May 2, 2024
Quote of the Day
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
– Oscar Wilde
This Day in History
May 2, 1949: Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” wins the Pulitzer Prize for drama. On this day in 1949, New York playwright Arthur Miller wins a Pulitzer Prize in Drama for “Death of a Salesman,” the most famous work of his career. Miller describes the story as “the tragedy of a man who gave his life, or sold it” while pursuing the elusive American Dream. The play, which premiered on Broadway just three months earlier, also won six Tony awards. Half a century later, “Death of a Salesman” had sold more than 11 million copies and The New Yorker drama critic John Lahr deemed it “the most successful modern play ever published.”
In his autobiography, Miller describes how the first act of “Death of a Salesman” spilled out of him in a single day in the spring of 1948: “It sort of unveiled itself. I was the stenographer. I could hear them [the characters]. I could hear them, literally.” The play’s main character, traveling salesman Willy Loman, sinks ever-deeper into depression and delusion as his failures – including frequent absences, financial insolvency and infidelity – filter down to afflict his sons Biff and Happy. In a society where, his neighbor reminds him, “the only thing you’ve got in this world is what you can sell,” Loman contemplates suicide as a way to give his family an insurance windfall.
Miller’s family background inspired him to tell the stories of vulnerable, everyday people struggling make a living – and the family conflicts that arise from those struggles. His father lost his clothing business during the Great Depression, and he described his uncle Manny, a salesman who took his own life, as “the ultimate climber up the ladder who was constantly being stepped on by those climbing past him.” Miller’s plays, including “All My Sons,” “The Crucible,” “A View from the Bridge,” and “After the Fall,” all share a strong focus on morality, compassion and family strife. Miller once said that “writing a worthy play was the most important thing a human being could do” because plays could ask difficult moral questions and challenge people to make changes. “The mission of the theater is…to raise the consciousness of people to their human possibilities,” said Miller, who died in 2005 at age 89.
[I hope that Miller got a chuckle out of the many references to his book throughout the course of “Seinfeld.” – Ray]
Ojai Weather
Partly sunny – High 75 / Low 48
Total rainfall for the season – 36.20
Lake Casitas water capacity – 100.0%
Thursday, May 2, 2024
11:10 a.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
2092 Los Encinos Road – $1,700,000
211 N. Carrillo Road #E – $765,000
1148 Bonmark Drive – $1,070,000
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
10:35 a.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
1:05 p.m.
There are seven new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
257 N. Arnaz Street – $990,000
126 N. Arnaz Street – $1,800,000
950 Woodland Avenue #24 – $359,000
12475 Christmas Tree Road – $3,600,000 (coming soon, 5/4)
(There is currently no link available for this one. It’s a 4 bed/3 bath, 2,951 s.f. home on 1.73 acres)
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Here’s a quick interest rate update:
30-yr fixed: 7.51%
15-yr fixed: 6.90%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.67%
30-yr FHA: 6.99%
30-yr VA: 7.00%
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 26, 2024
2:10 p.m.
Happy Friday! There are six new listings on the market:
2187 Woodland Avenue – $1,200,000
1205 Country Club Drive – $2,950,000
10484-10480 Creek Road – $8,199,000
(This is already under contract)
10980 Ventura Avenue – $2,600,000
1202 Loma Drive #102 – $177,000
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 4239 Grand Avenue – $3,790,000 (recently expired on 4/24)
The Open House list has been updated, as has the Things to Do in Ojai page. Have a great weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 25, 2024
10:10 a.m.
There are three new listings on the market:
12717 Blue Heron Circle – $4,175,000 (coming soon, 4/26)
257 N. Arnaz Street – $990,000 (coming soon, 4/29)
(This property is already under contract)
Pic of the Day
I’m flying, Jack!
[I don’t know who is doing this, but you’re defacing public property]
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
11:45 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
(Note: this is “coming soon” but will be officially on the market tomorrow)
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
11:50 a.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
680-1/2 W. Lomita Avenue – $425,000
11100 Sulphur Mountain Road – $9,250,000 (coming soon, 4/26)
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Pic of the Day
Monday, April 22, 2024
10:40 a.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
940 Hackamore Street – $885,000
3627 Thacher Road – $3,890,000 (coming soon, 4/29)
Prior “coming soon” listings, now on the market:
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as “new:”
- 1204 Gregory Street – $975,000 (this was last listed on 3/16; it had been cancelled and off market since that time).
Just a couple of notes about Lake Casitas, now at 100% capacity:
- The lowest water level that Lake Casitas reached (at least in my 19 years living here) was 29.2% on 11/28/22. In the span of roughly one year (from 11/28/22 to 11/21/23), the lake level increased 41.8%.
- From 11/21/23 to today, the lake level has increased an additional 29% – leading to our current lake level at 100%.
- Based solely on the last 4 years (the only data I have), the average amount the lake recedes from May to December is about 5 to 6%. So even with our usual, warm summers, we should still see Lake Casitas near 94-95% by the time the next rainy season starts.
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 19, 2024
1:40 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
The open house list for this weekend has been updated, as has the “Things to Do in Ojai” list, and the 2024 Libbey Bowl concert schedule. There are 24 concerts currently booked between now and October 12th! Enjoy the weekend…
Pic of the Day
Looks like the Windex (SC Johnson) executives can go ahead and buy that yacht
Thursday, April 18, 2024
11:40 a.m.
There are five new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
2835 Hermitage Road – $15,000,000
502 Vista Hermosa Road – $4,325,000 (coming soon, 4/20)
293 McAndrew Road – $2,795,000 (coming soon, 4/20)
37 Taormina Lane – $950,000 (coming soon, 4/23)
Mortgage Rate Update
Mortgage rates finally moved a bit lower yesterday after hitting their highest levels since mid-November on Tuesday. Rates improved about an eighth of a percent, which is on the bigger side for a day-over-day change for conventional 30-yr fixed rates. As nice as it is to see a big improvement, it’s important to understand the nature of the move. Even when rates are spiking consistently higher, its direction is invariably punctuated by brief moments of reprieve. And although recently seen, it’s very rare for a rate spike to play out with each successive day being higher than the last.
In other words, as of today, it’s not safe to view this improvement as anything other than a token bounce that exists as a normal byproduct of what came before it. Whether mortgage rates continue to chart a higher course, or ease back, as they are expected to do before the year’s end, it will depend on the economic data coming out in May. The jobs report, to be released on May 3rd, will be an important tone setter for the month. However, the number one mortgage rate mover is likely to be the April inflation data, which will be released May 15th.
30-yr fixed: 7.43%
15-yr fixed: 6.84%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.62%
30-yr FHA: 6.90%
30-yr VA: 6.92%
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
1:45 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
309 N. Fulton Street – $1,198,000
(This was recently on the market in November at $1,225,000. It did not sell at that time.)
Pic of the Day
Monday April 15, 2024
2:00 p.m.
There are no new listings today, but here is a prior “coming soon” listing that is now on the market:
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 12, 2024
2:45 p.m.
There are two new or “coming soon” listings on the market:
410 Church Road #12 – $949,000
417 W. Matilija Street – $2,879,000 (coming soon, 4/15)
Here’s the updated Open House list for this weekend, as well as the updated list of Things to Do in Ojai. Have a great day!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 11, 2024
11:35 a.m.
There are four new listings on the market:
12617 Koenigstein Road – $2,400,000
2267 Burnham Road – $1,375,000
417 McAndrew Road – $6,550,000
Pic of the Day
Pac-Man gets rabies
(Following up on yesterday’s pic…)
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
12:00 p.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
302 N. Montgomery Street – $1,695,000
(This is a commercial property)
Pic of the Day
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
12:40 p.m.
There are no new listings for today.
Pic of the Day
Monday, April 8, 2024
2:55 p.m.
Two new listings have come to the market since Friday:
1084 Woodland Avenue – $1,319,000
Pic of the Day
Friday, April 5, 2024
1:20 p.m.
There are no new listings today, however, the open house list for this weekend, as well as the list of Things to Do in Ojai have been updated. Have an enjoyable weekend!
Pic of the Day
Thursday, April 4, 2024
1:40 p.m.
There are no new listings today.
Pic (video) of the Day
Darth Realtor
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
2:55 p.m.
Two new listings have come to the market since Monday:
124 Done Felipe Way – $259,000
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 12101 MacDonald Drive – $3,850,000 (this recently expired on 3/31)
Pic of the Day
If anyone actually considers manufacturing these – I’m customer #1
Monday, April 1, 2024
10:45 a.m.
There is a new listing on the market:
Recently cancelled, withdrawn, or expired listings – back on the market as new:
- 12246 Sisar Road – $1,900,000 (this expired earlier today).
Here’s a check-in on current mortgage interest rates:
30-yr fixed: 7.05%
15-yr fixed: 6.50%
30-yr Jumbo: 7.35%
30-yr FHA: 6.46%
30-yr VA: 6.49%
Pic of the Day
