Dave and Patricia Zumbrun

There is much to be thankful for when it comes to the real estate market in the Ventura County area, in California and the nation as a whole.

Thanksgiving reason #1: Recent reports for the last quarter indicate that a rebound in the housing market is being seen across the nation. This rebound in the real estate market is also a boon for the nation. For the past few years, we have read and heard about the "bursting bubble" and reports about one of the worst national housing recessions in history. Now, more and more, we are hearing about reduced inventory and higher sales volume.

Thanksgiving reason #2: It is not a fallacy to believe that as the housing market improves, so will the national economy; something we should be very thankful for this season. Global economists are already saying that they believe the bottom of the worldwide recession will be reached no later than mid 2009 and a recovery will immediately begin.

Thanksgiving reason #3: For those of you who have been asking "will it ever end?". The answer is a resounding yes. In January of this year, the Ventura County standing inventory level was 16.7. That index is now down to 6.7. In other words, it would take 6.7 months to sell all the homes on the market at this time, at the current selling rate. This is a strong indication that the bottom of the market may have been reached.

Thanksgiving reason #4: Real estate sales were up overall in California by a whopping 13% in the last quarter. I believe that is the highest jump in the nation.

Thanksgiving reason #5: It is no secret that the majority of our housing inventory is made up of distressed homeowner sales and REO (real estate owned) properties. When the majority of homes offered for sale are distressed sales and REO properties, sale prices are greatly affected. A reality everyone is aware of by now. The reduction in standing inventory means there is less competition which will bring stabilization of home prices to the marketplace.

Thanksgiving reason #6: The focus this coming year is the national economy. Therefore, there will also be focus on the housing market. The favorable real estate upturn should make buyers aware that the time to take advantage of the real estate opportunities is now.

Thanksgiving reason #7: Credit restrictions are expected to ease in the near future. The availablity of funds for home buyers is a major factor for recovery in the housing market and the economy overall. The ability for those who would purchase a home but, up to now have been unable to meet the current tight credit restrictions, may see financing options more readily available in Ventura County and nationwide.

There is much to be grateful for, no matter the circumstances.

May you and your family have a very blessed thanksgiving.

Dave and Pat

Green living or sustainable living is a priority of many cities across the nation and the City of Ventura is no exception.

The City of Ventura has implemented an environmental campaign to make Ventura a "green living" city. Ventura was the recipient of this year's Energy Efficiency Award bestowed by the California Energy Commission. The city also received the Flex Your Power Award.

In a continued effort to reduce the city's green house emissions and increase its renewable energy sources, the City of Ventura has completed a solar energy project at the City of Ventura's Maintenance Yard. The new solar system is energy efficient and cost effective making it environmentally friendly. The system produces about 180,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. That is approximately 45% - 50% of the electricity that the maintenance yard uses each year.

The system allows the maintenance yard to access both solar energy and electrical power from the traditional power plant. The system also allows the maintenance yard to send any surplus solar energy produced back to the power plant.

The City also plans to replace the yard's ventilation, heating and air conditioning with more energy efficient systems, making the new solar (photovoltaic) system even more effective.

Ventura has created a special Ventura Green webpage within the City of Ventura website. Here you can read about what the city has done, what is being done at this time and what is planned for the future. I was quite impressed with how much has already been accomplished. I did not realized that the city has already reduced it's carbon emission by 1.2 million pounds or that our city facilities have reduced their electricity usage by 25%.

The City of Ventura is also promoting smart green building throughout the City. Be sure to visit the Build It Smart website for information, incentives and free green design assistance.

Green living is a concept we all need to embrace and apply to our daily lives. We are very proud of the proactive measures that the City of Ventura has implemented and for its commitment to a Green Ventura.

Ventura Catches Some Rays

Watch the "Get Your Green On" Ventura video

Flex Your Power Website

Two local hospitals and one clinic will benefit from donations, enabling them to offer better health care services to our communities.

St. John's Healthcare Foundation has raised enough money ($500,000) to donate new mammography equipment to the St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital, located in Camarillo.

The new digital equipment provides clearer and more precise images resulting in earlier detection of breast cancer. Digital imaging allows radiologists to view the images on high resolution computers. They are also able to "zoom in" on any masses detected.

In addition to precision, the new equipment also performs at a much faster speed, which means twice as many women can be served than in the past.

Early breast cancer detection can mean more women will be successfully treated. To schedule an appointment please call 389-5655.

The Santa Paula Hospital will be receiving several new pieces of equipment for its surgical unit, emergency room and patient services. The funds for the new equipment are being donated by the Kirk Douglas Foundation, the Santa Clara Valley Wellness Foundation and the Pueblo Radiology Group. The equipment will include new gurneys, chairs that will convert to stretchers, a cardiac monitoring unit, a unit to screen patient's hearing, a video gastroscope , and a sterilizer for the surgery department.

Fillmore Clinic will also benefit from the donations by the Kirk Douglas Foundation, the Santa Clara Valley Wellness Foundation and the Pueblo Radiology Group when it receives it's new X-ray machine in February.

Thank you to all those who made these improvements possible with the your contributions and your time.

Dave and Pat

The outlook for the real estate market is positive, especially in the west. Resales of existing homes has experienced its highest jump since July 2003, when the market was in the middle of a housing boom. The western states lead the way with sales figures up a blistering 34.4%. This has been attributed primarily to people taking advantage of low-priced foreclosure and preforeclosure homes. But, this is exactly how markets experience a turnaround after being in a down cycle. The increase in sales has also helped relieve some of the large inventory of homes that has bogged down the real estate market in the last several months. Inventory has fallen an average of almost 25% in California alone. New construction sales have also experienced a 22.7% increase in the western United States in the last month alone. Thousands of people are taking advantage of the falling interest rates, which can be seen by a sharp increase in mortgage applications. The interest rate for 30-year fixed rate loans was decreased last week to 6.26% and 15-year loans are at 6.1%. While this bit of good news doesn't necessarily mean a complete turnaround, the steady positive numbers over the last few months does indicate that the real estate market is experiencing a leveling out and possible return, slowly but surely. It is definitely a buyer's market. So, contact us today to find out how to get into your Ventura dream home!

This is Dave and Pat Zumbrun sending you greetings from Ventura, California .

We have joined the blogging community so that we may share with you community information and events for the Ventura County and Santa Barbara areas. As real estate professionals, we will also be posting information regarding the real estate market in our areas of expertise and on a national level.

Ventura , California as it is commonly referred to, is officially named Buenaventura . The name was given to the area by the Spanish explorers. The explorers chose the name, which means "good fortune", because they referred to the area as the "land of everlasting summers". Good fortune, indeed!

Ventura is a coastal city located just north of Los Angeles . Due to its "endless summer" climate, Ventura has been called the " Hawaii of the Mainland".

Our coastline is known as the "Gold Coast" not only for its economy, but for its beauty. Other coastal cities which share our "good fortune" are Oxnard, Camarillo and Port Hueneme .

Santa Barbara is a famous coastal city with a unique beauty all of it's own. The climate is Santa Barbara during the winter months is slightly cooler than our Gold Coast.

Ventura is also the gateway to a beautiful valley. The communities of Santa Paula, Ojai and Fillmore are nestled here.

We feel that it is truly "good fortune" to be members of the Ventura area. Our blog will be a forum to share that "good fortune" with you.

If you would like to see a particular subject about real estate, the Ventura or Santa Barbara areas, please let us know. We will make every effort to fulfill the request.

Dave and Pat