Calling all fishermen! The fall salmon run is here. I have 4 homes in several price ranges within walking distance of the American River
The Business Journal Tribute
It’s all because of you, you and you!
HAMP PRINCIPAL REDUCTION ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM TAKES EFFECT
Missed Opportunity? Think Again!
It was amazing to see how the buyer’s
Every Dog Has its Day.
Jack with 2 tennis balls and a stick! |
Alan and I have two great dogs including a white lab named Jack.
Truth vs. Myth in Real Estate Today
BACK IN THE BLOG AGAIN!
Real Estate business has changed
You can’t help but have noticed that, along with the Gulf Oil Crisis and the National Healthcare Bill, there has been a tsunami of foreclosures and short sales which have negatively impacted both the banking and real estate industries. In essence my business has changed dramatically over the past couple of years!
For my dear friends who haven’t heard from me as often as I would have liked, I wanted to assure you that we have not only survived these challenges but have actually thrived with our efforts to help clients who have been tragically affected by this market. Following the Darwin theory of survival, we have adapted!
As you can see by the dates of my past blogs, it has been a while since I have posted one. I can honestly say that it has been due in large part to the huge volume of distressed sales we have been dealing with. We have helped over 60 families in our community avoid foreclosure. Short sales are labor intensive transactions. The average length of time to complete one has been about 6 to 7 months with two going over 18 months. In most cases, we go through 2, 3 up to 5 or even 6 buyers before we get an approval with the buyer hanging in there!
So why do them you might ask. We feel a strong obligation to do our part to help people who find themselves in a true hardship facing losing their home. Even though it was not our practice to put our clients into some of the awful loans that got us where we are now, there is not a real estate professional out there that did not benefit from a buyer’s agent getting one of their listings sold and closed with one of those loans. Add to that many of our clients refinanced with predatory lenders and found that their good, fixed rate loan was replaced with a variable rate loan with a low teaser rate that lasted for about
As I Look Back at 2008
The Market As We See It!
The content of this newsletter was obtained from press releases from Realogy Corporation
and Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in recent weeks
The past few weeks have been an economic roller coaster. We have watched the market dip and climb as fear, frustration and questions in the stock and real estate markets mount.
What we are experiencing is the results of combining over-inflated pricing with unsound lending practices and greed. How many of you really believe that a home valued at $150,000 in 2001 should really be worth $447,000 in 2005? As a result of borrowing based on inflated prices, we began to see the foreclosures soar and by the end of summer the results took their toll bringing down major investment firms and banks.
As this situation took years to emerge, so may the recovery. However, we now see economic, political and business leaders work together to plan a recover strategy rather than attempting to individually fix this enormous problem. This lays the foundation for a solution instead of hoping that the problem fixes itself.
On the positive side, we now have prices approaching that 2001 value level. We also still have very attractive interest rates in the 6% range. (In 2001 interest rates were in the 7% range) There is a positive up-tick in the market as smart investors and home-buyers are snapping up those bargains. As a result, the inventory in the greater Sacramento market decreased from an 11+ month supply in July to a 5-1/2 month supply in September. We have seen an increase in units and conversely as decrease in price of the distressed properties, but they are selling. In many cases, we have seen the return of multiple offers and steady open house attendees starting as well.
There is no doubt that the state of the markets has much to do with consumer confidence and trust in the financial sectors. The credit crisis weighs heavily on everyone