Gene Wunderlich - Realtor®, Government Affairs Director

The name Temecula comes from an old Luiseno Indian word commonly translated as 'Where The Sun Breaks Through The Mist.' It conjures up images of sun drenched rolling hills, snow capped mountain peaks and fresh ocean breezes - in short, an area that might lend itself to the cultivation of vineyards and the production of fine varietal wines.

Less than 60 miles north of San Diego and 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles lies Southwest Califiornia and the Temecula Valley Wine Country. Rolling hills covered with vineyards, expansive views reaching to 11,000 foot high mountains, air swept by ocean breezes, and a unique micro-climate ensures a premier opportunity for vintners to explore their craft. Warm summer days combine with evenings cooled by mists of ocean breeze and a moderate 1,500' elevation to produce some of the most ideal condition for wine growing in the entire country.




With our oldest wineries dating back a mere 30 years, the Temecula Valley Wine Country is just establishing itself as a viticulturists destination. With more than 20 boutique and specialty wineries to visit, a tour of the Temecula Valley Wine Country can stretch from a languid afternoon to a fun-filled week or more.

Even though our wineries have grown up a lot in the past few years, one of the most fun things about visiting here is the small scale and friendly atmosphere you'll encounter. It's not unusual for the owner and/or winemaker (often one and the same) to guide a tour themselves or take time to pour your tastes and talk to you about their wines, why their wines are named for their children, or their children are named for their wines, why their family pet is critical to the aging process and why Friday night harvests are best. If you're here during the harvest or crush, you might get to see the process up close, maybe pick a few clusters yourself and taste the fresh juice as it runs from the grapes.

They'll tell you

Most wineries boast dining facilities ranging from simple cheese and cracker accompaniments to full gourmet dinners with custom wine pairings. Some evenings you will find musicians playing softly on the patio or serenading diners, weekends will find full blown jazz concerts under the vines featuring some of today's hottest musical talent. (Like this shot of Dave Koz & Cris Botti at Thornton's Winery.)

While you'll find robust Cabernet's, buttery Chardonnays and spicy Merlots, you'll also find a wide range of varietals as well, including Malbec's, Syrah's, San Giovese's and fine sparkling wines. We're not snooty but we make darn good wine.

If you're looking for something fun and different to do next time you're in Southern California, spend a few days with us in the Southern California Wine Country. Take a balloon ride over the vineyards in the morning, go wine tasting in the afternoon, enjoy a relaxing dinner overlooking the vineyards and take in a casino show that night. Call me if you need a tour guide. I like to help any way I can - just give, give, give - that's me.

For more information or to make reservations, please visit the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association.

Gene Wunderlich - Selling Southwest California Homes including Temecula, Murrieta and the Southern California Wine Country.

Well the numbers are out and once again it's not great news for the Inland Empire. While numbers were cautiously positive across the country, including most areas of California, the Inland Empire lagged in both sales volume and median price. It's clear why our median prices continue to slide - the number of bank-owned properties coming on the market has continued at a strong pace and rumor has it we'll see another bubble of these homes hit us in May-June as the next wave of rate resets take their toll.

What's less clear is why our sales continue to lag even when the rest of the state and country seemed to have a better month (although you can't predicate any forecast on a single month of stats). In spite of attractive interest rates and a vast inventory of homes available at 2003 prices, I think people here are just scared that another shoe is going to drop. As quoted in the article which appeared today in The Press Enterprise, I am cautiously optimistic based on the number of sales Realtors in my office are putting on the board as well as my personal experience.

I am currently working with a first time buyer who is excited about the availability of FHA loans again in our market and the number of choices they have to look at. We've even had the experience of being up against multiple offers- in one case 11 offers in 2 days. These are all on bank-owned homes so there still isn't much relief for the average home seller out there - but it's a start. My other buyers are folks I've sold three or four homes for and to over the years, most recently a smaller home back when the market was headed up. At that time he purchased a 1,290 SqFt home for $316,000. Now that he's married again with kids, they have been looking at homes 2,800 to 3,500 SqFt for about the same price he paid for the small one 4 years ago.

Hope your markets are looking up this spring. Use your local media to get the positive message out.

Source: http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_D_homesales25.37381f0.html

Riverside and San Bernardino counties bucked the nation's and state's surges in sales of existing homes from January to February.

The California Association of Realtors reported a 7.4 percent month-to-month sales decline in the two-county region. February sales of existing Inland homes also declined 17 percent compared with a year earlier, and the median home price fell to $289,660, 27.2 percent lower than a year ago.

Steve Johnson, a director with MetroStudy, a Riverside-based real estate consulting firm, said he believes the Inland region did not share in the month-to-month sales gains in February because of a great reluctance among lenders to finance new mortgages in the area out of fear that prices will continue to tumble and foreclosures will continue to mount.

"They (lenders) think there is still softness in this market, and they are concerned about where the values are. So it is very hard to get loans finalized," Johnson said.

Still, Gene Wunderlich, president of the Southwest Riverside County Association of Realtors and a Coldwell Banker agent in Murrieta, said this month he has noticed an increase in home buying interest and in the number of homes going into escrow.

"Year-to-year numbers are down and the median price is down, but I think we are starting to see a little bit of relief out there," he said. "We are starting to see first-time buyers come back into the market because they don't want to miss the bottom before prices or interest rates start back up."

Nationally, sales of existing homes increased unexpectedly after six months of decline, but private economists say it is too soon to say the prolonged slide in housing is ending.

Gene Wunderlich - Selling Southwest California Homes including Temecula, Murrieta and the Southern California Wine Country.

Don't wait to buy real estate - Buy real estate and wait.

It's time for a look back at the numbers that made our market last year to see where we've been and where we're headed. Right now with the number of Lender Owned Homes on the market and the continuing foreclosure activity in the Valley, it's difficult (but not impossible) for individual home sellers to compete profitably against the deep pockets of the banks.

However, as you can see the slowing trend in home sales in the region, we are entering one of the best Buyers markets we've seen in 20+ years. A qualified Buyer is KING right now and with prices back to 2004 levels and an inventory of homes ready for occupancy, it's hard to imagine a better time. Pool homes, big single stories, view homes, homes on acreage, granite counters, South facing homes on a cul-de-sac with an even numbered address and a street name beginning with a vowel - you name it, it's available to look at - and probably a few models of each so you really have a choice.

If you'd like to take advantage of this market to move up yourself or simply pick up some investment property to hold until the market comes back, call me today for ideas on how to make this happen without losing your shirt.

This is that time you swore you'd take advantage of if you only had the chance again. Remember?

Gene Wunderlich - Selling Southwest California Homes including Murrieta, Temecula and the Southern California Wine Country.

Don't wait to buy real estate - Buy real estate and wait.

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The Californian 2/28/08

MURRIETA -A federal agency alleged Wednesday that three Murrieta-area men sucked $11 million from 75 amateur investors they recruited through networks of church friends and military comrades and then left a trail of more than 100 foreclosed houses in their wake.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Riverside by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeks a federal court order barring James Duncan, Hendrix Montecastro and Maurice McLeod from continuing to offer the sort of investments that it alleges to be fraud.

The agency generally doesn't file criminal charges, but an attorney for one of the men said the allegations left little doubt that other federal agencies would follow up with prosecutions.

The securities commission Wednesday also demanded in the complaint that the three men repay an unspecified sum to their investors and potentially to lenders, who were left holding $120 million in bad mortgages. Some of Murrieta's most upscale neighborhoods, including Bear Creek, Copper Canyon and Greer Ranch, are dotted with foreclosed homes that the three men and their clients bought and later abandoned.

Finally - some response from a law enforcement agency. Frequent readers of my blogs and local columns have been aware of this mortgage fraud scam as early as 2005. Our Association and our attorney documented 64 cases in 2005 but have not been able to get our DA, AG or the FBI to act.

Finally last year the Dept. of Real Estate pulled the Brokers license, but only after the documented case load had expanded to 128 properties and numerous copy-cat's had pushed that number far higher. The impact this has had on our community has been enormous, helping propel our market into the the #1 or #2 spot among California cities for foreclosures. Our cities and county are being presented with critical revenue decisions because they based budgets on inflated property values which have now declined by as much as 40% during the past 18 months.

Our Association, the Southwest Riverside County Association, has joined with the Inland Valley Association (City of Riverside) to form a Fraud Task Force representing over 10,000 Realtors in an effort to:

1. educate our citizens to beware of these mortgage fraud scam
2. head off new scams aimed at foreclosure fraud and reverse mortgage elder abuse
3. work with our city governments to provide citizens an avenue of recourse
4. pressure law enforcement to get involved

We want our customers and our elected city and county leaders to know that Realtors are part of the solution - not part of the problem. Hopefully this action will send a message to perpetrators that this activity will no longer get a free pass in our community. We have worked very closely with our two daily newspapers to shine a light on this problem and we appreciate the cooperation we have received from the local media in our efforts.

Please help me welcome new ActiveRainer Mark Hawley to the group.

Mark has lived in the Coachella Valley area of the Inland Empire since 1972. He knows everything there is to know about La Quinta, Indio, Bermuda Dunes, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City and Palm Springs. If Mark doesn't know it - it ain't worth knowing.

To help you find a specific answer to the question above, I have dozens of tools and resources designed to minimize the stress of selling and maximize the value you receive from your home, such as:

* Detailed photo reports of homes recently sold or on the market in your area
* Evaluation of whether or not this is the optimal time to sell, given current market trends
* Keys to maximizing 'curb appeal' to capture the interest of more buyers
* Latest marketing techniques that use the Internet to reach busy, discriminating buyers

Mark's been a little shy on the whole blogging thing so far but with a little help and encouragement from you all, I know he'll be enlightening us in no time.

Gene Wunderlich - Selling SouthwestCaliforniaHomes, including Temecula, Murrieta and the Southern California Wuoine Country.

Don't wait to buy real estate - buy real estate and wait.