Bob's Blog Spot

Housing Demand is Up and Supply is Down

2009-08-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Although perhaps not imediately obvious, there are tremendous benefits my clients receive through my association with Altera Real Estate. As a seasoned South Orange County Real Estate Broker I need to be associated with a brokerage that provides technical, legal, marketing and administrative support. A top-tier brokerage benefits my clients by providing them with an educated, up-to-date agent with access to all the support I require to obtain superior results for them. Altera ensures that I have immediate availability to deep resources that cover a broad continuum of real estate subjects and opportunities that create value for my clients. Here is an example of an Altera Real Estate benefit.

The following report, written by our company's President, Steven Thomas, has been created by compiling relevant data from a variety of sources, analyzing the information, and publishing a report that communicates a lucid interpretation of our current residential real estate market . Please enjoy reading this report. There are links for supporting charts and graphs at the end of the report.

Orange County Housing Report
by Steven Thomas, President Altera Real Estate, August 8, 2009

As is typical for this time of year, demand increased a bit at the beginning of August; however, the continuous drop in the active listing inventory is far from ordinary. Inventories have been dropping across the nation and Orange County is no exception. Since March of this year, the active inventory has been steadily dropping. The inventory has shed 2,925 homes since then, a 25% drop. Currently at 8,681 homes, that is far fewer than the 14,348 last year or has shed 2,925 homes since then, a 25% drop. Currently at 8,681 homes, that is far fewer than the 14,348 last year or 17,611 two years ago. So, what’s going on? Prices are down, interest rates are down, affordability is up and demand is up. All of these forces together have been pulling the inventory down. Throw in the fact that discretionary homeowners are only placing their homes on the market if they have to and are motivated to do what it takes to compete in this market. Demand, the number o f new pending sales within the past month, is currently at 3,481, an increase of 165 pending sales within the last two weeks. Last year demand was at 2,940. So, with an increase in demand and a lower inventory, the market has heated up. The expected market time for all of Orange County is currently at 2.5 months, technically a seller’s market. The lower the range, the hotter the market. All ranges below $1 million are pretty hot, but homes priced below $500,000 are sizzling. The expected market time for homes priced between $250,000 and $500,000 is currently at 1.30 months. For detached homes within that range, the expected market time is only 1.02 months. When the expected market time drops to such low levels, sellers are busy sorting through multiple offers and buyers are writing offer after offer with no luck. I have been asked many times why the market is not appreciating given all of the activity. The devil is in the details. Even though the distressed inventory has been dropping and now represents 29.5% of the current active inventory, 50% of current demand is distressed properties. With so many short sales and foreclosures driving demand, these distressed sellers are keeping a lid on any price appreciation. But, don’t misinterpret me. There may be a lid on appreciation, but in the hotter areas and price ranges there is also a lid on price depreciation. Values have fallen significantly since the start of this downturn, fueled by a consistent supply of distressed properties. So, current values have reached affordable levels where it makes sense again to own versus rent. First time home buyer activity has returned with a vengeance as well. Throw in the return of investor activity and it is no wonder that demand has increased this year.

How do the distressed numbers look? First off, the “next wave” of foreclosures that we have been hearing about since the beginning of the year still has not materialized. I have been hearing from industry experts and agents alike that the next wave is still coming. I am certain that they are right to a degree, that the distressed numbers will increase, just not at the great numbers that they are anticipating. The agents on the streets are telling me that they all have pockets full of buyers waiting for the right property to come onto the market and they all would love a “foreclosure deal.” This is where pent up demand really does exist. Any surge in foreclosures would be met with buyers in waiting. We can expect a lot of competition and continued multiple offers for some time to come. There are currently only 2,559 distressed homes on the market, a drop of 57 in the past two weeks. This is the lowest drop in the distressed inventory since February of this year. Could we be reaching a plateau before the overly predicted wave to come? Only time will tell. There are only 299 foreclosures currently on the active market with demand at 590, representing an expected market time of .51 months. That’s correct, two weeks. Foreclosures are so incredibly hot that they can generate 20 plus offers. Yet, only one gets the property. Demand is plentiful, there just is not enough supply. There are 2,260 short sales on the active market with demand at 1,145 and an expected market time of 1.97 months.

If you are a buyer, how should you respond to this market? First, please throw out the notion that there is no competition and that you can write an offer for thousands less than the asking price. The sales to list price ratio for homes priced below $500,000 is 100%. That means that, on average, homes are selling for their full asking price. For all homes in Orange County, the sales to list price ratio is 98%. Remember, homes have already dropped 30% or more in value. As a buyer, do NOT write an offer for 10% or more off of the asking price with a letter detailing that the housing market is currently in a declining market. These buyers feel that the ultimate sales price should reflect a future drop in values. That notion of purchasing is ludicrous. Industry experts and economists cannot accurately determine future prices and are constantly revising their estimates. The values are already highly discounted over the past few years. Arriving at the fair market value includes taking into consideration pending activity, recent sales (within the prior 90 days), property condition, seller motivation and circumstances, location, upgrades, lot size and amenities. To rely on Zillow.com or other online valuation tools is also absurd. These tools only take into consideration property size and sales price, ignoring all of the other factors that are used to arrive at price. There has been a lot of pressure on interest rates to move higher. Gone are the days of interest rates below 5%. As interest rates rise, affordability drops. In purchasing today, the monthly payment is approximately the same as a home purchased later with a drop of 10% in value and a 1% rise in interest rates. These historically low interest rates are not here to stay. How long they remain low is anybody’s guess. Last, buyers should only purchase in today’s market if and only if they plan on living in their home for years to come. In the long run, Orange County housing has proven to be an excellent long term investment. It is also a great place to call “home.”

Use these valuable links to see detailed, graphic information referred to in the foregoing Report:

View the Housing Report as an Excel spreadsheet, click on the following: www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketTime-Aug-6-09.xls

View the Ranges Report as an Excel spreadsheet, click on the following: www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketTimeRanges-Aug-6-09.xls

View the Orange County Foreclosure Report as an Excel spreadsheet, click on the following: www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketTimeForeclosures-Aug-6-09.xls

View the latest Market Charts, click on the following link: www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketCharts.pdf

A Real Estate Broker with a Ministry

2009-08-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ten yours ago when our son Morgan was about 3 or 4 our family began attending San Clemente Presbyterian Church (http://www.scpres.org/ ). We weren't Presbyterians then. We were just searching for a church that met the needs of our family and one where we all felt comfortable. Maggie, my wife, had an idea of what she wanted the children's programs to offer for our son Morgan. SC Presbyterian Church has become what we hoped it would be for our family. There I was given the opportunity for me to become active in Stephen Ministry ( http://www.stephenministries.org/ ), a facet of the Caring Ministries offered at San Clemente Presbyterian Church.

I have always said I am confident and comfortable "working" large business gatherings like banquets, conventions and giving Power Point presentations to audiences but I am really more of a one-at-a-time kind of guy on a personal level. Sharing my faith--something personal--has always been more comfortable for me when asked by another as contrasted to the way my business life works where I am selling and marketing all the time. It is also true I am attracted to the underdog, the one who is hurt or down or overwhelmed or suffering or who is in a life crisis. My church and Stephen Ministry has given me an active community of faith in which to live and grow, offering care to those who need it and being cared for by my Stephen Ministry colleagues.

Stephen Ministry is not a Presbyterian ministry nor is it associated with any denomination. Here is what they say about themselves on their website,"The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people in and around your congregation.

The Stephen Series provides congregations with the structure, training, and resources to set up and administer a complete system for lay caring ministry (called Stephen Ministry) in the congregation. In Stephen Ministry congregations, lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, and others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors and congregations provide quality caring ministry for as long as people need it."

I received training over the course of six months in a classroom setting with seasoned Stephen MInister Leaders instructing us through books, reference materials, developmental exercises, and spiritual preparation. Ultimately I graduated and began my ministry. Respecting and preserving the confidentiality of those receiving care is a paramount tenet of Stephen Ministry. Care Receivers are associated with Stephen Ministers (Care Givers) through evaluation and assignment by one Stephen Minister in a leadership role. One Stepehn Minister protects their care receivers anonymity with all other Stephen Ministers and with all other people. The ministry is explicitly confidential. Bi-weekly the Stephen Ministers meet in what is termed "Supervison." There we find continuing education, shared expereince, and the opportunity to ask for guidance all while maintaining 100% confidentiality about the indivudals who are receing care through the ministry. From time to time to time we have retreats, social gatherings and pastoral instruction from the Pastors of San Clemente Presbyterian Church.

Just a little about my first care receiver--let's call him David. David had lost his job and the community of people that he had worked with for many years. As he described his losses his pain was intense. As he considered the idea of a "job search" he was unmotivated. He ebbed and flowed from belieivng God was sutaining him to wondering if God had abandoned him. He was emotionally, spiritually, and materially suffering and he was fearful. The process of my ministry with him was to come along side of him and just be there. David and I met every week or two. David would talk and I would listen. We talked on the phone and emailed each other. We drank coffee together, prayed together and we became connected by God's Grace. After about fifteen months it became clear it was time for us to end the formal relationship we had created through Stephen Ministry. David is working again. His life is different but he is OK. I was given the gift of caring for David while God delivered the cure David needed in his life--that has turned out to be more than just a new job for David. David and I still talk now and then.

If you or someone you are concerned about could benefit from the care of a Stephen Minister, don't hesitate to get help. Just call the church office. Caring and being cared for is lovely and loving.

The Reward of Children

2009-06-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

The Book of Psalm in the Old Testament of the Bible says that children are a reward, our heritage. This is unquestionably true with our son Morgan. He was in his second year of little league here in San Clemente when our family first became aware of the All American Boys Chorus, headquartered in Costa Mesa, http://www.taabc.org/ . We went to an orientation evening at the Chorus rehearsal hall. Morgan was apprehensive at first but soon we faced a difficult decision. Would Morgan continue with his baseball interests or switch over to the Chorus? He chose the Chorus and we have never looked back.

Morgan attends rehearsals in Costa Mesa and frequently goes there three times a week. In addition he performs in concerts throughout Southern California but that is not all. In the four years he has been a member of the chorus he has progressed through the ranks from a "white shirt," pledge, to a "blue shirt" in the training division, to his present status of "red shirt" signifying his membership in the concert chorus. He has learned to read music as he successively passed through four levels of music reading training.

Last summer Morgan was selected to tour Asia with the Chorus. The Chorus performed in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China, including Shanghai. The tour took nearly four weeks, from start to finish, and Morgan was only 12 years old at the time. We were so proud of him and so glad when he was home safely once again.

This summer Morgan is going on a tour of Western Canada and the Western United States. He will be gone for three weeks. The summer camp he attended last week was a lot about preparing the Chorus for the summer tour. This year at camp Morgan began learning to play the hand bells. He really seemed to enjoy it. We are very proud of what he has accomplished with his life already and the young man he has become.

Blogs are Work ... Tweets are Fun :-)

2009-06-20T15:13:00.001-07:00

With great enthusiasm I began blogging a couple of years ago. I felt so x-gen. It turned out to be like my diets. Enough said? Well, today is the day that I begin keeping my blog up to date. One of my clients told me the other day it was the first thing she looked at when she went to my website. I could tell she was disappointed with my last posting from 2007! The fact that she told me I should update it or take it off my website turned out to be motivational.

I have also started "tweeting" on Twitter. I guess I like tweeting better than blogging because tweets are limited to 140 characters or so. Tweets just have to convey what I am doing now. Blogging, I think, requires me to share something more coherent. That feels more like a job. But I want to get comfortable and more adept at blogging, so here I am.

In this blog, I will catch you up to what going on with me in a tweet-style. My son, Morgan, just finished 6th grade. My wife, the principal of his school, is also about done for the summer. Actually, they are closing her school for good--so she is REALLY done. She has been job searching and interviewing like so many others in this economy. Morgan, the 2nd Tenor, is going to Chorus Camp next week. In a few weeks he leaves with the Chorus for a tour in Canada. Meanwhile, I am selling, selling, selling.

Pending Home Sales Index Shows Market May Be Stabilizing

2007-06-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON, June 01, 2007

A forward-looking indicator based on pending home sales shows the housing market could edge down but appears to be in the process of leveling out, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index*, based on contracts signed in April, stood at 101.4, down 3.2 percent from an upwardly revised March reading of 104.8, and is 10.2 percent lower than April 2006 when it registered 112.9. The revised March index was 10.0 percent below a year earlier.
Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said the current index appears to be a fair representation of overall housing market conditions. “It looks like we may be leaving a period of market disruptions, and for the past two months the pending home sales index has been similar in year-ago comparisons, which means home sales might ease but should be fairly stable in the months ahead,” he said.

“In April, existing-home sales declined in part because some subprime lenders went out of business and disrupted the market, but the impact appears to be diminishing and mortgage applications have risen in the last month,” Yun said. “This tells us that some borrowers who originally planned to finance with subprime mortgages are finding suitable loans in the conventional market, which will help to stabilize home sales.”
“On the other hand, psychological factors seem to be holding buyers back as they look for clear signs that the market has bottomed – that varies from one area to another.”The index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.
Annual changes in the index are more closely related to actual market performance than are month-to-month comparisons. As the relatively new index matures and seasonal adjustment factors are refined, the month-to-month comparisons will become more meaningful.
The PHSI in the Midwest rose 2.3 percent in April to 98.1 but was 4.4 percent below a year ago. The index in the South increased 0.7 percent from March to 116.0, but was 10.4 percent below April 2006. The index in the West fell 10.2 percent in April to 91.4 and was 11.7 percent lower than a year ago. In the Northeast, the index dropped 10.4 percent from March to 89.3 and was 15.4 percent below April 2006.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

* The Pending Home Sales Index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly sales-contract activity from 2001 through 2004 parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.
The forecast will be revised June 6, and existing-home sales for May will be released June 25. The next Pending Home Sales Index will be on July 3.

Source: National Association of Realtors

Dorothy Visser Senior Center, Capital Campaign

2007-04-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

A new community facility named the Dorothy Visser Senior Center is being developed for seniors of San Clemente. I first became aware of this project in 2006 and joined the effort by making a contribution to the capital campaign on behalf of my real estate company McMillion & Associates of Prudential (See Bob's Blog "Dorothy Visser Senior Center" posting dated March 1, 2007). The Honorary Chairperson for the capital campaign is former San Clemente Mayor, Susan Ritschel (pictured above at the far left), and has as co-chairpersons Ralph Klassen and Rex Tyner (not pictured). The campaign cabinet is composed of honorary civic leaders and San Clemente community leaders:

Honorary Cabinet Members

Ken Calvert, U.S. Congressman

Mark Wyland, State Senator

Pat Bates, Orange County Supervisor

Lori Donchak, San Clemente Councilperson

Wayne Eggleston, San Clemente Councilperson

Steve Knoblock, San Clemente Councilperson

Campaign Cabinet Members

Jo Anderson, San Clemente Mayor Pro-tem

Jeff Bott, Transportation Corridor Agency

Ed & Maggie Chang, Community Leaders

Dr. Marilyn Ditty, Executive Director, South County Sr. Services

Gerald Gibbs, Gibbs Law Firm

Geoff Layng, Community Leader

Christine Lampert, Lampert Architects

Cathy M. Lee, Director, Seaside Senior Center

Karen Lichty, Community Leader

Mike McGovern, SunCal

Cherie Veach, Community Leader

Bob Watson, Community Leader

Campaign Consultant

Tom Larimore, Community Leader

The project is presently in the capital campaign phase seeking to raise $3.5 million. As of April 1, 2007 contributions and pledges total $2.7 million. When construction is completed the seniors of San Clemente will have a planned 8000 Sq. Ft. Senior Center in conjunction with a new fire station on the property facing Avenida Victoria near El Camino Real which today is a vacant lot behind the Hollywood Video/Starbucks building.

Building permits have not yet been issued yet, although both the San Clemente Planning Commission and the City Council have approved the site plan and the building plan. This is the front elevation of the what the combined facility will look like with the Senior Center on the left and the fire station on the right.

The new facility was named in honor of the late Dorothy Visser who was a longtime supporter and participant in the current San Clemente Senior Center. Over the years, Ms. Visser contributed more than $1 million to the senior organization. She passed away in 2006 at the age of 103. The capital campaign was bolstered by a contribution from Marblehead Coastal through the efforts of the late Jim Johnson who was head of the development project at Marblehead. Local real estate professionals have pledged $300,000 to the capital campaign. This commitment will be acknowledged by naming a large multi-purpose room in the new center "The South County Real Estate Professionals Ballroom."

Those wishing more information or to make a contribution to the capital campaign may call Susan Ritschel, Honorary Chairperson at (949) 683-7677, Cathy Lee, Director Seaside Senior Center at (949) 498-3322 or Tom Larimore, Campaign Consultant at (949) 498-1664.

President's Circle Performance in 2006

2007-03-25T14:13:00.001-07:00

2006 was a definitely a year of transition in the residential real estate market as we continued to adjust toward a more normal market. The delirium of 2002-2005 when homes sold in days not in months and where seller's experienced phenomenal year-to-year equity growth are, for now, behind us. Prices are relatively stable today but the velocity of the market has substantially cooled creating a measurable slowdown in unit sales. With the significant decrease in unit sales agents are experiencing extended time on market for many listings and overall reduced production volumes from just a couple of years earlier.

Prudential California Realty acknowledges the accomplishments of their agents the way many organizations honor their sales people with awards for for achieving specific sales or production volumes. On March 13, 2007 the San Clemente Office of Prudential held an awards breakfast where "Top Producers" were recognized by their peers and the executives of Prudential California Realty.

We were honored to be awarded the designation of President's Circle. This is a significant accomplishment for McMillion & Associates signifying that our sales production was in the top 5% of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates worldwide. We finished in the Top 100 for Sales Transaction and Sales Production Volume for all Prudential Agents in Orange County. On hand to present the awards were San Clemente Office Manager, Linda Steele, Regional Vice President, Bob Chapman and President of Prudential, Steve Rodgers. Everyone in sales knows you cannot eat awards and you are as only as good as your last deal but it is rewarding for us to know we made a difference in a lot of people's lives during 2006. Our goal is not to receive awards but to "serve clients first." Visit to our website http://www.mcmillionassociates.com/ and look at our "About Us" pages if you would like to become acquainted with us and to our way of serving our residential real estate clients.

The Coast Community Cleans House

2007-03-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Eager homeowners opened their garages once again, this year on Saturday, March 24, 2007, to participate in the annual "The Coast Community Garage Sale." More than 30 homes engaged in the annual endeavor to clear-out, clean-up, and cash-in on what has become a traditional Springtime event in North San Clemente. Each year the number of participating homeowners grows, making it a bigger and better event for everyone--sellers and buyers.

The event is always officially scheduled to begin at 8:00 AM and run until 12:00 noon but by 7:00 AM you can see sellers and buyers enthusiastically bartering over dusty treasures. Even as I was setting up the last of the "garage sale" signs on the perimeter of the community around 6:30 AM Saturday morning, I could see the most eager garage sale buyers already beginning to cruise the neighborhood looking for those early bird deals. This year homeowners from all four corners of The Coast joined the fun. From Calle Amable to Calle Frontera, from Calle Guadalajara to Calle Amigo, everywhere there could be heard the chatter of neighbors visiting across the cul-de-sac, the sight of reluctant husbands dragging out "the stuff" from inside the house while bed-headed kids staggered around wrapped in cozy blankets gazing at the sight of it all in detached bewilderment.

Here's how it works. McMillion & Associates begins mailing reminder postcards to homeowners of The Coast 30 to 45 days before the event. We send one of these reminder postcards every couple of weeks asking homeowners who want to join in community garage sale to register by calling us or emailing us. Homeowners register with us so we know where all the individual garage sales are going to be in the community, then we can put up signs on Garage Sale Day. We also want to get an idea of what homeowners are going to sell. We use this latter information to create "Community Garage Sale Ads" that we run in the PennySaver and the SC Times on the Thursday before the big event. On the morning of the community garage sale each homeowner is responsible for getting their merchandise out and dealing with their customers. McMillion and & Associates puts up garage sale signs throughout the community directing customers to all the registered garage sale homes. We also make sure we stop by to say hello to all the homeowners and offer them some kind of treat like muffins or bagels.

If you missed this year's event don't worry. We will do it again next Spring, probably in March. If you have questions about The Coast Community Garage Sale or want to get on our email reminder list just send me an email or give me a call.

Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith and more ...

2007-03-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, and more...I loved them all when I was growing up. I found out last night how much I still love the music and the feeling I get from listening to Eric Clapton. I love my wife too. She gave me tickets last Christmas to see Eric Clapton on March 17th at the Honda Center (formerly the Arowhead Pond, as they say).

The lead act was the Robert Cray Band, a smokin' blues guitarist. If you know who Robert Cray is you probably enjoy his music a lot. If you are unfamiliar with him, you might want to check him out if you like blues guitar. We first saw him at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa in 1989 or 1990 at a blues festival.

We had a complete blast! Robert Cray led off with forty minutes of solid, air-tight Southern blues. Then Eric Clapton and his band took the stage for a solid two hours. The band played a variety of songs from all eras of Clapton's forty-plus year career. There were lots of solos by Clapton and the two young guitarists he had with him in the band. One of these guys was truly electrifying. He also played with a slide which created unbelievable sounds (I have to find out who he is and see if he has recordings). They played an acoustic guitar set together and then a series of hits including the Clapton anthem Leyla.

A standing ovation brought an encore of "Crossroads" with Robert Cray and Eric Clapton alternating lead vocals. If you like rock and roll and screaming guitars you may have gotten as excited as I did about this concert. Thanks Maggie it was worth the wait.

Morgan Completes 21 Laps in Jogathon

2007-03-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Our ten year old son, Morgan, has been singing with the All American Boys Chorus (AABC) for about two years. He is a second tenor. It is a great organization for young boys headquartered in Costa Mesa at the Orange County Fairgrounds--they have a rehearsal hall there. The chorus is tuition free, supporting themselves through concert fees, donations and fund raising activities like the annual "jogathon."

This is my son's third jogathon. The concept involves competition between the four parts of the chorus: Basses, Baritones, 1st Tenors and 2nd Tenors to see who can raise the most financial support through sponsorship in the jogathon. Each boy searches out sponsors in various ways including "door knocking" their home neighborhoods, letter mailing, family support and community "blitzes."

During the jogathon campaign period spanning January-March the boys work extremely hard, with the support of their families, to raise funds . They receive incentives in the form of incremental prizes and qualification to attend a fun outing like a trip to Disneyland. The boys seem to love it and it draws the parents into the lives of their boys as they work together to develop and execute a jogathon fundraising strategy.

This year Morgan completed 21 laps (220 yards/lap) at the jogathon which was held this past Saturday, March 17, 2007 near the rehearsal hall in Costa Mesa. It was a tremendous event in so many ways including the money raised to support the AABC, what the boys learned about working together to accomplish a goal, how families worked together with their boys in this life building experience of chorus, and the overflowing enthusiasm that was evident during the jogathon itself as 120 boys and their familes enjoyed a warm spring afternoon together.

We are so grateful for the temendous support Morgan received from his sponsors this year. The sponsor's financial support is vital to the AABC and means so much to the boys. I hope one day each of the sponsors has the opportunity to attend one of the boy's concerts, then they will see how enriching their contributions are to the boys and their families.

Sharpening Our eMarketing Leading Edge

2007-03-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

McMillion and Associates of Prudential California Realty is a high-producing group of real estate agents working together with the shared commitment of “serving clients first.” Bob McMillion, the group’s leader, says, “Our organizational purpose and structure was conceived during the completion of my graduate studies at Chapman University. What we call “Leadership Sales” is a dynamic, proprietary model encompassing several things. It is about accepting our responsibility to our clients. It is taking initiative as a leader in the “virtual organization” created during a [real estate] sales transaction. The outcome is superior results for our clients, both Sellers and Buyers.”

When it comes to innovating on the leading edge of eMarketing (marketing real estate using the internet) McMillion understands what he is talking about. Armed with a degree in Computer Science and twenty-years in high-technology sales and marketing, the McMillion and Associates approach balances conventional print media marketing with electronic technology e-marketing. McMillion explains why, “We know that something like 60-70% of homebuyers find their next home using their agent combined with searching on the internet. Serving our clients requires us to be a dominant force in the online marketing world. We are committed to giving our clients that kind of innovation.”

The organization is making good on McMillion’s commitment. Just this week McMillion and Associates released a powerful new website that provides uncommon features for buyers to preview their clients’ homes and for searching the MLS using a technology called Internet Data Exchange. The McMillion and Associates website, www.McMillionAssociates.com is replete with technology advances like QuickTime Movies of their listings, Google mapping and property brochure downloading capability. Their website provides a host of site links for the South Orange County communities the group serves including San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach and more. For fun, take a look at the “blogs” (web-logs) being maintained by each of the agents.

“Our clients deserve the very best we can produce,” said McMillion emphatically. “We give our clients really sharp printed marketing materials, gorgeous advertising and the most robust e-marketing technology available in creating a fully balanced strategic marketing campaign. We are proud of what we do and how we serve our clients.”

The Coast 2007 Community Garage Sale

2007-03-07T11:01:00.000-08:00

Annually a community wide garage sale occurs in the North San Clemente Community of The Coast. This year the event is scheduled for Saturday, March 24th. Every year the number of homeowners participating in the community garage sale increases. Typically there are 40 or more sleepy homeowners who throw up their garage doors and trade some unwanted "stuff" for some quick cash. Last year a Calle Amigo resident reported having sold a very nice motorcycle during the garage sale! That seems to be the "big ticket" record sale so far. Usually we see items sold such as household articles, furniture, clothing, sporting equipment, tools, computer gear, artwork, baby items, etc.

Our real estate company, McMillion & Associates, sponsors the event which means...

Mailing Postcards to all the homeowners so they know when the event is coming

Reminding them that the date of the garage sale is coming

Registering the Participating Homeowners so we can direct buyers to them

Publishing Garage Sale Advertisements in the San Clemente Times and PennySaver

Putting up Directional Signs the morning of the event throughout The Coast Community

Delivering Muffins and Bagels to residents on the day of the Garage Sale

If you live in The Coast and want to get rid of your spouse's junk, clear out the garage or just make some "big bucks," you can register by emailing us at bob@McMillionAssociates.com or calling our Registration Hotline (949) 487.3145.

Dorothy Visser Senior Center

2007-03-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

Recently my son, Morgan, and I attended an information meeting for the new Dorothy Visser Senior Center that will be developed in San Clemente. It was held at the Pacifica Country Club. We learned the current Senior Center, located adjacent to the library on Del Mar, was opened quite some time ago.

The new Dorothy Visser Center will be constructed in the vacant lot behind Hollywood Video on Avenida Victoria. Morgan had a great time with the appetizers and refreshments. We visited with the Honorary Chairperson for the Senior Center, former San Clemente Mayor Susan Ritschel. Morgan got to meet many community minded people working together to make this project a reality for San Clemente seniors. He enjoyed getting dressed up and spending time with his dad (and Dad was proud to have his handsome son with him).

McMillion & Associates has contributed to the development of the Senior Center and pledged to be an ongoing supporter. For information pertaining to seniors visit www.SouthCountySeniors.org