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This is a question all realtors get frequently asked and until now I have not had an answer that made me feel good.  Check out my latest article, “Why do we have photos on our cards?” and find out what others are saying and why I have decided to keep my picture on my business card.

Over the past weekend we spent some time at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.  They have changed the park and the name from Marine World.  It kind of reminds me of the park back in the days that it was Marine World Africa USA which I think is what they called it back in the days when it was in San Mateo. 

The changes are very positive, with more exhibits, shows, food concessions and a better family feeling.  I didn’t see any roving gangs of teenagers like the last time we were there and although still expensive there is a better selection of food and they are spread out more around the park.  A minor disappointment was the water ski/boat show is no longer being done.  We saw the dolphin show which was great, the killer whale show which was a bit…

I know the weather the past week or so has been summer like but today is the first full day of summer and the longest day of the year.  We will have more sunlight today than any other day of the year.  We hardly notice it here in California but up in Alaska, where I grew up, it was always a great celebration with lots of parties and events to mark the occasion.

If you are following my reality real estate series, MyForSaleSign, I posted a new article today, Competition in Yuba City:  How does our listing compare?  Randi and Tony have been the best clients, keeping their great condo/townhouse in show condition week after week.  We just lowered the price and I wanted to take a look, from a buyers perspective, at the other homes that compare our listing.  … Read Full Post

I enjoy helping people with real estate and I mean it when I say some of the services I provide are free and with no obligation.  After this a recent experience I want to add a modifier, free with no obligation as long as you are honest. 

Last week I received an inquiry from my Free Market Valuation page.  It was from person who has a home about 30 miles from me.  He said he was just completing a major remodel and trying to decide a selling price.   I did some initial work and sent him some information.  This lead to a more extensive exchange and he made it clear he was not sure about selling but would be using the information I provided to help him make that decision.   After another round of emails and a call we had a pretty good idea of the price…

Looking a bit closer at the recent SacBee story, “Home sales seek bottom” we see that Placer County real estate may be looking harder for the bottom than some of the other local areas that make up the greater Sacramento real estate market.  The median sales price for existing homes sold in May dropped $10,750 from April to $437,750.  This is off 9.6 percent from a year ago.  This is the largest one year price decline in the four major counties, Placer, Sacramento, El Dorado and Yolo.  The good news in Placer County is sales volume. Including condos there were 512 closed escrows in May.  This is up sharply from 378 in April and is on par with May 2006 when there was 516 closed escrows. 

Hopefully we will continue to see buyers out looking, especially…

The Sacramento Bee had their monthly synopsis of the local real estate market in the business section this morning.  Jim Wasserman’s article, “Home sales seek bottom” was not one of his most succinct efforts.  I had to go back a read it a couple of time to make much sense.  I  think he was trying to cover too much in too large an area.

Overall the May results we generally not very positive unless you live in Yolo County where the median price was up 2.1 percent from last year.  In the other seven counties reported on, including Sacramento and Placer the median prices continued their year over year decline. The most positive news for May that sales of existing homes was up, as expected, from April in all except El Dorado County. 

One of the more…

As the Sacramento real estate market is experiencing increased foreclosure activity I am getting more questions about short sales and at least an email a week asking me to help locate them.  It seems that almost everyone has heard a story where someone bought a house for 50 percent of its value by taking advantage of a short sale.  What is a short sale and are they something we should all be looking for?  Check out my latest article, “Short Sales: Road to Riches?” on my real estate news page at jalone.com or in my weekly column at Rocklin & Roseville Today.

I thought it would be interesting to check on a few other local agents as see what they are saying about our local Sacramento real estate market.  Here is what they are saying:

·         In the short term expect to see a level of stabilization within the overall real estate market in California for the next three/four months. Ed Fitch

·         With summer, optomisum(sic), growth and renewal are in the air. Buyers are out looking and buying all the great properties that are on the market right now. Tammy Gallentine

·         Know this, things will get better. Land is scarce, the prices of raw commodities are high, permits are difficult to come by, and environmental hurdles will continue to restrict building. Your home will be an excellent investment…