Life here on the Monterey Peninsula slowly got back to normal last week. AT&T golf week brought the usual crowds and excitement, and with it a healthy spike in activity after a quieter January. There were a total of 3 closed transactions in Carmel, none of which were in the Golden Rectangle, an area where we're seeing a firmer market and a severe lack of inventory. Two, 2 bed/2 bath cottages sold...

Happy (Almost) Holidays! The lights are up on Ocean Avenue, and holiday shopping has begun. Real estate-wise, things finally started to slow in our overall market for October. This is typical as we approach the holiday season. Carmel remained fairly strong while other upper end areas such as Pebble Beach and the Carmel Highlands quieted, noticeably. Below are your October statistics. Pebble Beach...

Sellers can be very unrealistic about price. There are several problems with this, some obvious, others not so obvious. For the most part, the reason for this is what is called the endowment effect. Behavioral economics studies find that humans tend to overvalue their possessions compared with the value the market will actually bear for those possessions. It's important for home sellers to remember that...

September surged forward with Carmel and Pebble Beach real estate both increasing in sales activity. Carmel Highlands real estate stayed about level with August, and Carmel Valley real estate more than doubled it's production from the previous month. This year has really been one for the books. 2011 was marked by stubborn sellers, rigid buyers and 6 month escrows that loved to fall out right before closing...

Please excuse the August market update being so late this month- We had some technical difficulties with our website's back end that took quite awhile to resolve. Back in business now! Just a quick breakdown of the market for this month.... August brought with it a slowing of new home sales that is typical as we break into the Fall quarter. Specifically, Carmel Valley and Pebble Beach new activity...

Car week is upon us! Come next week, the Monterey Peninsula will experience an influx of car enthusiasts and rare automobiles from all over the world. Being somewhat of a self-proclaimed car guy, his is my favorite event of the year. If I'm going to sit in an hour of traffic to go from Carmel Valley to downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea, I would prefer to look at Italian sports cars and one-off prototypes rather...

This is a great article from the Wall Street Journal which brings to light what I've been saying for the past 6 months- Now is the time to buy! Carmel-by-the-Sea real estate, Carmel Valley property, and even Pebble Beach real estate are experiencing really healthy activity. for the last 2 quarters. The market has indeed, turned. "The housing market has turned—at last. The U.S. finally has moved...

For anyone driving down the street in Carmel-by-the-Sea, it is difficult not to acknowledge the incredible increase in activity; restaurants packed on weekday nights, crowded sidewalks and people splurging in our many retail shops. The Fourth of July holiday weekend we just had was a success and clearly indicative of a economic rebound. We're expecting the Pebble Beach Concours in August to bring yet...

Mike Love and my Dad, Terry Melcher, wrote and produced "Kokomo" together in 1989, among several other records. Article on his available Pebble Beach Property below. Mike Love, a member of the Beach Boys, has cut the price of his 8,995-square-foot Pebble Beach real estate near Monterey, Calif., by 12% to $6 million. The property was first listed in 2009 for $7.9 million. Mike Love, a member...

The newest problem for the slowly improving Carmel real estate and Carmel Valley real estate housing markets isn't a shortage of serious buyers; it's a shortage of good homes. Would-be buyers are packing open houses and downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea real estate and scrambling to make offers on properties before they are even listed. Bidding wars are erupting and driving prices higher and higher....