Is it our Sarah for Vice President?

Growing up in Alaska makes you an Alaskan wherever you live and this morning I was, along with many others, surprised to hear that John McCain had selected Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, as his running mate. As much as I tried to write my Rocklin & Roseville Today column about real estate, I just had to say something about presidential politics, “Congratulations John McCain.”

Notes: The past two weeks have been very busy for us, hiring a new assistant, bringing on a new agent, two new listings, working with several buyers and getting back in the school routine with Mikie and our work at his school. The Labor Day weekend is looking so very good to me and I am sure to many others. The heat of the past few days is supposed to break tomorrow, we have three days to catch up and maybe even relax. Enjoy your weekend and be safe.

Meet Darci Mercer

We are delighted to announce Darci Mercer has joined our MagnumOne Realty family. She comes to us from Coldwell Banker where she worked on a successful team. Moving to MagnumOne will allow her to continue to work in a team atmosphere while building her own business. She grew up in the Roseville/Granite Bay area and has great experience in those markets but has also worked with clients in Sacramento and El Dorado counties.

Every time we recruit another agent it reminds me how many talented and dedicated people we have working and trying to make a living in the real estate industry. At the same time it is the opposite of what we have been experiencing with other agents recently. For example we have clients who believe they have found the perfect home in Roseville but the listing agent can’t seem to find time to get a key to show it. Hint, call a locksmith! Then there is the agent who didn’t list their correct telephone number in MLS. No wonder the house has had no offers. We had to call the client to get a number for the agent. Nice!

At MagnumOne we work hard to provide customized individual service to our clients and that is why we are so pleased to have Darci with us. To learn more about Darci Mercer click here.

New Listing in Rocklin Highlands

We have a new listing in one of Rocklin’s most desirable neighborhoods, The Highlands. Located at the top of Sierra College Road this is a semi-custom single level Tim Lewis home which has upgrades galore and has been wonderfully maintained like a new. With almost 3,300 square feet of living space there are not many single level homes as large. The only stairs in this house are the ones in and out of the sparkling pool in the resort like backyard.

As you can tell I am pretty excited about this home! Check it out on my website here or have a look at the virtual tour. If you want to arrange a private showing, please give me a call at 916 276-6883 or send an email to julie@jalone.com.

Cautiously Optimistic

There are still many unknowns including a new wave of foreclosures, rising unemployment and the aftershock of the credit crunch but the increase in home sales in the Sacramento area is encouraging. We still have way too many bank owned properties and inventory is still much too high to see a reverse in dropping prices but the decline is slowing. This and the level of activity in my own business as well as the other agents at MagnumOne Realty make me cautiously optimistic about where the Sacramento housing market is headed. Check out my latest column, Sacramento Home Sales Increase, over at Rocklin and Roseville Today and read more about the sales increases and my prediction.

Notes: Sorry there have not been as many posts this week. It has been one of those where the time and days seem to get away from me. Mikie has started school so our routine at home has changed and we have been interviewing for new assistants so all of that and my clients have kept me very busy. I am determined to get back on track today and tonight feel like I have accomplished a few things and not be further behind. Guess we will see!

New Era in Housing

The more I have been reading about the Housing and Recovery Act the more I believe it is the first critical element in the beginning of a new era in the housing industry. If you are interested in learning why I feel this way, check out my column, New Housing Cycle, over at Rocklin & Roseville Today and Sacramento Today.

By the way, we have had tremendous response to our request for applicants for our Executive Assistant position. I really appreciate those of you who took time to send me an email and recommend someone for the job.

Have a great weekend!

Californians to Get Refunds From Kickback Suit

Hundreds of thousands of Californians are expected to share in a $35 million settlement of a lawsuit that accuses some of the nation’s largest real estate brokers of taking kickbacks.

A federal judge in Los Angeles still must sign the agreement.

The lawsuit accuses brokers from an array of major companies, including Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA and RE/MAX, of accepting kickbacks for referring business to Property I.D. Corp. Property I.D., is a Los Angeles-based company that provides fire, floods, earthquake, and landslide hazard reports.

The suit alleges that brokers received $25 for every client steered to straw companies set up to disguise the kickbacks.

Under the settlement terms announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the firms denied wrongdoing but agreed to give customers who bought the reports from 1996 to 2006 a full refund – typically about $100.

Is there a bail out?

I have read a fair number of blogs complaining about the governments “bail out” of people who over borrowed and companies who were responsible for much of the credit crunch. I don’t think the Housing Recovery Act is a mistake because it would not be prudent to push the economy into a long recession or even depreciation which I believe is a real possibility.

Only time will tell if the Housing Recovery Act will be successful but in my opinion when the financial system is faced with collapse there was no choice but to act.

In other news from Washington, earlier this week, the Federal Reserve did not make any changes in discount rate, leaving it at 2 percent. In their press release the Fed stated, "Although downside risks to growth remain, the upside risks to inflation are also of significant concern,"

The talking heads all seem to think we will see any interest rate changes from the Fed for the balance of the year as they watch and assess the risk to the economy.

Good News for First Time Home Buyers

The Housing Recovery Act of 2008 contains a tax credit for first time home buyers which will be beneficial here in the Sacramento real estate market. Although it is actually a loan, repayment is stretched out over 15 years and is interest free. The maximum benefit is $7,500 but is conditioned on purchase price, adjusted income and tax filing status.

Sound complicated? It really isn’t, check out the easy to understand details in my weekly column, First Time Home Buyers, over at Rocklin & Roseville Today and/or Sacramento Today.

Guest Author - Louise Buford

Guest Author – Louise Buford

Here we are in August! It was three years ago this month when the super hot Sacramento real estate market hit the wall. Since then it has been pretty much down-hill since then with prices declines ranging from 28.5 percent in El Dorado to 43.2 percent in Sacramento.

Finally, earlier this week the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed into law. It is a fairly complex piece of legislation and since much of it deals with mortgage industry I wanted to have an experienced lender write about how it may impact us. I couldn’t be happier that my first choice, Louise Buford with Partners Mortgage accepted this challenge and even promised to write a second article later in the month that will cover some of the other aspects of the bill including FHA loans.

Louise’s article, “How the housing bill can help you” is posted on my Real Estate News page at Jalone.com and provides a quick overview of some of the acts most important elements and even if you are not an industry professional I recommend reading it.

By the way, Louise is one of a small handful of lenders that I recommend to MagnumOne Realty clients. She is one of those rare people who do what they say they will and keeps her clients informed