Localism: El Dorado County, CA

Chistmas Story

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:22:36 -0600

In the tough times of the 90's I had a listing that was a difficult sell and remained on the market awhile. The sellers were out of state and patient.

On Christmas eve we received an acceptable offer. Noting the time difference I called the sellers in the early evening. When they realized it was it was me they were a bit harsh, it was that tenacious Realtor! I assured them I was only calling them to wish them a happy holiday and oh by the way I have a present for under your tree. What's that you ask? A SOLD sign of course.

The were ecstatic and the merriment on the other end of the phone gladdened my heart. We delayed all the paperwork until the merriment subsided a few days later. It was one of the best gifts and greatest reactions I ever had.

Merry
Christmas to all and to all a good offer.

El Dorado Hills, CA - Real Estate Market Update - November 2008

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:07:24 -0600

National & Regional Snap-shot: The election has come and gone and the national focus has returned to the economy, the credit crisis and the slumping housing market. The roller coaster ride continued with 30yr fixed mortgage rates rising from 6.07%* at the beginning of October to 6.47%* at month's end. No sooner than Paulson and Bernanke talked voters and Congress into the "mortgage bailout," it evolved (was switched) to a different plan of injecting money directly into banks and other financial institutions as opposed to buying mortgages through reverse auctions. Officially, $125 billion was given to the nations 9 largest banks with another $125 billion slated to be injected into smaller banks across the country. From a regional standpoint last month, 2,084 homes sold in Sacramento County, 1354 were bank owned (70%), 205 were short sales (10%) and the median home price rose 1% from $192k in September to $194k in October.

El Dorado Hills: Sales in El Dorado Hills did not change much, dropping from 66 in September to 64 in October. The number of "distressed sales" fell in both categories with 17 bank owned homes (26%) and 6 short sales (9%). The average sales price increased from $528k last month to $570k in October. The supply of homes dropped from 378 in September to 374 in October. Despite the credit crisis, and volatile interest rates, homes are continuing to sell.

Aaron's take on the markets: The real estate markets continue to be influenced by the credit crisis and foreclosures. Unemployment filings are on the rise, which will also pressure home prices. The expectation is, home prices will continue to soften in the coming months with the key to stabilizing the markets being stopping bank foreclosure liquidations. Banks such as Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Citibank have all recently announced they will seek out borrowers who are in trouble and offer to rework their loans. Problem is, unless you are behind on your payments and your loan amount is 90%+ of your homes value, there may not be any help available to you. If you are thinking of buying or selling, let's chat.

Personal note: On November 4th, voters across the country helped make history by electing the first African American to be our president. Without any political bias being offered, I think we as Americans have come a long way and we have officially entered the 21st Century. Congratulations to those who supported and voted for Barack Obama.

Have a great Novermber and Thanksgiving! Aaron Cullen, Brokers Inc. Residential Real Estate

NEW Local Website- Tahoe Arts and Mountain Culture

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:46:01 -0600

Hey everyone,

Heres a great new website created by Becky Bell that gives the 411 on local events. Its Tahoe Arts and Mountain Culture. Make sure to put it into you favorites

http://tahoeculture.com/

Thunderbird Sold

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:41:20 -0600

Thunderbird sold!!!! On September 26th and the sellers are getting ready to close on their new home!! Congratulations. Thunderbird sold for $365,000. Not Bad.

1189 Margaret is still available and well priced at 280,000. Give me a call for more information

October South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:56:36 -0600

October has historically been a busy month for Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe. Even with the troubled financial and lending markets, this October was a solid one.

According to the South Lake Tahoe MLS, October home sales were up 60% from September. There were 45 closed single family homes in October compared to 27 in September.

The Statistics for the October single family home sales are as follows:

October Minimum sales price $207,000 September minimum $215,000
October Average sales price $530,848 September average $475,336
October Median sales price $475,000 September median $435,000
October Maximum sales price $2,150,000 September maximum $998,000

Out of the 45 sold homes in October 9 were bank owned foreclosures. Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are getting a lot of attention. Buyers are looking for good deals, and the foreclosures are priced to sell. There were multiple offers on many of the foreclosures that sold, and two of them sold for well over the asking price. 2188 Pinewood listing price was $435,000 and sold for $502,000. 3549 Morton listing price was $435,000 and sold for $503,000!

October single family pending sales slipped a bit from 51 in September to 32 in October bringing the pending sales total to 59 according to the MLS. Out of the 32 new pendings, 8 are bank owned foreclosures and 6 are short sales.

Activity on Condos in South Lake Tahoe was about the same in October as it was in September with 4 sold condos and 4 new pendings.

Land activity is still on the quiet side with 4 sold lots and 3 new pendings.

With election day this Tuesday, and the stock market quieting down (at least for now!) it will be interesting to see what happens with Real Estate Activity in the next couple of months! Keep visiting my Blog to stay up to date!