Long Beach Housing Market and the US

Over the past few months we have seen and heard nothing but doom and gloom concerning the housing market. What concerns me is the amount of misinformation that abounds... It abounds in our own area...

When you go to any real estate site and do a search you are starting to see some unbelievable prices out there... and that is just what they are. I ran up the information this morning on a home here in Long Beach that is for sale for 695K, but the people owe more than a million? Now what will happen is the bank more than likely will not take an offer under 950K. These type of homes are listed as "Short Sales"

What this type of pricing is doing is give people a wrong sense of what their property is worth. The only real selling prices are on those homes that have already closed escrow.

Now today I read some good news on real estate... to see how Long Beach is doing visit Happy Real Estate News

Sales are down and so are prices... but we are holding our own and there are deals out there... ask me about some. Jeff

Memorial Day... in Long Beach

How many of us do not know the history behind Memorial Day? Many of us think it is just a three day weekend... or the weekend before summer vacation starts... One of the sad things about our Holidays is the original meaning is; well lost...

So this morning I did a little Google on Memorial Day History and this is what I found. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day, for the rest of the story view this site Memorial Day History.

As a child I remember going to the cemetery with my mother and grandmother to decorate the Graves of those long gone family members. I never knew why really... other than it was normally cold and I liked those little flags. OK, the cold part is from living in Northern Idaho. Even part of this tradition seems to have disappeared...

If you are home in Long Beach this weekend and love to watch sailing races you might check out what is happening at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, which is having a Regatta... or check out the City of Long Beach City News page.

The most important part is to enjoy your family and friends... and be safe.

Have a great weekend, Jeff

It has been a warm week....

Long Beach citizens had some weekend... Pride was the main venue... but what about the heat? One of the things people forget about is how draining the heat can be and we tend to forget about those nasty sunburns... But why do I bring this up? What does it have to do with real estate? Let me tell you... first you need to just take care of yourself and second what about your home? As summer approaches you need to get your home in shape.

If you water you need to be sure you are watering in accordance to the rules set out by the City of Long Beach, if you are interested take a look at the E-Watering website for watering restrictions or check out the City of Long Beach's Water Department .

Another item of interest for your home is the air conditioning... believe it or not many of us use it all summer long and you will want it to be working at peak performance. The other day I received a letter from Edison, check out Southern California Edison Air Conditioning Services.

OK, that is about it today... Stay Safe and Stay Cool - Jeff

Long Beach Pride - 2008

The whole idea of this blog is to keep people informed as to what is happening in Long Beach. Sometimes it will be events and today is just about one of those events. Long Beach has two major revenue sources for the city event wise. One is the Long Beach Grand Prix and the other is Gay Pride. While pride is not for everyone including some gay folk I know, it does an incredible job telling the world about our fair city.

Many may not know that this is an week long event, with more entertainment than you can shake a stick at. Start by taking a look at www.longbeachpride.com to see if anything excites you... or skip right to the entertainment page Pride Entertainment it is going to be a great weekend in Long Beach so wear your sun screen...

One of the great things I love about Long Beach is the diversity it has. Over the past few years I have seen many of these grow closer together. This is a great and fun city so... Have fun, Jeff Blogging about Long Beach

Walking for Breast Cancer

Welcome to my first blog… There is always a lot happening in Long Beach and the surrounding communities’. This past weekend the fine people of The Travelstore located in the World Trade Center, Long Beach and I walked for Breast Cancer in Redondo Beach. It was a cold cloudy Mothers Day morning but the turnout was incredible. The walk would take us over 3 quick miles of the Redondo Beach shoreline. Many of us know many women and some men that have battled this disease, some winning and others loosing. Take a look at their website for more information http://lawalk.y-me.org/travelstore For me this served as a reminder to the determination of many people and that we need not give up. The next time you have a chance to walk for any cause, just don’t brush it off… take a walk. The life you may be helping to save may be your own.