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I arrived back from my week at the Inman News Real Estate Connect Conference last night a beaten woman. The schedule is always back-breaking, and this year was no different. There were the panels, of course, and my suitcase made the return trip laughing in the face of the 50-pound limit thanks to my swag booty.

Most of my tireless compadres dutifully uploaded photos of the event throughout the week and even managed a blog post or two from San Francisco. This being my third Inman event, I made the determination early on that I would be declaring a bloggy break. While Steve held down the fort (and, by all appearances, we still have a business, so I thank him), I took in as many of the panels and events as I could without killing myself in the process.

Every day, beginning with RE BarCamp, continuing on to the Blogger’s Connect pre-conference, and culminating in the main event, a two-day “let’s see how quickly we can make heads explode” exercise in delivering information and technology solutions for the real estate industry, reminded me that I am not getting any younger. At past events, my mission was always to do it all, attend every session and party, foregoing only the non-essentials (eating and sleeping). With age comes wisdom, and I was able to just say no on more than a few occasions. While all of the cool kids were out enjoying the social functions until the wee hours, and recognizing my limitations, I unfortunately missed several professional networking opportunities.

But, not all.

While I suspect the nice folks at Trulia were not nearly as amused as Jay Thompson and I, we had fun only two geeks could by hijacking their Marker Man at the Trulia House Party. Of course, being a girl and all, I am fully aware of the dangers of over-accessorizing, so I let Jay wear the shoes.

So this morning I am attempting to rally and face the day. I am easing into it, still diverting my eyes from an inbox with 133 unanswered messages screaming my name, but I will be back to full swing in no time. It’s always good to be home.

Photo credits: Ines, Phoenix Real Estate Guy

I’ll get back to the picture in a minute, but first I think Sunday evening is as good a time as any to make your eyes glaze over. My buds at Altos Research have rolled out a new offering which they have dubbed AltosXplorer.

I have been a subscriber for awhile to Altos’ listing market trend charts which serve as useful visual snapshots of listing trends down to the Zip code level. With Xplorer, subscribers now have more historical data at their fingertips and, for the blogger or web geek (or, even, novice), they are so “clickably” easy to import.

For my maiden voyage, I chose Carmel Valley (92130) and Scripps Ranch (92131). I often refer to these as sister communities since their demographics and housing stocks are so similar. The big difference, of course, is proximity to the Big Blue Wet Thing.

Note: All statistics are for homes currently offered for sale and represent 90-day rolling averages. Since data is collected weekly, certain statistics (such as “listings absorbed”) will reflect activity over a seven day period. As a refresher, the Market Action Index reflects listing versus sale activity, and an index of more than thirty is a “seller’s market” while less is favorable to the buyer.

 Finally, I ran a chart of new listing activity (again, calculated on a weekly basis) for the two communties just to show how comparison charts are a snap with AltosXplorer.

So, wasn’t that fun?

I will mess around more with my new empowerment next week. First, I have to kick it into full commando packing mode. Tomorrow I fly to San Francisco for the bi-annual Inman Real Estate Connect conference. This is turning into a repeat performance of last year’s. Last July I wrote:

So, this morning, I am off to the Inman technology conference in San Francisco. I am off in theory, at least. I haven’t exactly packed. Packing Plan A always involves meticulously planning out wardrobes, including appropriate accessories, neatly laying out the items the night before, and then, the morning of the flight, casually arranging the military-folded articles in the suitcase. I’m going with Plan B. Within the next hour, I will be shooting every item of clothing I own out of a cannon into an undersized carry-on and hoping for the best. Pity the poor, random power cord. If it simply looks like it might fit into one end of a camera, video recorder, voice recorder, iPod, or laptop, it’s coming along for the ride. I will have enough electronics and peripherals to inspire the Port Commission to beef up staffing at the security check point, and I can all but guarantee that at least half that make the journey with me were designed to power the VCR I sold at a garage sale in 1993.

Yep, that’s me. Both the washing machine and the dryer are on Turbo setting. They are largely filled with items of clothing I have not worn since Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” tour, yet suddenly I feel the need to take these up north. I was closer to being packed and ready for this trip in 1984 than I am tonight. Every client I have every known or imagined has suddenly come out of hiding wanting to list or buy or appeal their property taxes, and every agent in San Diego County (agents presumably not trying to pair shoes and slacks, much less power cords with parent devices) has decided that today is the day their clients will make an offer on one of our seller’s homes.

This is all great, make no mistake, and very manageable (see Power Cord discussion above), yet I am living in a cauldren of multi-tasking mania. One daughter thinks she is going off to college in three weeks, and this involves not only wardrobe mobilization and dorm accessorizing foresight, but the uncanny ability to set up her college checking account at a bank least likely to fail by Thanksgiving break. Another just got her driver’s license, and I am feeling the social responsibility to post her departure times in the event that others in Scripps Ranch might be considering an outing that would coincide.

So, in times of multi-tasking, overload crisis I do what any sane adult would do. I decide that today is the day to add Facebook friends. You see, I am on a panel at Inman entitled “Get Social or Die.” I woke up with three Facebook friends, and I am proud to say that, between two offers, one listing appointment and numerous phone calls,  I now have eight. Granted, their median age is fifteen, but it’s a start. OK, I’m dead.

So, Inman may have missed on this one, but at least they had the foresight to include me in another panel, “Creating Content that Hooks Readers.” Don’t worry; they aren’t allowing me to actually speak on this topic; I am only a moderator.

As for the thumbnail photo, that is a shot my Price Is Right-winning daughter snapped on the plane on our way to New Orleans. And, it captures the essence of how I travel. I will arrive in San Francisco fully briefed on the comings and goings of the Hollywood A-list, but with one shoe, a black blazer and brown skirt, and three earrings (among which, a pair can not be found), and absolutely no preconceived notion of what I am going to speak about or how, exactly, I might moderate anything other than my incoming text messages.

On the lighter side of things, I am able to leave you with a clearer picture of where our San Diego real estate market stands. And, I will be accepting new Facebook friends throughout the week — eight going on ten. There is no stopping me now!

One of the best things about attending a conference on technology is that you look goofy if you aren’t schlepping a laptop. The only thing at a break-out session louder than Brian Brady is the din of keyboard clicking.

I had the pleasure of finally meeting (in person, that it) Mike Simonsen Tuesday night. Mike is the CEO and Founder of Altos Research. He is also the man who has been patiently working with me to de-glitch the market trend charts for San Diego, and I think we are there. I also spent some time with the very funny, very smart Kevin Boer from 3 Oceans Real Estate. These men were my collective memory peg to finally tackle the problem of market trend mash-ups for San Diego. (This is only a “problem” for me since, while I may swim among the geek-inclined, I am really quite challenged most of the time).

Kevin, in a comment on one of my far, far away posts, had promised to teach me to do the cool mash-ups he frequently posts on his site if I attended the Inman conference. Unfortunately, Kevin has been too busy dazzling the captivated throngs with his public speaking skills. (I feel like Elmer Fudd in his presence). So, I took advantage of the slower moments at one of the sessions to self-teach.

Drum roll…

Combining data from Altos Research with the nifty ZeeMaps from Zee Source, the first chart gives you access to the 90-day rolling averages for median home prices in six I-15 Corridor zip codes in San Diego, including our beloved Scripps Ranch. The coolest thing about the Altos Charts, accessed by clicking on any of the markers, is that they are dynamic. Long after this post has been buried, the data will still be updated and current.

The next chart shows average market time trends for the same six communities.

Thanks, Kevin (and Mike), for the inspiration, if not the private instruction I was promised. You owe me.

It has been not surprisingly quiet this past week on the real estate front. Each August, when the showings slow (and they always do), we have to remind our clients that this last gasp at Summer fun means fewer people are out looking at homes. August is not unlike November and December in that respect. Competing demands rear their ugly heads. Families gearing up for vacation, school sports tryouts, and back-to-school time are just a little less likely to spend their discretionary time looking at homes, that is, unless they are truly on a mission. Aruba or Open House? You make the call.

In Scripps Ranch in June, 25 detached homes went into escrow, with 27 beginning their journey toward the County Recorder’s office in July. And, this morning, we have 120 active listings. August will be for the hearty, and the patient. From strictly a seasonal standpoint, this next month will mark the Fall shift in tide. Fewer potential buyers should be expected, but the quality of those commited few will likely be greater. And, as Steve and I have been discussing privately, it will be interesting to see if this year is different in that many would-be buyers hesitant to purchase in this market just may be waiting to use the seasonal slow-down to their advantage, perceiving greater opportunity when the going gets a little tougher for the sellers.

So, this morning, I am off to the Inman technology conference in San Francisco. I am off in theory, at least. I haven’t exactly packed. Packing Plan A always involves meticulously planning out wardrobes, including appropriate accessories, neatly laying out the items the night before, and then, the morning of the flight, casually arranging the military-folded articles in the suitcase. I’m going with Plan B. Within the next hour, I will be shooting every item of clothing I own out of a cannon into an undersized carry-on and hoping for the best. Pity the poor, random power cord. If it simply looks like it might fit into one end of a camera, video recorder, voice recorder, iPod, or laptop, it’s coming along for the ride. I will have enough electronics and peripherals to inspire the Port Commission to beef up staffing at the security check point, and I can all but guarantee that at least half that make the journey with me were designed to power the VCR I sold at a garage sale in 1993.

Not a convention goer by nature, I was sucked into this one for a couple of reasons. I am looking forward to actually meeting the many people I have met online over the past year. Mostly, though, I am hoping I can bring back some better mousetraps to help us with our business. I’ll try to report back with updates, that is, if I can find the right power cord.

Gotta pack.