Living at the Beach - Orange County, CA

Orange County, CA is a wonderful place to explore. There is great shopping at Fashion Island in Newport Beach as well as South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. If you are a more active person, there is always fun surfing down in Huntington Beach. Also a very fun activity to do on the weekends is to play beach volleyball. There are nets set up right next to the Huntington Beach Pier.  It's a great way to get that awesome California tan while getting a work out in. 

Weekdays are fun in Huntington Beach too, there is a farmers market on Main Street in Huntington Beach, CA every Tuesday night.  They always have great booths out there with good entertainment and you will see our RE/MAX Fine Homes agents there.  The local restaurants also have Taco Tuesday for a fun & festive dinner. 

Hope this gives you some ideas on what goes on in the beach cities! 

 

 

Huntington Harbour Office - Thank you!

Thank you to all those who attended our Huntington Harbour office grand opening last night!  Such a joyous atmosphere and I'm extremely appreciative to all those who helped make this possible.  I was able to see and visit with some of my favorite people, enjoy delicious food, toasted with champagne, listen to music from a guitarist, and it didn’t rain!   Even Jack Kreider from RE/MAX headquarters joined in the celebration! If you were unable to join us last night or today at the Broker's Open, we hope you will stop by in the next few weeks. We will post our Grand Opening photos on our Facebook page next week.  Our office address is

16400 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 106

Huntington Beach, CA 92649

 Located on the water in Peter’s Landing

Huntington Harbour Office Grand Opening Feb. 7th!

I am so excited for the grand opening celebration tomorrow at our new office on the water in Peter's Landing.  Our vision has come alive and I can't wait for clients, fellow agents, friends, and local residents to see what we've been up to.  We now have three RE/MAX Fine Homes locations in Southern California: Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, and Huntington Harbor.  Please stop by on Feb. 7th from 4pm-7pm and meet our fabulous agents, see our new real estate shop, and enjoy food and drinks.  Free parking!  
We have a special broker's preview on Friday, Feb. 8th from 11am-3pm.  

See you there! Any questions, please call 949.249.2424

Happy Birthday Christa Lee!

We had such a fun lunch yesterday celebrating Christa Lee's birthday with our Canaday Group agents.  We went to a new restaurant in Downtown Laguna Beach called Carmelitas.  It was a little cloudy yesterday, but so nice being close to the beach and seeing the ocean from our table.  The food was delicious and we hope to go there again.  One of our agent's mother is a phenomenal baker and made the birthday cake (check out the photo).  We will definitely be eating cake at the office for the rest of the week. :)

Newport Beach Crime Hits Historic Low

I was happy to read this article in the Newport Beach Patch.  Great way to improve property values, so thank you Newport Beach Police Department. The crime rate is now the lowest in 40 years.  Very impressive.  Chief Jay Johnson said, "Studies also show that the well-kept physical appearance of our city, thanks to our public works department and our municipal operations division as well as our citizens, is also a deterrent for criminal activity."  I'm happy to hear this because it improves and enhances the neighborhoods.  Keep up the good work Newport Beach!

If you're in the Newport area, please stop by our office in Corporate Plaza near Fashion Island! 

RE/MAX Fine Homes, Canaday Group

3 Corporate Plaza, suite 100

Newport Beach, CA 92660

949.650.5188

1031 Exchange Seminar Jan. 31st

Join us for a free seminar on 1031 Exchanges

An exchange is used by investors to purchase real estate including residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial, or even vacant land. By properly effectuating an exchange, the investor is able to defer the realization of capital gains on the sale of the sold property. This deferral allows funds that would have otherwise gone to pay capital gains tax to be allocated toward a greater investment. Free seminar for the community. Refreshments provided. Presenter: Debbie Bannister from Exchange Resources, Inc., a premier California tax-deferred exchange company.
Presented by the Canaday Group, RE/MAX Fine Homes. 

Date: Thursday, January 31st 2013

Time: 6:30pm-8pm

Location: Newport Coast Community Center - 6401 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Newport Coast, CA 92657

Please RSVP 949.249.2424

What are you doing Saturday at 9am PST?

Please watch our weekly real estate TV show!  Tune in Saturdays at 9am (PST) on KDOC-TV to see our listings, real estate tips, Orange County market updates, the mortgage minute by John Davis with iMortgage, and footage of the relaxing Orange County lifestyle.  Here's the channel list:

If you are interested in advertising your company with a commercial or sponsorship, please contact Amber Bonasoro for details.  Amber@CanadayGroup.com or call 949.249.2424.

Tips for Home Sellers - 5 Ways to Shorten the Selling Process

Merry Christmas from RE/MAX Fine Homes & the Canaday Group!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from

RE/MAX Fine Homes and the Canaday Group!

We headed out to beautiful Fashion Island in Newport Beach, CA to take our annual holiday photo.  That is a real Christmas tree behind us that is 92 ft tall!  It is so beautifully decorated and looks spectacular in the evenings when lit.  We hope you are enjoying this festive time of the year!   

 

Chapman University's Economic Forecast for 2013

Chapman University's Economic Forecast was held on Nov. 28th at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA.  It was a full house comprised of OC Executives, Member of the Business Community, Members of Academia, Media representatives, and of course the wonderful Chapman University students.  The A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research holds 2 forecasts a year, the Fall forecast and then an update in the Spring.  The lively presenters included Chapman's President James Doti and the Anderson Center's Director Esmael Adibi.  Both are highly reputable businessmen and have served on numerous economic advisory boards.  Here are some highlights:

-Orange County, CA's economy will add jobs next year and increase employment by 1.8% or a new total of 1,418,709 employed workers

- OC will outpace CA & the U.S. in payroll job growth primarily coming from the services and construction sectors

-Median single-family homes in OC forecasted to increase by 6.8% in 2013

-OC Notice of Defaults (NOD) in Q3 2012 were 3,255, a 32.4% decline from Q3 2011 of 4,817

-Employment leads to household formation and fuels the home price forecast.  The demand is also based on interest rates and personal income.  In 3Q 2012 a person needed 27.6% of his/her income to purchase a median priced home in Orange County…this is why us Realtors keep saying it's time to buy!

-Commercial vacancy rates in OC were 6.6% in 2007, peaked at 15.6% during the recession and are currently at 13.7% indicating soft lease rates

-Instead of the $500B Fiscal Cliff, forecast of $200B

Here is the official press release:

Our TV Show moves back to 9am Saturdays on KDOC-TV

Program your DVR and mark your calendar because RE/MAX Fine Homes Canaday Group Estates TV Show is moving back to 9am!  Watch our 30 min real estate show every Saturday on KDOC-TV Los Angeles to see new listings, market activity, mortgage updates, real estate tips, and the beautiful OC lifestyle.  Airing in all of Orange & LA County.  We were airing at 8:30am from September - November due to football season, but now we are back to our normal time.  If you are interested in advertising with a commercial on our show, please speak with Amber Bonasoro by calling 949.249.2424.  

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the beautiful life given to us each day.  Remember to look for the good (some days are better than others!) to keep us focused and motivated.  Please take a moment to tell someone you appreciate him/her.  Here's to a festive and fun holiday!    

Real Estate Listing Video Tours

With so many informed buyers in today's market, video tours are helpful to showcase a property before a client sees it in person.  We've been using streaming video tours for years.  We prefer live video because it feels more life-like with moving water, trees swaying in the breeze, and of course the ocean waves look spectauclar!   Some agents use still photos streamed together, but we love capturing the home with footage.  We are using youtube.com to host our videos and then link to various websites and feature on social media sites.  

Take a look at our new listing 30 Poppy Hills, Laguna Niguel, CA video tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szuz_y-uKpA&feature=share&list=UUOVMJnjcy0agEg1bf3pCx9Q

This home is absolutely stunning with European design throughout.  It is located in guard gated Ocean Ranch closet to a shopping center and brand new movie theater.   

Are you using video tours?  What do you like and dislike about them?  

Happy Halloween!

We hope you have a Happy Halloween!  Capture the festive spirit today and remember it's ok if you eat a few pieces of candy!