Why Should You Sell During the Holidays?

Want to see what homes are available in our market? Click here to perform a free, fully customizable search of ALL homes that are listed for sale.

Want to know what your home is worth? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation and click here to download a free copy of my report "How to Sell Your Home for 18% More Money."

Why Should You Sell During the Holidays?

Today we want to talk about one of the most common questions we are asked at this time of year. People want to know whether they should list their home for sale on the market now, or wait until the spring when there is usually more activity in the market. 

Now that we are in November, a lot of people are thinking that they don't want to move this time of year and want to stay in their home through the holidays. However, if you consider the low supply, and the amount of money a serious buyer will pay for your home is very influenced by supply and demand, the value of your home is extremely high. This value will disappear come January, when an influx of homes will flood the market. 

The buyers that are out there right now are extremely motivated and serious. There are a lot of work transfers and investors that are out looking to purchase homes before the end of the year.

So, you don't want to move during the holidays? Well, the truth is, most of the people looking at your home now won't want to either. Even though they may be looking in November and December, you can almost always arrange either a longer close of escrow or have the option of retaining your occupancy after escrow. 

The other reason it makes a lot of sense to consider having your home on the market now is because if you are buying your next home via financing, the impending rise of interest rates will affect your ability to purchase a home. As rates rise, as they are expected to by as much as 1% in the next year, buyer's purchasing power declines. Most people have been waiting for rates to go up and when that happens, there will be a much smaller pool of buyers and everything will be more expensive. 

For all of these reasons, we have the way to keep the process manageable for you. Give us a call, text, or email if you have any questions. Whatever works best for you. Thanks for checking out our blog, we look forward to talking to you soon!

Fourth Quarter Sacramento Snapshot

Want to see what homes are available in our market? Click here to perform a free, fully customizable search of ALL homes that are listed for sale.

Want to know what your home is worth? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation and click here to download a free copy of my report "How to Sell Your Home for 18% More Money."

Fourth Quarter Sacramento Snapshot

The most common question we get is, "How's the market doing?" That question is more complex than most people know - in fact, it really depends who's asking. 

Recently, we've seen a consolidation of trends that have been occurring over the last 18 months. Our inventory is expanding, so there are more homes on the market and they're staying there for a longer time. This is largely because many homeowners have overpriced their properties. However, there are some homes that are getting multiple offers and selling really quickly - in fact, we've been able to help many of our clients accomplish this. 

The bottom line is this: you need to make sure you get specific information regarding your neighborhood, price range, type of property, and the property you're buying. That's why we have a feature called Market Snapshot, which you can access here. Simply log in and enter an address (either your current one or the neighborhood you're thinking of buying in) and set up a search in our local MLS. This data is in real time, so it's the most accurate and up-to-date information you can find on the web. You can also set it up so you get updated either daily, weekly, or monthly - or, if you don't want to receive any emails, there is no obligation to receive updates at all. You will not be charged or spammed, you will receive information based updates to keep you in the loop with what's happening in our market.

This tool will help you get you the information you need to have a successful buying or selling experience. Or, if you have specific questions about our market, don't hesitate to give us a call, shoot us an email, or send us a text. We'd be glad to take care of you!

How We Sell Your Home for Top Dollar

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

How We Sell Your Home for Top Dollar

A popular topic that always comes up when we are talking to home buyers is, "How can I sell my home for the most money possible?" After all, isn't that the goal of all those who put their Sacramento home up for sale, to get the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. Our system is designed to produce results to get you up to 18% more money in your pockets than you would using traditional methods that are used by average Realtors.

In our history, the people who have sold their home for the highest value are the ones who sold the quickest and easiest with the fewest number of hassles. If this is what everyone wants, why do so few people get this type of result? Well, we aren't going to give away all of our secrets because we reserve those to give to our clients for a competitive advantage, but we can assure you that there are specific strategies and tactics that we use to sell Sacramento homes.

80% of the negotiation process happens before you ever get an offer. How you structure a property, whether it be through marketing, presentation, available information or how you respond to people, sets you up for success and great results. Conversely, failing to do these things could set you up for failure.

If you'd like more information on how our team can provide our services for you and your home and make the home selling process as pain-free and profitable as possible, give us a call or send us an email. We'd be happy to help. 

Special Deals for all of our Clients

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Special Deals for all of our Clients

As the summer comes to an end, the weather becomes more unpredictable. While you still may need your air conditioning for another month or two, it won't be long until you'll need that heater working properly too. We are excited to announce a program we are starting with our great service providers, whom we have been working with for years. What they are going to do is offer special seasonal discounts for our customers that we think will be really useful to you.

These specials include a discount on either an A/C or heater check-up, as well as a discount on a roof checkup, which includes your flashing and your gutters. If those services would be helpful to you or someone you know, please give us a call and we would love to help you out.

How we helped Deandrea buy her home in 3 days by always being responsive

I saw the home we wanted, we closed on it, and then we were in the house within 30 days! When I saw this particular home, I fell in love with the picture and told Peter that I wanted to see it. I was able to get into the house within an hour and they even took us back 2 hours later after my husband got off of work and we were able to submit the winning bid. So the thing that impressed me the most about the team was that they were always there and absolutely responsive!

What does Zillow's buyout of Trulia mean for You?

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

What does Zillow's buyout of Trulia mean for You?

 What we want to talk about some breaking news in the real estate industry. Recently, internet home search juggernaut Zillow has purchased their biggest competitor, Trulia, for $3.5 billion. If you are reading this article, no doubt you have visited one of these sites before to check out homes before you bought and the sheer volume of people that visit these sites is incredible.

A lot of our clients have called us to ask specific questions about these sites. One of the most common questions is in regard to automatic home valuations that these sites offer and how accurate they are. Not to sound overly critical, but they have not had a lot of success in establishing a reputation for accurate home values in any market. 

So, as a buyer or seller, the numbers haven't been that helpful for correctly estimating a home's value. They do, however, provide helpful statistics and resources.

People are now starting to worry that Zillow will now take over the industry and make their site a one stop shop for home buyers. Ironically, we have noticed the more we have seen technology make things easier for us online, the more we realize there is no good substitute for a local expert who can give you real, specific resources and advice. It's all well and fine to talk about different market trends and statistics, but what you need to know about is your personal situation and what makes sense for you individually. It's going to be a while before we see any nationally syndicated resource fill that need for people.

If you have any questions about this merger, or about anything real estate related, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help out.

Your guide to new home construction in Sacramento

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Your guide to new home construction in Sacramento

 Today, we want to take the time to give you an in-depth look at what is going on in new home construction in Sacramento. We went through a long hibernation period starting in 2006 and ending just a few years ago where there was little to no new home construction going on. Values dipped so low that it was hard for builders to even break even on a lot of their homes. About 2 years ago, when values rebounded and inventory shrunk, new homes started to recover. Even though they aren't what they used to be, they are an increasing factor in our market.

With inventory still being tight right now for home buyers, a lot of people are tempted to go with new construction. There are many benefits to doing this, with brand new everything, a builder's warranty, and that new home smell. However, there is one potential ticking time bomb that a lot of home buyers really aren't familiar with: Mello Roos taxes.

Mell Roos taxes are bonds that are added on to your regular property tax in a new or developing neighborhood. These taxes can be anywhere from $100-$300 a month and go to pay for things like roads, street signs, parks, irrigation, and drainage. For the most part, these bond payments don't go away. Someone might think they are able to afford a certain kind of home, but find out they simply can't if they have to pay a hefty Mello Roos tax as well. 


New home builders and sellers don't like to advertise that you have to pay an extra tax like this. Fortunately, we are very familiar with these and know all the Mello Roos taxes in all the different subdivisions in Sacramento so you can factor that in and take a look at what are the costs and benefits of buying a new home vs. a resale home. If you have any questions or would like some more information, please give us a call. We would love to help you out!

How we helped Slawek with the sale of his home by being professional

The experience of selling our home with Peter Parker and his team went really well. Peter himself, is very professional and I really liked his demeanor. He was knowledgeable and we still get calls from our buyers saying what a beautiful home it is because they’re so thrilled with how everything went down. If we were ever to sell this home, we would engage Peter and his team immediately!

How we helped Maria with the purchase of her home by doing whatever it took

Peter was committed into seeing our transaction through the end and we were very pleased with his assistance. His entire team was responsive and available to answer any questions we had, even during non-normal business hours. There were a few evenings he made himself available to put some responses together and address any questions we had. He made himself available on the day of closing to make sure that everything ran smoothly and they truly delivered! 

Enter to win up to $100,000 in the Free Home Giveaway

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Enter to win up to $100,000 in the Free Home Giveaway

We are excited to announce that we have partnered up with just a few hundred agents to take part in the Great Home Giveaway. 

This is a contest in which every 2 weeks until January, somebody will win $10,000. The contest runs through January of next year, where one lucky person will win the $100,000 grand prize. 

There is no purchase required to enter this contest, you don't have to attend a sales presentation either. Simply put, we are going to give away over $250,000 to the people who are smart enough to enter their name into this drawing. We have a link below with all the rules, and you can enter your name there as well.

Click the link below to get started winning and good luck!

Sacramento California Real Estate Market Update

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Sacramento Real Estate Market Update

There is a huge wave of first-time homebuyers on the horizon – some have already begun entering the market. As a result of the market downturn we had experienced a few years back, a new category of buyers has been created: comeback buyers.

Comeback buyers are people who are returning to the market after losing their home to foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy. There are scores of people in the Greater Sacramento Area that have had this issue come up. These people went from being a homeowner to being a renter; after 2-3 years pass and this demographic decides to purchase a home again, they are categorized as a first-time home buyer.

A nationwide survey shows that in 19 of the 20 largest metropolitan areas, over 5% of people surveyed stated that they had the intentions of purchasing a home within the next year. Taking this another step further, 10% of renters indicated they wanted to purchase a home within the next year and the vast majority of people surveyed felt very confident in their ability to do so.
When all of these statistics are added together, it tells us that 4.2 million potential first-time home buyers will be entering the market. You may be thinking, “So what?” That is double the amount of people that were first-time homebuyers in 2013!

Out of this category of first-time homebuyers, 85% of millennials stated that they plan on buying a home in the future and 49% stated that they plan to do so within the next two years. My son, who is a millennial, just closed on a home! Millennials expressed that with purchasing a home, they are seeking security, happiness and fulfillment.

My concern with the influx of first-time homebuyers is that we are already experiencing a squeeze in the Sacramento market due to inventory decreasing, home sales increasing, and interest rates increasing. To help you avoid running into this problem, I will be sending out additional videos this month – so stay tuned!

If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to reach out to me. Thanks and have a great day!

The High Cost of Waiting

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

The High Cost of Waiting

As home prices continue to remain stable and even rise 3-8% over the next 18 months in the Sacramento area, more and more people will be caught in the market’s “vice.” With interest rates predicted to rise to 5-5.7% by the end of 2014, your purchasing power could be greatly affected if you continue to wait.

Just by waiting a year or a year and a half could be the difference between missing out on a newer, larger home and settling for an older, smaller home and paying the same (if not more) amount of money.

If you would like further clarification, feel free to reach out me by phone or email. Thanks and have a great day!

Sacramento Real Estate Market Update for Spring 2014

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Sacramento Real Estate Market Update for Spring 2014

I would like to give you a little update on what we have seen in the first quarter from our Sacramento market. There have been a lot of conflicting reports about the state of the market, and not all of them are correct. I would hate to see any of my clients rely on inaccurate information and then suffer real-life consequences because of it. In this update I will be using data from Elk Grove (a popular area for first-time buyers), Folsom, and the Roseville-Rocklin area.

For homes that were $300K or less in Elk Grove:
Since December, the volume of homes in this area and price range have decreased by nearly 50%. In contrast to this, the number of pending sales has actually increased by 50%. This leaves only 1 month of inventory in Elk Grove, and it will spur an extreme buyers market.

For homes that were $300K-500K in Elk Grove:
The volume of homes went down by 10%, but the pending sales are up by 67%. Inventory is at 2.4 months, and the average days on market is 45 days.

For homes that were above $500K in Elk Grove:
Volume has increased slightly, pending sales have increased by 100%, and there is actually another 6 months worth of inventory on the market. Average days on market is about 60 days. This echoes a trend I've noticed where higher priced properties stay on the market longer.

For homes that were $300K or less in Folsom:
There are only 31 properties available in this range in Folsom, and there are only 2 months worth of inventory. Sales have remained strong despite some potential overpricing.

For homes that were $300K-500K in Folsom:
Inventory is at 1.4 months, and pricing is beginning to fall slightly. The average days on market is 42 days.

For homes that were above $500K in Folsom:
Average days on market is 35 days, and inventory is right around 3.8 months. Sellers are also reducing their list prices by around 4-5%.

For homes that were $300K or less in Roseville-Rocklin:
There is only 1 month of inventory, and the pending sales have gone up by 50% while inventory has decreased by 50%. Once again we're seeing a very favorable market for sellers in this price range.

For homes that were $300K-500K in Roseville-Rocklin:
There is still only 1.7 months of inventory, but pending sales have been spiking. Prices are actually up 2-3%, and once again we're seeing a very strong market for sellers and a competitive one for buyers.

For homes that were above $500K in Roseville-Rocklin:
Pending sales are actually up by 100% and inventory has increased by 50% and sits at 3.8 months.


I would just like to caution both buyers and sellers that what the newspaper is reporting is not totally correct. Different niches within our Sacramento market are performing differently than the market as a whole, so don't rely on these broad market forecasts for your own real estate endeavors.

If you're selling you still need to price your home appropriately and market it well. If you're buying you need to be very careful about how long you're waiting to make a decision. This Sacramento market is moving extremely quickly, so make sure you're pre-approved and know exactly what you want.

My next video will touch on the cost of waiting, because interest rates are only getting higher as we approach 2015. Waiting to buy could really cost you a lot of money.

I know this was a lot of information at once, so if you have any questions feel free to reach out to me via phone or email and I would be glad to clear these things up for you.

Is Now a Good Time to Invest in Sacramento Real Estate?

There are many great Sacramento area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Is Now a Good Time to Invest in Sacramento Real Estate?

Naturally, I am not a financial adviser or a CPA, so I cannot give you financial advice. However, everyone's financial situation is different, so not everything I say will be a silver bullet for you. You will have to take a look at your available resources, determine what your appetite for risk is, and what your short & long term goals are. It also depends a little upon your comfort level for different neighborhoods and different properties. 

So, I can't give a definitive answer for every single person, but on the whole, I believe that this is a good time to invest in Sacramento real estate. If we could turn back 2 years it would be an even better time to invest, but we don't work in the rear-view mirror, so we have to focus on what's going on right now. 

Listen to this statistic: from 2000 to 2013, even including the real estate crash in 2008, real estate investments significantly outperformed investments in the DOW, S&P, and the NASDAQ. From 2000-2013, the DOW had a 35.4% return, the S&P had a 17.1% return, and the NASDAQ had a -8.9% return. Real estate in that time period (including the crash) had an amazing 59.9% return! 

Needless to say, this return is significantly greater than any other investment out there. Plus, there are some other advantages to real estate investments because you only need 20-25% of the money down to purchase real estate, and there are also some tax advantages as well. 

So, if you're looking to invest in Sacramento real estate, contact me and we can go over some things to look at if you plan to cultivate your wealth through real estate. Also, if you're looking to buy or sell in Sacramento, then please contact me as well. I am always here to serve you.

Become a Pre-Approved Buyer and Get a Leg Up on the Competition

Want to see what homes are available in our market? Click here to perform a free, fully customizable search of ALL homes that are listed for sale. Want to know what your home is worth? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation.

  

Why is it Important to be Pre-Approved 

 

Coming into 2014, I want to answer a question we get asked quite often and that is “What is the importance of being pre-approved and what do I need to do to get pre-approved?” This is especially important to answer that in 2014 because lender guidelines are changing; they’re going to want more information than they did in the past. Generally speaking, they will want your last two tax returns and your last two bank statements. This is due to the financial reform for the lending industry in order to prevent people from ending up in bad mortgages or situations that become unworkable for them. Now, lenders could be held liable in for people that end up in default.

All that aside, it has always been important for people who are serious about buying a home to become pre-approved. The mortgage lender we use can typically get you pre-approved in just a few hours but it’s always good to have this taken care of up front because you may have items on your credit report that may be derogatory and in some cases, they’re not even correct. Doing this beforehand can allow the lender to correct those mistakes and improve your score.

Another factor is that most buyers want to have a clear picture of what their monthly payment is going to be for a given purchase price. The only way to get an accurate number for that is by looking at your current income and current expenses. With that information, we calculate exactly what your payment will be at today’s interest rate. Based on that information, you will be able to decide whether you spend a little more money for the right home or maybe even scale back your purchase.

Once you have this information at hand, you’re ready to make an offer on the home you like. In our fast moving and competitive market, you don’t want to be in the position of finding your perfect home and then having to get pre-approved. This may only take a few hours, but the difference of a few hours to a day could mean missing out on the home due to lack of preparation while others were making offers in front of you.

Last but not least, with the mortgage lender we use, we are able to get people from start to finish in the borrowing process and complete the purchase in half the time than other lenders in our market. This makes us look more attractive to sellers because of the speed, amount of control and simplicity of our offer. We have even gotten offers accepted that were less than the highest bidder due to this fact. This doesn’t cost you money or obligate you and it will give you several advantages to get to the home you want at the price you can afford.

Thanks and have a great day!

What Can You Expect in 2014?

There are many great Fair Oaks area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (916) 585-3636 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today I wanted to talk to you about what you can expect in 2014. Just this past week, Chairman Bernanke made another announcement concerning tapering off the purchases of the mortgage-backed securities and bonds. We expected that interest rates might sharply go up again, although this time people had known this was coming since June and he is only going to taper the purchases by 8%. Bernanke also provided a long-range view of what to expect.

That being said, we hopefully won’t see the sharp and sudden rises in interest rates that did this past summer, but interest rates have crept up a bit. Also, after January 1st, many mortgage lenders will be under a whole new set of guidelines for processing loans and giving preapproval.

What does all this mean for you if you’re looking to buy or sell a home? If you’re a potential buyer, there probably won’t be any advantage in waiting. Inventory will most likely rebound and pick up in January-March which is a seasonal trend we always see from year to year, along with a rise in demand. This rise in inventory brings more competition compared to the fourth quarter of the year.

People are still predicting that interest rates will rise above 5% by the end of the year. With every 0.5% that interest rates rise, buyers lose 5% of their purchasing power. There is also enough demand in the Sacramento area where forecasts for equity appreciation range from 3-4% on the low end and 6-8% on the high end. We won’t see 2-3% appreciations per month the way we did before, but we won’t expect any decreases on the price side.

For sellers, everything we said about buyers affects you too. If you’re selling with the notion of moving as well, whether it’s moving in to something smaller or larger, there is no reason for you to wait either. Although prices are increasing, it isn’t enough to offset the rising interest rates. Furthermore, as this happens, your supply of buyers will be shrinking. The people who will be able to afford your home are buyers who had to back pedal and this makes your home look older and in worse condition than what they started looking at. If this continues into 2014, it will repeat what we saw last year.

I hope this information helps you make the best decision this year. Thanks and have a great day!

What Did You See in 2013?

Today I wanted to take a look back at 2013 and to look forward at 2014 and what we can expect in the real estate market here in the greater Sacramento area. Basically, 2013 was almost two different years in one. The first 4-6 months of the year, we were still in this “manic bubble” state where we had 30-50 offers on properties for 10-20% over list price. The market was very competitive and strongly favored sellers. This was driven by out of town investors that came primarily to buy single family homes in the lower to middle price ranges at rates of 50-100 homes per month.

By the time June arrived, prices in some neighborhoods had increased by 40-45% above where they had been in the spring of 2012. For buyers, this was a pretty discouraging time. Once Ben Bernake made his announcement in June that the Federal Reserve was considering cutting back on their purchases of treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities, the stock market and interest rates reacted very quickly and strongly. This took interest rates from all-time historic lows of 3.25% up to 4.5% in just a few weeks. This hindered buyer’s purchasing power and slowed the activity of those out of town investors.

When you take this all into account, the last six months of the year turned the market into a balanced or normalized market. Inventory has tripled and quadrupled in many areas; however the market went from all-time lows up to 4-6 months’ supply of homes.

Thanks and have a great day!

Have You Seen Our New Market Snapshot Tool?

Today I just wanted to let you know about a new service that we offer. It is called our snapshot tool and is a website where you can request the current market value for your home. One of the great features of this site is the ability to pull data from our metro lists, which is the large database that realtors use and have as their reference source in real time. This information will be based on the most complete, up to date and accurate data there is available and should prove to be much more accurate than going to some other websites (which I won’t mention) that realtors regard as highly inaccurate.

Secondly, the site will present a map format that allows you to see homes around you that are currently or previously were on the market. You also be able pictures of the home and the property description. Thirdly, you will get a report with a summary of all the statistics related to the market value of your home and surrounding area. Lastly, the site will keep you updated by choosing how often you would like to receive those updates. The updates will be sent to your email with no obligation, cost, spam and we will not give your information to anyone else.

If you’re thinking of moving to another area, you can pick a house you’re interested in and check out its market value to determine if the property is priced correctly. This will be available on our website or you can call, text or email us and we will provide you the link. Thanks and have a great day!