New Listings:48
Price Improvements: 42
Pending: 29 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 24
$1-2 million: 4
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 22
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 19
Back On Market: 7
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Earth Hour Saturday, March 27, 2010 8:30 PM - 09:30 PM
Millions to go dark for Earth Hour on SaturdayAFP, Mar 26, 2010, 10.39am IST SYDNEY: Icons including the Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower and China's Forbidden City will be plunged into darkness on Saturday as millions take part in "Earth Hour", a rolling grassroots movement aimed at tackling climate change. Now in its fourth year, the global campaign promises to be the biggest ever, organisers said, with thousands of cities and towns in 125 countries pledging to take part, despite last year's failed climate talks. Hopes for a binding treaty to halt global warming were dashed when December's summit of world leaders in Copenhagen only yielded a general agreement on limiting warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Seen even by its supporters as a disappointment and a chaotic failure by critics, Copenhagen was expected to have scuttled people's hopes for meaningful action on climate change, explained Earth Hour founder Andy Ridley. "But the craziest thing this year is that rather than that happening, the reaction to Earth Hour has been immense. It is so much more than last year," Ridley told AFP. "There appears to be some fatigue to the politics around it... But people are far more motivated this year than they were last year," when 88 countries took part, he added. Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007 when 2.2 million people switched off the lights in their homes, offices and businesses for 60 minutes to make a point about electricity consumption and carbon pollution. The campaign went global the following year, and this Saturday, March 27, more than 1,200 of the world's best-known landmarks will kill their lights at 8.30pm Sydney time in what organisers describe as a "24-hour wave of hope and action." A raft of major multinational corporations including Google, Coca Cola, Hilton, McDonalds, Canon, HSBC and IKEA have endorsed Earth Hour 2010 and pledged to darken their offices worldwide in support. Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House will help kick off the energy-saving marathon, with Egypt's Great Pyramids and Sphinx, the Trevi Fountain and Tower of Pisa in Italy and all major landmarks in Paris to take part, led by a five-minute blackout of the Eiffel Tower. Beijing's Forbidden City -- the figurative and geographic heart of the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases -- will go dark, along with the so-called "Bird's Nest" Olympic stadium. Elsewhere in Asia, where 3.3 million people have registered to take part, the world's biggest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer, will extinguish its main lights, while official buildings will be blacked out in Seoul. WWF Indonesia said around 200 buildings in Jakarta would be taking part in the blackout. Japan's heritage-listed Hiroshima Peace Memorial, one of few buildings to survive America's 1945 atomic bomb attack, will take part, while major companies including Sony, Sharp and Asahi were to switch off across Tokyo. Some 30 US states and municipalities were to take part, with an hour of darkness at sites including Mount Rushmore, the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge and Seattle's Space Needle. And in Dubai, the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa tower, will also dim its lights. Residents of Norway's Longyearbyen, the world's northernmost town, are set to brave an influx of curious polar bears normally deterred by lights after voting -- for the first time -- that participating was worth the risk. "Earth Hour is meant to cross geographic, economic, country boundaries," said Ridley, admitting that it was mostly a symbolic act. "It's one hour, one day, one year. We're not saving the planet by turning the lights off for one hour." But, he explained: "What you are doing is adding your voice to a global call for action." For more information: https://www.myearthhour.org/home |
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Governor Signs Homebuyer Tax Credit
Governor signs home tax credit billGovernor Schwarzenegger today signed AB 183 providing $200 million for home buyer tax credits. The bill allocates $100 million for qualified first-time home buyers who purchase existing homes and $100 million for purchasers of new, or previously unoccupied, homes.
Eligible taxpayers who close escrow on qualified principal residences between May 1, 2010 and December, 31, 2010, or who close escrow on a qualified principal residence on and after December 31, 2010 and before August 1, 2011, pursuant to an enforceable contract executed on or before December 31, 2010, will be able to take the allowed tax credit.
This credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000, taken in equal installments over three consecutive years. Under the bill, purchasers will be required to live in the home as their principal residence for at least two years or forfeit the credit (i.e. repay it to the state). Buyers also must be at least 18 years old and be unrelated to the seller. First-time buyers are defined as those who have not owned a home in the past three years.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Fantastic Price Reduction on Laurel Springs Ranch!
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Monday, March 22, 2010
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 3/15 - 3/21
New Listings: 51
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 26 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 21
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 17
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 15
Back On Market: 8
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 26 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 21
$1-2 million: 2
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 17
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 15
Back On Market: 8
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Buffet Sees End To Residential Housing Slump In 2011
In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, billionaire investor Warren Buffett predicted Saturday that the U.S. residential real estate market will recover from its current doldrums by next year, which is when he predicts demand for houses will catch up with the excess supply created in the housing bubble.
"Within a year or so, residential housing problems should largely be behind us," Buffett wrote in the letter. "Prices will remain far below 'bubble' levels, of course, but for every seller or lender hurt by this there will be a buyer who benefits. Indeed, many families that couldn't afford to buy an appropriate home a few years ago now find it well within their means."
The slump has taken its toll on some Berkshire Hathaway business units. Profits fell 9 percent, to $187 million before taxes, at Clayton Homes, a maker of prefabricated houses, and carpet maker Shaw Industries' earnings plunged 30 percent. Through a subsidiary, Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway also controls Home Services of America, Inc., of Minneapolis, the nation's second-largest independent residential real estate broker.
Buffett cautioned in his letter that "high-value houses and those in certain localities where overbuilding was particularly egregious" will take longer to recover from the slump. He identified overbuilding as a prime cause of the housing market crash, noting that in a recent year when housing starts were running at an annual pace of two million units, new household formation lagged seriously behind the supply, at only 1.2 million.
He said that the resulting halt in housing construction was the best of three possible ways to correct the imbalance -- unless, he joked, the country decides "to blow up a lot of houses...in a tactic similar to the destruction of autos that occurred with the 'cash for clunkers' program" or "speed up householder formation by, say, encouraging teenagers to cohabitate, a program not likely to suffer from a lack of volunteers."
Written by Sandy Smith
For HULIQ.com
"Within a year or so, residential housing problems should largely be behind us," Buffett wrote in the letter. "Prices will remain far below 'bubble' levels, of course, but for every seller or lender hurt by this there will be a buyer who benefits. Indeed, many families that couldn't afford to buy an appropriate home a few years ago now find it well within their means."
The slump has taken its toll on some Berkshire Hathaway business units. Profits fell 9 percent, to $187 million before taxes, at Clayton Homes, a maker of prefabricated houses, and carpet maker Shaw Industries' earnings plunged 30 percent. Through a subsidiary, Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway also controls Home Services of America, Inc., of Minneapolis, the nation's second-largest independent residential real estate broker.
Buffett cautioned in his letter that "high-value houses and those in certain localities where overbuilding was particularly egregious" will take longer to recover from the slump. He identified overbuilding as a prime cause of the housing market crash, noting that in a recent year when housing starts were running at an annual pace of two million units, new household formation lagged seriously behind the supply, at only 1.2 million.
He said that the resulting halt in housing construction was the best of three possible ways to correct the imbalance -- unless, he joked, the country decides "to blow up a lot of houses...in a tactic similar to the destruction of autos that occurred with the 'cash for clunkers' program" or "speed up householder formation by, say, encouraging teenagers to cohabitate, a program not likely to suffer from a lack of volunteers."
Written by Sandy Smith
For HULIQ.com
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Earth Day Kick off Green Drinks Was A Success!
A smashing success if I do say so myself!
Over 300 people attende throughout the 3 hour event and at one point there was a line to get in!
I heard several people say, "Wow, BEST GREEN DRINKS EVER!"
In this picture are the three organizers of this event, Elizabeth Wagner of Green Drinks, Kerry Allen of Weekend Hippie and Dave Fortson of Loa Tree.
We were also honored to have Spencer the Gardner and his band play live music and they rocked the house!
All the guests were very well fed with local selections from Tom Shephard Farms, The Isla Vista Food Coop, Duo Catering and Cadena's Fresh Fish. It was all delicious!
Hopefully this will turn into a yearly Earth Day kick off event and thank you to Carr Winery for the great location!
We were asked when the next party will be and the answer is April 17th &18th at Alameda Park for the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. "Bringing it Home!" See you there!
March Santa Barbara EcoBroker Newsletter
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Monday, March 15, 2010
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 3/8 - 3/14
New Listings: 46
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 28 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 18
$1-2 million: 5
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 2
$8 million+: 1
Closed: 20
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 19
Back On Market: 5
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 28 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 18
$1-2 million: 5
$2-4 million: 2
$4-8 million: 2
$8 million+: 1
Closed: 20
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 19
Back On Market: 5
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Green Drinks CEC Benefit Tuesday, March 16, 2010 6:00 PM - 09:00 PM
Earth Day Green Drinks with Weekend Hippie and Loa TreeHelp kick-off the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!• New music from Spencer the Gardener featuring their latest CD Organic Gangster. • Featured tastings from local foodies. • No-host bar features delicious wine's from Carr Winery. • Suggested donation at the door goes right to the Community Environment Council, sponsors of Earth Day. Don't miss your chance to get inspired while supporting the Community Environmental Council, Earth Day, and local organizations. Details at www.greendrinks.org |
Friday, March 12, 2010
Love Mikana: Earth Day
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You Say It's Your Earth Day, It's Our Earth Day, Too
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Here's what we love about Santa Barbara: we're kicking off Earth Day, 2010 (on April 17-18) with a preview party at Carr Winery a whole month before (on March 16). Yes, please!
Happy Earth Day to you.
Love,
Mikana
Earth Day Kick Off Green Drinks Party!!
Green Drinks, Weekend Hippie, and LoaTree Kick-off
CEC’s 40th Anniversary Earth Day Festival
Santa Barbara, CA – Green Drinks, Santa Barbara, in collaboration with Weekend Hippie and LoaTree, announces a fundraiser to support the Community Environmental Council (CEC), founders of Santa Barbara Earth Day, and to kick-off the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
The event, to be held March 16, 2010, at Carr Winery, will bring together environmentalists and locals passionate about the environmental movement—locally and globally—by supporting organizations such as the Community Environmental Council and Earth Day.
The event promises to fill to capacity. Local musicians, Spencer the Gardener, will play from their new CD, Organic Gangster. Appetizers will be provided by local sustainable food specialist: Isla Vista Co-Op, Duo Catering, Cardena’s Fresh Fish, and Tom Shepherd from Shepherd Farms. Carr Wine will be available for purchase by to all attendees.
“Green Drinks gives Santa Barbarans the chance to gather and share ideas about sustainable, simple, and environmentally forward thinking paths,” said Elizabeth Wagner, head co-host of Green Drinks Santa Barbara. “Working with Weekend Hippie and LoaTree, we will be able to kick-off Earth Day in a big way, and support Community Environmental Council.”
In the wake of the devastating 1969 oil spill off Santa Barbara’s shores, a group of concerned Santa Barbarans began talking about a different way of looking at environmental systems. Over the next few years, around the country the environmental movement was born—including the Community Environmental Council, which was incorporated in the spring of 1970. During that time, Senator Gaylord Nelson visited Santa Barbara to view the damage from the oil spill. When he returned to Washington, D.C., he introduced a bill designating April 22 as a national day to celebrate the earth. In CEC’s first act as new non-profit, it hosted one of the first Earth Day celebrations in the country.
Community Environmental Council (CEC) will host a historic Santa Barbara Earth Day 40 festival at Alameda Park on Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18, 2010.
About the Event
• Live music from Spencer the Gardener featuring their latest CD Organic Gangster.
• Featured tastings from local foodies: Tom Shepherd Farms, Duo Catering, Cadena's Fresh Fish, Isla Vista Food Co-op
• No-host bar features delicious wine's from Carr Winery.
• Suggested donation at the door goes right to the Community Environment Council, sponsors of Earth Day.
• Live music from Spencer the Gardener featuring their latest CD Organic Gangster.
• Featured tastings from local foodies: Tom Shepherd Farms, Duo Catering, Cadena's Fresh Fish, Isla Vista Food Co-op
• No-host bar features delicious wine's from Carr Winery.
• Suggested donation at the door goes right to the Community Environment Council, sponsors of Earth Day.
• Over 21 years of age event.
Don't miss your chance to get inspired while supporting the Community Environmental Council, Earth Day, and local organizations. the Event
Don't miss your chance to get inspired while supporting the Community Environmental Council, Earth Day, and local organizations. the Event
About Green Drinks
Green Drinks is a social networking groups that hosts monthly events for local activists, enthusiasts, and professionals.
About Weekend Hippie
Weekend Hippie, based in Santa Barbara, California, is all about living a full, responsible life on this planet—and having fun while doing so. Weekend Hippie provides services and inspiration to help local and global enthusiasts enjoy a simple and sustainable life in their homes as well as globally.
About LoaTree
LoaTree is an eco-lifestyle collective for inspiring lives and lifestyles. LoaTree offers direct services (eg. sustainability consulting, eco-impact marketing, public relations, communication), and also employs the skills and services of current clients/partners to serve new clients.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Upcoming Community Environmental Council Events
As you all know, I am on the board of the Community Environmental Council and this year I am in charge of development. What exactly does that mean? Well, helping to plan house parties, breakfasts, Earth Day, Green Gala, donor relations, donations, networking, growing our board and spreading our message across the region. Fossil Free By '33!
Here are a few events that are coming up that you won't want to miss. Should you wish to learn more about the CEC, please visit our website: www.CECSB.org or ask me how you can get more involved. We are always looking for new members, Earth Day Volunteers and many other needs.
April 8th: Culinary MasterpiecesLocal Food Showcase
April 17th 18th: Earth Day at Alameda Park (visit me at the CEC booth or the EcoBroker booth)
May: Partnership Council Breakfast
July: Solar SUNDay
October 9: Green Gala at the Double Tree
November: Partnership Breakfast
www.CECSB.org
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 3/1 - 3/7
New Listings: 46
Price Improvements: 32
Pending: 36 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 26
$1-2 million: 5
$2-4 million: 4
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+:2
Closed: 16
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 25
Back On Market: 14
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Price Improvements: 32
Pending: 36 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 26
$1-2 million: 5
$2-4 million: 4
$4-8 million: 0
$8 million+:2
Closed: 16
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 25
Back On Market: 14
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Official Broker's License
It's official, I'm a Broker...the certificate finally arrived in the mail from last Summer!
Please let me know if you or a friend would benefit from my professional real estate services.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Ed Begley Jr. and I Had Breakfast Together
Well, I did most of the eating; Ed stuck to his oatmeal and did most of the talking, which worked out just fine!
Today our guest speaker was Ed Begley Jr. and I was honored to be able to introduce him. Ed grew up in Los Angeles and continues to live there with his wife, Rachelle, with whom he stars on the Planet Green reality TV show, Living With Ed. Ed was a vegetarian, recycled and even drove an electric "car" in 1970, way before all of these things were mainstream. I put "car" in quotes because he said it could barely be called that, it was really more of a golf cart on wheels with one windshield wiper blade and he had to stay to the right on all roads in Los Angeles to stay alive!
While he discussed the many things that we need to do to help the environment, he focused on the many things that we have already done. Decreasing the size of the hole in the ozone layer, reducing the air pollution in Los Angeles even though 4x the amount of cars are on the road, not allowing any other rivers to catch on fire from pollution. Breakfast with Ed was one of hope and achievement and easy digestion!
He recently had an energy audit done on his own home and was feeling pretty un-auditable since he was "Mr. Green" and had his own green TV show. Then the results of the audit came back and he was shocked at how much else he could do to save money and tighten up the leaks in his own home. He recognized our audience as already being very involved but went on to challenge each of us to "do one more thing today."
He said that some of the shows storylines are based on suggestions from the audience. Perhaps he wants to do an episode on the Community Environmental Council and our mission to get our region off of fossil fuels in one generation. That sounds like a winner to me! I invited him back up to our 40th anniversary of Earth Day and asked him how he chose what Earth Day to attend each year. Perhaps if I mentioned that we would have hemp thongs for sale, he would come to ours...you had to be there for that one to make sense. Next time...you're invited, get involved!
www.CECSB.org
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Weekly Real Estate Snapshot 2/22 - 2/28
New Listings: 60
Price Improvements: 23
Pending: 27 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 18
$1-2 million: 7
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million:1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 25
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 23
Back On Market: 7
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
Price Improvements: 23
Pending: 27 breaks down to:
under $1 million: 18
$1-2 million: 7
$2-4 million: 1
$4-8 million:1
$8 million+: 0
Closed: 25
Off Market (expired, canceled, withdrawn): 23
Back On Market: 7
Data From Santa Barbara MLS and excludes mobile homes.
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