Since the tax credit was extended and expanded in November, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several of our offices.  What I’ve heard during my visits is the following:

• Business has been up slightly over the last year
• First time home buyers are active
• Move-up buyers are not yet active…at least not now

And yet, from what we know, this is largely because they don’t know about the tax credit or don’t understand the importance of this recently expanded legislation.  My goal, through my conversations with my Agents, through my blog and through any opportunity I receive, is to end that trend.

Buyers and sellers: I’ve been in this business for more than 20 years and in that time, I honestly haven’t seen a better time to buy a home, nor move-up into a new home.  The reason for this is what I call the “perfect storm” in real estate.  It’s what I call the three Is and P:

• Inventory: There are an overwhelming number of markets where inventory is down, but even with a decline year over year, there are still plenty of homes for buyers to choose from.
• Interest Rates: Mortgage rates remain at all-time near historic lows.  This means higher purchasing power for buyers.
• Incentives: Along with tax incentives, the U.S. government has provided further extension and expansion of the first time home buyer and now existing home buyer tax credit but it is slated to expire on April 30, 2010.
• Prices: Affordability remains at an all time record level nationally and in many of our local markets here as well.

So knowing this, what can consumers do?

It’s time to act.  And act quickly.  With the April 30, 2010 tax credit deadline approaching, move-up buyers and existing homeowners must act almost immediately to ensure they may take advantage of the credit.  In order to do so, they must prepare their home for sale, list the property, get it sold and get it under contract – all before April 30, 2010.  And, might I add, close on their new property by June 30.  If you’ve ever purchased a home you know how lengthy the process can be so if you are considering a move, now truly is the time.

When you are ready, I encourage you to visit CaliforniaMoves.com to find a professional Realtor in your neighborhood who may help you.  It’s important that you choose a professional Agent who knows the market and the inventory to ensure your listing and sale success.

I honestly can’t emphasize this enough.  Over the last year we have seen the first time home buyer respond to the tax credits and incentives – upwards of 2.4 million first time home buyers entered into the market in 2009 – that’s close to half of all homes sold last year, according to NAR.  But the move-up market has been somewhat stale.  If you are someone who is considering purchasing a home, now truly is the time.

For our Agents, we can’t assume our clients know and fully understand the benefits of the tax credit.  It is now more important than ever to get out there and share with the world just how many opportunities are available to our buyers.

And with that, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

Auburn

Although the listing inventory has been very low, we are hoping that will change in the very near future as some of our agents have several listing appointments scheduled.  The month has started off a little slow with just five sales, but that’s not uncommon for this time of year.  The wet weather also puts a damper on consumers’ buying habits!

Speaking of the weather, the rain didn’t keep people from attending some of our open homes- there were eight couples at one open home and two at the other.  Both agents felt that they had acquired new leads from this activity- great!

Our floor time has been excellent.  In the last month we have had at least three walk-ins; if they are not actively looking at homes, than they are in contract!  We have also had new leads from our floor phone calls.  The buyers are coming from the Bay Area, one from Oregon and others are local wanting to stay in the area but have a different life style.

Dixon-Davis

What a difference a few weeks makes.  We are seeing increased inventory and even though they are mostly short sales, it’s still inventory for us to promote to willing and able buyers.  We are still seeing many multiple offers due to the lack of inventory.

Our agents are very busy with buyers, many of whom are coming in from floor calls. Many of my agents have up to 20 buyers waiting to find a home.  Dixon only has 23 active listings.  We also have at least 50 or more pending short sale deals waiting for approval… we need more inventory!

Folsom

The weather doesn’t have anything on us: our business is picking up a bit and we’re happy to announce six new listings this week!  Additionally, we are seeing that the sales inventory is increasing as are the number of multiple offers.  I’m proud of our agents for their hard work and it’s showing—a round of applause for 19 ratified offers (averaging $350,000) and  13 of which were distressed properties.  It will be exciting to see all of those buyers in their new homes soon.  We’ve also seen some activity on our listings over $750,000 with one new listing this week at $850,000 and one offer out at $925,000.

The opens are somewhat slower and this is probably dependent on the deluge of rain that we’ve seen over the past 10 days.    We are finding that traditional listings are also becoming more common as we are communicating that this IS a good time to sell and get their dream home.  The average listing price this week was $415,000- a slight increase.  Closings were also strong with 16 recordings … quite a week for Patti Brecht with 4 closings!  Still have people interested in getting into the Real Estate game or changing companies, two new agents this week joined our office and I have several interviews lined up for next week.

El Dorado Hills and Placerville

El Dorado County is very short on inventory, therefore activity is slow.  We’re hoping to report much better news once this rain clears.  Not only does it damper the moods, but who wants to traipse through the water to look at houses?  Let’s pray that the banks will release some inventory soon!

Sacramento Metro

The inventory in our market area is decreasing because they are being sold- where is the shadow inventory?  We’re sure to see an up-tick in sales as soon as more homes become available as we certainly do not have a shortage of buyers.  The buyers are fighting for what is out there- we saw 11 offers get ratified and four different properties had multiple offers.  Our office is raring to go once we see opportunity again

Rocklin/Lincoln

As with our Auburn office, we have a low inventory of listings, but the good news is that there are listing appointments scheduled.  As far as sales are concerned, we currently have 8 sales, but we have several offers in counter stages at this time.   Our five open homes produced leads despite low traffic- there are buyers out there!

Bank owned property activity it slow, but we are seeing several short sales being approved in a shorter period of time and with less stress.

Agents are busy.  In researching where the buyers are coming from, most are from referrals of past clients and they are coming from the Bay Area but we also have one from Bend, Oregon and another from New York.  We are also seeing Internet leads come to fruition.  We had one appraisal come in over contract price by $5,000 but we are still having appraisal issues on several others!

Roseville Granite Bay

Could the fact that both listing and sales inventory is holding stead be a good sign? The bad sign is the weather meant slow open home activity, but our agents aren’t letting that dampen their spirits!  We are all getting educated on great Coldwell Banker tools- agent discussions on our wonderful web sites and public use and time on the web sites. Coldwell Banker website statistics VERY impressive and should be in all of our clients and future agents’ hands!!

Truckee/ North Lake Tahoe

The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market increased slightly from the previous week.  Currently there are 1,558 active listings – 1,063 residential properties and 495 lots and land listed for sale.  Of the active listings, there are 159 properties listed as short sales, (10.2%) and 57 properties listed as REO sales, (3.7%).

On a year to date (YTD) basis there have been 32 properties sold in the market as compared to 19 for the same period in 2009 which is a 68.4% increase.  For properties sold YTD 2010, 11 were REO’s, (34.4%), and 2 were Short Sales, (6.3%) which results in over 40% of the properties sold being a short sales or REO.  In 2009 for the same period, there were no (0) REO sales and only 2 short sales.

For 2010, there have been 25 properties sold priced below $500,000, 5 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 2 properties sold over $1,000,000.   The median sales price for properties sold YTD in 2010 is $357,500 while the average sale price is $479,013.  For the same period in 2009, the median sales price was $353,000 and the average sales price was $450,657 which is a 1.3% and 6.3% improvement in price respectively for one year.

In the early going of 2010 sales are up 68% from the same time last year to 32 properties sold.  If this trend continues 2010 sales should be better than in 2009.  We are continuing to see the trend for sales towards homes priced under $500,000 with 78% of the sales this year being in this price range.  Homes sold as REO’s are 34% of the sales which is a higher amount than our averages for 2009.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of acting on today’s opportunities.  The three “Is” and “P” are helping to drive this market but the opportunities won’t last forever.

Until next time,
Make it a great week,

Bob

Realogy Corporation, NRT’s parent company (NRT is Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s parent company), today announced a campaign to raise funds through the Realogy Charitable Foundation to support the victims of the catastrophic earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12. The Realogy Charitable Foundation will distribute all funds raised by employees, franchisees, sales associates, vendors, partners, friends of Realogy and the general public directly to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

“Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti, and we want to do all we can to support the international relief efforts in the wake of this natural disaster,” said Richard A. Smith, president and CEO of Realogy Corporation. “We invite all those who are able to donate to give whatever they can to help the American Red Cross provide the assistance that is so desperately needed.”

The Realogy Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity supporting the philanthropic and volunteer activities of Realogy Corporation and its family of companies. The Foundation is incorporated in Delaware and its tax ID is 20-0755090.

To make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund through the Realogy Charitable Foundation, click here or paste the following URL into your browser https://www.outlookmail.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.events.org/realogycares.  This portal is a secure online donation system that allows any individual to use a credit card/debit card or electronic check. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law, and individuals should consult their tax professional to determine the amount they can claim as a tax deductible contribution.

More than 400 Agents chose Coldwell Banker in 2009 as their brokerage with which to associate.  Wouldn’t you like to know why?  If you are considering a new career in real estate or if you are an experienced Realtor looking to associate with Northern California’s real estate leader, now’s the time.  Click here for what a few of the Agents who chose Coldwell Banker in 2009 had to say.

Check out this Fox News interview with Coldwell Banker President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Gillespie who comments on the state of the market, the future of interest rates and the before and after of the impending tax credit expiration.

We’ve all been reading the conflicting headlines.  Some say 2010 will have its challenges.  Others say 2010 will be the start of good things to come.  But what’s the truth?  How can we read through the pessimism and for that matter, the rose colored glasses, to determine what is the truth?

Well, as we all know, only time will truly tell.

But in this forum, I have the ability to offer my insight and share what I believe the coming year will bring.  Together, we’ll weed through the headlines and I’ll offer my honest, unbiased opinion.  And a year from now, we’ll look back on this edition of Weekly Market Watch to determine if my hunch was correct or if I should’ve kept my opinions with the rest of the weeds.

• Overall. I think 2010 will be the year we begin to build a foundation.  Many experts are predicting that the recession is nearly complete, if it isn’t already as measured by a decline in negative growth.  But the recovery is going to depend on stimulus spending and doing more to facilitate job growth.  As Leslie Appleton Young said, “If we don’t create more direct policies to get people back to work, this could go on much longer.”

• Let’s start with foreclosures. No, I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.  I think we have a lot of work ahead of us and much of that has to do with the state of the overall economy.  Unemployment is still high and while I think we’re better, we’re not healed.  The latest U.S. Bureau of Unemployment Figures show that unemployment rates were higher in November 2009 than for the same period in 2008 in all 372 metropolitan areas.  What happens when people lose their jobs?  They typically aren’t able to pay their mortgages.  There are also many people out there with adjustable rate mortgages that just haven’t yet adjusted.  If the government doesn’t step in and those mortgages adjust, many people will find themselves in a short sale or foreclosure situation.  Fortunately the good news is that the government is putting more pressure on the banks to work with homeowners and my hope is that if that, combined with the government’s own work to help homeowners in trouble, I think we’re on a better path with these foreclosures than we were a year ago.
• Interest rates. There are a lot of schools of thoughts with relation to the future of interest rates.  I tend to agree with many economists who believe that last year’s record low interest rates, where some were able to secure a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for under 5%, may be a thing of the past.  Do I see them taking a surge in 2010?  No, probably not.  CNBC Reporter Diana Olick wrote, “Unless the government decides to extend its Fannie-Freddie purchase program or do something else to juice the credit markets, mortgage rates will rise steadily, probably leveling off somewhere around six percent” and I tend to agree with that philosophy.  Still a good place to be.  But having said that, I encourage you to review my February 2009 Reality Check piece in which I shared how increases in purchasing power can affect a buyer’s purchasing power.  I have updated it with the latest numbers and if you are considering buying, you may want to consider doing so before interest rates start making their way up.  Even a small hike in rates can dramatically affect your purchasing power.
• Housing Prices and Sales. I tend to agree with the California Association of Realtors price and sales theory for 2010.  They’re calling for a 3.3% increase in median home price.  They’re also calling for a 2.3% decline in home sales.  I think these are accurate predictions.
• The hottest market? The entry level market is by and large the hottest segment of the housing market right now and in all honesty, probably will continue to be in 2010.  But, it was also the first to experience the downturn so it is certainly easy to suspect that it would be the first to recover.  What we know about the entry level market is this:
  • Homes saw a great deal of depreciation in this market
  • This market was most affected by foreclosures and short sales
  • Affordability is especially high in this market
  • The inventory is low in the entry level market in many areas

I don’t see much of this changing in 2010.

I do see a trickle affect coming from the entry level market into the move-up market.  Many homeowners are looking to take advantage of the $6,500 home buyer tax credit as well as the opportunity to cash in on a buyer’s market in the entry level and a seller’s market in the move-up region.  It really is a perfect storm for this group and I hope more move-up buyers will consider that.  Fortunately, we have our Move-Up Marketer program which helps to educate move-up buyers about the opportunities in today’s market.

The luxury market is a very different market indeed.  It was the last to be affected by the market changes and in all likelihood it will be the last to recover.  Having said that, there are some very interesting pockets of success.  It really depends on the house, the neighborhood and the overall demand for that market.  We’ve seen instances where a million dollar home comes on the market only to be snatched up within a few days.  Then, others, just sit.  It really comes down to what the market will bear.

Sorry to be so long-winded but I wanted to give you a really good glimpse at the coming year.  Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

Auburn:

Inventory is on opposing sides: while listing inventory remains very low, the sales inventory has picked up slightly- we saw three multiple offers and nine ratified offers.

The activity has picked up some and we had several great floor calls/walk-ins the weekend after Christmas.  One of our current challenges is appraisals.  We had an appraisal come in $5,000 over purchase price but in underwriting they took $15,000 from the price.  We had 3 new homes to tour yesterday and agents have several listing appointments scheduled for the next week.  ENERGY IS GOOD.

As we’ve had requests already for seven new Broker Price Opinions for bank owned assets, it’s a sign that we have some new inventory on the horizon.

On a positive note, Kim Tuttle, our new Coldwell Banker Home Loans mortgage advisor, helped one of Debi’s clients that was not approved by another lender with a VA loan and was able to get a FHA loan approved and funded in 2 weeks!

El Dorado Hills:

Inventory is about half what it was 18 months ago and 1/3 of those listings are short sales. REO inventory is very low. Sales activity seems brisk for the first week of the year with one sale (double end) over a million dollars. Clients are searching the Internet for agents, looking at the CAMoves website, personal websites and Googling agents for more information.

Elk Grove:

The listing inventory for the Elk Grove is decreasing while the sales inventory is holding steady.  We saw eight multiple offer situations for the reporting period along with 14 ratified offer.

Since we just came out of the holiday period, we only had four open homes held open.  The good news is that our office has recently received more REO assignments.  Agents who have relied on this as a source of business are focusing on building their core business.  Short sales continue to be approved at an increased pace.

Over the holidays, we experienced very high levels of activity.  Inventory remains extremely low and buyers are very active.  Prices appear to have stabilized on the low and mid range.  Bare land still seems to be stagnant.

Fair Oaks:

The real estate market at our office has been slower of course through the Holidays. But as of January 1, activity has blossomed. We are taking a lot more listings actually real sellers and a few more REO listings and Short Sales.

The buyers are out in droves but the problem is the inventory is still low.  Agents have been writing offers and have been getting accepted- yeah!  Multiple offers are also on the rise, due to the inventory.

The activity level of the agents is very positive. We have been working with the move up marketers program, technology training on myREcafe.com and how to analyze market trends- all of these tools are preparing our agents to have a great success this year!

Agents are also spending more time on writing personal notes, door knocking and geographical farm areas. Going back to the basics and the traditional real practices I feel very strongly that this will be the success of our agents in 2010

Metro:

This office is in the heart of Sacramento, and sees inventory in all price points; fortunately the listing inventory is increasing and the sales inventory is holding steady.

With that said, the bank owned assets and short sales continue to be a big source of our business.

Our office featured a very good marketing and preview tour of current available properties in our core areas this past week- will these be gone soon?  Our agents are also excited about our office’s annual kick-off meeting next week- it will be interesting to see what type of activity is sparked!

Placerville:

El Dorado County in general is very short on inventory. Everyone is wondering where the shadow inventory might be hiding. Floor time has been brisk with several walk in listings with sellers reasonable about their price and not distressed. We got approval on two short sales with closings in less than seven days.

Roseville-Granite-Bay

Listings are slow at this time.  Sales starting in January are up—10sales so far, Opens were slow first week, There is a lot information about the market so far this year. The agents in our office have a new mission statement this year, “CAN-DO ATTITUDE”. Everyone is excited about the new year and the opportunities that come with it!

Rocklin/Lincoln

The listing inventory is low but our agents have several listing appointments scheduled.

Sales are doing very well for this month- we had 18 ratified offers.  There are buyers that are qualified and ready to buy.  Perhaps the interest inching up a little is getting them off the fence.  We ended the month of December very strong and the agents are very busy, just need more inventory.

Light traffic for the few open homes that we had, but once again qualified buyers and the homes held open after Christmas had several groups and the agent received a couple of leads.  New years weekend was slow but one agent has a couple of new leads from the open house

We have continued to have meetings as usual and the agents have discovered that there is business out there during the holidays.  We are going to end the month doing very well with sales and closings but not as well as desired with listings.  ENERGY IS VERY GOOD and most of the agents had a good December.  We are having our Kick-Off meeting for Auburn/Rocklin-Lincoln next Tuesday, Jan. 12 with a guest speaker that helps with MEMORY and recall.  We have some new agents that have qualified for CB designations as well as made Master’s Club for the first time!!

Sierra Oaks

Shortage of inventory continues to be one of our biggest problems, and at the same time, our biggest opportunity.  Activity over the December period was seasonably slow, but we have seen a LOT of buyers in our area that are looking for properties.  These two factors have even led to bidding wars over some properties. Those that are not REO or Short Sale, and the ones that have been properly staged and/or priced right have had very fast selling periods.  In addition we are seeing the sell at asking price or above. Our Office goal is to get more listings and gain a much bigger market share in the coming year.

One glaring statistic from our Weekly Statistics Review shows that Sacramento County listings are down approximately 57% from last year (3268 vs.7575).  To this end, we are seeing a lot of our agents being a lot more aggressive and being more active at our Monday morning training classes.  In fact one of our newer agents has had a fantastic Month so far (only 1 week into the new year).  She already has 2 new sales and just closed 2 other sales.  On top of that she has picked up several new buyers and a listing opportunity.  To quote her, “my goal was to sell an average of 2 houses per month, but now maybe it should be 3”.  The key to her success has been her “work ethic” and opportunism.

Our REO specialist(s) reports banks/lenders are still holding properties and probably won’t be releasing any significant number of listings until March. However, they have begun releasing more than in the past several months.  In all, REOs inventory has shrunk close to 80% from a year ago, while short sales inventory remains about the same and represents about 40% of our inventory.  While a number of uncertainties remain, there still seems to be a pervasive optimism among our agents and their clients with regards to the New Year and the new decade.

North Lake Tahoe-Truckee Region

2009 ended with a flurry as the last half of the year resulted in 692 properties sold or 62% of the total sales in the market.  The combination of high inventory, lower sales prices, excellent interest rates and increased consumer confidence yielded greater sales than in 2008 for the Tahoe-Truckee real estate market.  While 2010 will continue to be a challenging year for real estate, we envision continued buyer interest in our market in taking advantage of the lowest home prices we have seen since 2003 and plentiful inventory.  Now is the time for buyers to consider an investment in a vacation home or investment property.  Conversely, it is an ideal time for homeowners to consider selling their property and buying up to a home or location of their dreams.

The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market dropped 8% from the previous week to its lowest point for the year.  Currently there are 1,567 active listings – 1,065 residential properties and 502 lots and land listed for sale.

Of the active listings, there are 159 properties listed as short sales, (10.1%) and 59 properties listed as REO sales, (3.8%).  Overall, REO’s and short sale inventory pales in comparison to state and nationwide averages for our market.

Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has a little over 14-months of inventory available.  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a bigger home or better location in the Tahoe-Truckee market.

For the year 2009, there were 1,112 properties sold in the market as compared to 1,023 for the same period in 2008 which is an 8.7% increase year over year.

For properties sold in 2009, 185 were REO’s, (16.6%), and 97 were Short Sales, (8.7%) which results in 25.3% of the properties sold being a short sales or REO.

For 2009, there were 645 properties sold priced below $500,000, 357 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 110 properties sold over $1,000,000.  The under $500,000 market realized 58% of the sales and was the most active relative to buyers.

Median and Average Sales Prices 2009 Vs 2008:  The median sales price for properties sold in 2009 was $450,000 while the average sale price is $576,310.  For the same period in 2008, the median sales price was $497,000 and the average sales price was $713,704 which is an (9.5%) and (19.3%) reduction in price respectively for one year.

For the last week of 2009, sales went up slightly from the previous week to 24 closed properties.  Of the properties sold last week, two (2) of those sold at a price above $750,000.  While homes under $600,000 are selling more rapidly than most, homes above $600,000 are still selling which points to the fact that homes priced right are being purchased by savvy buyers.

Vacaville:

Obviously you have heard this a lot, but 2009 was an interesting year for real estate- the boom of bank owned properties, changes in title, lending and appraisals caused some rough bumps, but quickened approval of short sales helped a bit with the inventory.

The HAFA program is going to be a benefit to our market in helping make homes more affordable and hopefully expedite the short sale process further, and also create an opportunity for those buyers to buy again sooner.

Our agents are primed and ready to go- we are working with our Move-up Buyer program that was launched here in September.   We saw five new listings already this week on the REO side- with increased inventory we’re sure to see increased sales.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a drop was expected. “It will be at least early spring before we see notable gains in sales activity as home buyers respond to the recently extended and expanded tax credit,” he said.

Welcome to our final edition of Weekly Market Watch for the year.  What a ride 2009 has been.  It will be interesting to look back at this edition of Weekly Market Watch a year from now to see how things have changed.  Will will be out of the woods then?  Will these tough economic times be a thing of the past?  All we can do is hope and continue to move forward, keep our heads held high and keep our eye on the prize.

I know most of us are out finishing our holiday shopping and getting into full holiday swing so I’ll keep my last Weekly Market Watch of the year short and sweet.  I came across a really good article in BusinessWeek this week and it had some very interesting images and graphics that I think help effectively tell the story of today’s market.

Following are excerpts from the BusinessWeek article entitled “A Housing Recovery Could Solidify.”

“Residential real estate prices have increased by about 5%, adjusted for inflation, since the end of the first quarter. As the inventory of existing homes for sale shrinks, a housing recovery could solidify. Sales have increased sharply in some of the hardest-hit states.

In Most of America, Home Prices Creep Up – A Lost DecadeFewer New-Home SalesExisting homes now make up about 93% of all sales, vs. a long-term historical average of about 85%.

 

Signs of Life in the Sunbelt—and Elsewhere
Four states—Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and California—have seen double-digit increases in sales volumes for existing homes since the end of 2008.”

So what does this mean and more importantly, the question of the day from so many of you is, what’s next?  Well here’s what I think.  While we probably are not out of the woods yet, housing is showing signs of stability, markets are showing signs of rational behavior and everyone is starting to understand the fundamental problems that brought us here.  I think the combination of those have us on the right path.  Are we going to suddenly see double digit appreciation in 2010?  Probably not. But I think we are on a good, sustainable path that should give us some modest growth in the coming year, largely in the most sought after affordable and mid-level markets.

In terms of the luxury market, I think only time will tell.  It was the last to feel the downturn and in all likelihood it will be the last to recover.  Knowing this, it is important to point out that there are always pockets that are the exception.  Real estate is local and there are always going to be those sought after neighborhoods, those one-of-a-kind properties, that just demand something different.  What I can assure you is that over the next year I’ll be watching the market closely and will keep you abreast of changes as they happen.

And with that said, let’s take a look at this week in real estate:

AUBURN

The listing inventory and the sales inventory are very low at this time in the Auburn area.   Historically, December is a slower month in real estate, however, this year, it is unusually low- with banks holding inventory portfolios until after the first of the year, it makes perfect sense.

Two is the magic number this week: two multiple offer situations, two ratified offers and two new bank-owned/ short sale listings.

 

The good news from the foothills is that the buyer activity is strong–very qualified buyers will be able to take advantage of that particular home when the inventory is back.

EL DORADO HILLS

The El Dorado Hills market seems to be in full holiday mode; Agents and clients alike are getting ready for the year end. Inventory continues to be scarce with about a third of the listings categorized as short sales. We’re seeing some improvement in the bank’s responses and hope they will continue improving their efficiency in 2010.

ELK GROVE/ LAGUNA

Even though the listing inventory in our market is declining, the sales inventory is steady.  We’ve had some impressive numbers as far as offers are concerned: eight multiple offer situations and 27 fully ratified offers for this reporting period.

Considering the cold, rainy and foggy weekends that we’ve had, the open home activity has been surprisingly good.  Brand new agents with less than three weeks of experience are working clients from open house leads.

There are not many conventional listings in our area as REO’s and short sales still dominate our market and anything in and our market average sales price is receiving multiple offers.  Agents that have that invaluable experience with short sales, are very efficient in getting offers approved.

On this cold, foggy December morning, buyer activity is red hot.  Unfortunately, like the last several months, inventory is low, low, low.  While we are seeing more “regular” deals, we need more inventory.

Street of Sacramento, California

SACRAMENTO-FAIR OAKS

The listing inventory is still down for the past two weeks. The REOs are very slow coming in. We are seeing a few more conventional sellers list their homes, but overall slow.

Sales inventory is slower the past two weeks. The Agents are thinking it is because of the banks hesitancy to release their inventory until after the first of the year.

Ratified offers for our office are up this month. The agents that have been working with buyers are finally seeing accepted offers.  A few of my listing agents have short sales going and a few REO listings are selling immediately.  As with the traditional market that we just came out of, the key is the correct pricing.

We didn’t see many open houses within this reporting period due to the holidays and the weather.  Those that were open had the expectedly low turnout.

We’re looking forward to 2010!

FOLSOM

While we are seeing increasing sales inventory, the listing inventory is not very positive- only one listing this week!  We did have nine ratified offers this week though!

Activity is also light with multiple offer situations, and open houses- are the holidays holding people back?  Out of 21 total sales, five were bank owned properties, and four short sales.

Want to hear something amazing?  We have a lot of buyers in the Previews (upper-end) price point!  In fact, there was one closing this week on a $1.1 million listing.  The agents that are still working through the holidays are being rewarded! Agents are getting ready for the new year in setting their 2010 goals and thinking about new marketing programs.

SACRAMENTO-METRO

It isn’t too much of a surprise that both the listing and sales inventory for this period is down, as are the multiple offer situations.    As long as the open homes were held in the popular, core areas, the traffic was steady.

We also aren’t surprised that bank owned inventory and short sales were over 50% of our business this past month.  Currently we are in a ‘holding pattern’ through the holidays- that has been the norm for years, it just seems so much more punctuated with the already slow market.

PLACERVILLE

Agents are positive and looking forward to a brisk first quarter. Many of the clients are waiting for the New Year. Prices seem to be stabilizing and buyers seem to be aware that we may have seen the bottom. The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors has finalized their approval of Proposition 90 which will allow some homeowners in other counties to transfer their tax base when they purchase a home in El Dorado County. This will go into effect in February and the county will charge a one-time fee of $500 on these transfers.

ROCKLIN-LINCOLN

I hate to sound like a broken record, but inventory all around is low, low, low.  Activity on multiple offers and open homes?  Also, low, low, low!

We have been seeing some requests from asset managers for broker price opinions on their bank-owned inventory, but haven’t seen listings follow- perhaps after the first of the year.

We continue to close on a few short sales but we are having a problem with appraisals coming in below offered price even when there appears to be comps to support the offer price.

ROSEVILLE- GRANITE BAY

Yea for Roseville; we saw nine sales this period!  Now for the bad news (and it is the same across the board) listings are slow, as is buyer activity on open houses.  The agents are eager for a better year ahead and are already planning a successful 2010.   Our office wants to wish the happiest of holidays to fellow agents, their families and especially our clients!

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

TAHOE CITY- COBBLESTONE/ TAHOE CITY- DOWNTOWN/  TRUCKEE DONNER PASS/  TRUCKEE GLENSHIRE

The active listing inventory for the Tahoe-Truckee market dropped again from last week due in part to properties selling as well as expired listings.  Currently there are 1,728 active listings – 1,154 residential properties and 574 lots and land listed for sale.

Of the active listings, there are 173 properties listed as short sales, (10.0%) and 66 properties listed as REO sales, (3.8%).  The percentage of properties classified as an REO or short sale, (13.8%) is much lower than most other markets in California.

Based on the current inventory and sales for the previous 30-day period, the market has a little over 14-months of inventory available.  The inventory of homes and land at today’s prices continues to favor the buyer interested in an investment property, vacation home or moving up to a bigger home or better location in the Tahoe-Truckee market.

Total Sales Year-to-Date 2009 Vs 2008:

On a year to date (YTD) basis there have been 1,034 properties sold in the market as compared to 980 for the same period in 2008 which is a 5.5% improvement.

For properties sold YTD 2009, 169 were REO’s, (16.3%), and 82 were Short Sales, (7.9%) which results in 24.0% of the properties sold being a short sales or REO.  For 2009, there have been 597 properties sold priced below $500,000, 330 properties sold between $500,000 and $1,000,000 and 107 properties sold over $1,000,000.

Median sales price for properties sold YTD in 2009 is $450,000 while the average sale price is $586,015.  For the same period in 2008, the median sales price was $500,000 and the average sales price was $723,332 which is an (10.0%) and (19.0%) reduction in price respectively for one year.

For the week of December 7th through the 13th, sales went down from the previous week to 23 properties.  Of the properties sold last week, six (6) of those sold at a price above $750,000.  While homes under $600,000 are selling more rapidly than most, homes above $600,000 are still selling which points to the fact that homes priced right are being purchased by savvy buyers.  Coldwell Banker was involved in 11 of the properties sold.

Pending sales increased slightly to 161 properties.

With the snow falling in the past couple of weeks and Christmas next week, we remain encouraged that current sales patterns will continue and buyer interest in our market will remain good as our inventory is plentiful and sales prices are at 2003-2004 levels.  Homes priced below $600,000 are where the most sales activity is occurring with multiple offers common.  The upper end of the market while not moving as rapidly as the lower end continues to demonstrate that homes priced well are definitely in demand.  Coldwell Banker currently has over 40 homes in escrow scheduled to close in the next 30-60 days.  Tahoe-Truckee Homes Prices are at 2003-04 Level!

VACAVILLE- FAIRFIELD

Our office is ending the year on a positive note!  While the inventory levels are down, our spirits are not- we are doing everything possible to get the market stirring.  I have a very strong feeling that we are going to see a lot of activity in the early part of 2010 and since our Agents are the ones hitting the pavement, may they be the ones that reap the benefits!  Happy Holidays to everyone from the Vacaville- Fairfield office!

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a very warm and happy holidays.  The past year has certainly been a challenging one for our nation but I am excited about what the coming year has in store.

I hope you enjoy your holidays and I wish you and yours a very happy New Year.

See you in ’10!

Bob Bronswick
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Sacramento/Tahoe