Christine Monteith on the Pebble Beach Coast

Inventory on the Monterey Peninsula continues to decline in many areas. In October 2008, the inventory for Monterey County was 2,726 single family homes for sale in comparison to just 1,442 in October 2009. Total number of sales have remained fairly constant while median sale prices saw an overall decline of 12% over the past 12 months. Median sales prices are skewed in areas such as the Carmel Highlands where the average home sale price was extremely high. Carmel inventory remains very high as Pacific Grove with a similar size and population continues to decline. The Carmel inventory reflects a large number of homes that were remodeled on spec.




Area	New Listings	Inventory	Closed Sales	Days on Market	Median Sales
Carmel	25	171	22	153	1,137,500
Carmel Highlands	4	34	2	284	3,462,500
Carmel Valley	17	133	7	238	1,250,000
Del Rey Oaks	3	6	1	24	475,000
Marina	13	34	15	48	370,000
Monterey	22	73	14	102	512,450
Pacific Grove	15	72	18	99	757,500
Pebble Beach	19	119	3	27	1,045,000
Seaside/Sand City	30	70	22	38	257,500

Popularity: 2% [?]

Just returned from the one night performance of Pilobolus at the Sunset Center in Carmel. It is the most fascinating form of dance created. The poetic flow of movement is expressed by the combined physicality of 2 or more dancers. This is collaborative work at its most intense. There are no boundaries in personal space, the dancers bodies meld into a single entity to form fluid images that move in 3 dimensions on the dance plane.

The program opened with a new piece, “Lanterna Magica.” On the dark stage, tiny firefly lights flit about. The serene atmosphere of a warm, midsummer night envelopes the audience. The visual and aural delights continue in this varied program with “Pseudopodia,” the rhythmic heartbeat soundtrack and deep red lighting focus the energy and attention on the solo dancer Jun Kuribayashi. Laughter is the key to “Walklyndon.”

After intermission, the emotionally intense “Gnomen” was the most moving piece of the evening. And the evening ended with “MegaWatt,” a frenetic, hard-pumping ensemble work. I reminded me of a few nights on the Playa. Though I’m not sure how the majority of the Sunset Center audience (whose median age is 67) responded to the soundtrack of Primus and Radiohead. The Sunset Center bass speakers do their job.

Check out these photos of these pieces from a Detroit performance.
Photo credit on this page: John Kane

Popularity: 3% [?]

Pacific Groveis a quiet, little town that sits on a small outcrop of rock along the central coast of California. It exists in the shadows of its more famous neighbors, Carmel and Pebble Beach. You don’t see much Shoefiti around here. Yesterday, my broker took this photo of her new listing. There are many theories on the motivation for “shoefiti.” There is an elementary and middle school nearby, my conclusion is some student needs a new pair of shoes.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Just love living here! If you are a jazz fan, living on the Monterey Peninsula is great. There is the Monterey Jazz Festival each year. During the rest of the year, several artists perform here. The Jazz and Blues Company has a great line up. The Sunset Center in Carmel offers a mix of jazz, popular, dance and theatre in it’s outstanding venue.

Last night, I was offered a grounds ticket to the Jazz Festival. I went with a couple of friends. One is an amateur jazz pianist who gets a few gigs around San Diego. They wanted to see Barbara Dennerlein and she does not disappoint. The place was jamming.

We also saw Kurt Elling singing Coltrane-Hartman arrangements with Ernie Watts. I’d never seen Kurt Elling before. He is very talented and very entertaining in his segues. He also featured an adorable vocalist Jamie Cullum. It is great that there is some young blood interested in performing jazz. Jamie is talented and very easy on the eyes.

Popularity: 1% [?]