Double-digit housing appreciation will return to Orange County next year, with the median home price rising somewhere from 15.9% to 16.6%, UCLA economists forecast in a report released today. That compares to a projected 8.8% gain in California next year and a 2.4% increase nationwide.

It also differs sharply from Cal State Fullerton’s outlook. An economist there said Tuesday that Orange County home prices will rise 2% to 3% next year – at most.

But Mark Schniepp, author of UCLA Anderson Forecast for Orange County, said he’s not predicting the return of the housing bubble. Even after six years of appreciation, UCLA economists still don’t expect home prices to reach the 2006 peak. In fact, home prices likely won’t get back to that level again until 2016 or 2017, Schniepp said. “We’re already at 16% (appreciation) from March. That’s just six months, and I’m talking about a year-over-year (change),” said Schniepp, chief economist with the California Economic Forecast. “When you have a cycle where you’ve overcorrected, you can go up 16%. It doesn’t really mean much. The gist of the forecast, Schniepp said, is that the Orange County housing market is in recovery. “The train has left the station. It’s going down the track. This isn’t a head fake,” he said.

He added: “Now is the time to buy. (Actually), the time to buy was the spring and early summer.”The UCLA housing forecast is part of an outlook that projects a jobs turnaround in O.C. in 2011.

In addition, the Orange County housing forecast states:

That from 2011 to 2015, O.C. home prices will increase by 2.5% to 8.7% a year. The median home price, at $406,481 this year, is projected to top $500,000 by 2011 and to be above $600,000 in 2015.
That foreclosures are expected to rise again early next year, but won’t derail the recovery.
That homebuilding this year will fall to 1,912 units, the lowest number in records dating back to 1946.
That homebuilding will pick up by 2012, rising above 11,000 units a year — levels not seen since 2002. In 2013, UCLA projects that housing starts will total 12,537.
That mortgage interest rates will remain low. Southern California rates likely will be below 6% through 2015, the forecast said.
That commercial real estate will be hampered by high unemployment through 2010, with recovery not expected until around 2011.
Office vacancies — currently at 18% to 20% — will start to drop in 2010, but lease rates won’t resume going up until 2011.
Retail sales are expected to start picking up in late 2010, aided by the recovery in the housing market.
“We do look for a much more robust recovery, certainly by 2011 and for homebuilding by 2012,” Schniepp said.

We are all “too busy!” We work hard, we have enormous “to-do” lists, and most of the time we feel slightly inadequate because at the end of the day, there is so much more to accomplish.

We return all the calls we can, and yet there are messages waiting on our desks. When it comes to email, our inboxes are always full. We attend the meetings, we do the paperwork, we run the errands, and at the end of the day, we try to spend quality time with loved ones. Sometimes it just seems like TOO MUCH! (Ever been there? Done that? Of course you have!)

So, in the midst of the “have-to’s,” what happens to our “want-to’s?” We want to build our businesses. We want to exercise more, we want to take the kids to a ball game, and we want to relax! We want to make things better, buy a sailboat, take a vacation, read a book, or pursue a hobby. (Does anyone else miss the “old days” when fishing was a real option? How about gardening or flying a kite, or taking a nap?)

Now – just to rub salt in the wound – here’s the really painful part: High achievers DO the things we want to do! No one sees Donald Trump running to catch an elevator. Oprah Winfrey goes to the parties, has time to exercise (with her personal trainer) and vacations around the world. Bill Gates takes a vacation every 3 months! How do these super-stars do it?

The answer is super-productivity, what I call MAXIMUM RESULTS with minimum time and effort. What are the secrets? How (exactly) can we do it?

That’s our challenge, and fortunately, the answers are available. They are availab le to each of us and they can be learned. Now, I didn’t say they were “easy” or even “obvious.” But people have written about them. They have talked about them. Heck, they even offer seminars, and coaching is always available. Super-achievers are not different from us. There is no mystery.

But there are techniques. There are disciplines and practices, habits we can master to get super-results in our lives. This can be done, and it can be done by anyone who will put in the time, learn the techniques, change old habits for new, better habits, and create results they’ve always dreamed of. It can be done and you can do it!

To give you a preview, here are six of the basic elements super-achievers use to achieve MAXIMUM RESULTS with minimum time and effort:

1. Clear VALUES. They know what’s valuable, and what is trivial. They understand that some of our “have-to’s” are an illusion. Some things are not as important as they seem. The key is knowing what to do and what not to do.

2. Clear PRIORITIES. In any given moment, there is only ONE thing that deserves your time and energy. That ONE thing will bring results, that ONE thing will move you forward, and IT should be done. Everything else should be delegated or set aside.

3. Clear FOCUS. Whatever you do, do it with all your heart. Do it efficiently and skillfully. Super-achievers are not confused or distracted. They do not “multi-task” because they know human beings can only FOCUS on one thing at a time. Even in a world of distractions, you can do this!

4. Clear CHOICES. They know where their unique abilities should be applied and how to delegate everything else. They make decisions knowing they have limited time, energy and skills, and they make careful choices to get MAXIMUM RESULTS. You can, too.

5. Clear BOUNDARIES. Super-achievers are not interrupted. They do not work in chaos. They create Personal Eco-Systems™ that use their time, talents and skills to maximum advantage. You can learn this, too. (Hint: At least get my free booklet, “Creating Personal Eco-Systems™ for Automatic Success!” Go to http://PhilipHumbert.com/Free This is the last week it will be available.)

6. Clear OUTCOMES. They are precise about what they want, and settle for nothing less. They know exactly which results they need to move them forward, and they keep track. As Peter Drucker said, “what gets measured, gets done!”

There is no mystery to getting more done. Each of us has the same amount of time each day. We have about the same amount of energy, but fortunately, we all have enormous potential. The difference between the super-achievers and the rest of us is a set of skills! They know how to get things done, or in my favorite phrase, they have a “recipe” for success and we can all learn to use it!