Real Life Real Estate Blog

Do you live in the Washington D.C. area? Do you want fair access to a multiple listings service? Too bad…at least for now. Federal anti-trust lawyers are working to unravel the web of collusion created by a group of Columbia area brokers who formed the MLS company in their area and are using it to exclude other brokers and maintain higher fees…allegedly. For more on the story you can read this detailed article at cnbc.com.

Ever hear the phrases, “turn that frown upside down” or “see the glass as half full?” Each one is a reaction to the palpable pessimism of the person at whom it is directed (try saying this three times fast…palpable… pessi… uh!). Depending on your mood, or which parking space you didn’t get into this morning, these phrases can be quite annoying. Yet, other times you’ll find yourself repeating these colloquialisms to a downtrodden friend or co-worker. Even though I’m a pretty optimistic person, I am certainly not one of those suspiciously cheerful gals who smiles widely no matter what’s going on around me. However, I am willing to run the risk of offending some of my more pessimistic readers (none of which is intended) by applying a “look on the bright-side” mentality to the current Sacramento Real Estate market.
I know there are people out there whose houses are “upside down” and that is definitely reason to frown. But even in the worst of situations some good can be found for someone. Short sales with governmental debt forgiveness help or even a phone call to the bank for loan modification might possibly save some owners from complete despair. Instead of going down the path of Chicken Little, I would like to address the flipside of the housing downturn for the new fortunate members of society. There are plenty of people who would like to own homes that never have before, and others who are finally able to afford to invest in real estate for the long term benefits. These people are the yang (tranquility) to the housing markets ying (chaos). While average home prices are still lowering, the number of great deals on homes for sale is slowly starting to decline. “Why?” one might ask. It’s simply because… many people who buy homes now for $250K that sold years ago for so much more…are finding their “diamond in the rough” instead of a “sinking ship.” Great deals are going into “pending status” daily in the greater Sacramento area. My advice, change your frame of reference and act now because people will still be complaining of the housing market woes when the glass really does get to half empty and the housing market starts to bubble up again.

Please, do not confuse the seccesion that took place in South Carolina with what I discuss in this article. A whole war was already fought over those issues. It is in no way my intention to revisit them here. The topic today is the debate over the Arden Arcade Community incorporating as its own city and leaving the control of the County of Sacramento. The discussion over the issue has gotten pretty hot, although I have yet to see cannon and calvary marching down Fulton Avenue. However, a vote won’t even be possible until November. So, why all the hullabaloo?

Because LAFCO ( Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission), the entity that oversees contracts for consultants on city/county matters, allowed an environmental and fiscal study necessary to making the legislation to miss the deadline for going to a vote in November. Read more about it here on the Sacramento Bee’s website. Also, read more about both positions on the matter below.

Those opposed say Aye

Those in favor say Aye

Today marks a momentous occasion for RealLifeRealEstateBlog. We are introducing the first of several new contributors to help provide useful information about Real Estate, along with some fun stuff. Her name is Janine Romney and since her debut here at RealLifeRealEstateBlog coincides closely with the start of the 2008 Major League Baseball season, she has provided us with the Season Schedules for the A’s and the Giants on our new “Fun Things in NorCal” page. Look forward to hearing more from her on important title issues and interesting events in and around the Sacramento Area.

Zillow.com is adding yet another “user friendly” element to their website. Kevin Boer goes into great deal about it in an article on his site, 3oceansrealestate.com.

My advice is to forget the media, water-cooler buzz, bank advertisements, etc… and go straight to your favorite Realtor and ask for recent pending & sold statistics within a 1/4 mile neighborhood radius of your “dream home.” Why? Because the bottom has literally gone up in some markets. Since February 1st, I have been involved with more multiple offerings than all of last year combined! Anatolia and Elk Grove in the Sacramento Valley have people clammering over short sales and bank owned properties. Just last week, I could no longer find what 2 of my buyers were looking for in these areas. They were priced out with 8 offers on one home and 15 on another. Ok, I admit the homes are priced to sell, but eventually they will ALL sell. I think you get the point. Don’t hedge your bets so closely that you get greedy! Think about it for a minute. That was pretty much the mindset that got us into this mess. All I can say is go out and purchase now and make any reasonable offer on a traditional listing, short sale or bank owned home you like. Regardless of what you hear about the market going up or down…you are likely to get a great home in the scheme of things. So cheers, California has NEVER been so affordable…and I’ll drink to that!

Just now Ben Bernanke and the FED announced yet another rate cut. The FED’s discount rate was cut 3/4 of a % to 2.5% and the FED Funds Rate was also cut 3/4 of a % to 2.25%. I know most people think that rate cuts are good and they look that way because people automatically think that rates going down means adjustable mortgage rates go down…not true. A lot of people’s rates can actually go up because they are tied to other indexes that rise when the FED rates are lowered. If you are one of those lucky people whose adjustable mortgage payments went down, congratulations! You can thank Ben Bernanke for decreased housing expenses and for inflation that makes everything else in your budget more expensive. This is quite a gutsy move for the FED to pull when one of America’s biggest and oldest financial institutions, Bear Stearns, went from something like $150 a share to being bought for $2 a share by JP Morgan in a week! If that isn’t a Great Depression style bank run, I don’t know what is. Check out CNBC.com for more details about the cut or read Pat Kitano’s article about Bear Stearns on Transparentre.com

I just returned this week from Monterrey Mexico and I have to tell you that it is NOT good to be home. If it were up to me I would have stayed, but I do have silly things like family, friends, and a job that pulled me back to Sacramento. I went with my colleagues from Team Shanahan to Realty World’s 9th annual convention in Monterrey, Mexico. We were there working for a week like any business trip only this one was a little different. The people that we met inside and outside of the convention made it a week to remember. The leaders of Realty World Mexico did a great job of putting together presentations from great speakers with relevant information for the brokers there. What we saw at the convention and the people we met inspired us to begin posting articles from brokers in Mexico regarding their everyday lives, Mexican Real Estate, and their market knowledge so you the reader can get to know and love Mexico as I have. We here at Team Shanahan have teamed up with several brokers in Mexico who would love to let Americans interested in investing, retiring, or vacationing in Mexico know more about Mexico from people who actually live there! So look for more and more articles regarding Mexico in the coming weeks. I’ll also be posting more pictures that I took on the trip just because Monterrey is a very beautiful city and I want to show off my awesome cell-phone photography skills

It’s official. The conforming loan limit has been temporarily raised. While it won’t save the economy, it will definitely make it easier on those who are encountering difficulties when looking at their home finance options. Check out this article in the Seattle Times.

I feel as if there should be horns blaring from every mortgage office in America with the news of a bill that will raise the conforming loan amount from $417K to $625-$725K. Either number would add some much needed help. One of the main obstacles in doing a loan in California or New York or any area where the median home price is more than $150K is the conforming loan amount. Most people don’t know what the conforming loan amount is, so if you are not already privy to it, here it is. The conforming loan amount is the maximum total loan amount (includes fees, taxes, insurance,etc.) that either of the two government entities, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, will guarantee to buy on the secondary market. What does that mean? That means that under the current rules, if your bank does a loan for you for under $417K and they can’t sell it on the secondary market as a mortgage security, the government guarantees them that either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae will buy them. Because loans over this amount are somewhat more risky because there is no guaranteed buyers for the banks, these loans cost more and are often prohibitively expensive to home buyers.