And what a week it was!  We saw housing starts and permits fall to their lowest level since 1996!  Then Merrill Lynch put out a report suggesting that Countrywide Financial Corp., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, could go bankrupt, naturally they lowered the stock rating to a sell.  Next day, Countrywide had to tap it's $11.5 billion dollar bank line to finance it's operations.  Not good news.Today the Fed took action to lower the discount rate by .5% to 5.75% and infuse dollars into the system to try and counteract the liquidity squeeze that we are seeing.  This was viewed as an extraordinary move as the Fed has not reacted this way since 2001.   This action by the Fed did serve to stem the market losses for the week and give us the biggest rally in four years for the S&P 500.  The ... 08/17/2007

Toluca Lake Compound!Gorgeous 5 Bed 6 Bath Custom Built Home GEORGEOUS CUSTOM BUILT HOME IN TOLUCA LAKE/BURBANK. OVER 4400 SQ. FT. MAGNIFICENT SPANISH 5 BEDROOM, 6 BATH HOME WITH GUEST HOUSE. LARGE FIREPLACE IN FAMILY ROOM SEPARATE THEATRE/POOL HOUSE, BEAUTIFUL POOL & SPA PLUS OUTDOOR SHOWER A MUST SEE! Courtesy of Windermere Real Estate Dominic Naidoo 310.968.0418 08/13/2007

                                                              Monday 13Retail Sales- Consensus 0.2 Business Inventories-Consensus .4% 3 Month & 6 Month Bill AuctionTuesday 14Producer Price Index  PPI Consensus Forecast for July 07: +0.1 percent  ICSC-USB Store Sales  Tracks comparable weekly sales from major retail chains and represents 10% of total retail sales.  Is considered to be one of the most timely indicators of consumer spending. Redbook a timely indicator of consumer spending and also represents about 10% of total retail sales.  This measure tracks weekly sales from discounters, chain and department stores.International Trade Gauges economic trends by measuring levels of imports and exports. 4 Week bill AuctionWednesday 15Housing Market Index-Produced by the National Associati... 08/12/2007

  Hello Inman News had a great interview with Craig Newman of Craigslist and Alex Perriella of Realogy. It is a little long but offers great insight to the future of internet advertising!http://www.inman.com/hstory.aspx?ID=64162I watched the whole thing and am spending sometime today checking out Second Life, Yahoo classified and google. If you are a Realtor and need website maintenace, virtual assistance, marketing assistance, or products -  Real Ease Marketing offers a great program for you!Connie StahlReal Ease Marketing 08/09/2007

HelloI was wondering if anyone checked out what Inman news had to say about marketing, both online and offline. Very interesting! Seems they did a study and the most effective tool the Realtor still has available to him is - POSTCARDS!! Of course, these postcards are branded to your team or company and are a tool to drive clients to your website. But I found it very interesting that in this high tech world people still like to hold and touch advertising. Check it out: http://www.inmantv.com/?cat=62It also went on to say that your website is your hub and all advertising should direct peoplet to it. Keeping it full of facts and information is important as wellLet me know your thoughtsConnieReal Ease Marketing818.332.3164 08/08/2007

 If you are like me and try to recycle as much as possible you will want to read on!If you have any batteries, old eyeglasses, cartridges from your printers, CD's and DVD's you can take them to your local Burbank library!   Just bring them to any Burbank library location and they will take care of recycling these items.While I'm talking about recycling, please don't forget to call City of Burbank to take away your bulky items!  This free service is available by calling the Bulky Hotline at 818-238-3805. Just give them two days notice and they will come by on your regular collection day to pick up your items.  Construction and demolition materials are not included! My website is under construction, but come visit me at anaconnell.com!  08/06/2007

                                                Are you thinking about buying a bicycle or getting back on the dusty one in your garage after watching the Tour De France?   If you are, then you might want to check out the great online maps that are available for bike paths in Los Angeles County.  Another great place to look is Los Angeles Department of Transportation's (LADOT) Bicycle Maps page which has a list of bicycle path maps throughout Southern California. The great thing is that you can go for short scenic rides, such as the Chandler Bike Path or get your heart racing with a longer jaunt.  The dedicated bike path along the Los Angeles River is great if you want to take the kids and not have to worry about traffic.  The only downside is you are right next to the 5 Fwy as well.   ... 08/06/2007

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Monday  6 3 & 6 Month Bill Auction Treasury Strips Tuesday  7 ICSC-USB Store Sales  Tracks comparable weekly sales from major retail chains and represents 10% of total retail sales.  Is considered to be one of the most timely indicators of consumer spending. Redbook a timely indicator of consumer spending and also represents about 10% of total retail sales.  This measure tracks weekly sales from discounters, chain and department stores.Productivity and Costs  T... 08/05/2007

  For those Burbank and Toluca Lake residents looking to increase your academic prowess or just learn something new, the Burbank Adult School Fall 2007 Class schedule is out!The Burbank Adult School includes but is not limited to classes for:ParentingComputer LiteracyForeign Languages Health Occupations TrainingPhotographyand much more!!!! This campus is conveniently located at: 3811 Allan Avenue Burbank, CA 91505  For more information, please call (818) 558-4611. 08/02/2007

                                                          City of Burbank Water and Power has a really great tool, the Home Energy Analyzer, that can help you analyze your home's annual energy consumption and give you suggestions as to how you can improve your home's efficiency.I would recommend that you have at least a few months of your previous gas and power bills handy as part of the process includes entering what you paid for these items for the last year.  If you don't have this information, don't despair!  It's worth taking the assessment anyway. It will take you approximately 5-10 minutes or so to answer all the questions, but once you do you will end up with great information about your energy usage and how it compares to the average home.  The best part of this is that it is F... 08/02/2007

As we enter the end of the summer selling season (try to say that three times real fast!) it is clear that the effects of tighter lending guidelines, higher interest rates, and increasing inventory are slowly but surely putting pressure on pricing and home values.If you just monitor the Market Index over the past five months, from March's 0.53, to July's 0.26, that is an almost 50% decline, shifting us into a buyer's market completely and totally.  Interestingly, the number of new listings added each month is about the same, around 110, peaking with 131 in June, followed by 118 in July.  It may be that sellers were hoping the market was going to shift prior to their homes going on the market, or it may be that they needed to do more prep work to get the home in showing condition.  The s... 08/02/2007

For anyone coming even remotely close to the City of Burbank there is one place that you NEED to stop off at, Porto's Bakery.This incredible Bakery is located at the corner of Magnolia Blvd and Hollywood Way and is always a pleasant experience.  Weather you want to stop off for some breakfast and coffee, grab a sandwich for lunch or just have some great baked goods, this is the only place in town to go.Porto's is a Cuban bakery and Deli which has just opened its second location in Burbank a little over a year ago.  From the minute the doors opened it has been one of the residents favorite places to visit.Some of their appetizers include meat pies, potato balls, croquettes, chorizo pie, tamales, and more.  One of the lunch favorites is the Cubano Sandwich which is always great. But you c... 08/01/2007

   That in March of this year the Burbank City Council adopted a Shopping Cart Containment Ordinance that establishes rules for the containment of shopping carts within the confines of each business. In summary, before this ordinance was adopted, there were no requirements for businesses to keep their carts on their premises.  After September 23rd, removal of shopping carts from the premises will be illegal.  Business owners who do not enforce the ordinance will be fined up to $1,000 and/or up to 6 months in prison.There may be some differing views on this, but from a community beautification standpoint, I love it!  After all, the carts are the property of the business and solely intended to help you get your things to the check out and your car.  A few years ago my son moved to Boston ... 08/01/2007

                                                      Did you know, that City of Burbank has a composting program? The program started back in 1989 and through this program Burbank has been able to keep 50% of it's waste from making it to the landfills!Composting is the process where living organisms turn organic waste and yard waste into a rich amendment that you can use in your yard to naturally fertilize your soil. What's great is that residents are eligible to receive free composting instruction through workshops and a free composter!The workshops cover topics ranging from how and what to compost to Xeriscape(minimal water usuage) landscaping!  Trust me I did not know what the meaning of Xeriscape was either! If you are interested in getting started, please call City of Burbank Recy... 07/31/2007

07/31/2007

                                                                                                                             Monday  30 3 Month & 6 Month Bill AuctionTuesday 31 ICSC-USB Store Sales  Tracks comparable weekly sales from major retail chains and represents 10% of total retail sales.  Is considered to be one of the most timely indicators of consumer spending. Redbook a timely indicator of consumer spending and also represents about 10% of total retail sales.  This measure tracks weekly sales from discounters, chain and department stores.Factory Orders Consensus - -1.2 Pending Homes Index-The National Association of Realtors developed the pending home sales index as a leading indicator of housing activity. As such, it is a leading indicator of existing home sales, not new hom... 07/28/2007

 Please click on the following link to view all of our Open Homes for the weekend of July 29, 2007.Windermere Burbank Open HomesDuring our Quaterly Open house Extravaganza we open some of finest homes for public showings. This Sunday we will have a total of 19 homes available to view. In addition all visitors may enter to win a $20 gift certificate to McCormick & Scmidts. You may enter the drawing once at every home you visit.There are some great homes being held open and we would love to see you there. If you have questions or would like to schedule a showing of any of these fine homes please do not hesitate to let me know.We look forward to seeing you there. 07/26/2007

     Every year the residents of the City of Burbank through our local newspaper The Burbank Leader are asked to vote for their favorite businesses in the area.  Our city has over 140,000 residents and businesses who have the opportunity to cast their votes.  This is the 12th Yearthat the city has run this prestigious award for its local businessesI am please to say that this year Windermere Real Estate / Bill Toth & Associates was officially voted "Best Real Estate Company".  In addition our owner/broker Bill Toth was voted "Best Real Estate Agent".Our office in staying with the Windermere philosophy is a great group of close knit agents where we foster teamwork and family values.  Windermere is a community oriented company who firmly believes in giving back to the community.  It is th... 07/25/2007

                                                                                            Monday 23 3 & 6 Month Bill Auction  Tuesday 24 ICSC-USB Store Sales  Tracks comparable weekly sales from major retail chains and represents 10% of total retail sales.  Is considered to be one of the most timely indicators of consumer spending. Redbook a timely indicator of consumer spending and also represents about 10% of total retail sales.  This measure tracks weekly sales from discounters, chain and department stores.State Street Investor Confidence Index Measures actual levels of risk in investor portfolio. 4 Week Bill Auction & 20 Year Tips Auction Wednesday 25 Existing Home Sales-consensus 5.870M..... Year to year this number has dropped 10.3% and housing supply at 8.9 months is at it's hi... 07/22/2007

Above is an artists rendition of the completed project.The long awaited redevelopment project of Burbank Blvd has finally begun.  Be ready for traffic delays and heavy machinery all along Burbank Blvd.This week the City of Burbank and the Burbank Redevelopment Agency begun the demolishon Phaseof Burbank Blvd.  This is outlined in Phase I and Phase II of the project and is running from Clybourn all the way to Buena Vista St.During the projected 7 month project which will ultimately stretch from Clybourn to Victory Blvd. (2.2 miles) most of the street will be limited to 1 lane in each direction during normal business hours and may be extended to 2 lanes each as construction permits.  Street parking will also be limited as will turning onto side streets.The ultimate goal of the project is ... 07/17/2007