We are fortunate indeed to have a local PBS TV station based in Redding. Free broadcast of their quality cultural and educational programming improves our community and provides opportunity for kids. Recently, the Shasta Association of Realtors chose to begin sponsoring some programming to show our support for this terrific cultural resource. Here’s a sponsorship notification you’ll see soon.
Thanks Realtors, and thanks especially to KIXE. We’re glad you’re here.
Here’s the latest chart I can find that shows clearly the shape of the bus that hit the economy. This shows the bubble in statewide median home price. While Greater Redding’s overall median prices are lower, our price curve followed a similar trajectory.
Meanwhile, across the greater U.S. the chart shows the bubble was much less pronounced.
But still a bubble. And just so you know, this is from First Tuesday:
“35,202 new and resale homes closed escrow in California during April 2011, down 6% from one year ago when 37,481 sales closed escrow. Home sales dropped slightly from their March 2011 numbers in both Northern and Southern California.”
I’m trying to find a silver lining here. Help me out if you see it anywhere. This final chart puts things in perspective. If we had a line for Shasta County, it would be off the chart…
That’s what this lady did. She says here that she lived in her home for 24 years before a medical problem set her back financially. Apparently unable to work something out with the lender, she was foreclosed out. She has decided to move back in to her home, calling it repossession. The lender calls it trespass. We are left to decide the true meaning.
I know from direct experience that banks and government have well-oiled foreclosure machinery at work. Meanwhile, loan modifications and successful short sales are random exceptions. We don’t know the entire story here, but on the surface the question is clear. What should it mean to a civil society that one can pay 24 years of a 30 year mortgage, only to be bankrupted by a medical emergency? Both the mortgage industry and the medical industry are for-profit enterprises. Just doing their job.
What of the human cost?
Read the repossession story at the link. Back when I worked for banks and government, helping them sell foreclosed homes, the eviction “stories” became real people to me. Kids, and dogs, and crying mothers. I think we forget that, perhaps deliberately. The human cost.
Don’t just take our word for it. Try this fun online calculator put up by the New York Times. The average sale price of the 410 homes that have sold in Redding since the beginning of the year is $193,863. That gets you an average 1731 sqft home for about $108 per sqft, all averages this year. Here’s the results of the calculator using that average, and some typical financing options.
So after 4 years, it’s better to own. Click on the image to go to the live online calculator and try some different scenarios. Thanks NYT.
5 or 6 years ago, there was no way it made sense to buy. Now, that’s not true. If you plan on staying, and especially if you make the right choices for location and improvements, it really makes sense to buy.
Thanks to our clients and friends, we find ourselves again amonst the Top 10 agents at Coldwell Banker C&C Properties for April. There are a great many powerful agents in our office, so it’s really quite a feat to find ourselves among the most productive. My name is on the certificate, but it’s a team effort and Erin deserves recognition. The online image of her is from photographer Mike Greener, thanks.
Also of note, is that for April 2011, Coldwell Banker C&C Properties again dominated the marketplace. If you need to buy or sell, we have the resources. Especially if you need to sell. It’s still a tough market for sellers, and we offer much.
Sorry to toot our own horn here, but if we don’t do it, nobody else will. Again, this is the result of our many friends and clients who trust us to work on their behalf. Trust for which we are immensely grateful. Thanks!
Check out California and Florida. This interactive map of delinquent debt comes from the quarterly report of the New York Fed. They have several eye opening debt graphs there as well, including Auto Loans, Bank Cards, and Student Loans. Well worth a look, if you can stomach it. We like our debt, apparently.
An interesting article from the New York Times. They quote NAR as saying 40% of all sales are foreclosures, but I think the number is much higher here. I’ll check on that and write about it here. Meanwhile, the NYT article is a good jumping off point to gaining understanding the financing issues facing foreclosure buyers.
Or so we are led to believe by the photo. Is it real or is it digital? Does it even matter?
Either it was a once in a lifetime bonus moment for the real estate photographer, or it’s a masterful bit of software work. In this digital age, what’s the difference?
We think the defining line can be drawn where digital trickery affects the material value of the subject. A rainbow is an ephemeral weather event. Nobody really expects to see it there when they go to look at this house. Now, let’s say there was also a big high voltage tower in the background, and somehow it was digitally removed. That’s a clearly deceptive use of digital imaging technology that would affect the material value. So, digital rainbows = okay; pastel unicorns = not so much. The line is easier to define, when you look at it that way.
And, any way you look at it, this is a beautiful home.
The photographer has really done a great job of capturing the essence of this classic Redding luxury home in Stanford Hills, and you can view the rest of the images at the link.
We admire it, if only for the artistry of the photographer. But wait, we can also sell this house to you. If you like awesome, this is that. Described as “Arts & Crafts inspired” in the listing, we think it’s more American Craftsman influenced. But in fact, it’s quite a trendsetting home in and of itself, and no matter what came before. It meets the test.
It’s a 2006 built 5/4 of about 3,930 sqft. and available for $878,000. Representing the interests of the seller is Realtor Chad Phillips of Keller Williams. But if you’d like to see inside, we can make those arrangements for you.
Call or Text (530) 255 4070
We can’t promise you a rainbow, but perhaps there is some truth to the rumor of gold at its terminus. Lets find out together.
Here are a few upcoming sales of government owned homes that are not yet listed in our local MLS. Most are not priced yet, but we can keep you informed if you have an interest in any of these:
Property Status: PRE-LISTING
Address City County St Bed Bath List Price Broker
Zip Code: 96001
3580 SACRAMENTO DR REDDING SHASTA CA 3 1.50 $0
Zip Code: 96002
59 WILSHIRE DRIVE REDDING SHASTA CA 3 1.00 $131,000
Zip Code: 96003
727 COFFEEBERRY REDDING SHASTA CA 3 2.00 $130,900
1070 MONTCLAIR DR REDDING SHASTA CA 4 2.00 $0
11602 USONA DRIVE REDDING SHASTA CA 3 2.00 $0
13821 CREEK TRAIL REDDING SHASTA CA 0 0.00 $0
Zip Code: 96007
17347 TREAT AVE ANDERSON SHASTA CA 3 2.0 0 $0
Zip Code: 96019
4656 BONNEVILLE ST SHASTA LAKE SHASTA CA 0 0.00 $0
950 CENTRAL AVENUE SHASTA LAKE SHASTA CA 3 2.00 $99,900
Zip Code: 96022
3675 WESTHAVEN ST COTTONWOOD SHASTA CA 0 0.00 $0
19795 BEEGUM PEAK PLACE COTTONWOOD SHASTA CA 3 2.00 $0
Zip Code: 96073
10455 ORIOLE PALO CEDRO SHASTA CA 0 0.00 $0
Zip Code: 96088
7340 SUMMERS PLACE SHINGLETOWN SHASTA CA 3 2.00 $159,000
Wait, what? 7340 Summers Place? That was our recent Short Sale Listing, where we had a full price offer at $169K, but the bank refused to deal in good faith. Well, their loss, obviously, as now it is an REO for $10K less. It was a nice home. New in 2006, it’s a 1720 sqft 3/2, on about 2.5 flat acres.
We have more images of this beautiful home on file. Let us know if you’d like to see them.
Foreclosures are up around here, according to the local newspaper, reflecting the insane, self destructive behavior of banks, as reflected in the failed Short Sale example shown here. It’s a buying opportunity. We have good information on the inventory. Need info on any of these?
When the big natural gas pipeline blew up in San Bruno last September, it got a lot of attention. It killed 8 people, and not in a good way. So, how do you know if there’s a buried pipeline near the house you’re buying? First American Natural Hazard Disclosures now has a database of pipeline locations built into their Natural Hazard Reports. Plus, they have the location mapped by parcel, so you can get a clear idea if you are at risk. We think buyer’s ought to know what they’re getting, and this report adds a relevant piece of knowledge to the purchase.
Click to enlarge