Despite what you may have read in the newspaper about the “plummeting real estate market,” you should know that these changing markets mean good news for prospective Buyers. In some cases, properties have sold for 20% less than their original listing price this year. Furthermore, due to the high supply and stiff competition, more Sellers are offering Buyer incentives such as paid closing costs, seller carry-back options, and further discounts seldom heard of only two years ago. Needless to say, this is a great opportunity for Buyer-favored negotiations.
However, this opportunity may only exist for the next two years of 2008 and 2009, as financially sound high-end Sellers tend to take these properties off the market and rent them out, or they wait until the market bottoms out and starts heading up again to sell. This leaves only a small window of opportunity to take advantage of these steep discounts.
Furthermore, future rate cuts by the fed counteract the deeper perspective of a recession and coming election year. You can now take advantage of a great interest rate of 6.125% at 1 point as of 11/14/07 for a jumbo 30 year fixed loan, down from 6.5% with 1 point on 11/7/07; this is making for a financial boom for Buyers. If you don’t want to miss out on this stellar opportunity to get an exceptional value and make a profitable investment, call or e-mail today for my current list of Top 10 Best Buys in La Jolla.
Gregg Whitney
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
My Wife’s Battle with Breast Cancer
I would expect that anyone reading this blog has in one way or another been touched by the travesty of breast cancer. Whether you’ve known someone personally who has battled this disease or whether you just know someone who knows someone who has been affected, most people are within few degrees of separation.
Our devastation of the disease began in August of 2005 when my wife Lisa was diagnosed during a routine mammogram. The news shook our world. With two small children and having just reached our forties, a million questions raced through our minds about what our future would hold. Like so many others, we had obviously heard of the disease, but never in a million years thought that it would actually enter our home. We began discussing “options” and treatments and alternatives…a whirlwind of terms and “game plans” filled our minds with unfamiliarity. We were in and out of hospitals, seeing numerous doctors for all kinds of different reasons. I admittedly struggled somewhat to balance maintaining my real estate business with being there for all of Lisa’s appointments and watching the kids more since Lisa wasn’t well enough most of the time to do so. We were very fortunate to have such wonderful family, friends, and employees to help pitch in to relieve some of the burden. With their help, I was able to continue to offer my real estate clients the unsurpassed service they deserve, and they couldn’t even tell I was going through such an ordeal. I am grateful to my profession that I had the flexibility to be there for my wife and kids during this trying time.
My wife ultimately had to have a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. The whole ordeal, from diagnosis to the last radiation treatment, endured about a year and a half. We are proud to say though that she is now cancer free!
Since this experience, we have definitely learned more about ourselves and our family. We learned that we are stronger than we ever thought possible. We learned to genuinely value our time together as a family because you never know what unexpected turns may come ahead in life. We also learned that although we have been blessed financially, this does not protect us from cancer’s grasp, for the disease has no prejudice to race nor class or religion. We were very fortunate that Lisa was able to beat this disease, and we are hopeful that it never returns. Every year now we coordinate a team to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in San Diego. If you, or anyone you know, would like to participate with us, we would love to have you on our team! Our hearts go out to those who have also battled cancer and those who are enduring it now. We wish you the best of success!
Gregg Whitney
Our devastation of the disease began in August of 2005 when my wife Lisa was diagnosed during a routine mammogram. The news shook our world. With two small children and having just reached our forties, a million questions raced through our minds about what our future would hold. Like so many others, we had obviously heard of the disease, but never in a million years thought that it would actually enter our home. We began discussing “options” and treatments and alternatives…a whirlwind of terms and “game plans” filled our minds with unfamiliarity. We were in and out of hospitals, seeing numerous doctors for all kinds of different reasons. I admittedly struggled somewhat to balance maintaining my real estate business with being there for all of Lisa’s appointments and watching the kids more since Lisa wasn’t well enough most of the time to do so. We were very fortunate to have such wonderful family, friends, and employees to help pitch in to relieve some of the burden. With their help, I was able to continue to offer my real estate clients the unsurpassed service they deserve, and they couldn’t even tell I was going through such an ordeal. I am grateful to my profession that I had the flexibility to be there for my wife and kids during this trying time.
My wife ultimately had to have a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. The whole ordeal, from diagnosis to the last radiation treatment, endured about a year and a half. We are proud to say though that she is now cancer free!
Since this experience, we have definitely learned more about ourselves and our family. We learned that we are stronger than we ever thought possible. We learned to genuinely value our time together as a family because you never know what unexpected turns may come ahead in life. We also learned that although we have been blessed financially, this does not protect us from cancer’s grasp, for the disease has no prejudice to race nor class or religion. We were very fortunate that Lisa was able to beat this disease, and we are hopeful that it never returns. Every year now we coordinate a team to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in San Diego. If you, or anyone you know, would like to participate with us, we would love to have you on our team! Our hearts go out to those who have also battled cancer and those who are enduring it now. We wish you the best of success!
Gregg Whitney
Friday, October 19, 2007
Who I Am as a Person, Not Just a Realtor
Every once in a while, I’ll write a blog simply about myself and what’s going on in my life. I think it’s important that if you’re going to rely on me for important information about the luxury real estate market that could possibly affect your opinions and even your decisions, then you should have the opportunity to get to know me as a person as well, not just a realtor. So, here we go…
First of all, a little background information…I was born and raised in La Jolla, CA. My late father was a well-known lawyer and builder in the community, and I was one of three children. I graduated from La Jolla High School and then went on to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Communication from Oregon State where I received a basketball scholarship.
Upon college graduation, I returned to La Jolla where I eagerly entered the real estate business. I originally started out in 1986 with the McMillan Company in new home sales, then moved on to residential real estate with the Jelly Company from 1988 to 1992. From there, I signed on with Prudential California Realty, which is where I met my wife Lisa.
Lisa was a breath of fresh air. She had an unsurpassable energy that just exuded in everything she did. We were friends for about a year before she finally agreed to go out with me. We dated for a year and a half before we married in June of 1996 in Maui. We now have two great kids, Ryan who is 14 and Brooks who is 9, and we live in a house in Birdrock for which I was the builder and just completed about two years ago. I’m now working with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage and have over 20 years experience in the La Jolla real estate market. I consider myself to be a very fortunate man.
Well, that should catch you up to speed on my personal background. My future personal blogs will include more current information. Hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me. Take care…
Gregg
First of all, a little background information…I was born and raised in La Jolla, CA. My late father was a well-known lawyer and builder in the community, and I was one of three children. I graduated from La Jolla High School and then went on to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Communication from Oregon State where I received a basketball scholarship.
Upon college graduation, I returned to La Jolla where I eagerly entered the real estate business. I originally started out in 1986 with the McMillan Company in new home sales, then moved on to residential real estate with the Jelly Company from 1988 to 1992. From there, I signed on with Prudential California Realty, which is where I met my wife Lisa.
Lisa was a breath of fresh air. She had an unsurpassable energy that just exuded in everything she did. We were friends for about a year before she finally agreed to go out with me. We dated for a year and a half before we married in June of 1996 in Maui. We now have two great kids, Ryan who is 14 and Brooks who is 9, and we live in a house in Birdrock for which I was the builder and just completed about two years ago. I’m now working with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage and have over 20 years experience in the La Jolla real estate market. I consider myself to be a very fortunate man.
Well, that should catch you up to speed on my personal background. My future personal blogs will include more current information. Hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me. Take care…
Gregg
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Introducing New Website & Billionaires Row La Jolla
I am very excited about some new ventures we’re pursuing at Whitney and Associates Real Estate in La Jolla, CA…one of which is this new blog! I’ve never hosted a blog before, but I am eager to take on the challenge and excited about the opportunity to share my insight into the La Jolla luxury real estate market with you.
As you may have seen, we have launched a brand new custom web site, www.BillionairesRowLaJolla.com. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit it yet I would definitely encourage you to do so. We spent over 6 months designing the site to make sure it had all the features you would want. You can find expert advice for Buyers/Sellers, La Jolla community information, more information about Lisa and me, an instant call button, and best of all, you can search the same multiple listing service (MLS) that I use to find properties which includes all homes for sale in San Diego County.
Being that we work exclusively with high net worth clientele, we wanted to come up with an initiative that encompassed that idea in our web site…hence the term “Billionaires Row”. We are currently working on trademarking this phrase and making it exclusive to us. It’s a long and somewhat difficult process, but we feel it will further strengthen our networking abilities so that we can offer you the best service and the most exclusive opportunities to accomplish your luxury real estate goals in La Jolla, California or elsewhere.
Thanks for visiting my first blog. I look forward to keeping you updated on what’s going on in the luxury real estate market and in La Jolla. If there is ever a particular topic you would like to read about or if you have any questions about a topic I’ve addressed, please feel free to let me know. I’m always open ears, and I want this to be a valuable resource for you. Until the next...
Gregg Whitney
As you may have seen, we have launched a brand new custom web site, www.BillionairesRowLaJolla.com. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit it yet I would definitely encourage you to do so. We spent over 6 months designing the site to make sure it had all the features you would want. You can find expert advice for Buyers/Sellers, La Jolla community information, more information about Lisa and me, an instant call button, and best of all, you can search the same multiple listing service (MLS) that I use to find properties which includes all homes for sale in San Diego County.
Being that we work exclusively with high net worth clientele, we wanted to come up with an initiative that encompassed that idea in our web site…hence the term “Billionaires Row”. We are currently working on trademarking this phrase and making it exclusive to us. It’s a long and somewhat difficult process, but we feel it will further strengthen our networking abilities so that we can offer you the best service and the most exclusive opportunities to accomplish your luxury real estate goals in La Jolla, California or elsewhere.
Thanks for visiting my first blog. I look forward to keeping you updated on what’s going on in the luxury real estate market and in La Jolla. If there is ever a particular topic you would like to read about or if you have any questions about a topic I’ve addressed, please feel free to let me know. I’m always open ears, and I want this to be a valuable resource for you. Until the next...
Gregg Whitney
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