Jeff Hoffman

Here is this week's Folsom Homes Report, for sales activity in the Folsom real estate market as reported by Trulia.

In comparison to last week, the average price per square foot for Folsom homes remained unchanged where the median sales price rose even higher to $338,500. There are 91 Folsom homes that are pending sales representing 25.93% of the available inventory. The time to sell Folsom homes is currently 116 days.

For the second straight week, mortgage applications rose significantly in response to the government's efforts to stabilize housing and the economy.

Mortgage rates continued to decline. 30-year fixed rate mortgages decreased from 4.89% to 4.63% and 15-year fixed rate mortgages decreased 4.52% to 4.48%.

If you would like a free list of homes for sale in Folsom, would like more information about the City of Folsom or would like to be the first to know about hot new listings before other buyers do, then give me a call at:(916) 983-7653.

For free reports on buying and selling and Folsom California Real Estate visit http://www.HoffmanRealtyGroup.com

Jeff Hoffman
HoffmanRealty Group Inc.
(916) 983-7653
http://www.hoffmanrealtygroup.com
email:jeff@hoffmanrealtgroup.com

An offer has been made on your Folsom home. While you and your agent are negotiating, another agent calls your agent and asks "Do you have any offers currently working on the home?" Do you know what your agent can and can't say? Do you know what your options are as the seller? Not many sellers do.

The answer is spelled out in the National Association of Realtor Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 1-15. Here's what it says:

Standard of Practice 1-15

Realtors^®, in response to inquiries from buyers or cooperating brokers shall, with the sellers' approval, disclose the existence of offers on the property. Where disclosure is authorized, Realtors^® shall also disclose, if asked, whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing firm, or by a cooperating broker. (Adopted 1/03, Amended 1/09)

The key wording in Standard of Practice 1-15 is with the sellers' approval. Absent of this, your listing agent cannot tell a buyer or cooperating third party agent or broker of the existence of an offer or the source of the existing offer(s) when asked.

So the decision to share or not share this information is your choice as the seller. You have the right to authorize your agent to share or not share the existence of another offer.

So the question becomes this: when is it a good idea, and when is it not a good idea to disclose you have an offer in progress on your home? Many experts believe it boils down one thing, the type of market you're selling in.

Back in the hot seller's market many Folsom homes were getting multiple offers within days of being listed for sale. Buyers quickly came to expect to compete with other buyers and it did not scare them off when they found out that another buyer had already made an offer ahead of theirs. In this environment savvy real estate agents were telling their sellers to disclose the existence of offers because it further fueled the feeding frenzy and drove prices beyond the listed price.

Things are considerably different now.

Over the past few years buyers have had the upper hand. With the large number of Folsom homes listed for sale, buyers have had the luxury of not having to take part in competitive bidding to buy their house. If they found out another buyer had already made an offer, many would simply move on to the next property because there are plenty of "next" properties to move on to. In today's selling environment many agents are suggesting that sellers not disclose the existence of another offer in an effort not to scare the buyer from making their offer.

I know there are exceptions to every rule but generally, following these disclosure guidelines will serve most sellers well.

There's also another important part of Standard of Practice 1-15 that you and your agent needs to be aware of, and it has to do with the source of the offer.

Why would your agent be asked about the source of the offer by a third party agent?

Two reasons.

First, third party agents often assume that a buyer represented by the listing agent will have an advantage simply because the listing agent will work harder to convince the seller to take their offer over a competing third party agent offer. It's a comfort level issue of dealing with a known entity, the listing agent, over dealing with an unknown, the third party agent.

The second reason third party agents want to know the source of the offer is commission. Often listing agents reduce their commission if they find the buyer, saving their seller thousands of dollars. A third party offer that is equal in terms and price may not be equal in net dollars to the seller when you factor in a commission reduction by the listing agent. In this case, the third party offer must be for a higher price than the offer made by the buyer represented by the listing agent for both to be of equal weight to the seller.

Standard of Practice 1-15 makes it clear that information regarding the source of other offers doesn't need to be volunteered but must be provided when buyers or cooperating brokers specifically request that information.

Understanding the choices and options available to you as a seller is important when it involves how to handle the very tricky issue of disclosing the presence of offers to agents and buyers. If you have any questions about a specific situation you're facing contact me and I'll be happy to offer ideas on how you might best handle your specific situation.

Here is this week's Folsom Homes Report, for sales activity in the Folsom real estate market as reported by Trulia.

In comparison to last week, the average price per square foot for Folsom homes remained unchanged where the median sales price rose to $335,952. There are 90 Folsom homes that are pending sales representing 25.07% of the available inventory. The average time to sell Folsom homes is currently 78 days.

Economists say mortgage interest rates are likely to fall as a result of the Federal Reserve's plan announced Wednesday to buy up $300 billion in Treasuries and increase purchases of mortgage backed bonds.

This week the mortgage interest rates have once again stayed below 5%. 30-year fixed rate mortgages decreased from 4.96% to 4.89% and 15-year fixed rate mortgages decreased from 4.54% to 4.52%.

If you would like a free list of homes for sale in Folsom, would like more information about the City of Folsom or would like to be the first to know about hot new listings before other buyers do, then give me a call at:(916) 983-7653.

For free reports on buying and selling and Folsom California Real Estate visit http://www.HoffmanRealtyGroup.com

Jeff Hoffman
HoffmanRealty Group Inc.
(916) 983-7653
http://www.hoffmanrealtygroup.com
email:jeff@hoffmanrealtgroup.com

Here is this week's Folsom Homes Report, for sales activity in the Folsom real estate market as reported by Trulia.

In comparison to last week, the average price per square foot for Folsom homes remained unchanged where the median sales price rose slightly to $330,000. There are 87 Folsom homes that are pending sales representing 25.07% of the available inventory. The average time to sell Folsom homes is currently 120 days.

Average mortgage rates dipped below 5 percent this week. 30-year fixed rate mortgages decreased from 5.15% to 4.96% and 15-year fixed rate mortgages decreased to from 4.73% to 4.54%.

If you would like a free list of homes for sale in Folsom, would like more information about the City of Folsom or would like to be the first to know about hot new listings before other buyers do, then give me a call at:(916) 983-7653.

For free reports on buying and selling and Folsom California Real Estate visit http://www.HoffmanRealtyGroup.com

Jeff Hoffman
HoffmanRealty Group Inc.
(916) 983-7653
http://www.hoffmanrealtygroup.com
email:jeff@hoffmanrealtgroup.com

Here is the 24 hour report for 1-29-2008 activity in the Folsom Real Estate market according to the Sacramento MLS. This information is provided directly from our local MLS. Please feel free to check back often for the most accurate and updated information available in the Folsom area for local real estate reports and statistics. If you would like a free list of homes for sale in Folsom, would like more information about the City of Folsom or would like to be the first to know about hot new listings before other buyers do, then give me a call at:(916) 983-7653. For free reports on buying and selling and Folsom California Real Estate visit http://www.HoffmanRealtyGroup.com/ 24-Hour Market Watch

New Listings	4
Back on Market	1
Price Increases	0
Price Reductions	2
Pendings	3
Solds	3
Expireds	1
Inactives	1

Jeff Hoffman
HoffmanRealty Group Inc.
(916) 983-7653
www.HoffmanRealtyGroup.com
email:jeff@hoffmanrealtgroup.com