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Super Bowl Weekend marked the start of the Spring Buying Season in real estate. Anecdotally, real estate agents will tell you that buyer activity tends to tick higher at this time of the year.
Meanwhile, with mortgage rates still trolling near all-time lows and the roll out of the new first-time homebuyer tax credit, 2009 may bring out even more buyers than we've seen in the past.
Just having your home on the market may not be enough to attract an offer, though -- the home has to have appeal. That brings us to home staging -- the process by which a homeowner re-organizes and re-presents his home to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible.
Home staging is part-science, part-art, and part-psychology. Homebuyers tend to judge homes within the first 8 seconds of seeing them so making a quality first impression can mean the difference between getting multiple bids, and just getting a lot of foot traffic.
The 4-minute video gives some quick-and-easy tips, including:
Even though home inventories are falling, supplies are still higher than in previous years. Home sellers wanting to stand out in a crowd may want to consider staging their homes to help them sell more quickly.
Staged homes sell for as much as 17% more money and as much as 40% faster than non-staged ones.
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In Mesa, Arizona, Wednesday, the President presented the Homeowner Affordability and Stability plan, a multi-pronged effort to support the housing market.
The story made the front page of nearly every newspaper in the country.
The president's plan is sweeping:
It's a broad plan with many positive angles, but for now, we can't forget that it's just a plan. Although the White House shapes and influences housing policy, Congress, Loan Servicers, and the Federal Agencies must still implement and execute it. Until that implementation occurs, these reforms exist only on paper.
It's a key aspect of the speech that's not getting coverage.
One thing we learned during the stimulus package debate was that just because the President wants something to happen doesn't mean that it will. There are always details to be worked out and that's one reason why the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan couldn't go into effect immediately. There are still loose ends to tie and details to define.
According to its website, the White House lists March 4, 2009 as the plan's effective date. Until March 4, therefore, nothing in Wednesday's speech is guaranteed.
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No matter what the market, people will continue to desire to live in Beaumont, as it remains one of the most active cities within Riverside County. Comparatively speaking, the Beaumont housing market continues to post brisk sales.
In of July 2008, 84 single family homes and a total of 0 condos/townhomes sold, 10 more than last month. My overall view of the market is still slipping in cost per square foot while the sales numbers are stabilizing a little.
For a full county market report Click Here.
Closed Sales For July 2008, Up 2 from last month
57 Single Family Homes
0 Condos/Townhomes
Pending Sales For July 2008, Up 6 from last month
144 Single Family Homes
2 Condos/Townhomes
Current Actives As of Today's Post, The same as last month
348 Single Family Homes
6 Condos/Townhomes
Foreclosure Activity for July 2008 - 92223
100 Notice of Defaults (NOD) Down 16 from last month
85 Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NOS) Up 5 from last month
Price Per Square Foot
Looking at the price per square foot helps us understand the value placed on homes in a real estate market. Median Price per Sqft. as of September 14, 2008 for Beaumont is $129, down $7 from last month.
| Beaumont - 92223 | |||||||||||
| Single Family Residences | SFR Only | ||||||||||
| Riverside County | # SFR | Price (1,000) | % chg from Previous Year | $/Sq Ft | Media Price Prior to Present Month % change SFR | Prior to Present Month Change $ Per Sq Ft | Prior to Present Month Median $ Change ($1,000) | ||||
| Beaumont | Feb 08 | 27 | $290 | -22.10% | $141 | ||||||
| Beaumont | Mar 08 | 37 | $246 | -27.60% | $126 | -10.64% | ($15) | ($44) | |||
| Beaumont | Apr 08 | 47 | $248 | -28.70% | $132 | 4.76% | $6 | $2 | |||
| Beaumont | May 08 | 43 | $253 | -26.00% | $122 | -7.58% | ($10) | ($10) | |||
| Beaumont | Jun 08 | 45 | $247 | -19.40% | $119 | -2.46% | ($3) | ($6) | |||
| Beaumont | Jul 08 | 70 | $240 | -26.20% | $116 | -2.52% | ($3) | $1 | |||
| -18% | |||||||||||
| $25 | |||||||||||
For information on purchasing your next home in Beaumont or anywhere in the Inland Empire call Empire Realty at 909-579-6611 or visit us on the web at Empire Realty.
Empire Realty is your one stop shop for information and Full Service at a Discount.
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No matter what the market, people will continue to desire to live in Beaumont, as it remains one of the most active cities within San Bernardino County. Comparatively speaking, the Beaumont housing market continues to post brisk sales.
In of April 2008, 55 single family homes and a total of 0 condos/townhomes sold. My overall view of the market is still slipping.
For a full county market report Click Here.
Closed Sales For April 2008
56 Single Family Homes
0 Condos/Townhomes
Pending Sales For April 2008
128 Single Family Homes
0 Condos/Townhomes
Current Actives As of Today's Post
502 Single Family Homes
6 Condos/Townhomes
Foreclosure Activity for April 2008 - They ae really taling off, hold on!
92223 - 75 Notice of Defaults (NOD) Down 26 from last month
92223 - 77 Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NOS) Up 20 from last month

It's important to stay in tune with the changes in the market. Call Empire Realty for your next personal real estate consultation at (909) 579-6611, or visit us on the web at Empire Realty.
For information on purchasing your next home in Beaumont or anywhere in the Inland Empire call Empire Realty at 909-579-6611 or visit us on the web at Empire Realty.
Empire Realty is your one stop shop for information and Full Service at a Discount.
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There are two ways to lower your property taxes in Beaumont which are legal and FREE.
1) If you qualify, appeal your property tax assessment
2) Claimed your Homeowner's Tax Exemption
APPEAL YOUR TAX ASSESSMENT
If the above information applies to you, you may be able to do something that will cost you nothing. This simple process can save you hundreds of dollars in future property taxes.
Lower you Property Tax Bill NOW !
Each county operates differently but the simple answer is that all you need to do is ask for your property to be re-assessed.
Some counties are proactive and are already planning on reassessing your area, but their opinion of value may be very conservative.
In 1978, we in California passed Proposition 8, allowing homeowners to request a reassessment of their homes. More information on Proposition 8.
If prices have declined since you were last assessed this simple process could save you some serious cash.
How much can I save?
Let's take a home purchased a couple of years ago for $750,000.
With a current tax bill of $9,000 a year, at tax rate of 1.2%. Your tax rate can be as high as 1.9%.
Let's assume that the current value has dropped 10%, not unrealistic in this market, making the current value around $675,000.
The tax bill on a property of that value would be $8,100 or $900 less! That is a savings of $900 every year that the new lower tax rate applies.
Get started by filing an assessment appeal with County Assessor's Office, Call (951) 955-1060 for the Riverside County Assessor's office and have them send you a Assessment Apeals form, all appeals must be filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at the County Administrative Center, 4080 Lemon Street, 14th Floor, Riverside CA 92501-3655.
All other counties have this information on-line and make the forms redily available, I guess Riverside feels that fewer people will do this if they make it a little harder, you can go to the exemptions link below for more information.
*****Empire Realty will provide you with a free opinion of value for the assessment appeal, just drop us an e-mail with the address of the property of the property to be reassessed and we will get that information to you. *****
The more value you have lost since the last assessment, the greater you may be able to save!
HOMEOWNERS TAX EXEMPTION
There is also a Homeowner's tax exemption which lowers your homes taxable value by $7,000. Available only to qualifying owner-occupied homes.
How much can I save?
Let's use the same example as above, your homes present taxable value is $750,000.
With a current tax bill of $9,000 a year, at tax rate of 1.2%. Your tax rate can be as high as 1.9%.
Let's assume that you qualify for the homeowners tax exemption of $7,000 which brings your taxable home value down to $743,000.
The tax bill on a property of that value would be $8,916 or $84 less! This amount may seem low but you will save this amount year after year.
All Riverside County exemptions can be found Here.
For information on purchasing your next home in Beaumont or anywhere in the Inland Empire call Empire Realty at 909-579-6611 or visit us on the web at Empire Realty.
Empire Realty is your one stop shop for information and Full Service at a Discount.
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