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Get this, now is the time when inventory of homes on the market traditionally increases and should continue to so as we move into summer but inventory is remarkably stable right now. Even with the large numbers of foreclosures in the Sacramento area during the first quarter we are seeing inventory staying right around 15,000 and even edged down last week. We still have more “For Sale” homes than wanted to achieve a balanced market but the fact that it is not increasing rapidly as it has in the past two years is very good news. For sellers the icing on this cake is, believe it or not, according to our friends at HousingTracker the median asking price has actually increased in the past week. For the week ending yesterday, the median asking price was… Read Full Post

We just lost out on a great house because of how an overworked agent manages her bank owned listings. Check out my weekly column at Rocklin & Roseville Today, “Buying bank owned can be a pain!” 

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It is just a number but when you think about the families having to move from their homes and lives disrupted, 5,278 foreclosures in Sacramento and surrounding counties during the past three months is staggering. For more details about the Sacramento foreclosures check out my column, “Foreclosures Skyrocket, “over at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

Speaking about my weekly local real estate column at our largest online newspaper it can now also be found at Sacramento Today, which is a new and rapidly growing online newspaper. I have been writing this column and updating it at least weekly since December 2005 and proud of my affiliation with the Rocklin & Roseville Today and now with Sacramento Today.

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I must have forgotten to knock on wood last week when I babbled on about For Sale Declines and being amazed that inventory of homes on the market in the Sacramento area were declining and prices were holding steady. I just surfed over to HousingTracker to take a look at inventory and prices this week and was surprised again, for a different reason.   It wasn’t surprising to see inventory creeping up as there are 148 more single family and condo homes on the market this week than last. After all this is the traditional time of year we always experience increases in homes being sold. What did surprise me was the median asking price. For the past five weeks it has been hovering around $309,000 and I thought for sure with all the buyer activity we are… Read Full Post

Assistance programs have been around for years but are re-emerging now that most lenders require down payments before they will finance a home. Check out my latest column, “Down Payment Assistance,” over at Roseville & Rocklin Today where I write about a few of the programs we have used, how they can benefit both buyers and sellers and where to get more information.

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Here we are on Wednesday of the week where we are expected to get some 80 degree weather during the coming weekend. That feels good to me and so does what is starting to happen in the Sacramento and Roseville real estate market. Check out my column, “Warmer weather brings out buyers,” over at Roseville & Rocklin Today and see why I am starting to feel optimistic.

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Okay, make me officially amazed! Inventory has not started growing like it normally does this time of year, it has actually declined. According to our friends over at HousingTracker, the number of homes on the market in the Sacramento area has declined 2.9 percent in the past month and now stands at less than 15,000 for the first time since the low last spring of just over 13,000.   This trend if it continues could make for an interesting second half of the year.

While inventory is declining or at least holding steady during the past few weeks the median asking price for homes has been hanging in the $309,000 range for the past five weeks. As of April 7 it was at exactly $309,000 down .3 percent in the past month. Asking prices seem to be showing signs,… Read Full Post

There are many industry professionals and local agents clamoring about a recovery of our troubled Sacramento real estate market but I am feeling cautious because I have been dealing with so many shorts sales and foreclosures. It is nice to hear about agents being busy and see some houses move so check out why I am not smiling in my weekly column, “No Smiles Yet” over at Roseville & Rocklin Today.

By the way, the publishers of Roseville & Rocklin Today, have just launched Sacramento Today and we are working out the details for my weekly column to appear there. I’ll keep you posted when and where it will be. Today is Friday, I think and it has been a very busy real estate week for us and we are looking forward to some downtime over the weekend and maybe… Read Full Post