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Costa Mesa April Fools Day Real Estate Trickery

You can’t blame Costa Mesa residents who’ve been bamboozled in the past for having grown cautious as April 1 approached. They braced themselves for this Monday, knowing that the practical jokers will have been hard at work concocting 2019’s April Fools Day tricks. There would be spoof ads, fake headlines, and who-knows-what else? to watch out for.

That’s why you could hardly fault those who instantly dismissed last Friday’s banner headline in the Wall Street Journal. It might be unfair to print an April Fools prank ahead of time—but pranksters have done that before.

And the article certainly bore all the earmarks: an almost believable premise (slightly understated to build credulity) followed by the requisite goofy supporting specifics. Maybe it wasn’t as wild a story as one the Onion might foist off—but it did add the kind of ridiculous details that would set up a satisfying “APRIL FOOLS!” payoff. 

The 4% Mortgage Is Back! was the shocking headline—followed by the parody subhead, “Its Biggest Drop in Over a Decade.” The supporting text talked about mortgage rates “fast approaching 4%”—rates “so low” that “economists and lenders believe it will help jump-start the housing market again”!

For Costa Mesa real estate watchers who have been following actual Costa Mesa mortgage interest rates over the past few years, the overwrought details would have been a sure tipoff that pranksters were at work. A full quarter point sheared off of home mortgage rates in a single week? That (as the article explained) might constitute “the biggest drop in over a decade”—but to any reasonably well-informed reader, it would surely also confirm that the April Fools writers were in charge. The graph that accompanied was evidence that the Journal artists were in on the joke. Its gradual rise and sudden plunge looked more like a diagram of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel than of a realistic rate chart.

The final surprise proved to be—well, it actually proved to be on readers who thought they’d spotted an April Fools Day gag. The article was real. It appeared in Friday’s print edition as “Mortgage Rates Fall Toward 4%”—and the information was, however improbable, 100% accurate.

It was also a great practical development for the already-lively Costa Mesa market and Costa Mesa home buyers and sellers. Another not April Fools Day idea: call us!

 We are built on a philosophy of Heritage & Hustle L3 is a full service real estate agency with a regional office located in the heart of #CostaMesa, offering a wide-array of custom services to meet their clients’ needs with roots in the community since 1976. It’s L3 mission to provide trusted, convenient, responsive service to ensure clients enjoy their real estate experience. L3 was originally formed to offer personal, concierge-level service as an alternative to the large, nationally based real estate companies. From its small beginnings of only two employees, L3 has grown to a full staff of 20 serving over 300 clients a year. L3 is not limited to serving just its clients; it is also committed to serving the community. Not only has L3 donated hundreds of hours to many area charities, they have also received the prestige of being named one of the #toprealestatecompaniesinCostaMesa If you’re interested in #buyingorsellinginOrangeCounty, turn to the experts. Turn to L3 and let them help you make your real estate buying or selling dreams come true. For more information or to get started on finding or selling your home contact L3 today at 714-444-4663 or email us at info@thel3.com

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