(median sales price by zip code):

95608 Carmichael  $218,000

95821 Sacramento $135,000

95825 Sacramento $135,000

95826 Rosemont $153,500

95825 Arden $310,000

95827 Rosemont $141,500

95864 Arden Arcade $249,750

95811 Midtown $589,000

95814 Downtown/Midtown $820,000

95815 Arden Arcade Creek $50,000

95818 Land Park $278,750

95816 Downtown/Midtown $290,000

95819 East Sac $316,250

95820 Elder Creek/Fruitridge $80,000

The Sacramento Association of Realtors recently released the statistics for the month of August 2011. The full stats can be found here. The summary is below.

• sales increased 8.4% from July
• closed escrows were up 14.4% from this time last year
• The sales break down was as follows: 642 REOs (37.5%), 411 short sales (24%) and 658 conventional sales (38.5%)—

  • These numbers have stayed relatively level month to month with REOs down only .2%, short sales up 5.7% and conventional sales down 3.5%.

• Sacramento condominium sales increased for the month to 153 units.

  • This figure is up 17.2% from the 130 units sold in July and up 19.5% from the 128 units sold last year.

• The median home sales price remained low, decreasing .6% to $165,000 from the $166,000

  • Compared with August 2010 ($186,000), the median sales price is down 11.3%.

These numbers show us that prices are still low. I believe we will still see prices decline in many areas in Sacramento. This is a great time to take advantage of low rates coupled with low prices. Many times a person can buy a home for less or equal to what they are paying in rent. For example a payment on a $200,000 home with 3.5% down ($7,000) is about $1300 at 4.5% interest rate. I am sure we all know of people who are paying a lot more than this in rent. There are many homes available at this price and even lower.

If you know of someone who doesn’t necessarily want to sell but would like to take advantage of the low prices, we can explore the option of renting out their current home. Or many times if they are hoping to sell in the next few years, now may be the best time as we do not anticipate prices getting better any time soon in most areas. The advantage to this is that they would be able to take advantage of the buyer’s market and save money in that respect.

jenica@jenicawilliams.com 916-779-6706

• For June, sales increased 5.1% from May
• Year-to-year, closed escrows were down 2.4%–Making up the closed escrows this month were 735 REOs (42.4%), 396 short sales (22.8%) and 603 conventional sales (34.8%).These numbers have changed month to month with REOs up 2.1%, short sales down 2.5% and conventional sales down .8%.

• 75% of escrows this month spent less than 90 days on market. The DOM (days on market) is figured from the time the property is listed to the time the property enters escrow. Continuing this analysis, 50% of home sold this month spent less than 35 DOM and 25% of all homes sold this month entered escrow in less than 15 days of being on the market. Compare these numbers with February, where 75% of homes sold entered escrow in 107 days, 50% in 52 days and 25% in 17 days on DOM. Homes are spending less time on the market, this is especially notable because more than 65% of all homes sold were distressed properties (either REO or short sales).

• Right now many properties have multiple offers. If they are not priced right they will sit on the market.
• We are still seeing sellers credit 3% toward buyer’s closing costs but if there are multiple offers and you are a buyer who really wants the property, you will have a better chance of getting it if you don’t ask for closing costs.
• As far as short sales go. They are everchanging! What can ruin a short sale when you are a buyer with an offer out there? Well the seller can file bankruptcy in the middle of it, the property can go to foreclosure, the seller can decide to try and keep the home and do a loan modification, or the bank can ask for money from the sellers and if the sellers can’t pay and you as a buyer don’t want to pay it, that can also ruin the deal–because of all of these items it is VERY important that all buyers work with an experienced Realtor.
• For sellers and short sales-we are getting short sales approved even when sellers are not behind on payments so you don’t have to be late to do a short sale–remember the short sale often times costs sellers no money and sometimes the banks will even pay a seller to cooperate!

Happy Buyer Clients -Robert and Karen– July 14th, 2011–They ended up getting a property while it was still in escrow with another buyer who could not perform–sometimes there are situations like that. With persistence we were able to get them the property even before it had a chance to come back on the market. What a happy time for them!! Congrats Robert and Karen!!

Until Next Time

• Breakdown of Market -48.1% REO (foreclosures), 22.2% Short Sales, 29.7% Conventional Sales (Equity Sales)
• Median Sales Price-decreased 1.8% from 169,000 to 166,000
• Range- The 200,000 to 249,999 price range accounts for 16.5 % of sales, homes under $100,000 were 17.8% of sales
• Days on Market-the median amount of days on market was 49
• Condos-sales increased 25.2%, median price increased 1.3% from $79,000 to $80,000

see full statistics March Stats

For any and all real estate needs, please contact us at 916-779-6706 or jenica@jenicawilliams.com. We are always happy to serve our buyers and sellers!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rrKcqb-JrQ&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Vote For 30 Under 30

What: Sacramento’s Foreclosure Prevention Workshop

Who: Experienced Real Estate Attorney, Mortgage Lender, Accountant and Realtor ALL specializing in foreclosure prevention

Where: Summit Funding Building 3620 American River Dr. STE 150 Sacramento, CA 95864

When: March 24, 2011 @ 7:00 PM

Why: You owe it to yourself to find out how the banks are responding in today’s environment in Sacramento. Avoid the common mistakes of foreclosure. There’s every reason to know your options! Our knowledgeable guest speakers will give you the facts that you need to avoid foreclosure.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyTh7HkTlWk[/youtube]

Do you have questions regarding your specific situation? Come and get the answers you need from experienced professionals who created this workshop to help you.

Foreclosures increase in January and short sales are 1/4 of our market here. My experience and what I am seeing in the market and more!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cP4tVNsMGo[/youtube]

Many homeowners may be struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments because they have a second lien. Even when a first mortgage payment is affordable, the addition of a second lien can sometimes increase monthly payments beyond affordable levels. Second liens often complicate or prevent modification or refinancing of a first mortgage.

The 2nd Lien Modification Program (2MP) offers homeowners a way to lower payments on their second mortgage. 2MP offers homeowners, their mortgage servicers, and investors an incentive for modifying a second lien. Servicers and investors may also receive an incentive for extinguishing a second lien, forgiving all of the debt a homeowner owes.

Homeowners must provide consent to share their first lien mortgage modification information with their second lien mortgage servicer, if they are different. Since 2MP is meant to be complementary to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), a homeowner must have their first lien modified through HAMP before the second lien can be modified under 2MP.

Under 2MP, with their investor’s guidance, a mortgage servicer may:

• Reduce the interest rate to one percent for second liens that pay both principal and interest (amortizing);
• Reduce the interest rate to two percent for interest-only second liens;
• Extend the term of the second lien to 40 years;
• If the principal was deferred (through forbearance) on the first lien, a servicer must forbear the same proportion on the second lien;
• If the principal was forgiven on the first lien, in accordance with the Principal Reduction Alternative program, a servicer must forgive the same proportion on the second lien; although a servicer may, in its discretion, forgive a larger portion or all of the second lien and will receive incentives for doing so.

A second lien is eligible for 2MP if:

• the corresponding first lien has been modified under the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program and the second lien servicer is participating;
• it was originated on or before January 1, 2009;
• it does not have an unpaid principal balance (at consideration for the modification) of less than $5,000 or a pre-modification scheduled monthly payment of less than $100;
• it has not yet been modified under 2MP;
• it is not subordinate to a second lien or is not a home equity loan in first lien position;
• it is not a second lien on which no interest is charged and no payments are due until the first lien is paid in full; and
• the second lien servicer is in possession of a fully executed 2MP modification agreement or trial period plan by December 31, 2012; or the second lien is not insured, guaranteed, or held by a Federal government agency (e.g. FHA, HUD, VA, and Rural Development).

List of Participating Servicers
Bank of America (including Countrywide)
BayView Loan Servicing, LLC
Chase (including EMC and WaMu)
Citi Mortgage, Inc.
Community Credit Union of Florida
GMAC Mortgage, LLC
Greentree Servicing, LLC
iServe Residential Lending, LLC
iServe Servicing, Inc.
National City Bank
Nationstar Mortgage, LLC
OneWest Bank
PennyMac Loan Services, LLC
PNC Bank
Residential Credit Solutions
Servis One dba BSI Financial Services
Wells Fargo (including Wachovia)

More servicers will be added in the near future as they join the program.

For more info visit http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/lien_modification.html