Orange Co. Real Estate~Lynda Eisenmann, Broker-Owner, CRS,CRB,GRI,SRES, Brea, CA

Brea, California is a great place to call home. We all know that Orange County is home to the Happiest Place on Earth, Disneyland of course! Yet a day trip may not always fit in the family budget.

Like many communities one only needs to look around to find low cost or no cost activities or events. Just take the time to discover the opportunities in your own back-yard.

Here's a list of some of my favorites in good ole' Brea:

• For the art lovers around town, Brea's Art In Public Places is a true delight. Over 130 works of art in a variety a mediums are local treasures ready for discovery. To see these daily is something I never take for granted, they just make my day around town that much better.

And not that I've seen them all, every now and then I discover a new one and it's always a treat for me. Take a tour and see for yourself. Cost~absolutely FREE!

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• Orange County Library, Brea Branch ~ The Brea Library offers a variety videos, books, tapes and compact discs. To make things more fun Brea's Library offers special programs including a pre-school story time for the little ones and after school crafts and a summer reading club.The Brea Library is located at the Brea Civic and Cultural Center, (just across from the Brea Marketplace) at One Civic Center, main level.

Open 5 days a week: Hours 10:00 - 6:00 Mondays & Thursdays. 12:00 - 8:00 Tuesdays & Wednesdays and 10: a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturdays. Closed on Friday and Sunday. Cost of a library card? Absolutely FREE ~ For more information, call (714) 671-1722

• Stroll through Brea's Certified Farmer's Marketin Downtown Brea on Birch Street. That's right each Tuesday downtown Brea plays host to a wide variety of local growers, vendors and crafts. It's a great way to spend the late afternoon or early evening. Cost: The event and PARKING is absolutely FREE.

Be a sport, head on over to Brea's newest addition the brand new Brea Sport Park on Birch St. I was there myself on opening day the morning of Feb. 14^th, 2009! It was an exciting event. The park is loaded with something for everyone. Sports fields of almost every imaginable variety, a colorful unique playground and even a vendor/refreshment area. Truly something for everyone! Cost: Absolutely FREE and plenty of FREE PARKING.

Enjoy the Brea's Art Gallery at the Civic Centre. In addition a gift shop is home to works of art from all over the world. When it comes to kids... a Children's Art space allows them to use their own creativity with displays and participation in hands on fun. Don't you just love that? The Gallery is located in the Brea Civic & Cultural Center (across from the Brea Marketplace) at One Civic Center Circle. Gallery hours are Wednesday - Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m., best of all it's FREE for Brea residents, all others pay $2.00.For more information, Call (714) 990-7730 for more info. o

• Brea Museum and Heritage Center in City Hall Parkat 495 S. Brea Blvd. (At Elm St.) Take a look back in time and visit the days of Good Ole' Brea, when Brea Blvd. was a little two-lane road that took visitors through the canyon on the way to the L.A. County Fair. That's the journey we took as a family years ago. ~ Hours Saturdays 19:00 to 3:30. The museum is closed on holiday week-ends. Cost ~ Although donations are welcome, once again, the cost is absolutely FREE!

• Take a hike, Brea is surrounded on the north and a portion of the eastern boundary by the hills. Enjoy the outdoors with a nature hike at Carbon Canyon Regional Park, on Carbon Canyon Rd. in Brea, check it out.

If you're interested in learning more about Brea see why Sunset Magazine named it one of the best places in the west, or check out Living In Dowtown Brea, or Downtown Brea Nights, Visit Brea Family Fun, Brea's Curtis Theatre or Downtown Brea Dining.

For real estate, contact me, Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com, we're one of the oldest independent brokerages in Orange County under the same ownership, check us out Preferred Home Brokers.

~ CA Department of Real Estate License #00402040.

La Habra, California Home Sales Report for February 2009. La Habra, CA 90631 (not to be La Habra Heights) is located in North Orange County,CA.

This marketing report will give you an overview of the real estate marketas compared to prior months in La Habra for both single family homes and condominium sales.

If you're a home buyer or a home seller it's essential you have an understanding of today's real estate market when it comes to market conditions in pricing and inventory.

As a home buyer it's important to begin the loan process in advance of your home search. Once approved you normally have greater strength in negotiating prices.

If you're a home seller, pricing your ahead of others is crucial for a timely sale. That's right, pricing it ahead of the competition, including foreclosures/bank owned properties.

Single family homesrange in price from $160,000 to $1,675,000, (identical to last month) although only 4 were priced over $1,000,000.00

• 120 homes were for sale, up slightly from last month and compared to 136/128/153/180/129/149/153/182/216 prior months.
• 30 pending sales in escrow during the month, and compared to prior months of 36,20/19/34/24/18/25/34/37 pending sales.
• 20 homes closed February, fewer that past four months, 30/42/3527 and compared to 14/25/26 in prior months.
• $393,000 was the average closed sales price for February with an average of 3 bedrooms 2 baths and 1608 square feet, with an average days on the market of 67.

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Condominiums range from $98,000 to $425,000.

• 65 condo/town-homes were for sale, as compared to 63/65/71/72/63/82/83 in prior months.
• 7 pending sales (in escrow) in escrow, compared in 18/7/6/12/23/11/6/5 for prior months.
• 18 closed, more than double from last month and compared to 8/11/10/3/8/10 in prior months.
• $207,800 was the average closed condo price of 2 bedrooms and 2 bath condo at 1,062 square feet, with an average of 86 days on the market.

La Habra is well known for the lively Children's Museum, click here to see more, we've been there many times ourselves with our family If you're interested in learning more about La Habra check out Living in La Habra, and see why La Habra is a city with a heart.

If you are thinking of selling your Orange County home consider this:

• 84% of all home buyers begin today with the Internet for their home search.
• 80% of Orange County is on-line.
• The average age in Orange County is 36 and I don't know of a "thirty something" person in Orange County who is not on line.
• For the maximum on-line marketing exposure contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com

Want to know more about La Habra Real Estate? Contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com, view Preferred Home Brokers and see why we're one of the longest established independent brokerages in Orange County under the same ownership. CA Dept. of Real Estate License # 00-402040.

~ Data Source: So Cal MLS

So Cal Home Pricing a Foot at a Time ~ Home prices obviously vary widely among cities in Southern CA, even within the same city and zip codes. Many factors enter into the equation in determining value, like condition, improvements, location. etc. etc.

The list below is intended to be an overview of closed sales prices on residential re-sale properties in Southern Cal. The figures below are based on the past 12 months ending 1/31/2009.

Cities are located in Orange and Los Angeles Counties:

Other factors could include:

• School district and school location. ~ A big concern for young families, and you want to be close, yet not too close.
• Proximity to shopping. ~ Can you shop till you drop in your own backyard?
• Transportation/freeway access. ~ Again being close is great, (a really big deal in So Cal) but not too close.
• Single story vs. two story. ~ Single story homes often sell for more per square foot than a 2-level counterpart.
• Parks and recreation. ~ Recreational opportunities and actives in an area can be a big plus.
• ADA (Americans with Disabilities) Access. ~ With an aging population, single story homes and floor plans with a downstairs bedroom and bath, are usually more desirable, therefore selling more quickly and more per square foot.

-Data source: SoCalMLS & Real Data Strategies, time period 12 month consecutive months ending 1/31/2009

If you live in Southern California and want to sell your home consider this:

• 84% of all home buyers now begin their home search on-line.
• 80% of Orange County is on-line.
• The average age in Orange county is 36, and I don't know of a thirty-something person in the OC who is not on-line.
• For the maximum on-line marketing exposure contact me, Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com
• PreferredHomeBrokers is one of Orange Counties Oldest Independent Brokerages under the same ownership for more than 30 years. We're using today's technology with decades of real estate know-how.
• Check out our LivingInSoCal.com blog.
• CA DRE License #00-402040.

Brea, CA Residential Real Estate Sales Report ~ Brea Home Sales for February 2009.

Single Family Homes for February:

• Average asking price was $627,000 for a home with 2,330 square feet.
• 65 re-sale homes were for sale, compared to 94 and 95 for the past two months.
• 12 pending sales, as compared to 20/16/36/30/27/27/24 preceding months.
• 12 homes closed in February compared to 13/20/11/28/30/24/20/14/21/13/88 respectively in the past 12 months.
• Average selling price for Feb. was $576,450 for a home with an average of 2,183 square feet.
• The average days on the market was 86.

Condominium activity for February:

• 6 condo/town-homes were for sale, compared to 12/9/13 in the past few months.
• 3 pending sales went into escrow in Feb. compared to 1/4/3/1/5/7/2/1/1/5/2/2 since the beginning of 2008.
• 0 condos closed escrow for Feb. compared to 5/3/4/2/5/4/2/2/0/3/3/2/4/6 respectively in preceding months.

Brea is a City is well known for excellence in education. The schools have been definite attraction for residents in our community. We often say Brea enjoys some of the bigger city benefits, yet maintains a small town feeling. Many of us who live here feel we have the best of both worlds.

Brea, CA is very well located in Northern Orange County ~ If you lived in Brea, California you would be approximately:

• 30 Miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
• 39 Miles from LAX ~ Los Angeles International Airport,
• 16 Miles from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA
• 10 Miles from the "Happiest Place on Earth" Disneyland ~ Anaheim, CA.

In addition: Photo (upper right) a winter view of Brea, CA looking towards the beautiful San Bernardino snow capped mountains. A great place for local skiing, about 1 1/2 hour drive from Brea. We're also about 1 1/2 drive to desert area communities of Palm Springs and more. And don't forget we're about a 45 minute drive to our spectacular California coastline (photo left) for surfing or a day of winter bike riding.

Here's more on the new Sports Park, check it out.

To learn more about Brea visit our city at All About Brea~ Brea, CA 92821 & 92823 and view Sunset Magazine, Brea The Best of The West and see why Brea's the Place to Be.

Brea is national headquarters for several major companies also known for a strong financial community, view Brea Means Business to learn more.

Planning on spending a day or two here? Check out, Brea ~ CA as Featured in Westways Magazine for day tripping around town. If you're want more on Brea real estate contract me, Lynda Eisenmann at Preferred Home Brokers for Real Estate Help, we're one of longest established real estate companies in Orange County under the same ownership.

Contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com, text or direct (714) 595-1494.

CA Department of Real Estate License number 402040.

Online Home Sales Report for La Mirada, California. ~ Market update, for February 2009 real estate activity of single family homes and condominium re-sales.

La Mirada, CA is located in the suburbs of Eastern Los Angeles County, with nearby Orange County bordering on the east side of the city. If you lived in La Mirada you would be one of approximately 50,000 residents.

Single Family Home Activity for February:

• 92 re-sale homes currently for sale in the city, down about 10% from the prior 3 months, and approximately 30% fewer from mid-year and far fewer than the beginning of 2008.
• Asking prices ranged from $225,000 to $775,000 for the city.
• Average asking price is $442,000 almost the same as the past two months.
• Average price per square foot for single family homes is $253.00.
• 33 pending sales up from 22,16,19 for the past 90 days.
• 14 homes closed escrow, as compared to 36,26,20 in the last 2-4 months.
• Average selling price was $357,800 (the lowest I've seen in years).
• Average selling price per square foot $245.89

Condominium activity for February: Condo prices for the month ranged from $133,000 to $435,000.

• 23 condos are currently for sale, almost identical to the past 90 days.
• Average asking price was $262,875.
• Average asking price per square foot was $262.00.
• 5 pending sales, (in escrow) compared to 4 two months ago, and a little higher than prior months.
• 3 properties closed escrow, compared to 4,5 and 3 in the past few months.
• Average condo selling price was $260,900.
• Average condo selling price per square foot was $237.15.

***The City of La Mirada has a 2.1 month supply of homes (combined single family and condos) for sale, down from 60 days ago at 3.8 and and down also from prior months. That's the length of time it would take to sell the existing inventory of homes for sale, provided sales continue at the same pace this year as in 2008, and providing no new listings enter the market place.

I think it's also worthy to note that while the number of sales were up year-to-date (past 12 months) 320 single family vs. 230 for same time period 24 months ago, prices continue to decline.

If you lived in La Mirada, California you would be approximately:

• 27 miles east of LAX ~ Los Angeles International Airport ~ Los Angeles, CA
• 23 miles north/west of John Wayne Airport ~ Santa Ana, CA
• 36 miles west of Ontario International Airport ~ Ontario, CA
• 10.5 miles north/west of the "Happiest Place on Earth" Disneyland ~ Anaheim, CA

The city has been a favorite since very early in my early days in real estate. The city is also home to Biola College and the famous La Mirada Theater, home to outstanding theatrical productions, (photo left).

To learn more about real estate if the great City of La Mirada, contact me, Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com or visit my Living In La Mirada and see why La Mirada was also named 'One of the best places to live in 2007" by Money Magazine.

Preferred Home Brokers, successfully serving home buyers and sellers for more than thirty years. ~ CA DRE License #00402040.

• -Data source, SoCal Multiple Listing Service 2009 ~