Robyn DeLong

I was listening to a Brian Buffini CD in my car yesterday talking about the current real estate market, how different it is from previous ones, and how patience is the key to getting through this one. He's been in the business over 20 years and owns the largest coaching company for realtors in the country. He's speaking with thousands of agents every year. Many are leaving the business after 30 or 40 years. I'm in my 10^th year, so not exactly a novice.. While I am not inclined to buy into the gloom and doom that many are, I do want to pay attention to trends. Someone would have to reside on a different planet not to know how foreclosures and short sales are dominating the marketplace as far as available inventory-over 62 percent are bank-owned and a good portion of the rest are short sales.

Patience is a virtue, and boy is it needed if you're a buyer in this market. I am working with several buyers right now who have made multiple offers on properties and don't get the deal. Cash is still king, especially with banks. Buffini says he advises buyers to make an offer and keep looking. Don't get attached. I have to agree. I have clients that are happily moved in after months of looking and multiple times at bat. Finally they scored.

In Sacramento, some areas are back to 2002 prices. Not everywhere is this true. Established neighborhoods like Midtown, East Sac, River Park, Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, Wilhaggin, Land Park, Curtis Park have been holding their values better than some. However, look in Elk Grove, Natomas, West Sacramento where new development was greatest, and you'll find deal after deal where homes have dropped almost 50 percent from their last purchase price. Trendgraphix, a data tracking service available only to Lyon agents, helps us sort fact from fiction. In October 2002, zip codes 95816, 95818 and 95819 homes sold averaged $219/sf. In October 2008, that figure is $284/sf (just dropped below $300/sf in the last two months). In Elk Grove and Natomas the drop is actually below 2002 prices of $146/sf to an average in 2008 of $127/sf.

This is a hot market where buyers need to be prepared to act quickly when they find a home they like. They need to know values, what the property is most likely to appraise for, their pre-approval letter from a recognized and trusted lender, money set aside for a good faith deposit, and a huge tolerance for not knowing what the seller side is doing. Long waits, no responses, last minute changes and multiple offers are common place right now. For those that are willing to work with the new terrain, there are good deals to be made.

I love the hunt for that perfect home. I know that's the high that most of us who love this business feel when we've been able to help someone achieve their dream of homeownership. When we finally get through the process and hand the keys over, the hours of searching and all the disappointments from deals that didn't work out, become a distant memory. It's the stuff we build our stories on about how we found our own "home sweet home."

If you or someone you know needs a trusted advisor to help them find or sell a home in this unpredictable market, I'd love to be the one you call. Visit my website at www.DeLongTeam.com. If you'd like to be on my email list for the latest figures from Trendgraphix, just ask.

Took a class today in blogging for Realtors. Don’t want to be the last one on my block to try it. I may be new to blogging, but not to real estate. September 1999, just over nine years ago, I picked up my lockbox key from Sacramento Association of Realtors, and launched into what has proven to be a wonderful, wild ride.

Hundreds of deals later, I’m still surprised by how unique each transaction is. Some were smooth, easy from beginning to end. Others required every skill I could muster to get the deal closed. Always it’s a team effort. I counted once how many different people are in just the usual plain vanilla sale–buyer(s) and their agent, seller(s) and their agent, buyer’s lender, home inspector, pest inspector, underwriter, appraiser, escrow officer, and insurance broker–that adds up to eleven and doesn’t count the brokers, transaction coordinators, office assistants and countless others in the background.

Today, plain vanillas are the exception. Buyers are more likely to find they must make offers on bank-owned (REO) properties or short sales, adding another whole layer of complexity to the transaction. I’m grateful everyday that I’ve had experience as a teacher, spent time getting trained as a mediator, and learned to facilitate small groups. Even my experience as a chaplain has added an important dimension, especially when it seems only a wing and a prayer will save the day!

If you’d like a great resource for your real estate questions, visit my website: www.DeLongTeam.com

Happy Halloween! I’m blogging in between trick or treaters. Each year I have an internal debate – will I stay home and hand out treats, or be the Halloween Grinch and turn out all the lights. Almost grinched it this year, but my conscience got the best of me, so after a last minute run to Walgreens for M&Ms, I’m ready for all the angels and goblins.

I’m so fortunate to live and sell real estate in a neighborhood like Arden Park where children can feel safe and welcomed when they knock on the neighborhood doors. Almost three decades ago, when my three sons were in grammar school right here in Arden Park, we’d kick off the season with a Halloween festival at Mariemont Elementary.

On the big night, my husband would join about six or seven other dads with their costumed kids in tow, and they would all head down Fitch Way, moving from house to house, because everyone knew that’s where the best treats could be found. I hear they had a great time. I stayed home where it was warm and handed out treats.

My boys would come home with their pillow cases full of candy, too heavy to carry. Of course, after such a haul of candy, I can remember the struggle to keep the boys from eating everything all at once and making themselves sick. Sometimes I wondered if we should just toss it all in the garbage, but somehow we’d work it out. I stashed their candy on top of the refrigerator when they were very young and doled out slowly. As they got older, I gave up the fight. Nature has a way of letting you know if you’ve eaten too many sweets!

Where does all the time go. Remember the song, “Turn Around”? Sure feels like I was just applying the final touches to their own costumes not long ago. Now two of them are fathers themselves, taking their own place in the Halloween trick or treating traditions. Late afternoon today, I dropped in to see three of my grandsons before they left to go door-knocking in Sierra Oaks where they live. They looked so adorable. A five-year-old pirate, and the two-year old twins dressed as Winnie the Pooh and Spiderman. My youngest grandson, I’ve heard, is dressed as a crab. He’s just learning to walk, so being a crab is quite easy. They live on seven acres in Sequim, Washington. I’ll have to settle for photos. I treasure the pictures of my own sons all dressed up.

Hope you managed to hold the Halloween Grinch at bay and continue to find many opportunities to keep the holiday spirit alive while Mother Nature changes her wardrobe into fall colors and then strips herself bare in preparation for winter. It’s raining outside and the children are heading for drier hauntings. I’ve got candy left over. But I’m glad I participated.

Tomorrow I help three different couples search for homes. I hope it’s not still raining. If you ever need help with your own real estate needs, or want to see what’s new on the market, visit my website at www.DeLongTeam.com.