sacramento realtor: When the Highest and Best Offers Contain a Lowball
- 04/05/19 08:44 AM
My partner JaCi Wallace just listed a home for us in Sacramento that attracted a lot of attention. We could have suggested a higher list price to the seller but the problem was the home was in original condition. Been rented for a few years. Probably no updates since the early '90s. So we had to find that "sweet spot." We received multiple offers quite a bit over list price as buyers fought for it. The amazing thing in this is if we had listed at the highest and best offer price, we probably would have received lower offers . . . … (14 comments)
sacramento realtor: Have You Ever Had One of "Those" Days?
- 03/08/19 09:00 AM
All I can say is I am pretty lucky that my natural disposition is pretty easy going. Plans change? That's OK. I go with the flow, after all, I spend a considerable amount of time in Hawaii where the motto is expect the unexpected. I also actually thought I would simply "ease" back into being in Sacramento, in our chilly and wet weather, by leaving open options and starting out slow. Well, none of that happened yesterday. Much to the surprise, I imagine, of this guy who called to demand a showing. He called from out of state, said he and … (10 comments)
sacramento realtor: The Stats for February 2019 Sacramento Housing Market
- 03/05/19 07:45 PM
When looking at the statistics for the Sacramento housing market in February of 2019, it is hard to find silver linings, which is what most brokerages try to do. They look for strong signs and focus on those. Which makes me think everybody will be talking about the pending sale numbers, but I laugh at that. I see how many buyers flake in escrow and the number of sales that fall apart. Overall, we have more inventory than last year, sales are down, and I don't believe the vast majority of those sales in escrow will close. For example, in January, our … (12 comments)
sacramento realtor: Hawaii Island Living and Design Expo at Sheraton
- 02/25/19 10:44 AM
One of the nice things about being in an environment where tourists go is there are a lot of hotel activities everybody can attend. The Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce sponsored an event at the Sheraton this weekend called the Hawaii Island Living and Design Expo. It was held both Saturday and Sunday at the Sheraton in Keauhou. This is one of the prettiest spots on the Kona side of Big Island. I like attending these types of expos, although my husband detests them. He doesn't want to talk to home improvement vendors because he intensely dislikes home improvement projects. That's one … (9 comments)
sacramento realtor: Sacramento Realtors Who Wear Only One Hat
- 02/12/19 11:24 AM
You won't find very many Sacramento Realtors who wear only one hat. The reason is most of them can't afford to do it. If they stopped working with buyers, for example, and focused solely on sellers, they would lose half of their business. Or at least that's the way I figure they think. A fairly successful agent in Sacramento is a person who sells maybe 8 to 12 homes a year. Usually the way it works out is half of that is buyers and the other half is sellers. I understand that fear about giving away half of your business. But … (10 comments)
sacramento realtor: Many Showings Yet No Offers for a Home
- 02/06/19 09:53 AM
Sometimes it is not price when a home has many showings yet no offers. Sometimes it is a unique home, meaning not odd but just different from all of the others. Especially if it has been designed for use by one particular type of person, say, maybe an artist. Or worse, a person who has too much money and little vision. Sacramento buyers prefer and appreciate conformity. I've heard sellers speak of reasons they purchased such homes and we can't duplicate that place in history. Sometimes we are searching for that needle-in-a-haystack buyer. Sometimes not. You can read more in my personal blog … (5 comments)
sacramento realtor: What Entices People to Begin a Real Estate Career?
- 01/29/19 08:35 AM
It is no secret that for the majority of real estate agents, real estate is a second or third career choice. Rarely what they start out to do. You don't really hear children proudly proclaiming they want to grow up to become a real estate agent. Well, unless they grow up in a family real estate business. But with the way family dynamics work, they may instead choose to get as far away from real estate as they can. So how do people come to the decision to be a real estate agent? What drives them to seek a career in the … (18 comments)
sacramento realtor: From the 1970's: Creating Dual Agency Without a Listing
- 01/28/19 09:27 AM
Myrl's Jeffcoat's blog about when she started in real estate triggered this particular memory for me. She started about the same time as me, although a different decade. I tiptoed into the business when I began working as a title searcher at First American Title in 1974. After a few years of standing in 6-inch heels at the Boulder County Courthouse, I moved to California and began my next career in escrow, eventually earning Certified Escrow Officer status. Then, in the late 1970s, all hell broke loose in the real estate industry. Interest rates jumped to the upper double digits. Buyers could … (9 comments)
sacramento realtor: When Was the Last Time You Checked Your Laptop Storage?
- 01/26/19 09:31 AM
Seems it was several years ago that I subscribed to extra storage in iCloud and increased my storage capacity of Dropbox. What I didn't realize is iCloud mirrors your computer and uses space on your computer. So does Dropbox, because Dropbox works like a folder. The only way to save space with Dropbox is to use "selective sync" and unsync files from specific computers. Which sort of defeats its purpose. In any case, I thought I had fixed my storage capacity issue on my MacBook Pro. Instead I bought a little bit of time. Became clear when I checked my storage on … (6 comments)
sacramento realtor: How, Where and When Do You Check Your Email?
- 01/24/19 09:32 AM
One of the ways I astound my Sacramento clients and provide superior service is to respond immediately to emails. That is easier to do when you receive emails in a more timely manner, too. Our phones have helped a lot with that. Especially when we're out in the field. However, try reading a long email on your phone; it is very difficult. Now, try to do it on an Apple Watch. Some emails won't even appear on an Apple Watch. The other difficulty with reading email on your phone is sometimes you can miss the CC participants, so you might not respond … (28 comments)
sacramento realtor: How Successor Trustee Sellers Chose an Agent
- 01/17/19 09:49 AM
Oh, I remember this scene like it was yesterday. There I was, standing in the pouring rain, squeezed under an eave with my back flat against the wall to stay somewhat dry. Although, I was also splattered with mud, pretty much head to foot, due to riding ATVs in the rain and mud of Hilo. Trying to talk on my cellphone to a disgruntled agent in my company about why a listing that was on the verge of canceling was no longer canceling. In what seemed to me like an attempt to strong-arm, the agent had insisted his client, a lawyer (like … (4 comments)
sacramento realtor: One Home Buyer's Dog House is Another Buyer's Mansion
- 12/21/18 08:48 PM
Ya gotta love the buyer agents who think they know everything about your listing, seller intentions and how they would market, yet they really know only what they want. Which is not in agreement with your objective. But that doesn't stop them from trying to tell a listing agent how to do her job. Some even go so far as to inflate their ego, experience and plaster it in my email. I want to say get out of my email, you loser, you. Because they want me to act in a certain way that is advantageous to them. Which is not gonna … (12 comments)
sacramento realtor: What is Worse Than the Kiss of Death?
- 12/10/18 11:01 AM
Yesterday morning I spotted an email delivered to my inbox that contained a brand new listing. I have targeted specific neighborhoods with hotsheets in MLS (boy, that's an old term, hotsheets), to keep abreast of all activity. In this particular neighborhood, an interesting new listing popped up. But when I clicked on it, no photographs. I waited until late afternoon and checked again. Still no photographs. This made me wonder if it was on purpose, and what an odd thing to do. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: The Kiss of Death for a Sacramento MLS … (4 comments)
sacramento realtor: Newer Tri-Level Offers Urban Vibes in Sacramento
- 12/05/18 08:35 PM
The Southside Urban Villas were all the rage when they were built 11 years ago. That's because little infill development was happening in Sacramento at that time. Most of the homes you could buy near Southside Park, which borders Land Park going toward downtown, were much older, vintage classics. And then this subdivision of 34 individual free-standing homes popped up. They contain all the bells and whistles of course, for a care-free lifestyle. Granite counters. Cherry cabinets. Charging station for electric car. I would not be surprised if the Mill at Broadway was fashioned after this complex. Favors young Millennial professionals. You can … (1 comments)
sacramento realtor: The Winter Market Expectations for Sacramento Home Buyers
- 11/17/18 06:34 PM
After the open houses today, we begin the countdown to Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Year. This is the time of year in Sacramento that our real estate market typically slows down. Buyers are not as active in the winter months, but when they have to buy a home, they need to purchase a home. If a buyer is waiting until spring, though, I would caution against it. Spring is busier and there will be more competition for the beautiful homes. A buyer can purchase a beautiful home right now, today, at a lower price most likely, and with better financing. … (6 comments)
sacramento realtor: Agents Pull Out the Stops to Sell Sacramento Homes
- 11/13/18 08:40 AM
Don't ask me where this sign was located in Sacramento or which company because I didn't take the photo, my team member Josh did. He often sends me cute photos of places he goes. Generally it's places like the top of El Capitan in Yosemite or the bottom of river gorges in Idaho, not the front yard of somebody's house. However, it offered a discussion among the team as to why. Or, as Josh initially put it, we've been doing this all wrong! You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: One Way to Sell a House in … (6 comments)
sacramento realtor: October 2018 Sacramento Real Estate Market Stats
- 11/11/18 09:08 AM
Home buyers in Sacramento know something is changing in our real estate market, but they are not sure what that means to them, exactly. Some interpret the change to mean they can make crazy lowball offers, which they always can if they can find an agent to pursue that strategy. Others need to buy a home today. Between the two, we all know which agents prefer to work with. On the other hand, sellers haven't quite gotten the word. A potential seller called me yesterday to say she would like to sell her home AS IS -- and let me add that … (12 comments)
sacramento realtor: Once Again, Returned to Sacramento from Kona
- 11/09/18 08:37 AM
What I reiterate in my personal blog about today about the journey to Sacramento from Kona will not apply much, I predict, in the future. Primarily because Alaska Airlines now has flights directly to Sacramento from Kona. Hawaiian Airlines does not. Hawaiian flies to Maui and to Oahu but not directly to Sacramento. Not only that, but after settling in yesterday after the flight attendants offered a Mai Tai or whatever other choices there are, I dunno, we didn't push away from the gate for 90 minutes. We could have had a saucer of mac nuts, something. People on the plane were … (18 comments)
sacramento realtor: Is It Taking Longer to Sell a House in Sacramento?
- 11/06/18 08:28 AM
Why are these listings still here? This a question I have asked myself lately. We are priced at market value for the most part and no grabs. You might think it would be condition because today's buyers want remodeled, turnkey properties, with all the modern bells and whistles. None of this oak cabinet stuff, white appliances or icky carpeting. Yet remodeled homes are not jumping out the door, either. I felt the twinge in the air last May when every single listing I had needed a price adjustment. Because back then one could push the prices. My method was to establish a … (3 comments)
sacramento realtor: Signs That You Should Not Buy a House
- 10/27/18 10:54 AM
Being a Sacramento Realtor, I cannot stop looking at houses. Which is a good thing given my profession. Doesn't matter where I am in the world, I can't walk past a real estate brokerage without stopping to look at homes in the window. It's kind of like an obsession. Even while I am in Hawaii and in the midst of remodeling my house there, I look at other homes in Hawaii online. That's because I get the paper, West Hawaii Today, and Friday's edition contains a real estate section . . . I find when I'm looking at the homes, I become … (6 comments)
Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold, Midtown and Sierra Oaks Sacramento office. Co-partner Weintraub & Wallace Realtors. Selling since 1974. Homebuying expert at The Balance. Weintraub & Wallace sells homes from Galt to Lincoln. <
Author Bio: Elizabeth Weintraub is a Sacramento real estate broker, author, home buying expert for The Balance, a Land Park resident, who specializes not only in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento but sells extensively from Elk Grove to Lincoln. Weintraub is prominently known as the #1 Sacramento Short Sale agent throughout the Sacramento four-county area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 40+ years of real estate experience to work for you.
My partner JaCi Wallace just listed a home for us in Sacramento that attracted a lot of attention. We could have suggested a higher list price to the seller but the problem was the home was in original condition. Been rented for a few years. Probably no updates since the early '90s. So we had to find that "sweet spot." We received multiple offers quite a bit over list price as buyers fought for it. 
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