Everyone loves a Carnival and this is one of the best local community events in the area.  Portola Hills Elementary School will be hosting their annual School Carnival.  Food, games, music and Kelly with Century 21 Superstars will be hosting the Petting Zoo which was a huge hit last year.Make sure to stop bye support the school and just have some fun!June 1st 4-8 pm! 04/25/2007

Portola Hills eNews! Special Earth Day InformationIt is hard to get away from the fact that tomorrow is Earth Day, so instead of sending everyone the normal Portola Activity I thought I would share with you some local resources to help keep our great area Green!Southern California Edison - SCE offers many helpful tips to help consumers and businesses be energy wise and reduce energy cost.  A few things you just might want to check out:Got an extra refrigerator/freezer SCE will pick up and recycle your appliance and pay you for it.  $35.00 for a refrig and $50.00 for a freezer and they will give you a $50.00 rebate when you purchase a new Energy Star appliance.Money Savings Survey - Take the home energy survey to find out where in your home you could conserve and in fact save you some mo... 04/21/2007

Congrats goes out to the students and faculity of Portola Hills Elementary as they have recieved the highest ranking in the 2006-07 API Testing.  We can't forget the rest of the schools in the area as everyone did very well. See below for a complete ranking.  Number of Students Included in the 2006 API2006 Base API2006 Statewide Rank2006 Similar Schools Rank2006-07 Growth Target2007 API TargetSaddleback Valley Unified 25,799 833 B B B B Elementary Schools        Aliso Elementary 323 791 7 6 5 796   Cielo Vista Elementary 656 822 8 8 A A   Cordillera Elementary 411 868 9 10 A A   Del Cerro Elementary 370 874 9 3 A A   Del Lago Elementary 334 847 8 7 A A   dePortola Elementary 476 880 9 4 A A   Foothill Ranch Elementary 975 917 10 6 A A   Gates (Ralph A.) Elementary 539 751 5 6 5 756   Gl... 04/19/2007

Portola Hills eNews!  New On The MarketAmenitiesPrice18926 Canyon Hill1 bed/1 bath/664 sq.ft.$329,00019821 Canyon Hill2 bed/1 bath/800 sq.ft.$377,50018916 Canyon View2 bed/2 bath/1061 sq.ft.$419,900 28356 Boulder Dr.2 bed/2.5 bath/1152 sq.ft.$449,900*28965 Canyon Rim2 bed/2.5 bath/1162 sq.ft.$485,00028351 Pueblo Dr.3 bed/ 3 bath/ 1256 sq.ft.$489,00019665 Orviento Dr.3 bed/3 bath/ 1300 sq.ft.$499,99419582 Highridge Dr.3 bed/2.5 bath/1561 sq.ft.$596,500*19062 Woodland Way3 bed/3 bath/ 1620 sq.ft.$659,00019691 Dorado Dr.6 bed/4 bath/3500 sq.ft.$985,000*Sold Properties - Just Missed!  18925 Canyon Summit3 bed/2 bath/1105 sq.ft.$394,00028526 Trento Way2 bed/2.5 bath/ 1105 sq.ft.$445,00028503 Klondike Dr.3 bed/3 bath/1256 sq.ft.$449,00019242 Echo Pass Rd.3 bed/2 bath/1260 sq.ft.$565,00019506 ... 04/06/2007

The inventory of available homes has climbed almost 15% in the last 2 weeks, and escrows-in-process have dropped by 10%. Since we are now into our "normal" buying and selling season, it is not surprising that more listings are coming on the market, but someone forgot to invite the buyers to come out of hiding! The decline in the total escrow number includes both closed sales and cancellations. I have noticed a much higher than average rate of properties coming "back on the market" due to buyers failing to qualify for their financing. With the recent tightening of lending standards and meltdown of the subprime mortgage market, fewer buyers are able to qualify for financing, so this may remain an issue for a while. We now have a total of 294 listings available on the MLS with 59 propertie... 03/31/2007

Portola Hills, Lake Forest, California - 2007 Fast Facts  Resident Details:Population:  9135Married Couples: 68.5%Singles: 32%Average Household Size: 3Median Age: 35Median Income per Household: $90,874Median Income per Family:  $96,076Real Estate SnapshotNumber of Residences: 2181Average Price per Sq. Ft: $372.90Average Home Price: $574,000Association Amenities:  Swimming Pools, Basketball Courts, Volleyball Courts, Tennis Courts, Community Clubhouses, Gyms and beautiful nature surroundings An 1100-unit new development plan is being considered thru the city of Lake Forest Local Points of Interest:School District:  Saddleback Valley Unified School DistrictSaddleback Community ChurchParks/Recreation:  Concourse Park, Whiting Ranch, O'Neil Park, Modjeska Canyon, Local Shopping:  Portola Pl... 03/28/2007

This past weekend I was working at an open house and a young couple came in that is getting married who had two houses to sell and considering buying one.  As they gave me their details to review I went home looked up the comps and immediatly felt bad.  Why because I could see that something wasn't right. One of the houses they bought directly through the listing agent, which was overpriced based on apples to apples comps. To make matters worse the home was range priced and they bought at the high end of the range and finally if we were to sell today we would have to sell at a loss. Yes, Kudos for the seller they were represented well by the agent. But I have to ask how was the buyer in that transaction represented?  Personally I admit, I have mixed feelings about this.  Dual agency is ... 03/20/2007

This month the inventory of available homes has increased a bit, new escrows are holding steady and closings are a little ahead of last month's levels. We now have 259 listings available on the MLS with 70 properties currently in escrow. Based on the last 30 days of closings of only 43, the inventory level is over 6 months, but compared to the new escrows, we have about a 4 month supply. This is what I would call a "balanced" market, slightly favoring buyers, with a reasonable level of choices for buyers, but not so many homes that sellers have to "dump" their homes to get them sold.Sellers still need to make sure that their home is priced competively, easy to show on short notice, and well-staged to emphasize their best features. Here are the highlights of the last 30 days : (includes ... 03/18/2007

(I actually wrote this on March 2, but somehow didn't post it until today.  I will post my next market activity and inventory report tomorrow.)Inventory is fairly stable, new escrows have picked up a little bit, and closings are close to last month's levels. We now have 230 listings available on the MLS with 72 properties currently in escrow. Based on last month's closings of only 36, the inventory level is over 6 months, but compared to the new escrows, we have about a 3 1/2 month supply. The pace has definitely picked up since the first of the year.With only 36 closings in February, we are still in a "BUYER'S MARKET" so sellers need to be able to either wait a long time for their perfect buyer, or become very aggressive with condition, staging and pricing. Here are the highlights of t... 03/17/2007

Portola Hills eNews!  Week Ending 3/16/07 New On The MarketAmenitiesPrice28374 Klondike Dr.2 bed/2 bath/1015 sq. ft.$410,00019012 Canyon Summit3 bed/2 bath/1144 sq.ft.$412,50028338 Pueblo Dr.2 bed/2 bath/1015 sq.ft.$419,000 28544 Sorano Cove3 bed/2.5 bath/1205 sq.ft.$475,90028415 Pueblo Dr.3 bed/2.75 bath/1255 sq.ft.$509,00028492 Oakview Dr.3 bed/2.5 bath/1478 sq.ft$528,90019222 Willowbrook3 bed/2.5 bath/ 1985 sq.ft.$749,00028671 Cedar Ridge Dr.3 bed/2.5 bath/2050 sq.ft.$849,000Sold Properties  28495 Klondike Dr.2 bed/2.5 bath/1152 sq.ft.$400,000Please do not hesitate to give us a call if you would like any information on the above.  Open House: 28861 Woodspring Cir. Portola Hills.  Make sure to stop in and see this great paired home in Portola Hills.  We'll be open Sat/Sun 12-4 This ho... 03/16/2007

What a wonderful area we are blessed to live in.  Yet, many singles wonder is this the place to buy a home when it can be defined as the ultra suburb. My answer to the question, is really a question right back at you, where else would you want to live? Here are just a few reasons why now is the time to move toward the dream of homeownership.Location, Location, Location - Whether you are a surf rat, beach bum, mountain hiker, mountain biker, software engineer, sales and marketing guru, venture capalist, golf instructor, actor, doctor and of course the ever popular Realtor all your needs are close at hand to succeed and really live life.Business Economy - Let's talk Balance!  Did you know over 90% of the businesses have less then 50 employees.  What does that mean?  The area does not rely... 03/07/2007

For the year ended 12/31/2006, total sales in Lake Forest through the MLS was off 39% from the prior year! Just out of curiousity, I went back and got the annual statistics for total sales (condos + homes) for each year beginning with 1999 (since that's as far back as my MLS system keeps the records.)Year:            # Sales:1999              12792000              12102001              12042002              11472003              12022004              10152005              11182006                684My theory is that due to the incredibly low rates of 2003 - 2005, those people who thought they would want or need to move already did, and many of the rest of them took out equity and remodeled their home into what they want to stay in for many, many years!  Even though our inventory looks f... 02/02/2007

This is the time of year when everyone seems to be getting ready for the holidays, and there is a slowdown of real estate activity.  This year has been very slow, with total volume of sales about 40% below last year. Here is the snapshot of the resale real estate market in Lake Forest today:Single Family Homes : Active :  143 @ average list $765,051  range from $545,000 to $2,500,000.In Escrow : 36 @ average list $699,900  range from $539,000 to $1.175,000.Sold in November: 24 @ $731,725 range from $554,000 to $895,500.The average time on the market for the closed listings was 65 days.Using the sales pace of the current escrows, usually about 6 weeks worth, the active inventory represents a level of about 5.5 months.  Condos & Townhomes:Active :  120 @ average list $390,600 range from $... 12/05/2006