Orange County Real Estate News

Looking for a great place to call home in Capistrano Beach? Need views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island on a clear day? What about getting all this, under a million dollars, in an about 3000 sq ft home that just got a price reduction to $939,000?

We have a listing at 26832 Calle Maria, in the Capistrano Beach area of Dana Point. This is a beautiful custom home has been remodeled top to bottom with many upgrades. It features wood and slate floors throughout the home, with granite counters in the kitchen and bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, custom window treatments and window casings, custom lighting and decorator finishes.

Need a downstairs bedroom? No problem. The downstairs suite has it's own full bathroom, with lots of privacy from…

Dana Point Harbor is one of the most spectacular marinas along the California coast, from San Francisco to the Mexican border. Always full with the highest-quality of boats, Dana Point Harbor is home to thousands of watercraft and enthusiasts who enjoy all types of water sport activities throughout the year.

For all those boat lovers and water enthusiasts, here's a nice event coming up: the Dana Point Harbor Boat Show at the end of this month.  New and Used Boats and Products will be on display both in and out of the water at the Boat Show. A great selection of power and sail vessels will be featured, including Albemarle, Baja, Cenczi, East Bay, Egg Harbor, Formula, Grand Banks, Island Packet, Mediterranean, Mikelson, Mustang, Nordhavn, Ocean,Pacific…

And just around the corner... another wonderful coming to the city of Dana Point.

Blues and music lovers: The annual Doheny Blues Festival will be held at Doheny Beach this upcoming Saturday and Sunday May 19th and 20th. Attendees will enjoy this inviting festival layout, highlighted by three stages of alternating music, an international Food Court, an eclectic Vendor Village with 50+ unique booths, Microbrew Tasting, and our Kidz EcoFest with educational exhibits for the younger music fans.

From Grammy winners to music legends, Doheny has been host to many of the top names in rock, soul & blues music, including B.B. King, The Black Crowes, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, John Fogerty, Brian Setzer, Al Green, Etta James, Keb’ Mo’, Jonny…

Did you feel it? All you buyers out there?

Yeah, that crazy shift in the Orange County homes that is causing multiple offers and over bidding on properties? No matter what the price range is?? I did too. We’ll have to see if it’s a blip on the radar or if it lasts through the summer, but for now, its reality. So, if you find a property you want, chances are likely that so have 20 other people. How do you win? It’s tough. You have to be ready to step up and probably pay more than the comparable sales. That’s a hard one to swallow, I know. But if it has everything (or at least close to everything) that you want, get it and hold onto it for a few years. With the way things are going, you’ll be just fine and you have the place you want to live in…

We always get the question: how's the Orange County Real Estate market doing? For the past years we have been saying that we had not seen bottom yet. Well... we truly believe that we have turned the corner and we are in what we can call a recovered market.

In the past months, almost every single offer on a house our agents have written, has gone in escrow over asking price and in many cases with multiple offers bidding the price up. Another phenomenon we are experiencing is the lack of inventory. Usually this time of the year, the market gets full of inventory ready to those spring buyers and is usually the best season in terms of number of transactions. So with little inventory, buyers feeling that the worse is over, and incredible low rates ( the 30…

As of earlier this week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency laid out new rules that will help speed up the short sale process, a move that could keep many homes from falling into foreclosure, and less hiccups for those involved in a real estate transaction that includes a short sale. 

Those are great news for buyers and realtors, as short sale homes transactions in in Orange County account for a large number of the overall transactions and according to the National Association of Realtors, 60% of them didn't close last year and ended up in a foreclosure.

Short sales are homes that are sold for less than is owed to the lender, and the lenders involved have to approve the sales prices and other conditions involved in the sale, making the process very…

Earth Day 2012 is coming up and there's a list of events in Orange County. Here's our favorites.

SATURDAY APRIL 21st:

Fair & Arts Festival at Modjeska Canyon: Kids face painting, wildlife sanctuary, live music, BBQ, guided hikes, birding classes, hands on ceramic pottery, Earth Day activities and more. Saturday, April 21 at 10 a.m. at Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, 29322 Modjeska Canyon Rd., Silverado. Price: Adults $5; Children under 12 free. 

Earth Day at Chino Hills State Park: join Hills for Everyone, State Parks and Sempra Energy for an Earth Day event on Saturday, April 21 at 8:30 a.m. at Chino Hills State Parks, 4500 Carbon Canyon Rd., Brea. Free. 

Ritz Carlton - Dana Point: 10 a.m. to noon: Explorer, environmentalist, educator and film…

There's always something going on in the city of Dana Point.  We recently had the egg hunts events at two locations, Pines Park and Sea Canyon, with over 1000 kids showing up to the events.  What a great turnaround. Now, this upcoming Saturday April 28th, The Pet Project Foundation is proud to have the 19th Annual Wag-A-Thon event. If you are a pet lover, here's yet another reason why living in Dana Point is a great idea.

This is a great, fun-filled family pet event held at the Dana Point Harbor Island from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. The many activities include:

• Opportunities to have Professional Pet Photos with “Bolt”, a St Bernard Mix from the Super Bowl VW Commercial.
• 4 K Walk around the island led by Bolt.
• Herding Dog…

The Dana Point Grand Prix is almost here. Ready, get set - go! On May 6th 2012 the annual Grand Prix event will be held in Dana Point.

But what is it? The Dana Point Grand Prix is the top ranked bike race in the country.  USA Cycling has advised that in 2011, the Dana Point Grand Prix attracted the most licensed racers for a single day criterium event.

Also, the Dana Point Grand Prix also sports unofficially the country’s best kid’s races.  Last year over 325 kids furiously pedaled the clean streets of Dana Point. It's also FREE!  The Youth Races are an opportunity for families and kids to learn about the healthy, safe, and fun aspects of cycling. So, parents, bring your bikes and your kids and their bikes. Registration can be done online at…

 When our clients are looking to buy a home in the beach cities of Orange County, Dana Point always comes up as a nice town. A client recently asked us - can you give me 10 reasons why I should choose Dana Point? To us there's many reasons, but here's the top 10 we've always thought.

1.Dana Point is still a small town. The city, compared to its neighbors ( San Clemente, Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Niguel) still has that 'small town' feel, where people know each other, the population is not as large, and the communities are tight.

2.It's a fun city! The city of Dana Point is known for always organize some kind of activity through out the year. From The Whales Parade, The Doheny Blues Festival, The Tall Ships Festival, The Turkey…