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The earth rotates around the sun once every 365 and about 1/4 days. So, by adding an extra day every four years, we get mighty close to keeping the calendar consistent with the earth's annual trip around the sun. And to be very precise, the earth orbits the sun every 365.242190 days. So, on years ending in "00", (except those not divisible by 400) we skip Leap Year and Leap Day.   This is leap year and we get our extra day on February 29th.

If your birthday is on Leap Day, congratulations, you finally get to celebrate your birthday on your birth date. Only about one in 1461 people celebrates birthdays on February 29. So, if you were born on this day, consider yourself very, very special.  This is an excerpt of Julie’s Newsletter for February. If you are… Read Full Post

In the past week I have had two posts about the recent Federal Reserve lowering key interest rates and have indicated this was good news for our struggling Sacramento real estate market. I received a comment on one of these posts asking why I was cheerleading low interest rates when it was cheap money that got us to this point. 

That reader’s comment made me ask if it was low rates that drove prices up to a point where very few could afford to buy. Although I am not an economist and may not fully understand the relationship between rates and fund availability I think, think we need more than low rates to spur any long lasting recovery. Check out my column over at Rocklin and Roseville Today, “Sacramento area sellers need more than low interest rates” or… Read Full Post

From Realtor.org: Susanne Cannon, the director of the Real Estate Center at DePaul University, says that at a conference this month with other academics who specialize in housing, the consensus was that many buyers have been waiting on the sidelines until the market hits bottom and then plan to make their move.

Now that lower rates are a factor, Cannon says, the question becomes: At what point will buyers be compelled to act, thinking they are getting a price they can live with and a rate they do not want to miss out on? Otha Greer, an associate with Coldwell Banker in Jackson, Miss., says the drop in rates ''has lit the fire in my business. I actually had an investor that called yesterday and she's interested in buying five homes.'' Not everybody is… Read Full Post

Freddie Mac reports that interest on 30-year, fixed loans fell for the fourth straight week, landing at their lowest level in nearly four years.  Rates averaged 5.48 percent for the week ended Jan. 24 -- down from 5.69 percent a week ago. This drop was driven by the Federal Reserve’s biggest cut in 20 years to fed fund rate.  Freddie Mac also reports that rates on 15-year mortgages declined to 4.95 percent from 5.21 percent, rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to 5.13 percent from 5.4 percent, and rates on one-year ARMs slipped to 4.99 percent from 5.26 percent.

Housing industry observers are hopeful that the recent decline in mortgage rates will lead to a recovery in the market.   Our sellers on Paizano Court in Roseville at Granite… Read Full Post

The National Association of Realtors has lost a great deal of credibility when it comes to making forecasts and maybe the beginning of this disturbing trend started back at the beginning of this downturn (August 2005) when their chief economist at the time, David Lereah said, “All of the doom and gloom forecasts of a housing debacle are not only irresponsible, but also downright wrong.”   There is a great deal of good work being done by the NAR but, in my opinion they should exit the forecast and “spin” business and concentrate on helping to improve the image of Realtors.  

On the other hand, after two plus years of downward real estate trends, there are now industry professionals who have gone in the other direction and seem to pride themselves on how… Read Full Post

Something must be happening out there in Sacramento real estate land. Yesterday I was working with buyers who are looking to upgrade their home in the Roseville area. Two of the homes the wife was interested in seeing had been on the market for a long time, one them was over 180 days (six months waiting for a sale). As I was setting up our tour I found out the first one had gone pending that morning so we took it off our list. The second one turned out to be a lovely home and my client liked it and wanted some additional information. I called the agent only to learn the sellers had accepted an offer while we were looking at it. Six months on the market and it goes pending on the day my client is interested. How strange is that in a market where most…

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I am sure I am not the only one this morning struggling to get started after a long weekend. As you may know from my blog post yesterday, we spent the weekend in Southern California and enjoyed three wonderfully warm days in Hollywood and at Universal Studios.

Since Tuesday is my normal day for posting my column at Rocklin & Roseville Today and my creative juices seem to be on a low ebb after driving down Wisteria Lane at Universal Studios I checked all my normal sources for ideas to inspire a real estate article. If there is something out there about the Sacramento and/or Roseville real estate market that is inspiring, I missed it so wrote about what is on my mind, getting a few things done. Check out, “Cold and Dreary Winter Morning.” Well at least it… Read Full Post

Monday, January 21, 2008 (Martin Luther King Day) 

  Southern California. We decided to take a few days and get out of town so picked Universal Studios in Southern California. Mikie was excited to see “Hollywood” and I thought it would be a good outing for the family.    After two days of touring the park and taking a few rides around the area, I can tell you what you already know. There are a lot of people there, they all seem to be on the freeway at the same time or going to breakfast, lunch and dinner with you, there are some spectacular homes and the prices are out of sight.   Overall we had a good time; visiting Universal Studios is fun but not the best place for a sensitive 8 year old. Too many of the tours and attractions are a bit on the… Read Full Post