18th Annual Sacramento SPCA "Doggy Dash" & "Bark at the Park Festival" -- June 4, 2011

The 18th Annual Sacramento SPCA "Doggy Dash" and "Bark at the Park Festival" is coming up on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 in William Land Park. About 5,000 pet-lovers will gather with (and without) their doggy partners to raise money to benefit the Sacramento SPCA. This is so much fun! I was lucky enough to attend for the first time last year, and it is so much fun! You can choose to participate in a 5k or 2k walk with your pooch. Registration opens at 7:30am and the walks begin at 9am.

The "Bark at the Park Festival" takes place in the park after the "Doggy Dash." Register your hound to compete in the Pup Show, high-flying Disc Contest, or the Pug Races! Visit with pet-friendly businesses, see a Sacramento PD K-9 Unit demonstration, learn about Sacramento-area animal rescue organizations, or just have lunch while watching all the action.

Register here! Whether you choose to bring a canine companion or invite a two-legged friend, mark your calendar and join us for the "Doggy Dash" and "Bark at the Park Festival" and help make a difference in the lives of homeless animals sheltered at the Sacramento SPCA. Register as a solo participant, start a team or join an existing team.

Sacramento Real Estate Statistics for April 2011

Well...once again statistics for the median home prices in Sacramento County sure seem to have remained relatively level for the last 14 months. I think the slight dip you see in the median price has more to do with the volume of homes selling at the lower end than an actual decline in value. I have 3 transactions in contract right now, and all are in the low-$100k range ($92,500, $131,250, and $101,222). What I can tell you is that most of the transactions I have been representing for both buyers and sellers, (in all the price ranges, short sales, foreclosures, and "regular transactions with a traditional sellers") are still often times met with multiple offers if the home is priced correctly. To top it all off, interest rates are insanely low right now - like in the low 4% range in you have a stellar credit score and documentable income.

If you would like me to email you the Facts and Trends graphs for specific zip codes in Sacramento County, just shoot me an email and I am happy to provide them.

Is your Sacramento Sewer Line made of Orangeberg?

I have said it before, and I will say it again. If you are purchasing an older home in Sacramento, it is extremely important to inspect the sewer line. This photo is from a sewer inspection performed one of my buyer clients had performed on a house in the Woodlake neighborhood that was built in 1946. The sewer line is made of Orangeberg pipe which over time breaks down and is susceptible to root penetration.

How much sewage do you think can pass by this obstruction before the line backs up during your housewarming party after 19 of your closest friends flush the toilet and you run the dishwasher? Ewwww....

It's best to inspect for this condition during your "buyer investigation" period that is set forth in your purchase agreement. Often times the buyer can negotiate with the seller to have this condition corrected prior to the close of escrow.

New Listing - 10730 Basie Way, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Classy 3-4 bed, 2 bath, 1,524sf Rancho Cordova home - you will love the open floorplan, separate living and family rooms, formal dining area, kitchen island, pantry, huge master suite with sitting area and remodeled master bathroom with dual sinks. Backyard is an outdoor oasis with koi pond, covered patio and more! Don't wait! Subject to lender approval of short sale. For more photos and information, visit http://www.10730BasieWay.com

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VIII

Well it is time for my eighth installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! Curious what has happened in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area since the last time? I am anxious to see if 2011 continues the way it seemed to begin -- to bring a high volume of active short sale listings, and more importantly, more closed short sales. For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties, and over the nearly two years I have been tracking this information, it seems my hypothesis has been proven to be true. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last installment...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 354 active listings there. 244/390 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $212,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 65.3% last installment, vs. 62.6% this month. DECREASE over the control data, and a decrease over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 312. YTD closed in 2011 - 105....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 59.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 199 active listings there. 117/199 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $165,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 53.4% last installment, vs. 58.8% this month. DECREASE over the control data, and an increase over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 109. YTD closed in 2011 - 49....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 36.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 180 active listings there. 105/180 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was also $160,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 51.0% last installment, vs. 58.3% this month = DECREASE over the control data, and an increase over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 57. YTD closed in 2011 - 27....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 48.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 132 active listings there. 43/132 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $265,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 42.5% last installment, vs. 32.6% this month. INCREASE over the control data and decrease over last month. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 16. YTD closed in 2011 - 5....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 12.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 102 active listings there. 21/102 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $348,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 27.6% last installment, vs. 20.6% this month. INCREASE over the control data, and decrease over the last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 23. YTD closed in 2011 - 8....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 8.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 85 active listings there. 17/85 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $369,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 23.1% last month, vs. 20.0 this month. INCREASE over the control data, and decrease over the last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 15. YTD closed in 2011 - 13....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 3.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 3 of them experienced a decrease in the number of active short sale listings from last installment, while 3 experienced an increase over the control data...interesting. It appears that areas with higher median sales prices are showing an increase in short sale activity, while the areas with the lower median prices are showing a decrease in short sale activity. AND while I have not specifically been tracking this data, it appears that there are an increasing number of Foreclosure / REO listings on the market...you will note in a few of the areas I am tracking, if you combine the number of short sale listings and foreclosures, that accounts for nearly 75% or more of the total listings in that area! That's a HUGE percentage of the overall micro-market. Since I just started tracking that statistic for this little project, we will have to see how those numbers compare in the future. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment...until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part III
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part IV
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part V
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VI
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VII

California Association of Realtors...another conference in paradise (that's Sacramento, btw)!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you will already know that this past week was a busy one! In addition to my day-to-day duties as a Realtor, I am member of the Board of Directors for the California Association of Realtors -- and this last week we had our annual mid-year conference and legislative meetings. Thankfully these mid-year meetings are always in Sacramento, which is great so I can still get a lot of work done in addition to attend the numerous committee meetings, forums, and Board of Directors sessions.

I am often asked by my clients, and even other Realtors, why my volunteer service to the Sacramento Association of Realtors and and California Association of Realtors is so important? Well, in short, there is no "California Association of Homeowners." Did you know that the local, state and national associations of Realtors work to defend consumer private property rights? Most people (heck, many Realtors for that matter) are not aware that we do this.

Did you know that in any given legislative cycle, there are well over 1,000 bills introduced that affect real estate ownership or property transfer. We are constantly working hard convince lawmakers that proposing pieces of legislation that do things like add more taxes to real estate transactions, require certain home retrofits at the point of sale, eliminate the mortgage interest tax deduction, and things of that nature are potentially harmful to property ownership and place undue burdens on homeowners, buyers and sellers...while at the same time trying to convince lawmakers that proposing pieces of legislation that do things like prohibit advanced fee loan modification contracts (aka, scams), extend forgiveness of paying income tax on "phantom income" created by short sales, give additional rights to tenants of foreclosed homes, and things of that nature are GOOD ideas. We are a "party neutral" organization...in fact we like to refer to ourselves as "the Realtor Party of California."

So, in short...through lots of meetings and much debate, we strategized the most effective ways to make that happen. I feel we accomplished a lot and have a good road map moving forward....the next round of C.A.R. meetings are in September. So, until then, happy home buying and selling!

4th Annual Young Professionals Council Vendor Fair & BBQ Fundraiser

Today, the Sacramento Association of Realtors “Young Professionals Council” put on its 4th annual YPC Vendor Fair & BBQ. We had over 50 exhibiting vendors, numerous attendees, DJ music, lots of food, raffle prizes, and more. It was a lot of fun, and best of all raised a total of $5,100 for the SAR Scholarship Trust!

Electric blue and turquoise...not my first choices for paint colors!

Hmm...call me crazy, but I am not sure if these colors even look good on the 1-inch by 1-inch swatches available in paint stores. Drove by this house in Sacramento near Executive Airport today while touring properties.