The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,500 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 22 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 23 posts. There were 59 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 29mb. That’s about a picture per week.

The busiest day of the year was January 26th with 77 views. The most popular post that day was The Tax Credit Deadline is Coming! Buyers and Existing Homeowners: Don’t Miss Out! .

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were myrecafe.com, cbnorcalevents.com, cbmarketwatch-sacramento.blogspot.com, mail.yahoo.com, and cbnctabletalk.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for istock images woman, hand holding house, istock lade, istock, and istock woods.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

The Tax Credit Deadline is Coming! Buyers and Existing Homeowners: Don’t Miss Out! January 2010

Answers to Some of Your Most Frequently Asked Real Estate Questions August 2010

Happy Memorial Day and a Quick Update on the Housing Market May 2010

It’s a New Year…But Is It a New Housing Market? January 2010

Is It a Good Time To Buy A House – A Fox News Interview with CB CEO Jim Gillespie January 2010

1.  What will the industry do to adjust to the new market demand or lack thereof?

• I think we’ve been adjusting in recent years as the market has struggled with the economic downturn.
• But at Coldwell Banker we’ve grappled with the challenging market by working to grow our business.
• We’ve launched a number of new initiatives, such as our Market Trends program, a CaliforniaMoves.com redesign, efforts in social media, enhancements to myREcafe.com and more
• We’ve instituted far-reaching new customer outreach campaigns both at the corporate level and through our agents.
• And we’ve launched more focused marketing campaigns, especially e-marketing, and deployed more advanced technology for our agents.
• Additionally, we’ve looked at this as an opportunity to recruit outstanding agents to join our team – people who have a strong track record of success and have been through these cycles.
• Although we’ve certainly had our challenges like everyone else, I’ve been encouraged by how we’ve weathered the storm and actually have grown business and market share in some regions.
• I guess I’m also optimistic that we’ve seen the worst of the downturn. Our market figures and reports from the field tell us things have improved tremendously over the past year.

2. How much more contraction can we expect?

• No one has a crystal ball, but the data I’ve looked at from our offices and the market in general tells me that we’ve seen the worst of the downturn and are heading back.
• I don’t mean to say that we’re back to normal – far from it. But we’ve seen solid improvement in many of our markets.
• Last year, much of the gains came from bargain hunters buying up foreclosures and other distressed properties…
• But since last fall, and especially this year, we’ve seen strong improvement in the mid-range and even some of the upper levels of the market.
• Still, I also realize that as much as we’d all like it, I don’t think we’re going to have a V-shaped recovery in the economy or the housing market.
• This rebound is looking like it will come in fits and starts – more of a stair step improvement than a straight line.
• We’ve certainly bounced sharply off last spring’s recessionary lows. But growth has slowed in the aftermath of the federal tax credit expiration.
• We also face economic headwinds in the months ahead – high unemployment, very slow GDP growth and consumer spending, and concerns about the debt markets.
• Nonetheless, I’m optimistic by improvement we’ve seen in sales in the Sacramento/Tahoe area.
• Couple that with an improving stock market, affordable home values and record-low mortgage rates and I think you have a solid foundation for a steady housing recovery.

3. What continues to insulate or separate the Northern California area from other markets?

• The Sac/Tahoe area’s housing market has long been one of the most sought-after– not only in California, but across the country.
• The demand for housing here has historically been far greater than most other regions for a number of reasons:
  • First and foremost, the astounding entrepreneurial success that continues to spawn high-paying jobs and affluent employees looking for homes.
  • Also, there’s a tremendous quality of life here that few regions in the world can match – outstanding schools, a wealth of recreational activities, proximity to Lake Tahoe and to the Bay Area, five-star restaurants…and so much more.
  • Buyers have long been willing to pay a premium for homes here, and sellers have historically received strong returns on their housing investments.
• So while the Sac/Tahoe area has not been immune to the economic and housing downturn of the past few years, this region may be bouncing back stronger than other parts of the country.
• I would say that long-term investors who have waded into the market of late will be rewarded for their efforts with solid returns over the years.

4. What influence does the nation’s economic crisis have on real estate?

• It’s an interesting question.  It will be hard for the market to come all the way back to normal until we get our house in order, both in terms of the economy and what’s happening in the government.
• With a large budget deficit, the government must find a way to begin closing the gap. The only two ways of doing that are by cutting spending and increasing revenue – most likely both.
• Increased revenue will come as the overall economy recovers, but in the meantime it could mean increased taxation – perhaps sales and income tax.
• On the reduction side of the equation, closing the gap will likely mean job cuts and more unpaid furloughs of state employees.
• Both scenarios mean less disposable income for homeowners and potential homeowners to spend on housing.

While all of this will certainly have an impact on the housing recovery, I honestly believe it’s more than offset by the positives we’re seeing:  buyers taking advantage of record-low mortgage rates and attractive prices, as well as a slow but steady improvement in stock portfolios, the jobs picture and the overall economy.

Overall, the long-term future of real estate is bright.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

Placer County: Auburn and Rocklin/ Lincoln and Roseville/ Granite Bay:

Sales Activity—July was good with 50 sales.  30 of these had a 3% commission and we had an average sales price of $273,217.  We were successful in closing several short sales.

Activity on bank owned properties (REO’s)  has slowed although still receiving requests for price opinions (BPO’s), but this seems to be the trend currently in this area.

Open Houses continue to see traffic with as many as 21 and the hosting agents generating good leads.

Our “floor” activity has also picked up with several calls turning into sales in the past few weeks.

Listing inventory in this office is down and it is the same with many of the offices in this area.

Closings were off for the month with several being delayed among the short sales and several appraisals coming in low.  Our biggest difference in the appraisals was one that came in $29,000 below purchase price and the appraiser used 2 active short sale listings as his comps.

Auburn:

Sales Activity—I think everybody was on vacation!! We only had 11 sales and 10 closings.  We have several closings pushed back as they are short sales.

Listings were also down with only 10 for the entire month.  The listing inventory in Auburn and surrounding areas is also down.  There were only 6 homes on tour on the MLS tour last week.

Open house activity has been very low but the turn out at these has been decent with agents generating new leads.

We are looking for a new office and the office has many different opinions on this location which is creating a unique energy in the office.

Recruiting has been going well as was noted in my comments from Rocklin/Lincoln office.  One of the agents I met with for lunch has been in the business for 25+ years and may be ready to make a change later this year.  I have also met several of the broker/owners and am building a relationship with them.  I have a couple of agents from KW that are ready to come over, but want to wait for our move.

Roseville/ Granite Bay:

Activity has been steady in the past two weeks: 24 sales, 15 listings, but not at the levels that we would like for it to be.  Although things are slow, we did end July okay for the office.  Rates are low, agents are working, but we need to get the buyers off of the fence; furthermore, dig up some listings!

The agents that are working are trying their best and are excited about opportunity- opportunity to help clients and opportunity to learn, in fact we just finished an In-house class on short sale net sheets which is very fitting for the market.

Solano County: Dixon & Vacaville/ Fairfield:

Both listing inventory and sales inventory are finally increasing and is generating much activity in open houses and prospects.

Another week of high floor calls!!  Our Solano county Escrow companies are very busy and hiring, a good sign for the market! Agents say they are getting an increasing number of calls from clients to buy and/or sell.

Vacaville- Fairfield:

The last couple of weeks our sales have been encouraging – currently our “traditional” sales are equal to the REO’s;   we have one new short sale and three new construction properties.  As always our agents have great focus, they show up every day and they are a constant source of encouragement to their clients and the community.  With the mild summer we are experiencing we hope that the buyers will continue to come out.

El Dorado County: El Dorado Hills and Placerville:

EDH: Inventory is still sketchy with just 354 active listings, 154 of which are short sales. We listed a traditional sale in the mid 500k range and agents are clamoring to get their buyers in. Multiple offers already.  Great closing month in July.

Placerville: Sales are off to a good start this month but listings are getting hard to find. All the agents are working hard to find sellers that can sell because their homes should sell quickly.

Greater Sacramento Area:

Elk Grove:

It’s up and then it’s not.  One week things move at a feverish pace and then the next week, activity goes a bit slack.  There does not seem to be rhyme or reason for the cycles- it’s bizarre.   This past week, open house traffic on one end of town was so fast and furious that the listing agent is asking other agents to attend the next time she holds the home open.  She had 33 groups through.  On the other end of town, 8 groups came through during the same time period.  Some listings that appear to be priced well aren’t selling,   while in one case a listing in Fallbrook had nine offers and sold $10,000 over asking price.  Not an REO or short sale.  There certainly is one constant in all of this for the agents.  The agents working a solid prospecting and lead follow up plan are very busy.  One agent with just five months experience has four escrows and is showing properties like crazy.

Fair Oaks:

Inventory has picked up in the past two weeks- we’ve listed approximately 10 properties. We are finding that there are serious sellers out there and are also listing reasonable with a  market driven price.

Agents are working diligently and success is really showing.  Sales have been good for the month of July!  REO’s have been slower and Short Sales are more difficult to close but we are getting the job done.

Agents in the office have been prospecting even more now. We all know that schools are starting earlier this year and should expect (although hopefully not!) a slight slow down for a few weeks.

Listings over $500,000 and over are seeing increasing activity.

Overall my agents feel confident that the market is picking up with both the sellers and buyers.

Sacramento- Sierra Oaks Office

While sales continue to show some softness, there are small signs of an increase in our business.  Listings are increasing and open house reports are showing great activity.  We are also noticing a Buyer trend of Buyers being more critical and often times backing out of transactions.  “Caution” seems to be the operative word with Buyers.  They are cautious of jumping into a transaction and also more cautious than normal in review disclosures and inspection reports.

Pricing in some of our areas are still showing a small decline, but in several areas there has been little price resistance, i.e. East Sacramento, Land Park, Wilhaggin, Arden Park and Del Dayo areas.  It is amazing sometimes how little these areas have been affected with regards to the downturn that we have been experiencing.  Meanwhile, our clients and our agents realize that we are not at the bottom of this market, but there are some signs of a turn around.

Sacramento- Metro Office:

The listing inventory is decreasing; we’ve seen an absolute stand-still for the past few months.

Open houses are steadily attended, of course better in the more desirable, core areas.   Short sales are improving and we’ve seen activity on REO’s as well.  The agents in our marketplace are all very solid, experienced agents and are focusing on how to do business on today’s market and not stuck in the ‘hot’ market.

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

The end of July finished strong with 33 sales as compared to a slower and expected start.  All in all, activity level continues to remain brisk and we are optimistic for the third quarter 2010.

For the year thus far, residential and lot sales are up 56% from the previous year and the outlook remains positive for the remainder of the year.  We continue to see advantageous sales prices, favorable interest rates and consumer confidence in our market as compared to the previous year.

The median sales price has decreased by a whopping 16% to $385,000 and the average sales price have decreased by 9% to $518,890.  With the higher than expected number of sales and lower sales prices, it points to the fact that astute buyers continue to show strong interest in Tahoe-Truckee real estate which is priced in some cases at 2001 price levels.

The hottest segment of the market is homes priced under $500,000 as roughly 67%. (494), of the sales have occurred in this segment.  Distressed properties, REO and Short Sales represent roughly 34% of the sales in the market. However, there is still considerable interest in non distressed properties as many are priced at levels that are too good to pass up.

Active Listings: The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market increased slightly from the previous week to 2,194 active listings in the market; 1,572 residential properties and 622 lots and land listed for sale.  Coldwell Banker has 14% of the active listings in the market.

Several key economic announcements out this week could bolster the nascent recovery. On Thursday, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac announced that U.S. mortgage rates have fallen to a record low. Rates for 30-year fixed loans declined this week to 4.57 percent from 4.58 percent. That is the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

While the overall level of real estate activity has eased in recent weeks with the expiration of the tax credit deadline, many economists believe that low mortgage rates will spur growth in the market by reducing borrowing costs for home buyers.  Mortgage interest rates have tumbled in the past two months as concern that a debt crisis in Europe may spread boosted demand for the safety of bonds, including mortgage-backed securities.

Meanwhile, Reuters recently reported that consumer sentiment rose in June to its highest level since January 2008 while reports of job losses were down sharply from a year ago.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s survey of consumers, a key gauge of consumer sentiment, rose to 76 from 73.6 in May. The figure was above the median forecast of 75.5 among economists polled by Reuters.  At the same time, reports of job losses fell by half since last June, from 65 percent of respondents to 29 percent, the survey showed.

“The June 2010 survey recorded the most favorable news heard by consumers about jobs in five years,” Richard Curtin, director of the surveys, said in a statement.  But he cautioned that consumers “do not anticipate significant declines in unemployment during the year ahead.”

Consumer sentiment is seen as a proxy for consumer spending, which fuels around 70 percent of the U.S. economy.  Positive consumer sentiment is particularly critical to the housing market. If buyers are more optimistic about their future, they’re more likely to take out a mortgage and buy a home.

So where does this all leave us as we look at the local housing picture? As reports from our local offices indicate, the market continues to be steady in most communities. But the recovery from last year’s recessionary lows will likely be a gradual one with its share of fits and starts along the way. Unemployment levels will play a key role in the recovery, as will the health of the stock market and the overall national economy.

While there are certainly economic challenges right now, for buyers with a long-term view, the current market provides an attractive opportunity to invest in real estate while mortgage rates are at historic lows and homes are priced very competitively.  Savvy buyers are taking advantage of this great combination of home prices and interest rates.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

El Dorado County: El Dorado Hills and Placerville:

Our markets have unexpectedly slowed down- likely due to the expiration of the tax credit in April.  Although the inventory is low, it isn’t for lack of trying; one agent has taken three listings within the last week that is a traditional listing rather than a short sale or bank-owned asset.  Additionally, our agents are opening escrows that are a direct result of Coldwell Banker’s proprietary web based consumer rapid response system- Leadrouter.  Although I can’t be sure if these leads have been incubating for sometime, or were actuated from currently available properties, both the agent and the clients have found a great partnership!

Placer County: Auburn and Rocklin/ Lincoln:

Listings are down considerably, not just with our company, but competitors as well.  This obviously doesn’t bode well for buyers, but our agents are doing all that they can!

We are also seeing appraisal issues for homes not appraising to value- in fact one came in $15,000 too low.

We’ve seen very slow open houses in Auburn, but  in Rocklin, as many as 15 solid sets along with leads- not sure rhyme or reason behind the activity!

Bank owned properties are slow but we did close several short sales during the month of June.

As far as agents are concerned, according to MLS numbers, the agent count is 1,100

Sacramento County:  Sierra Oaks:

Our market in the central Sacramento area is beginning to realize a definite positive turn.  Our activity level is quite high with more agents working on new listings and with more buyers.  Even though we are seeing more bank owned properties being listed with our agents, we are seeing a nice increase in “traditional sales and listing opportunities.”

Pricing is still very much a key in the current market.  We are seeing Sellers becoming more realistic and taking much needed price reductions to levels that are finally bringing offers and sales.  Even sales in the higher price ranges are starting to take place, and they are driven by jumbo loans being available and at great interest rates.  One of our agents was fortunate enough to quickly double-end a $1.2 million home.

While these are definitely positive signs, there continues to be a shortage of homes for sale in our market.  Short sales are still a major factor, and even though banks are claiming to be improving their processing time on short sales, we are not experiencing much of a change.  Recently, one of our top agents had a negative experience.  The Buyer of her short sale listing was purchasing with an FHA loan, and had a rate lock that was about to expire.  Even though it was getting close to closing, the file was re-assigned to another negotiator, and time extended.  Our listing agent, after being contacted by the Buyer’s mortgage broker, tried calling the bank and even resorted to asking for a supervisor who is “suppose” to be more responsive and help improve the situation.  Instead she was more difficult to work with and responded with the line that she was sorry, that she has at least 100 files ahead of them and 100 files behind, and that they will get to it when they can.  After our agent explained that this lack of responsiveness could cost the loss of the sale, she responded by saying that she was sorry, but that was the way it had to be.  Frustration in that market continues with little change.

We continue to be cautiously optimistic about the next 12 months, and feel that an overall change is beginning to happen.  The big hurdle in the way continues to be high unemployment which has lead to buyers and seller being more cautious.  Regardless, sales are there for the realistic sellers and the hard working agents.

Solano County: Dixon and Vacaville- Fairfield:

Listing Inventory is increasing while sales inventory is slow; this equals very, very busy open houses!  There is a large amount of REO, short sale, referrals. Open house traffic was good and with qualified buyers.

More homes are coming available which equals more choices for the buyers.  We are seeing a bit of a break on the sales sides.  Approximately 30% of our inventory in the Vacaville/ Fairfield market is traditional sales; and going forward, our agents are focusing on the “Move-up” buyer segment- those that have equity and that will sell.  Relocation also seems to be a trend right now.

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

For the first six months of the year, residential and lot sales are up 70% from the previous year and all indications point to continued brisk sales as we enter the summer months.  We continue to see robust sales as a result of more advantageous sales prices as compared to the previous year.

The median sales prices have decreased by 14% to $395,000 and average sales prices have decreased by 5% to $530,677.  With the higher than expected number of sales and lower sales prices, it points to the fact that astute buyers continue to show strong interest in Tahoe-Truckee real estate which is priced in some cases at 2001 price levels.

The hottest segment of the market is homes priced under $500,000 as roughly 65% of the sales have occurred in this segment.  Additionally, distressed properties, REO and Short Sales represent roughly 36% of the sales.  However, there is still considerable interest in non distressed properties as many are priced at levels that are too good to pass up.

Active Listings: The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market increased for the ninth consecutive week.  Listings increased by 4% from the previous week as more homeowners are putting their homes on the market for the summer season.  Currently there are 2,077 active listings in the market; 1,465 residential properties and 612 lots and land listed for sale.  Coldwell Banker has almost 15% of the active listings in the market.

REO-Short Sale Listings:  Of the active listings, there are 156 properties listed as short sales, (8%) and 70 properties listed as REO sales, (3%).

Months of Inventory:  Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has roughly 18-months of inventory available.  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a larger home or better location.

Sales Summary:

Total Sales 2010 Vs 2009:
For 2010, there have been 606 properties sold in the market as compared to 357 for the same period in 2009 which is a 70% increase in sales.

Of the properties sold, 128 were REOs, (21%), and 88 were Short Sales, (15%) which results in 36% of the properties sold being a distressed property.  In 2009 for the same period, there were 47 REO sales and 37 short sales or 24% total.

For the year, there have been 393 properties sold priced below $500,000, 157 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 56 properties sold over $1,000,000.

Median and Average Sales Prices 2010 Vs 2009:  The median sales price for properties sold year to date is $395,000 while the average sale price is $530,677. For the same period in 2009, the median sales price was $459,950 and the average sales price was $560,330 which is an (14%) and (5%) decline in price respectively year over year for the same period of time.

Last Week’s Sales:  For the week of June 21st a total of 29 properties sold which was highest week of sales since the middle of April.  Of the properties sold last week five (5) of the properties sold was over $750,000.

• Median sales prices of existing homes in Sacramento County and West Sacramento reached $190,000 in May, their highest level since September 2008, the Sacramento Association of Realtors announced Tuesday.
• Prices are now close to where they were in early 2002 – just before the housing boom sent values soaring.
• There were 1,720 sales in May, up 12 percent from April.
• Statistics showed the largest number of sales – 18 percent – were made at prices between $200,000 and $249,000.  Conventional sales that didn’t reflect distress accounted for 40 percent of transactions.

Also recently released was the S&P/Case Shiller indices for the first quarter, which indicated some weakening in home prices nationwide.  The National Home Price Index fell 3.2% in the first quarter of 2010, but remained above its year-earlier level.  Analysts said housing prices have rebounded from crisis lows, “but recently have seen renewed weakness as tax incentives are ending and foreclosures are climbing.”

Interestingly, Sacramento, as you saw above, is one of the anomalies.  In fact, according to DQNews.com, we’re seeing median price increases in a large majority of our communities.  In fact, Sacramento (zip code 95818) saw a 58 percent increases in its median.  Nearby Sacramento (zip code 95817) saw a 53 percent increases.  Other notable increases, North Highlands with a 26.4 percent increase, Roseville with a 35 percent increase, Homewood with a 57 percent increase and Olympic Valley with a 52 percent increase.  To see all markets, click here.

So what to make of all of this?  A couple of things: First of all, these reports are a strong reminder that real estate – like politics – is a very local business.  By all signs, the housing market recovery is slowly moving forward but the speed and degree of the rebound varies from region to region, from county to county and even from town to town.

While the S&P/Case-Shiller indices show our local region’s prices up modestly from last year’s crisis levels, many of our cities have seen even higher increases.  What’s really happening is that the mix of homes that are selling in our region is changing.  A year ago, most sales seemed to be foreclosures and other distressed properties.  Today, we’re seeing many more sales in the mid- and even upper-end of the market which is driving up median prices for the region.

So, while the improvement in the market so far this year gives us reason for optimisim, we must be mindful that we have our share of storm clouds overhead.  The federal home buyer tax credit has ended and it’s uncertain what that will mean to the market.  We won’t really know for at least three more months.  The financial markets, while greatly improved over last year, are still seeing a lot of volatility of sale.  And our unemployment rate remains stubbornly high.  Nonetheless, it’s important to remember that economic recovers are rarely smooth.  There will be potholes along the road, and lots of fits and starts.  But given all the data in recent months – and what I’m hearing from Agents and buyers out in the market – I’m cautiously optimistic that our local market is indeed on the road to recovery.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in local real estate:

Auburn:

REO/Short Sales

We have eight new Broker Price Opinions (BPO’s) that are waiting for prices in the Auburn area; including a very unique property with 10 garages on acreage and a nice house.  One agent is working with seven short sales but we are seeing actual responses in a timely manner from the lenders so it is easier than it was a year ago.  Some of the bank owned properties are priced too high for the market to bear, but current fair market value seem to sell quickly.

Sales are slow and inventory is low.  It is hard to find a property under $300,000 that is in great shape and under $200,000 is nearly impossible even going further up into the foothills.

Dixon:

Our inventory is decreasing on both the listing and the sales sides- unfortunately; and both short sales and bank owned properties are just trickling in.

Agents speculate that activity is slowing down because of the tax credit expiring.  Flip Home rules are causing some problems with FHA and VA buyers. We’re noticing a lot of short sale listings listed by out of area agents marketing short sales as ‘specialists,’ unfortunately they are not and the pricing is way off. Our agents would like to see an article in the paper or by mail explaining short sales to sellers and warning them of scammers. Our agents attended a recent short sale and foreclosure seminar and I think this will help increase our listing inventory with more short sales. Open house activity was great! One agent got four new buyers!  Agents are motivated and ready to sell!!

El Dorado County: El Dorado Hills and Placerville:

Our markets have unexpectedly slowed down- likely due to the expiration of the tax credit in April.  Although the inventory is low, it isn’t for lack of trying; one agent has taken three listings within the last week that is a traditional listing rather than a short sale or bank-owned asset.  Additionally, our agents are opening escrows that are a direct result of Coldwell Banker’s proprietary web based consumer rapid response system- LeadRouter.  Although I can’t be sure if these leads have been incubating for sometime, or were actuated from currently available properties, both the agent and the clients have found a great partnership!

Fair Oaks:

Listing inventory is picking up this month. We are seeing more traditional sellers deciding to put their homes on the market; some transferred because of job opportunities; some moving for retirement and also the move-up buyer and even downsizing.

Although unusual at this particular time, a few higher-end homes with multiple offers have gone into escrow.  One agent sold a home with multiple offers in two days on the market for all cash.

Open Houses have been strong with a lot of traffic. The nice weather has been a real asset for the past few weeks and more buyers are getting back into the market especially with interest rates staying low. Overall the traffic for Open Houses are stronger now than in the past months and even stronger than last year at this time. The agents are feeling a stronger momentum of buyers out there in the market place than a year ago.

Short Sales are going well as we are seeing closing timeframes being met in a reasonable time frame instead of sitting and waiting for answers.   Banks are getting approvals more quickly. The REO sales and listings are picking up hopefully we will see more inventory come into play in the future months.

Rocklin/Lincoln

REO/Short Sales—We have received many requests for BPO’s for new REOs.  Some of them are in good shape but we are seeing vandalism in vacant properties.  The turn around time on many of the short sales seems to have shortened and many of the negotiators with the banks are beginning to return calls more promptly.  We are seeing the junior lien holders increasing the payoff amount to release the lien and we have had some issues when the buyer offered to bring in more to escrow to close the deal but Fannie Mae guidelines are not allowing this to happen.

Sales—Sales continue but at a bit slower pace.  The prices have crept up slightly but we are also seeing more pre-approval letters from lenders that have been issued without even the credit report run.  We are emphasizing the need to have Coldwell Banker Home Loans or another direct lender take an application to find out if the buyer is for real.  We are doing more hand-holding to keep the transactions together.

Relocation-We are busy with buyers coming into the area but they are still shocked by our prices and they are often given information such as “to make an offer on an REO at 50% of list price”.  We are seeing some rentals and relocation as set up a program where an agent can get compensated for spending a couple of days with a transferee looking at rentals.

Multiple offers-Most REOs and some short sales, if priced right and in fair condition are still receiving multiple offers.  One of the last ones in our office received 14 offers.

New home sales are being aggressive with incentives for the buyer as well as a full commission plus for the selling agent.

Roseville- Granite Bay

Listing inventory is picking up –short sales- the sales are decreasing which is typical of June week with graduations and first vacations. Sales for the three counties were very strong in May as a whole and helped move up the medium prices in Sacramento to $190,000—highest level since September 2002.

REOs and short sales made up 60% of the sales. Our office had seven open homes that were slower this weekend. We have another agent to add to our team and look forward to a good summer as the market grabs traction.

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

Residential and lot sales are up 79% from the previous year and all indications point to continued brisk sales as we enter the summer months.  We continue to see robust sales as a result of more advantageous sales prices as compared to the previous year.

The median sales prices have decreased by 12% to $400,000 and average sales prices have decreased by 7% to $540,206.  With the higher than expected number of sales and lower sales prices, it points to the fact that astute buyers continue to show strong interest in Tahoe-Truckee real estate which is priced in some cases at 2001 price levels.

The hottest segment of the market is homes priced under $500,000 as roughly 65% of the sales have occurred in this segment.  Additionally, distressed properties, REO and Short Sales represent roughly 36% of the sales.  However, there is still considerable interest in non distressed properties as many are priced at levels that are too good to pass up.

The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market increased for the sixth consecutive week.  Listings increased by 3% from the previous week as more homeowners are putting their homes on the market for the summer season.  Currently there are 1,942 active listings in the market; 1,366 residential properties and 576 lots and land listed for sale.  Coldwell Banker has roughly 15% of the active listings in the market.

REO-Short Sale Listings:  Of the active listings, there are 146 properties listed as short sales, (8%) and 72 properties listed as REO sales, (4%).

For 2010, there have been 532 properties sold in the market as compared to 297 for the same period in 2009 which is a 79% increase in sales.

Of the properties sold, 117 were REOs, (22%), and 74 were Short Sales, (14%) which results in 36% of the properties sold being a distressed property.  In 2009 for the same period, there were 36 REO sales and 30 short sales or 22% total.

The median sales price for properties sold year to date is $400,000 while the average sale price is $540,206.  For the same period in 2009, the median sales price was $453,000 and the average sales price was $578,451 which is an (12%) and (7%) decline in price respectively year over year for the same period of time.

Pending sales went up slightly from the previous week to 176 properties.  Tahoe-Truckee Median Sales Prices of $400,000 Have Not Been Seen Since 2000-2001!

“Spring is typically the season when people shop for houses. Many families like to complete their home purchase by the end of the summer so as to not uproot their children during the school year. And let’s face it: houses just look more enticing when flowers are out. But the real estate bust and economic downturn have made the past few housing hunting seasons rather slow. Some buyers have waited on the sidelines hoping prices had further to drop.

This year looks to be different. Already, falling interest rates, an improving economy and a last bit of economic stimulus are helping the housing market stage a revival. In April alone, sales of existing homes jumped 23% from a year ago, according to the trade organization National Association of Realtors. Sales of new homes rose even faster, up 48% from a year ago. What’s more, a growing number of economists believe the three-year plunge in housing prices is at an end.

“Units, volume and sales price are up on all fronts,” says real estate broker Todd Hetherington, who is based in Alexandria, Va. “Houses that are priced well are getting multiple offers in the first week.”

For now, though, housing prices, like everything else, remain rocky. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller nationwide index, home prices fell 3.2% in the first quarter of 2010, down from the already low levels where they stood at the end of 2009. And home prices may stay down for a little longer. The continued recent slide in the stock market is hurting consumer confidence and likely to make some people pause before buying a house. Foreclosures aren’t helping the housing market either. The government’s home-loan-modification programs have helped keep a relatively small amount of home owners out of foreclosure. But more repossessed homes are now starting to land on the market, driving up the number of houses for sale and holding down prices. In addition, some economists are concerned that the expiration of an $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers, which essentially ended in April, will hurt home sales. Indeed, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week mortgage applications for new home purchases fell to the lowest level since 1997. Lastly, mortgage credit remains tight, making it hard for some prospective home buyers to qualify for a loan.

“We think the tax credit has dragged a lot of house sales forward, and we think we are going to pay for it,” says Jay Brinkmann, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. He expects home sales to drop 5% in the fall of 2010.

Nonetheless, a growing number of economists believe this spring could end up being the start of a sustained rebound in the housing market. The biggest driver of that rebound will likely be interest rates. Though rates were expected to rise this summer, the continuing problems in Europe are driving down rates in the U.S., which is still seen as a safe haven for investors. The result is that mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest point in a year and are expected to continue to drop through the summer. In general, for every percentage-point decline in mortgage rates, houses effectively become 10% cheaper.”

The last paragraph speaks for itself.  We are definitely seeing some strong signs of rebound in the market and the remaining Spring weeks and Summer months should be quite telling.  We’re fortunate in that interest rates remain low and thanks to that, buyers can simply afford more house and that fact is helping drive much of our market.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

Auburn

Inventory: Bank owned properties is low compared to last year.  We are still doing the Broker Price Opinions on them but they are slow to convert to listings.  We are seeing short sales approved at a moderate level – two within the past week.  “Traditional” listings are staying at the same level, although we are seeing some price reductions.

May is a bit of a slower start than April, but we’re sure to see that pick up with the weather.  Agents are realizing that the work to get an offer accepted is frustrating on their end as well as for the buyers.

Very slow open houses with little activity.  Appraisals seem to be at or above purchase price, but we have so little inventory that buyers are not very happy.  There seems to be a definite slow down over April.  The report from the MLS stated that in the Sacramento region, 72% of the listings are either short sale or REO.

El Dorado Hills:

The foothills market continues to make a slow recovery. Prices are stable in the low-to-mid range but are still very soft in the upper end. Inventory has decreased nearly 5% with over 30% of that are short sales; additionally 70% of the short sales are sold contingent. Bank owned properties apprise less than 10% of the active inventory. On the buying side, we’ve had two Leadrouter- Coldwell Banker’s proprietary website consumer rapid response system- sales in the past week. One had been incubating for over a year and one was only two weeks old. Those prices range from mid $250’s to over $800,000.  Inventory remains low. Short sale listings still dominate the market but we’re seeing some improvement in the short sale acceptance process. Sellers who’ve been waiting for the market to improve are beginning to come back into the market.

Elk Grove

Our inventory is holding steady on the listing side, and is increasing on the sales side- if there is a nice home available, it’s likely that one of our agents’ has a buyer for it!  We’ve held eight homes open this period.  Open house traffic is strong.  Buyers are very active and are content that prices are great.  We are continuing to represent a majority of the market, however, regular sales are continuing to grow.

While we have yet to see dramatic jumps in average sales prices, we are seeing more activity in the mid and higher end.  The frustration level for many first time buyers remains high.  With that said, optimism is higher.  There is a sense, although fragile at times that the best is ahead.  The agents that continue to develop their skills, aim high and work their plan are succeeding.

Fair Oaks

Listing inventory has been picking up finally. It seems like we are getting more short sales and traditional sellers.  Sales Inventory is selling as always quickly if they are priced right. We are still having problems with properties appraising.  Multiple offers are still dominant in our office. The agents working with buyers are still getting rejected even with their offers being higher.

We had ten homes open last weekend and five during the week – evening showings called “twiglights.” Open Houses havebeen a great lead generation for my agents working with new buyers and even getting listing appointments from neighbors and other sources.

Folsom

Listing inventory is increasing – not a bad activity period for our area- average sales price is around the $400,000 range. The good news is that they were all traditional listings as opposed to short sales or REOs.  The open houses are slim and are lightly attended.  Our office did see increased activity on properties priced over the $750,000 price point; in fact over $1,000,000- the buyers are out there!

The local real estate market is changing and gaining some strength- good news!

Metro:

The Metro office is situated right in the heart of Sacramento and is seeing steady inventory on both the listing and sales side, with a moderate number of multiple offer situations.  The weather has been spotty and with Mother’s Day just passing, the open houses have not been widely attended with the exception of those very desirable homes in the core areas.   Short sale activity continues to increase.  Every home that is in good condition and priced correctly in our local market place is selling. Every transaction takes twice the amount of work to close!

Placerville:

April was a great month for sales in Placerville so we’re busy closing those escrows. We’ve put together two HUD transactions in the last two weeks and we’re finally getting used to that process.  Inventory remains low and showing activity on our listings has improved considerably. We’re seeing more second home and retirement clients and are having to deal with the short sale market.

Rocklin/Lincoln

Rocklin has seen a handful of new bank owned activity in new listings and increased buyer activity.  Hopefully we will see more of these listings within the next month or so.  Pricing is good as well.  Short sales approval is encouraging; lenders are proactive and seem to respond quicker.  We are having less ancellations due to appraisal issues; but more and more multiple offers on properties. REO activity it slow, but we are seeing several short sales being approved in a shorter period of time and with less stress.  We have received a number of BPO requests from asset managers that will hopefully lead to listings.

Although we’ve not held many homes open during this reporting period, those that are open are quite well attended; one of the open houses led to a solid lead.  Many of the agents that regularly hold open houses were busy with buyers.

Agents are very positive that the market is changing for the better!

Roseville- Granite Bay

The listing inventory is steady; sales for the last two weeks were a little slower than expected—nine houses held open last weekend and traffic was mixed. Short sale activity is still the strong suit and approvals are happening,  but never fast enough for buyers and agents. We are still in a very frustrating market with changes the norm. The agents are working hard and will continue to make sales throughout the summer season with better questions to clients and listing agents making for more sales.

Sierra Oaks

Our market continues to show signs of recovery, albeit slowly.  Our overriding problem continues to be the lack of listings.  Properties in our area are selling at a brisk pace, but PRICE continues to be the key driver of the sales.  As always, sales are a product of price, condition, and location, but PRICE is by far the key.  We are also starting to see more of our higher priced listings selling at a faster pace Also, agents are still expressing frustration at how long it is still taking to get short approval or response from banks. This in spite of their claim, we are still seeing it take short sale approval of up to 4 or even 6 months.

Buyer activity, and especially at open houses, continues to be very brisk.  While job security is a factor that keeps some buyers from action, low interest rates have helped a great deal in making it easier for buyers to purchase the house of their dreams.  In a recent office survey that we conducted, almost all of our agents expressed very strong traffic.  Most agents reported on average of about 8 to 10 visitors to their open houses, but we did have one agent who had “60” at her open house, and several had over 20 at their open houses.  Again, the problem is not the lack of buyers or over abundance of inventory.  It is most definitely the shortage of properties, and/or properties that are priced well.  Our office will end the month of May with solid and commendable activity!

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

This past week the Tahoe-Truckee area experienced some winter weather which may have been the reason for a slower sales week where only 17 properties sold for the week.  That being said, there continues to be a great deal of activity brewing and continued buyer interest in our market.

With residential and lot sales up 78% from the previous year, it points to the fact that astute buyers continue to show strong interested in investing in Tahoe-Truckee real estate which is priced in some cases at 2001 price levels.

One of the key reasons for the spike in unit sales is highly influenced by the drop in home prices.  The median sales prices have decreased by 11% to $400,000 and average sales prices have decreased by 9% to $526,586.

We continue to see a greater percentage of sales in the REO and Short Sale arena as roughly 37% of our sales are either REO’s or Short Sales.  However, there is still considerable interest in non distressed properties as many are priced at levels that are too good to pass up.

We are continuing to see the trend for sales towards homes priced under $500,000 with 64% of the sales this year being in this price range.

Active Listings: The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market increased 3.5% from the previous week as more homeowners are putting their homes on the market for the summer season.  Currently there are 1,817 active listings in the market; 1,255 residential properties and 561 lots and land listed for sale.  Coldwell Banker has over 15% of the listings in the market.

REO-Short Sale Listings:  Of the active listings, there are 149 properties listed as short sales, (8%) and 58 properties listed as REO sales, (3%).

Months of Inventory:  Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has roughly 16-months of inventory available.  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a bigger home or better location.

Vacaville:

Vacaville is humming along nicely.  Our agents are energized and busy!  One of our agents held an Open House this weekend with our Mortgage Advisor, they had over 100 people come through!  Current Inventory in Vacaville:  386 Active, 30 Pending and 25 Sold (May 17^th – May 26, 2010).

Finally, I’d like to say, enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.  The unofficial start of summer is almost upon us.  All across the country, pools will be opened and the smell of cookouts will fill the air.  However, it’s not just another three-day weekend.  Memorial Day is a day intended to commemorate all U.S. men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice while in the military service, a tradition our country has observed since 1868.

Enjoy your family and your time this weekend and let’s all pay our respects to the men and women who have made our country and freedom possible.

Bob Bronswick

As a result, many sellers have told our Agents that they’d like to find a way to extend the benefits of the tax credit to keep the market vibrant and help their sale.

The Buyer Bonus event encourages buyers to stay in the market, while appealing to those who did not qualify for the federal tax credit.

It will also enable sellers to differentiate their homes from others on the market with national marketing support.  We are confident this program will benefit our sellers tremendously and we’re truly excited about its launch.

Now on to a look at the national market.  It is increasingly apparent from recent Case-Shiller reports that home prices are stabilizing in many markets, which signals a much healthier outlook for housing. Both the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Fannie Mae remain directionally positive in their full-year forecasts for 2010 and 2011. On a combined sides and price basis, Fannie Mae expects 2010 to be up 5% from the prior year, and the NAR forecast calls for a 10% improvement over 2009. By the same combined measure, Fannie Mae expects 2011 to bring a 9% volume increase and NAR estimates an 8% year-over-year volume increase from 2010.

While these third-party forecasts point to a recovery in housing, we think the best yardstick of where we are in the process will become more apparent later in the year as we gain some perspective on how the existing home sale market is behaving absent the impact of the homebuyer tax credits. Generally speaking, we believe that the material declines in the average sales price are over and modest increases should now be the expectation, and our market outlook is more optimistic than it has been in the past four years.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in Sacramento/Tahoe real estate.

Auburn

We continue to write many contracts and the number of accepted offers continues to rise in the price range of $200,000-$500,000.  The buyers are coming from the Bay Area as well as the higher foothills as many want to be closer to town.  No new issues with appraisals during this period.  Areas such as Todd Valley continue to see only a fraction of the change in price compared to other areas closer to Sacramento.

Listings are scarce.  Past clients are talking of listing their homes, but are holding off to see if there is better news when Spring finally gets here.  (We are still seeing snow in many of the foothill areas!)

Bank owned properties (REO’s) are also very slow, but we are still getting many requests for Broker Price Opinions (BPO’s) but the agents are not told the reason for these.

There have not been many open houses due to the weather and the shortage of listings.  The couple of open houses have produced some new prospects.  We will see if the upcoming Buyer Bonus program will generate some new interests and/or get some of the clients off the fence.

Prices are staying about the same and we continue to see more short sales.  The upside to this is that the lenders seem to finally get it and we are closing in a much shorter time frame.

It was announced this morning at the Auburn MLS, that there is a new 100% loan to be introduced within the next 30 days.

El Dorado Hills:

Inventory remains low and buyers are still picky. Sales activity was a bit slower this month but open house activity is brisk.

Elk Grove

Elk Grove is hopping!  We’ve worked on 22 transactions alone this week- the market is crazy in a good way.  Lots of buyers just not many good listings for those buyers.

Placerville:

Inventory is still low but buyer activity is brisk. Short sales continue to increase in this part of El Dorado County but REO inventory has not

Rocklin/Lincoln

Sales continue to be strong but we have many multiple offers- very discouraging for agents and prospective buyers.  Agents are still writing over a dozen offers before their client has an accepted contract.  Also, we are seeing an increased number of agents from other companies that do not know or follow the contract and are issuing more notices to perform.

Listings are few and far between, but when priced right are sold quickly and we are starting to see a few more listings that aren’t REOs or short sales.  We have received approval for one with the new program being offered to the military when they are being transferred and are in a short sale situation.  Short sales are still dominating this market but we are getting them closed.  A number of other companies are still using negotiators who seem to get in the way more than help and charge the buyers as much as $1500.

REOs and BPOs are slow but even at $600,000 we get numerous calls and even offers before even being on the MLS.  It appears we will see more FHA/HUD REOs later this year.

Open houses are doing very well.  Last weekend we had several open houses with more than 18 groups and they all now have new qualified clients to work with in various areas. The buyers are coming from the Bay area as well as locally.  We are seeing more agents asking to hold other agents listings open as a source of lead generation.

We continue to see a higher number of cancellations with the number one reason being financing.  There are a number of lenders issuing letters for clients that will not qualify and yet they keep requesting more information to keep them hanging on.

Roseville- Granite Bay

The listings were slower this week, but sales continue to be increasing. Our area continues to move forward as we work off the inventory. The agents are in full press work habits and the results are starting to show. There are a lot of open homes for this coming weekend and traffic last week was excellent according to the agents. We are still looking for OPPORTUNITIES every day!

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

Active Listings: The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee increased slightly from the previous week.  Currently there are 1,638 active listings – 1,120 residential properties and 518 lots and land listed for sale.

Active REO-Short Sale Listings:  Of the active listings, there are 152 properties listed as short sales, (9%) and 55 properties listed as REO sales, (3%).

Months of Inventory:  Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has a little over 11-months of inventory available.  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a bigger home or better location in the Tahoe-Truckee market.

Sales Summary:

Total Sales 2010 Vs 2009:

For 2010, year to date (YTD), there have been 376 properties sold in the market as compared to 200 for the same period in 2009 which is an 88% increase in sales.

Of the properties sold, 90 were REO’s, (24%), and 56 were Short Sales, (15%) which results in 39% of the properties sold being a short sales or REO.  In 2009 for the same period, there were 25 REO sales and 20 short sales or 23% total.

For 2010, there have been 237 properties sold priced below $500,000, 106 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 33 properties sold over $1,000,000.

Median and Average Sales Prices 2010 Vs 2009:  The median sales price for properties sold year to date in 2010 is $400,000 while the average sale price is $514,844.  For the same period in 2009, the median sales price was $436,250 and the average sales price was $579,706 which is an (8%) and (11%) decline in price respectively year over year for the same period of time.

Last Week’s Sales:  For the week of April 19th to 25th, a total of 25 properties sold which is consistent for the three previous weeks.  Of the properties sold last week three (3) were sold with a price over $750,000.

Pending Sales:  Pending sales have increased from the previous week to 180 properties.

Market Activity Summary:

What do you say when home sales are up 88% year over year for the same period except that savvy buyers are interested in investing in Tahoe-Truckee real estate that is priced right  and that the inventory of good homes to choose from is meeting their needs.

The month of April has been outstanding with over 126 properties sold so far this month and we still have another week.  April has been the largest sales month of the year and all indications are that this last week will be equally strong.

One of the key reasons for the spike in unit sales is likely due to the fact that median and average sales prices for properties have gone down as compared to the 2009 prices for the same period.  Median sales prices have decreased by 8% to $400,000 and average sales prices have decreased by 11% to $514,844.  It certainly stands to reason that continued favorable pricing is fueling the robust sales activity.

We are continuing to see the trend for sales towards homes priced under $500,000 with 63% of the sales this year being in this price range.  REO and Short sales are occurring at a much greater rate this year than last year as roughly 38% of our sales are either REO or short sales.  Within the under $500,000 price segment of the market we are often seeing multiple offer situations occur routinely.

We continue to see solid activity in the market as buyers are very interested in taking advantage of our large inventory of properties that are priced at 2003 levels.

• Unemployment numbers were flat nationally, yet nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in March.
• At last count, well over 1.4 million buyers had taken advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit.
• Consumer confidence is on the rise with the latest numbers showing that the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 52.5, up from 46.4 in February.
• We’re seeing a lot more buyer activity as we approach the expiration of the first time home buyer and existing home owner tax credit.
• Sac/Tahoe home prices are on the rise in many markets.
• Home foreclosures are accelerating—and many more people are losing their homes.  Foreclosure filings in March totaled 367,056, jumping nearly 19% from February and up almost 8% from March 2009, according to RealtyTrac.
• According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. is currently in position to sell 4.68 million homes this year.  That would put 2009 within the top 5% of home sold in U.S. history.  Although many people are purchasing distressed properties in foreclosure or short sales, there are also a large number of purchases made on non-distressed property sales.  The market is indicating that we may have reached the bottom.

I know what you’re thinking.  It’s hard to make heads or tails of the housing market.  You’re right.  Consumer confidence is up, unemployment is flat but new jobs are on the rise, home prices are increasing yet foreclosures are accelerating.  So what do we make of it?

My advice?  Stop trying to make anything of the influx of reports that are coming out (almost) on a daily basis.  It’s too difficult and confusing.  There are three essential principles we can count on for the future:

1. Inflation leads to higher interest rates
2. Houses are selling in high quantities
3. If you’re a seller, it may be time to cut your price and be decisive.  If you’re a buyer, it may be time to purchase or miss out on the opportunity.

For buyers, don’t make the mistake of waiting for everyone else to make a move before you feel comfortable making a purchase.  Many people have made a purchasing decision already, and we never know what the bottom of the market is until it has passed.  Here’s one thing you can take to the bank, however:  higher interest rates are the equivalent of a price increase and interest rates are slowly inching up.  When inflation hits, it will be too late, so try to take advantage of this window of opportunity while it’s still here.

Sellers, sell only if you’re serious about selling.  If you are serious about selling your property, adjust your price to where the market is moving, consider taking your lumps and move on or you may be waiting a long time.  Also, if you want to take advantage of the buyer pool that is available now through the end of the month with the home buyer tax credit, try to get your home on the market now.  Remember, the credit expires at the end of this month.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate.

Auburn

Sales activity in Auburn continues to be strong, but inventory is low and we have cash buyers that have not been able to buy in their $350,000 price range due to the shortage of inventory.  We are seeing multiple offers.  Although the office closed a land transaction, ultimately land sales are down.  We continue to see short sales dominating the market.

We had a few open houses, and we had as many as 15 groups in one of the homes.  There were a few new leads and most said they found the open house through the internet although we are running an open house ad a couple of times a month in a local newspaper for visibility.

REO’s (bank owned homes) are very few, although the REO agents are getting many requests for BPO’s (broker price opinions).

Elk Grove

The challenge in assessing the market conditions sometimes is that it is all relative.  As we end the first quarter of 2010, a quick peek at March 2009 to see how March 2010 stacked up by comparison shows that 2010 closed units were up over 10% with average sales price increasing by nearly 6%.  We have also seen an increase in the percentage of “normal” sales.  REO and Short sales combined dropped nearly 20%.

For buyers, the challenges still remain…inventory continues to be low and first time buyers with low down payments are having challenges securing properties.

As has been the theme for some time, agents who work a solid plan are closing deals.  A 23-year veteran decided to get “serious” about cultivating her database and like magic, eight calls in and a buyer surfaces.  There truly is nothing new under the sun…hard work pays off.

Fair Oaks

An interesting note about sales: properties that have been sitting on the market for a while have all of a sudden started receiving offers and interest from buyers and other agents.

Multiple offers are the norm; even the short sales actually having more and more offers go into back-up position (offers awaiting acceptance if the current offer falls out.)

Open home traffic continues to be very good  and the agents are definitely picking up clients at these opens.

As long as agents are continually prospecting and being in front of people, they are seeing business.

Sacramento Metro

Both listing and sales inventory are up for this reporting period;   and short sale activity continues to increase.  Activity in our core areas continues to pick up; our office has all price points from the low $100’s to Previews luxury properties. We continue to be the #1 office in The East Sacramento, Land Park, South Land Park, Midtown Pocket area.

Rocklin/Lincoln

Sales are good but listings are very low.  The majority of the listings are short sales.

We learned this week that Wells Fargo reps will go on a listing appointment with an agent to see if it is a viable short sale but only on Wells Fargo portfolio loans with the goal to close in 45 days or less.

We had about 10 open houses and again there were some very good leads.

REO listings have slowed down drastically.  We have had a class on HUD/FHA REO’s and purchasing a HUD home as there seem to be a few more of these in our inventory and the predictions are that this may grow in the near future.

Roseville- Granite Bay

Listing inventory and sales are both steady.  The agents held open a total of eight homes this past weekend with moderate traffic of 3-14 groups.  The high end is showing life with some CASH buyers. The Short Sales still rule the overall market with REO’s falling off from previous levels. Interest in Real Estate never stops and the spring will continue on the positive side.  Keep looking for OPPORTUNITIES.

Sierra Oaks

The office is experiencing a nice “up-tick” in both listings and sales.  Our goal has been to produce monthly sales in the area of 100, with matching listings and although we haven’t exactly met that goal, March reached 85 homes with listings at 67 homes.  Low inventory in our market has been a major factor in holding back a recovery.  With banks turning to short sales and loan modifications for the solution, they are finally starting to release inventory to our agents to market, i.e. REO property.  While this is not the main reason for an increase in both listings and sales, it certainly has helped.  While we are happy about this gradual change, we are especially glad to see the strong return of the “traditional listings/seller”.  Over half of our new listings we obtained were from the traditional Sellers.  This means product that shows better, is easier to negotiate, has fewer technical obstacles, and sells/closes much faster.

Buyer traffic has definitely picked up as well.  Our agents are reporting excellent traffic even on bad weather days.  Our floor agent(s) are also getting a lot of phone calls, and even occasional walk-in traffic. We are even noticing quite a bit of activity on our higher end listings.  We know that we are not at the end of this down cycle, but at least the downward slide seems to be coming to an end.  Multiple offers are becoming more of an occurrence.  In fact, I just attended a seminar with the guest speaker being Jeff Davi, Commissioner for the California Dept. of Real Estate.  He shared several bits of information.  One of them is that 50% of the transactions over the past several months have had “multiple offers” which should ultimately help stabilize our prices and maybe even start pushing some of them back up.  Also, that the median prices of properties throughout all of California have risen in 10 of the past 12 months.

Our office understands that over the next 2 to 3 years we could be in for some recovery, and that we must have more listings to see that happen.  To that end, we have embarked on a strong campaign to push up our listing inventory, encourage potential Sellers to take advantage of this time by selling and purchasing at the today’s market lower price level.

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

The month of April is off to a great start and indications suggest it will be the best sales month of the New Year.  Overall, unit sales activity continues to be very encouraging as total sales are up a whopping 81% from the same time last year which is a positive indication that buyers are interested in investing in Lake Tahoe-Truckee properties.

One of the key reasons for the spike in unit sales is likely due to the fact that median and average sales prices for properties have gone down as compared to the 2009 prices for the same period.  Median sales prices have decreased by 12% to $405,000 and average sales prices have decreased by 15% to $511,987.  It certainly stands to reason that continued favorable pricing is fueling the robust sales activity.

We are continuing to see the trend for sales towards homes priced under $500,000 with 63% of the sales this year being in this price range.  REO and Short sales are occurring at a much greater rate this year than last year as roughly 38% of our sales are either REO or short sales.  Within the under $500,000 price segment of the market we are often seeing multiple offer situations occur routinely.

We continue to see solid activity in the market as buyers are very interested in taking advantage of our large inventory of properties that are priced at 2003 levels.

The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee remained relatively flat from the previous week.  Currently there are 1,612 active listings – 1,101 residential properties and 511 lots and land listed for sale.

For 2010, year to date (YTD), there have been 315 properties sold in the market as compared to 174 for the same period in 2009 which is an 81% increase in sales.

For the week of April 5th – 11th, a total of 25 properties sold which is above the weekly average for the year.  Of the properties sold last week seven (7) were sold with a price over $750,000.  Coldwell Banker was involved in 10 of the 50 sales sides closed or 20% of the sales.

Within a few days, Data Quick released its Sacramento Bee report.  The report revealed dozens of median home price increases in some of our key markets including nearly 13% in Citrus Heights, 19% in Fair Oaks, 33% in North Highlands, 40% in Sacramento (zip 95815), 4% in Lincoln and a remarkable 169% in Homewood.

What is promising about Data Quick’s report is that it showcases we’re on the road to recovery.  Locally, the Sacramento/Tahoe market is seeing some of the nation’s biggest gains and we seem to be making some great strides from month to month.  Of course we’re probably not out of the woods yet.  There is still fear of a double dip recession and with unemployment figures (though improved) still staggering, it does make home purchases a challenge for some.  But the signs are encouraging and our local housing market is showing signs of life.

One final note.  As of the writing of this piece, we have just 29 days and counting until the first time home buyer and existing home buyer tax credit expires.  If you are planning to act, now truly is the time.

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

Auburn

Auburn is having another great month with 28 sales.   Listings have also picked up some and sellers are closer to the market on their pricing.

The open house activity with our three open houses last week varied up to seven groups, but one of these is making an offer on the home that was open.  We will be having a larger group of homes the weekend following Easter.  One of the agents noted that the people that visited her open house came from the OpenHouse.com and they even had the printed copy of this sheet.

Dixon-Davis

The listing inventory and sales inventory for our area are both increasing- this is the second time that we’ve been able to report that this month-  good news but still waiting on all the vacant Bank owned properties to hit the market.!  Short sales are very common, and take a lot of time which adds to the frustration level for both the agent and the client- ultimately when the sale goes through we have happy people all around!  Agents are very busy trying to find homes for their many Buyers.  Appraisals are challenging, agents are trying to get local appraisers.

El Dorado Hills

We’ve had great sales activity this month and have closed several short sales. Our sales prices are ranging from well under $100,000 to nearly 2 million. Short sales seem to be closing better also. The listings have been brisk too.

Fair Oaks

Listing inventory in the Sacramento- Fair Oaks office has picked up this past week and surprisingly it is from traditional sales, not bank owned or short sales.  It would be safe to say that these listings, if priced correctly, will sell quickly.

Our sales inventory is selling rapidly with a lot of multiple offers and homes going over the list price.- some as much as $20,000 over and are even getting the appraisal to match.

We are also still dealing with multiple offers and are seemingly writing more but our agents are getting ‘smarter’ and are writing them so that a majority of our buyers’ offers are accepted.\

Open Houses have been real strong this month. Agents are picking up a lot of buyers and are also attracting neighbors as potential sellers.  The traffic has been very good with some homes held open as much as 40 possible prospects coming through. Hopefully with the spring time weather coming soon will bring many more buyers coming through. Our agents are very positive about the results and seeing the next few months to be much stronger.

We are seeing more bank owned (REO) assignments and listing properties. The drip system has been increasing steadily. Hopefully we get a huge wave in the next couple of months.  The Short Sales are very steady and is a large portion of our sales and inventory.

Folsom

The past few weeks have been amazing here in Folsom; March ended with one of the better listing months that we have had in awhile and we are likely to hit all of our office goals for the month too!  Not a lot of high end activity- most of our listings and sales are in the $400,000 range.  Our newer agents are doing really well by utilizing their contact database and asking for the business.  Open house activity was average but the buyers are definitely out there; what is listed sells fast.

Sacramento Metro

The last couple of weeks of March have been very good in our local market place. We have had a great month with great listing inventory in East Sac, Land Park & South Land Park. Sales activity has been great and the office had over 100 sales. We also welcomed a great agent to our office that specializes in East Sacramento -Janet Gatejen- and are so excited to have her as part of the Coldwell Banker family!

Placerville

Sales activity has been slow this month but we’ve been able to list quite a few good, saleable “regular” properties. Inventory is still low so we’re hoping our new listings will really bring in the calls.

Rocklin/Lincoln

The agents are busy and sales are up even though the inventory remains low.  Listings are still low and we do not have many new REO’s at this point.    Our open houses saw as many as 15+ groups and many new leads from them.

We had a few multiple offers this week and we are seeing offers above list price but may not appraise.  We are seeing more addenda stating the buyer has the funds to purchase the property even if appraises for less than the offer price.  We are also seeing another addendum that states that the house was a foreclosed property and that the seller wants to limit his liability and buyer cannot sue for more than $10,000, etc.

We learned something interesting from a class on HUD REO’s at given at the Sacramento Association of Realtors:  more than 50% of current homes are being purchased with FHA loans.  It was reported that there are aver 25,000 homes in Sacramento county that are in the foreclosure process and it appears we are seeing more HUD REO’s than we have seen in a long time.  It’s unfortunate that so many people are going to lose their home, but we know that there are willing and able buyers out there to put a family back into them.

Roseville- Granite Bay:

Listings are steady;  sales are showing a nice increase as we thought would happen once Spring has sprung!  The amount of sales in the last two weeks has our agents excited and there are lots of cash buyers who don’t want to miss out on great buys! Open houses were stronger with the sun out and spring buyers on the prowl. All agents need to be at open houses during these times. There are lots of short sale offers out and this will continue throughout the year. We did pick up several higher end listings and we have out offers on some very nice ones!!

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

Sales activity continues to be very encouraging as total sales are up 73% from the same time last year which is a positive indication that buyers are interested in investing in Lake Tahoe-Truckee properties.

As we have been expecting, the median and average sales prices for properties has gone down as compared to the 2009 prices for the same period.  Median sales price has decreased by 13% and the average sales price has decreased by 11%.  It certainly stands to reason that continued favorable pricing is fueling the robust sales activity.

We are continuing to see the trend for sales towards homes priced under $500,000 with 64% of the sales this year being in this price range.  REO and Short sales are happening at a much greater rate this year than last year for the same period.  In this segment of the market we are often seeing multiple offer situations occur routinely.

We continue to see solid activity in the market as buyers are very interested in taking advantage of our large inventory of properties that are priced at 2003 levels.

The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market went up slightly from the previous week.  Of the active listings, there are 158 properties listed as short sales, (10%) and 57 properties listed as REO sales, (4%).  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a bigger home or better location in the Tahoe-Truckee market.

For 2010, year to date (YTD), there have been 223 properties sold in the market as compared to 129 for the same period in 2009 which is a 73% increase in sales.  Of the properties sold, 59 were REO’s, (26%), and 24 were Short Sales, (11%) which results in 37% of the properties sold being a short sales or REO.  In 2009 for the same period, there were 14 REO sales and 11 short sales or 20% total.  For 2010, there have been 142 properties sold priced below $500,000, 60 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 21 properties sold over $1,000,000.

The median sales price for properties sold year to date in 2010 is $405,000 while the average sale price is $520,944.

With the sun shining and spring in bloom, it’s hard to imagine that things haven’t always looked this rosy.  But, oh what a winter we’ve had!  The rainy (and snowy in some markets) weather seemed to be a constant in Sac/Tahoe over the past few months as the housing market decided in which direction it wanted to go.

Well, it may still be deciding, but the good news for Sacramento-Tahoe is that the usual flurry of spring activity is back, and actually back a little early.  We’re seeing a lot of buyers out there kicking the tires and poking around, but with a little more reserve and caution.  The lack of inventory in some markets isn’t helping.  They are waiting for their ideal house and, in some cases, what they are seeing may not be doing the trick.

While sellers are not giving their properties away, in many cases they are succumbing to buyer’s demands and reducing their offer prices (especially if they’ve been lingering on the market).  We are hoping to reach that happy medium point where sellers are more realistic about their prices and buyers are recognizing the deals.  What doesn’t work is when the sellers refuse to reduce to the market price, and when buyers try to get sellers to sell way below market price – this is not a time to be greedy.  That only results in one party getting angry and walking away from the deal.

So, for us in the real estate world, this spring is about finding that happy medium.  Working with our buyers and sellers so that everyone is getting what they want.  The deals may be a little more involved than they have in the past, but at the end of the day if we can get people into or out of their home with a smile on their face, we will have done our job!

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

Auburn

Auburn area Coldwell Banker Agents are very busy again this month thus we are off to a very good start for March.  We are seeing our business originate from floor time walk-ins and/or calls, referrals, repeat clients and agent marketing from American Life Style and the virtual postcards in myREcafe.com.

Listings have picked up slightly.  One of the Previews upper-end listings was on the market for about a week and received an acceptable offer and another new Previews-type listing is receiving showing calls.  Lack of inventory remains to be the major problem; homes currently available have either been on the market for awhile, is over-priced or in need of much repair and will only sell to a cash buyer.  With that said, multiple offers are still common – one particular property had 14!

Open house activity has picked up a little but the few agents that have held open houses are getting leads.  Now that the weather appears to be a bit more sunny, more of the agents say they are going to make this part of their plan.

Dixon-Davis

The listing inventory and sales inventory-much of which is short sale transactions- for our area are both increasing- hope this is the start of something good!  Despite the increase, all listings are getting multiple offers.

Our open home traffic is very busy and the Agents see a lot of traffic; one even got a listing appointment!

El Dorado Hills

The high end seems to be heating up a bit and currently have several transactions between one and two million dollars. There’s still some money out there! Inventory is still light and well priced homes are getting offers fairly quickly. Open houses seem to be well attended.

Fair Oaks

Inventory over last two weeks has been slow; what is on the market sells – QUICKLY!  Agents have been working hard getting listings. We are seeing a few more short sales coming onto the market. Agents working with buyers are having problems getting offers accepted due multiple offers on properties.

We had about 12 homes held open the past two weeks. The weather this past weekend was good and it brought out a lot of buyers and even sellers checking out the inventory in the neighborhoods.  One agent held an Open House in Carmichael last weekend and had 20 families visit and also listed a neighbor’s home around the block.  We are even experimenting and having some success with twilight Opens- those held open after 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Agents are working very hard and are doing the fundamentals- door knocking, phone calls, personal note cards and postcards. It all is working but of course it is a process and a routine to follow on a daily basis. Prospecting is an on going task.

Folsom

Activity levels for the Folsom agents is holding steady.  Open Houses have been good with several groups through and averaging seven families per open house.  We regularly hold a minimum of five properties open both weekend days.    The big note for this period is that we had one closing over $1 million and it was both listed and sold by the same agent.  There seems to be more short sales and foreclosures currently listed and available.

Sacramento Metro

We are very busy in the heart of Sacramento- both listing inventory and sales inventory are increasing almost daily; this includes short sale listings.  If the approvals come through as fast as the listings do, we’ll be in really great shape!  We know that there are ready and willing buyers out there as they are touring our Open Homes every weekend!  The activity at the open properties is very good in our core areas of East Sacramento, Land Park and South Land Park.

Placerville

The beautiful town of Placerville is attracting some new buyers again- we’ve seen many first-time buyers and retirees coming our way. Buyers who began looking earlier in the year are deciding now is the time to buy.  This is exciting news for little Placerville and our office which is lucky enough to be situated between Main Street and Highway 50 – come visit us if you are in the area on your way to South Lake Tahoe!

Rocklin/Lincoln

Sales continue to be strong but we are having many issues with low appraisals- buyers are willing to pay more for the properties than the appraisers are willing to comp.  We are also starting to see interesting activity on listings- our agents are always cautious and performing due diligence to ensure that we are providing the best service to our clients.

We are seeing our buyers are coming back from the Bay Area but also from nearby surrounding areas as well as referrals of past clients- the best compliment that we can receive!

Listings are still in demand;   and some of the short sale listings appear to be making progress.  Bank of America has introduced a program through Equator that is set up to expedite the short sale process.    We still continue to see multiple offers and sellers taking long periods of time in which to respond.

Open house traffic is good- anywhere between four to 15 groups- all of the agents seem to be getting at least one lead!

Roseville- Granite Bay:

We’re happy to report increasing inventory.  Finally.  Open Houses are steady, but we speculate that will be improving very soon as nice weather will spur increased traffic.  Short sale activity remains strong.  High end is improving and new jumbo money from Coldwell Banker Home Loans will help.

Our local market is still all about the DEAL and not location, location, location.  The next two weeks of March will continue in a positive direction. Sales need to be made to qualify for the tax credits and buyers will hurry up as time is elapsing. We are looking forward to a strong spring market.

Sierra Oaks:

The Sacramento Sierra Oaks Office is showing increases in activity in several areas.  First of all, our push to get more listings is showing an excellent trend. One of those trends is our increase in sales being exceeded by an almost equal number of listings or an even greater increase.  Also, the listings and sales are coming from “traditional Sellers” and “traditional sales.”  Several of our top agents who are showing excellent sales traffic have disclosed that almost ALL of them are “traditional sales” and not a short sale or bank owned property.  This is a sign of  a healthier and more stable, predictable business.

Open house activity is up significantly and agents are reporting a LOT of buyers coming through their open houses. An agent at a property in East Sacramento had some many visitors that they had to limit the amount of prospective buyers through at one time.  In all, activity in the office has definitely gotten stronger, agents are busier and attitudes are significantly more positive and upbeat.

Our office hosted an extremely successful fund raiser on St. Patrick’s Day.   Over 100 guests attended our event to raise over $2,500 to benefit the Sacramento Association of Realtors Scholarship Fund.  The weather was fantastic, and food was abundant and very tasty and everyone had a fun time with our auction.  We’re hoping to make this an annual event!

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

Sales activity and interest continues to be very encouraging as total sales are up 71% from the same time last year which is a positive indication that we may see more inventory movement in 2010 than in 2009.  We continue to see solid activity in the market as buyers are very interested in taking advantage of our large inventory of properties that are priced at 2003 levels. Coldwell Banker currently has 45+ properties in escrow that are scheduled to close in the next 30-60 days.

As we have been expecting, the median and average sales prices for properties has gone down as compared to the 2009 prices for the same period.  Median sales price have decreased by 10% and the average sales have decreased by 9%.

We are continuing to see the trend for sales towards homes priced under $500,000 with 64% of the sales this year being in this price range.  REO and Short sales are happening at a much greater rate this year than last year for the same period.

Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has a little over 16-months of inventory available.  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a bigger home or better location in the Tahoe-Truckee market.

Sales Summary:

For 2010, there have been 130 properties sold priced below $500,000, 53 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 20 properties sold over $1,000,000.

For the week of March 8-14, sales were down from the previous week with 15 properties sold.  Of the properties sold last week only one (1) was sold with a price over $750,000.

Vacaville- Fairfield:

Our agents are excited about the opportunities available in this market.  They have put (or are in the process of) their systems in place and are bracing themselves in anticipation of the next wave.

There are 550 active listings in Solano County, of those properties 125 are listed as REO’s, 180 are listed as short sales; of those Coldwell Banker has 22 Active properties and 51 homes in escrow.

This month, 185 properties have closed escrow of those 78 were REO’s and 36 were short sales.   Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 3 month period, the market has a little over 1 month supply of inventory.