Sept 17 – Los Angeles, AP - “Home sale decline in August” – California homes sales dropped 14 percent from the year ago period reaching the lowest period for the month in three years. (San Diego based DataQuick is reporting source). Bay Area homes fell 10.9 percent and median home prices dipped to $385,000.  Foreclosures continue to account for over 30% of homes sales. Sept 17- Stockton Record - “Stockton third in foreclosure notices” – Stockton was ranked third in the nation for foreclosure notices according to RealtyTrac.  The tracking form noted that 1 in 100 housing units received a notice.  Nationally, one in every 381 housing units received foreclosure notices. Sept 19 – Stockton Record – Weekly guide to Managing Money from Walls Street Journal -“Why it pays to pay off your mortg... 09/25/2010

Nationally single family starts continue to reduce and have for the last three months now hitting a 23.3 percent decline since the April tax-credit signing deadline.   Locally, Manteca is still the hot spot for New Home Sales in San Joaquin County.  “Economic indicators” are mixed but still suggesting a very modest growth pace for the third quarter.  San Joaquin County projects report much lower traffic numbers than have been report over the last 8 weeks, coming in at a two-month low.  The county saw no new properties released into the new construction inventory.    The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/19/10: San Joaquin County:          Total Projects Reporting:  26; Traffic: 218; S... 09/23/2010

Sometimes the "non-event" can carry as powerful a message as the featured event.  While celebrating with the citizens and guests of Lodi, California at the 73rd annual Grape Festival, I came to marvel at the mural on the back wall of the Pavilion. I'll apologize once, for the dark quality of the photos, but not for the message they convey... The left panel of the mural depicts the tilling, pruning and planting activites of the vineyards during the winter and spring seasons. The right panel of the mural depicts the growing and harvest seasons of the vineyard. The main mural panel depicts a panorama of the entire agricultural impact in the California landscape. Tucked below it the "America the Beautiful" banner.    Look closer at the banner artwork below the mural .... there stretching fr... 09/21/2010

I first learned of Funnel Cakes during the time I lived in North Carolina and visited relatives in the north east.  For me, they were absolutely the worst possible thing to eat - and I loved them. So now when I travel to fairs and festivals I see that they have made it to the West - big time!  So I no longer bring homes packages of mix from my trips east, I just wait for the next fair. Fortunately, this weekend is the Lodi Grape Festival! I thought that maybe other folks would like to see what a Western Funnel Cake looks like - but I waited too long!   09/18/2010

  Manteca continues to lead the way in “New Homes” activity in San Joaquin County.  “Economic indicators” improved slightly in trade deficit, labor, consumer credit and retail sales relieved fears somewhat over a possible double dip recession. Buyers are still “looking for deal” and remain cautious, thinking through buying decisions.  The county saw 20 new properties released into the new construction inventory.    The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/12/10:   San Joaquin County: Total Projects Reporting:  25; Traffic: 308; Sales: 7; Cancellations: 2; Net Sales: 5;         YTD Sales: 441 Focus on Lodi: Total Projects Reporting: 0 – no further data is available Lathrop reporting 3 pro... 09/18/2010

The Grape Festival in Lodi, California starts tomorrow ... and with it will be a whole lot of new memories and pictures of the fun.  Sometimes it is fun to look back as well. Here are two pictures that are related to the festivities that start tomorrow.  The first is another of the wonderful building murals depicting the fascinating past of Lodi.  It represents the Tokay Carnival (1906) and the Grape Festival (2006) - spanning a century of growth - and celebrating the change from table grapes to wine grapes. The second is a photo of the Lodi Arch, built in 1907 by architect E.B. Brown to celebrate the Tokay Carnival.  The arch is less well known as the "Mission Arch" and is one of the few remaining ceremonial structures of the Mission Revival period in California architecture. So the pa... 09/15/2010

I recently wrote about the Downtown Lodi Farmers Market as being one of the many draws for Lodi, CA as well as many other cities around the country.  Now I'd like to introduce you to our annual Lodi Grape Festival that is running tomorrow, Sept 16, through this coming Sunday, Sept 19. The Lodi Grape Festival is a huge attraction for the city of Lodi itself, but also for the local economy and businesses, like the hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc.  The festival's main purpose is to promote the agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley.  There will be many attractions and fun things to keep all who attend entertained throughout the event.         There will be a carnival, petting zoo, reptile exhibit, many area businesses on display, concerts, fair food, art show, etc., etc..  You'll wan... 09/14/2010

The official and unofficial histories of communities, towns, villages and cities do not always reflect the actual reasons that population centers evolved.  The "river runs through it" is the genesis of many towns and cities across the country, and indeed the world .... Here in Lodi, what runs through it is a different story. Lodi, California is no different than many other cities ... but its original cause is heard daily ... as the whistles of trains passing through Lodi on their way to or from some other valley destination. Sometime around 1869 settlers in the community enticed Central Pacific Railroad to build a station in the community that was to become Lodi.  As a result of the railroad getting a 12 acre reserve .... Right in what would be the middle of town, Mokelumne (Station) e... 09/13/2010

Sept 5 - Stockton Record - CLOSED listing real estate transaction for Aug 3-Aug 10 from information compiled from County records:           Total sales:  144; Sales identified as Banks or REO-type:  67, with 42 different firms selling (top 3: Federal National Mortgage-13; Wells Fargo-11 ; 2-sellers with 3 ea ) New Homes: 4 Side note:  11 of the closings were Private Trust single sale transactions. Focus on Lodi:  Total: 12; REO: 9; New: 0 Sept 4 - Washington, McClatchy Press via Stockton Record - "Home woes may affect children's success in school" - Eric Rosengren, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston told attendees at a conference on neighborhood stabilization, "A foreclosure is likely to mean not only the loss of a home, but also a disruption in where, or whether, kids are... 09/11/2010

Incomplete reporting resulted in lower traffic numbers for new homes sites this week, but some new inventory has been added.  Manteca still continues to be the hot spot for new homes activity in San Joaquin County. The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies and on-site visits for the week ending 9/05/10: San Joaquin County:               Total Projects Reporting:  25; Traffic: 236; Sales: 11; Cancellations: 2; Net Sales: 9; YTD Sales: 431 Focus on Lodi: Total Projects Reporting: 0 - no further data is available Lathrop reporting 3 projects: 6 new releases, 20 available inventories; Linden reporting 1 project: 0 new releases, 0 available inventories; Lodi reporting 0 projects: no other information available Manteca reporting 12 pro... 09/09/2010

For 72 years Harvest time in Lodi has been celebrated in a special way.  The Lodi Grape Festival and Harvest Fair this year will continue that tradition at the 73rd annual celebration .... September 16-19. The Prize List Book is the 33-page booklet with the "rule" for participating in the challenges and contests at the fair.  Prizes ranging from cash to ribbons are awarded for competitions Sections, Departments, Divisions and Classes.  (Adults - Viticulture - Division 10 - Class 26 - Red Flame Seedless:  The challenge - Grape display with 3 bunches.)  This year's "Around the World" theme will also be produced in 6 x 8 and 8 x 12 mural competitions using a maximum of 10% of "foreign" decorating material.  Other rules are very specific, but the organizations, groups and clubs that vie for... 09/08/2010

Recently the national press was in a tizzy over research concerning virginity ... and the lack thereof!  The focus of their vision was on "virgin olive oil" and how much of it was neither virgin nor even olive oil. In the middle of this press-mess, I chanced upon a local vendor at the Farmers' Market.  He was VERY busy assuring all and sundry that his Virgin Olive Oil was truly Virgin Olive Oil! Plates afloat in his product and drizzled with aromatic balsamic vinegar, his invitations to "dip and taste" were readily accepted. As I was enjoying the wonderful taste and body of the Olive Oil I glanced around at the store fronts behind the market stalls.  It was at this moment that I realized that most of these vendors were local - and my community was not without some scars of the economic... 09/06/2010

Ok, sometimes terms can be a little confusing.  Green grapes has a kind of universal understanding ... something based on the expectation that they are table grapes, more often than not, a seedless variety.  But in Lodi, you have to ask .... Table grapes... OR... did you mean "SUSTAINABLE WINEGROWING?" So what are Green Grapes in Lodi? These are winegrape growers that meet region-wide standards that have been endorsed by Protected Harvest, a non-profit organization that certifies farmers use stringent environmental growing standards. Certified growers are subject to an independent third-party audit of their individual "viticultural" practices.  The audit reviews "sustainable"practices covering a number of issues: pest management, land stewardship, air quality control, water management, ... 09/05/2010

Aug 22 - Stockton Record - CLOSED listing real estate transaction for July 25-Aug 2 from information compiled from County records:           Total sales:  196; Sellers identified as Banks or REO-type:  79, with 63 different firms selling (top 3: Federal National Mortgage-15; Federal Home Loan Mortgage-11 ; REO Capital Asset-4) New Homes: 5 Side note:  216 of the closings were Private Trust single sale transactions. Focus on Lodi:  Total: 11; REO: 4; New: 0 Aug 29 - Los Angeles, AP - "Prices for artistic homes hit the skids" - reports Southern California's listings "are beginning to resemble an index to the country's most famous mid-20th century architect" as more or their creations stall on the market. The inflation of values a few years ago figured prominently in architecturally signif... 09/04/2010

The major streets in Lodi host the summer long Farmers' Market on Thursday afternoons and early evenings.  The market not only affords local vendors an opportunity to present their wares, produce and services - it acts as a mainstream of social activity throughout the summer. This quiet-looking street will become one of the main sites of the Lodi Farmers' Market.  The no-parking signs start appearing on late Wednesday mornings.  By late Thursday afternoon (around 4:30) vendors, farmers, food sellers and professional trades-people will take over the pavement until dusk.   Milling throngs of shoppers and produce hunters mix with folks just sitting and watching.  "People-Watching" is one of the activities of the Farmers' market.  The watching may be done while walking, sitting in shaded be... 09/03/2010

OK, I admit this isn't about the dirt ON Lodi, but it is about the dirt IN Lodi.  This is after all, a Real Estate blog site .. so, sometimes we talk about real estate. So let me start with telling you that there's a lot more about this wine stuff than just sniffing a cork and watching a server pour a little bit of nectar into a really big glass.  And it all starts, to use a NAR paraphrase, with the land beneath it all. So thanks to our friends at the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center .... I have most, if not all, of the dirt. TOKAY Loam - This is the first and most "famous" of the pride of Lodi.  This fine sand is the home to 50 to 100 year old zinfandel vines.  The great depth and deep rooting potential of this soil extends to 60 inches or deeper.  The soil slowly draws water over the cour... 09/02/2010

Even more new inventory has been added to the San Joaquin County new homes landscape and traffic continues to increase weekly for the last 7 weeks.  The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies for the week ending 8/29/10: San Joaquin County:               Total Projects Reporting:  24; Traffic: 391; Sales: 15; Cancellations: 2; Net Sales: 113; YTD Sales: 425 Focus on Lodi: Total Projects Reporting: 0 - no further data is available Lathrop reporting 3 projects: 0 new releases, 16 available inventory; Linden reporting 1 project: 0 new releases, 0 available inventory; Lodi reporting 0 projects: no other information available Manteca reporting 12 projects; 14 new releases, 119 available inventory; Mountain House reporting 4 projects: 0... 09/01/2010

It's amazing what happens when you ask questions!  "What's special about Lodi?"  Depending on whom you ask, often the response, said with a smile is ... "Stuck in Lodi again!"  The reference to the 1969 tune on the Creedence Clearwater Revival album "Green River" has come to suggest the idea of being somewhere you'd just as soon not be. In the waning years of  flower power ... that may have been true ... but since the song's author, John Fogerty, admitted to having never been to Lodi when he wrote the song, the lyrics just reflect a fantasy tale born of a great melody and filling space on a record release.  The truth of Lodi, on the other hand is a far different matter: The Grapes of Lodi At about the time of CCR tune's popularity, a new and wonderful "happening" was in process in Lodi... 08/28/2010

Aug 22 - Stockton Record - CLOSED listing real estate transaction for July 14-20 from information compiled from County records:           Total sales:  184; Sellers identified as Banks or REO-type:  93, with 30 different firms selling (top 3: Federal National Mortgage-18; Beneficial-4 and Federal Home Loan Mortgage-4 ; 8 other lenders-2 each) New Homes: 1 Side note:  22 of the closings were Private Trust single sale transactions. Focus on Lodi:  Total: 14; REO: 7; New: 0 Aug 25 - Los Angeles, Times reprint in Stockton Record - "Home sales plummet" - reports that the worst fall in 10 years is tied to the tax credit.   The reference is to the 27.2 percent fall from a month earlier in home sales.   The article further quotes financial experts as they explore the possibility of "having a do... 08/28/2010

New inventory has been added to the San Joaquin County new homes landscape and traffic seems to be picking up weekly for the last 6 weeks.  The following information has been extracted from New Homes Sales and Marketing reporting companies for the week ending 8/22/10: San Joaquin County:               Total Projects Reporting:  25; Traffic: 443; Sales: 19; Cancellations: 1; Net Sales: 18; YTD Sales: 434 Focus on Lodi Statistics: Total Projects Reporting: 0; no other information available Lathrop reporting 3 projects: 0 new releases, 16 available inventory; Linden reporting 1 project: 0 new releases, 0 available inventory; Lodi reporting 0 projects: no other information available Manteca reporting 12 projects; 20 new releases, 118 available inventory; Mountain House reporting 4 projects:... 08/28/2010