital PapersThis is a point worth repeating.  We all have various places where beneficiaries are designated (and if we don't... we should!).  This includes t...

I've been tracking the behavior of interest rates on home loans, especially since the Fed finally started knocking the Fed Funds rate and discount rates a bit.  A look at today's rates reveals these numbers:Today's National Averages Mortgages APR 30-yr. fixed 6.22% 15-yr. fixed 5.93% 1-yr. adj. 6...

That's right, at 2:00am Sunday morning, the clocks switch back to 1:00am.But this is more than a reminder to change your clocks.  Daylight Savings is a great opportunity for you to reach out to your farm or personal network.  You could distribute a flyer reminding them to change their clocks.  Yo...

Today I found an interesting article on the MSN Money page, suggesting that the market may pick up next year. The article, being written for stock investors, focuses mostly on whether or not it is a good time to pick up some housing-related securities, but he makes some good general points about ...

I just heard a rumor through an email that one of the homes lost in the fire down in San Diego was that of none other than Brian Buffini and his wife Beverly.  The quote attributed to him in the email was, "Thankfully, all of our staff is safe and well; sadly, though, Beverly and I lost our home....