Daily Business Report — April 14, 2011
Home Sales Rise in San Diego County
Home sales in San Diego County during March totaled 3,063 — a 5.1 percent increase from March 2001 and a jump of 733 sales from February, according to DataQuick of San Diego, a real estate information service.
The median price paid for a home in the county was $325,000 in March, down from $330,000 in March of last year.
Southern California Totals:
Southland home sales turned in another lackluster month in March, the result of a fussy mortgage market, slow job growth and a continued wait-and-see attitude among potential buyers and sellers. There were signs, however, that the market was a little less dysfunctional than in recent months.
A total of 19,412 new and resale houses and condos sold in San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in March. That was up 35.1 percent from 14,369 in February, and down 5.2 percent from 20,476 in March 2010, according to DataQuick of San Diego.
The median price paid for a Southland home last month was $280,500, up 2.0 percent from $275,000 in February, and down 1.6 percent from $285,000 for March a year ago.
“As an indicator of upcoming trends, the month of March is actually pretty reliable,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president. “We got off to a slow start with sales this year and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. Two of the likely game changers in the short run would be a surge in job creation or another round of price corrections. The foreclosure issue is going to be with us for a good while. But mortgage availability, or rather the lack thereof, is key. If a well-crafted home loan program comes down the pike, it’s going to make some lending institution the dominant player, at least for a while.”
Foreclosure resales — properties foreclosed on in the prior 12 months — made up 36.4 percent of resales last month, down from a revised 37.0 percent in February and down from 38.3 percent a year ago. Foreclosure resales hit a high of 56.7 percent in February 2009 and a low of 32.8 percent last June. Short sales — transactions where the sale price fell short of what had been owed on the property — made up an estimated 18.5 percent of Southland resales last month. That was down from an estimated 19.6 percent in February but up from 18.0 percent a year earlier and 12.2 percent two years ago.
UCSD Schedules a ‘Green’ Open House
Marking its 50 anniversary this year, UCSD will host an April 16 open house to celebrate its history of global climate research. UCSD Green Open House: A Living Laboratory” will kick off the university’s Earth Week celebration April 16-22 with fun for the entire family including a car show, entertainment, landscape exhibits, cooking demos, health screenings and more. The free event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the campus in La Jolla.
A variety of activities, demonstrations and entertainment will take place, including:
• Clean and Green Car Show: Featuring some of the newest designs in electric, hybrid, biodiesel and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles including: Chevy Volt and CNG van; full speed electric vehicles from Mitsubishi, Coda Automotive, Phoenix Motor Cars, Tesla and Nissan; an electric ATV; electric dune buggy; and a Formula Hybrid.
• Healthy People, Healthy Planet: Showcasing ideas for healthy living with healthy cooking and sustainable food demonstrations by local chefs, health screenings, fitness demonstrations, Wii exercising and Zumba dancing, healthy aging tips and more.
• Children’s Zone: The activity area will feature popular band Hullabaloo as well as face painting, airbrush/tattoo artists, hats by the Rad Hatter, jump house/giant slide and rock climbing wall.
• UCSD Alumni Beer and Bites Garden: Featuring Stone Brewing Co. beer and snacks for sale from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. The Beer and Bites Garden will also host a “Beer and Chocolate” tasting with chocolates from Chuao Chocolatier. Tickets for the tasting will be $10.
• Sustainability Walking Tours: The 45-minute tours will highlight some of the innovations and business practices that have led to UCSD being named one of the greenest universities in the nation. Stops will showcase a green dorm room, water-wise landscaping, campus’ energy operations, Sustainability Resource Center and much more.
For other event information, visit earthweek.ucsd.edu.
Jacob Tyler Creative Group Acquires Sessionwise
Jacob Tyler Creative Group, a San Diego-based brand communications firm, is acquiring Sessionwise, a Web design and development firm. Steve Stadwiser, former president of Sessionwise, takes on the role of interactive director. Stadwiser has more than 13 years of experience in the Web/interactive industry. Services offered by Sessionwise, now Jacob Tyler, include: Custom Website Design, Standards-Based XHTML/CSS Production, Ecommerce Development, Website Maintenance Packages, Joomla CMS Development, WordPress Development, Email Marketing Design, and Content Management Systems. Clients include Adobe, TED, The San Diego Reader, Urban Solace Restaurant, Gap Intelligence, Youth Specialties, System Electric, TAAZ, Playable Hours, Crawford & Co. and Mama’s Kitchen.
knoodle Merges with Cory Falter Creative
knoodle, an advertising and public relations agency with offices in San Diego and Phoenix, has merged with Cory Falter Creative, a San Diego-based design shop offering graphic design, advertising and interactive solutions. In the new alliance, Falter becomes partner and creative director at Knoodle. A graduate of the San Diego State University, Falter will oversee creative campaigns and brand work in the areas of radio, electronic, print, outdoor, direct mail and collateral. During his 18 years in the advertising business, Falter has directed the launch and expansion of hundreds of business ventures, services and products for a,group of clients ranging from sporting goods and surf accessories manufacturers, to hospitality and radio stations. knoodle’s San Diego office also has added David Flake as regional manager. Flake has previously served as CEO of two companies.
Suffolk Construction-ROEL File New Name
Suffolk Construction Co.’s acquisition of San Diego-based ROEL Construction has led to the renaming of the company to Suffolk-Roel. Suffolk-Roel will represent the entire West Coast and have offices in San Diego, Irvine and Palm Desert. “Both firms had strong name recognition within each market, ROEL — a family-owned firm with over 90 years of experience in the industry and an extensive track record, coupled with Suffolk — a robust company with a national presence,” said Wayne Hickey, president of Suffolk-Roel. The Suffolk-Roel name was launched at a national meeting with over 1,200 employees last week.
San Diego Microfinance Summit Set for April 28
The San Diego Microfinance Alliance is producing the April 28 San Diego Microfinance Summit from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego. Sponsored by Citibank, this year’s summit will highlight the local and international work by San Diego’s microfinance institutions. Opportunities to get involved in microfinance will be provided, as well as hearing from national industry experts from the ACCION Network and KIVA during the keynote panel. Gina Harmon, CEO of ACCION Network, will give the keynote address along with Giovanna Masci, regional director of the Americas of KIVA, moderated by Claudia Viek, CEO of CAMEO. The keynote will focus on the history, current state and the future of microfinance in the United States. Small business owners who have received loans from the Foundation for Women, International Rescue Committee, CDC Small Business Finance and ACCION San Diego will share how access to capital has improved their businesses and lives. Early bird registration is available at $38 for the general public and $12 for students and is currently open at sdmicrofinance.org/the-summit. Registration after April 15 is $50 and $20.
Orange 21 Inc. Announces Executive Changes
Orange 21 Inc., a Carlsbad company that makes high-end sunglasses and goggles under the Spy, Spy Optic, Margaritaville, and O’Neill names, announced the appointment of Carol Montgomery as CEO, the promotion of current Orange 21 Vice President of Marketing Michael Marckx to president, and the appointment of Michael Angel as interim CFO. Montgomery replaces exiting CEO Stone Douglass. Marckx’s role is new. He will oversee day-to-day operations, and sales and marketing of SPY eyewear and the company’s licensed other interests. Angel fills a post left vacant since February 2010, though Douglass was serving as the acting CFO since then. Montgomery joins Orange 21 after more than a decade of consulting on strategy, product development, marketing and other business-building issues in the sunglass/optical industry. She previously served as a vice president and officer at Sunglass Hut International Inc.; as chairman and CEO at Revo Inc.; and in a variety of senior management roles at advertising and integrated marketing firms servicing technology and general consumer brands. Marckx, an action sports industry veteran and current chairman of the board of the Surfrider Foundation, was vice president of global marketing for Globe International before joining Orange 21. Prior to Globe, he was vice president of marketing and advertising with Ocean Pacific. Angel was previously vice president and chief accounting officer at Bell Microproducts, where he served until its acquisition in 2010.
San Diego EDC Adds Director of Development
The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. has named Donald Bell as director of development, a new position in the organization. Bell will lead efforts to grow financial support from private-sector sources throughout the region to fund EDC’s job-growth mission. Over the course of his 25-year career, Bell led development programs at Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard University, San Diego State University, University of California San Diego and University of Massachusetts. Bell also served as an associate and assistant professor at Tufts University and Harvard University, respectively. Most recently, he spent five years consulting with a variety of nonprofit organizations on major fundraising initiatives.
Correction
A headline over an item in the April 13 Daily Business Report erroneously stated that a design for a new Horton Plaza Park would be presented at an April 21 open house. Centre City Development Corp. is hosting the event
to gather input on a design — not presenting a design that’s already been completed. The event will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the former Robinsons-May building at Fourth Avenue and Broadway Downtown.
40 Under 40 Advisory
SD METRO is asking persons who have submitted nominations online for this year’s 40 Under 40 Awards to resubmit their nominations. A glitch in a software program resulted in the loss of some of the nominations. The form is on the Website at sandiegometro.com.
SCORE San Diego Small Business Workshops
• April 16 – Business Plan 201: How to Write a Winning Business Plan – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $99, $109 at the door).
• April 19 – Internet Marketing 304 – Cost-Effective Internet Marketing Tools – 9 a.m. to noon at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $49, $59 at the door).
• April 20 – Buying and Selling a Business – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
• April 26 – Introduction to Starting Your Own Business – 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at National University in Kearny Mesa (9388 Lightwave Ave., San Diego 92123; pre-paid registration $69, $79 at the door).
• April 26 – Financial Statements – What They Mean, How to Use Them – 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).
• April 27 – Financing Your Business – 9:30 a.m. to noon at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92009; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).
• April 27 – Good Governance for Nonprofits: Effective Board Performance – 9 to 11:30 a.m. at The San Diego Foundation in Liberty Station (2508 Historic Decatur Road, #200, San Diego 92106; pre-paid registration $39, $49 at the door).
• April 29 – Business Basics 101 – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at SCORE Entrepreneur Center (550 West C St., #550, San Diego 92101; No Charge – Please Pre-Register).
• April 29 – Tax Considerations for Small Business – 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at National University in Carlsbad (705 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad 92009; pre-paid registration $29, $39 at the door).
The Daily Business Report is produced by REP Publishing Inc., publisher of SD METRO, the North Park News, Kensington News and the West Coast Craftsman. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865.
