Fair Oaks, CA

It's been a wild ride for homes sales in Fair Oaks, California, but for 2 months in a row we have had huge increases in the number of sales.

Sales doubled in March over the preceeding month, from 18 to 38, then increased another 10% in April, to 41.

And all the while inventory has been dropping to it's lowest numbers in over a year. With 42 pending sales out of the 132 homes on the market in Fair Oaks, that's roughly 1/3 of the homes selling in one month.

Compare that to one year ago, when only 1/5th of the homes sold.

But what effect have the increased sales had on the prices, you ask? April saw an overall increase in the average price per square foot from $143 to $149. That's down from a high of $194 last April.

Remember, this is for all price ranges. In general, the lower priced homes are going to sell for much different per-foot-prices than luxury homes.

But one thing is for sure... it's tough to build as cheaply as our homes are currently selling for.

We are in a market that may be the best buyer's market you'll ever see. Low prices, low interest, and some selection.

If you want stats on a specific price range, just holler on over. I can zero in on price for you, or provide stats for any other Sacramento area neighborhood.

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Check out my other posts that might be of interest.....

HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS..........Buying a Home, Selling a Home, Loans, What Happens if....

LOCAL INFO................................. Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights

ABOUT SALLY DUNBAR.................. How I learned to...., Personal stuff, My Wordless Photos

OTHER STUFF............................... Inspiration, Attitude, Humorous Stuff, Charity, the Economy

TECHNOLOGY, BLOGGING ............. Active Rain, Technology

As if getting to be your own landlord isn't enough, now Uncle Sam wants to give you $8K for buying a home. Unbelievable? Yes. True, also YES.

But there are ALWAYS catches, right? Yes, but not many.

Mainly that you gotta be a first time home buyer. So, principle residence only, and you can't have owned a home in the past 3 years. Good on that one?... then read on.

You must close escrow on your home by November 30th, 2009, and is retroactive to January 1, 2009.

It has income limits, and starts to phase out at $75K income for singles, and $150K for couples filing jointly.

Can you get it now? Absolutely. You can file an amended return for 2008. Then start spending, baby.

How much? The credit is 10% of your home's purchase price, or $8,000, whichever is less. There is no repayment, unless you sell your home within 3 years.

If you are clever, you are probably asking if you can use the $8,000 as your downpayment. Before yesterday, I would have smacked your nose for being so silly. But hey.... yesterday HUD announced they would make bridge loans availble to buyers who qualify to enable use of the $8K for a downpayment. That is huge. Call me to check on how that is being implemented. It's too new to tell at this point. (Update... a day later, I hear they have pulled this off the shelf already. So you may NOT be able to use it for your down payment.... stay tuned...)

So.... pretty slick, huh? It's a total gift, inspired by the Fed's desire to jumpstart our housing market and get the money flowing again. Why not let a little of it flow into your pocket?

For more details, check out the NAR site .

flickr photo by 13 faves

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Check out my other posts that might be of interest.....

HOME BUYERS AND SELLERS..........Buying a Home, Selling a Home, Loans, What Happens if....

LOCAL INFO................................. Fair Oaks, Carmichael, Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights

ABOUT SALLY DUNBAR.................. How I learned to...., Personal stuff, My Wordless Photos

OTHER STUFF............................... Inspiration, Attitude, Humorous Stuff, Charity, the Economy

TECHNOLOGY, BLOGGING ............. Active Rain, Technology

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Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 20+ years experience. I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction. "Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916) 705-8951 or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

Next week I have been invited to speak to the Sacramento Board of Supervisors about the impact of our area parks on home values. As I am preparing my comments, I am wondering what you would tell your Supes. What advise do you have for me?

It seems to me most of our finest neighborhoods are near our parks. We have William Land Park, McKinley Park, Curtis Park, Ancil Hoffman Park, Goethe Park, just to name a few. We have the Effie Yeaw Nature Center where our area school children learn. But best of all, Sacramento Area is blessed with the American River, with its miles of protected parkway. With walking trails, horse trails and miles and miles of paved bike trails, the parkway defines what I love about our area.

But the impact on home values..... Hmmm. I've got some interesting ideas on how to formulate my 3 minutes of fame, and some major number crunching to do.

The issue here is budget cuts.... and huge proposed cuts to our park programs. If it can be shown that our parks keep prices up, that would ultimately keep taxes up, as well, which means they pay for themselves.

What do you think? Do the condition and improvements at your area parks effect your home values?

flickr Photo by etgeek, mrmitch, and pete baer.

I've been living in and loving Fair Oaks since 1979, and I can't think of a place I would rather live or raise my kids in.

Join me on a brief tour of my Fair Oaks, the way I love it.

For more information on Fair Oaks Homes for sale, give me a call, or search the entire MLS at www.SallyDunbar.com