Elite Properties Sacramento - Broker's Blog

Realtor(r) Trademark fixer Wordpress Plugin

2008-06-17T20:11:21Z

Tired of typing that registered trademark symbol on the r-word every few minutes? I know I was.

This plugin fixes it, for Wordpress Users. Just type the word, lower case or upper, and the trademark appears by plugin magic. You'll need basic knowledge of how to install a Wordpress Plugin, or someone who does, but other than that it should be fairly straightforward.

Cheers.

I Clicked the Unsubscribe Link on This

2008-06-17T01:01:33Z

It didn't work. Maybe ActiveRain wants me to have free content. 200 points please.

June 16th, 2008

Hey BROKERS and AGENTS!!! Learn how to Quadruple your listing database by making offers to BUY Houses...If they do not except your price and terms... YOU WILL GET ALL THE LISTINGS.

Featured Blogs

	A Very Simple View of Our Sub-prime Crisis. Who is to Blame? Alan 'AJ' Nisen California Contra Costa Mortgage Officer (A Large Bank in America)
	Inflation and the Impact on Real Estate. Jim Crawford ~ Atlanta Real Estate-ABR E-PRO (RE/MAX Greater Atlanta)
	A Sure Way to Get Feedback on a Showing..... Julie Chapman Realty Homes Brunswick Georgia (Member's only so you'll need to login)
	Are You Cutting Back or Increasing Your Service? Randy L. Prothero - Hawaii REALTOR® (Century 21 Liberty Homes)
	Is Your Voicemail Blocking Your Blessings? You Might Be Surpised !!! Eric Reid Lawrenceville,GA (Renaissance Realty Group)
	The Fish Whisperer: Catch and Release is No Way to Land Clients Janet Guilbault, California Mortgage Expert (Peregrine Lending Company)

Take new media marketing to the next level! Sep 19-21 in Las Vegas. Register for RE BlogWorld by June 19 and save $200. RE BlogWorld

Houssee Award Winners #2 Announced

2008-06-13T18:41:10Z

And here they are. Two ActiveRain blogs took home the honors this week.

West Roseville Real Estate Market Snapshot 95747

2008-06-12T13:57:02Z

Finishing up our series of Roseville Market snapshots (for now -- anyway -- we may have an aggregate market update for Roseville available soon), here is a snapshot of market data for West Roseville (95747) for May, 2008. This snapshot reprinted by permission from the Roseville Real Estate Blog.

Unit Volume Data

Units Sold	May, 2007	May, 2008	Change
Foreclosures Sold	12	36	200.00%
(% of total units)	18.75%	42.35%
Short Sales Sold	4	11	175.00%
(% of total units)	6.25%	12.94%
Non-distressed Sold	48	38	-20.83%
(% of total units)	75.00%	44.71%
Total	64	85	32.81%

Price Data

Prices	May, 2007	May, 2008	Change
Sold Price / Square Foot	$230.26	$172.48	-25.09%
Average List Price	$472,039	$400,729	-15.11%
Average Sale Price	$461,728	$387,516	-16.07%

Inventory

Sold Last 12 Months	Active	Months of Inventory
723	344	5.7

Central Roseville Real Estate Market (95678)

2008-06-12T13:48:01Z

This Central Roseville real estate market snapshot is reprinted by permission of the Roseville Real Estate Blog. It covers the period of May, 2008 with inventory figures as of June. This report is based on MLS data and covers Roseville 95678.

Unit Volume Data

Units Sold	May, 2007	May, 2008	Change
Foreclosures Sold	7	32	357.14%
(% of total units)	16.67%	56.14%
Short Sales Sold	2	6	200.00%
(% of total units)	4.76%	10.53%
Non-distressed Sold	33	19	-42.42%
(% of total units)	78.57%	33.33%
Total	42	57	35.71%

Price Data

Prices	May, 2007	May, 2008	Change
Sold Price / Square Foot	$223.99	$162.71	-27.36%
Average List Price	$368,172	$295,658	-19.70%
Average Sale Price	$359,077	$288,693	-19.60%

Inventory

Sold Last 12 Months	Active	Months of Inventory
456	230	6.1

East Roseville Real Estate Market Snapshot

2008-06-12T13:41:42Z

This market snapshot covers the period May, 2008 for East Roseville, California (95661). Reprinted by permission from http://www.rosevillehomesandland.com.

Price Data

Prices	May, 2007	May, 2008	Change
Sold Price / Square Foot	$229.39	$190.22	-17.08%
Average List Price	$421,297	$405,650	-3.71%
Average Sale Price	$407,416	$395,374	-2.96%

Inventory

Sold Last 12 Months	Active	Months of Inventory
247	152	7.4

Unit Volume Data

Units Sold	May, 2007	May, 2008	Change
Foreclosures Sold	2	11	450.00%
(% of total units)	9.09%	37.93%
Short Sales Sold	2	0	-100.00%
(% of total units)	9.09%	0.00%
Non-distressed Sold	18	18	0.00%
(% of total units)	81.82%	62.07%
Total	22	29	31.82%

Houssee.com Real Esate Blogging Award #1 -- Winners Announced

2008-06-06T21:53:11Z

ParticleWave.com is pleased to be the host of the first ever Houssee Award, so those of you who signed up and sumbitted blog posts or other news may find that you have won THE SHIRT.

For those of you who didn't, weather permitting we'll have more Houssee Awards from time to time, so there's still time to ammend your shirtless ways. Just go over and sign up and start submitting and voting for your favorites.

Remember, a lot of people come to the end of their lives and find they don't regret the time they didn't spend with their families and loved ones, but looking back they'd wish they'd spent more time submitting their blog entries to Houssee.com so they could win a picture of a tee shirt.

Congratulations again to all the winners.

P.S. The winning posts were much better than this one. I promise. I don't even think I'd submit this post on Houssee.

P.P.S. No, come to think of it, I think I will. I doubt it will win, though.

Phoning It In

2008-06-05T18:16:42Z

This blog here on ActiveRain has gotten kind of ignored lately.

I think the great ActiveRain public have caught onto the fact that I'm phoning in my blog, so they're phoning in their support, as it were.

Either that, or the folks I used to pal around with here are enjoying the busy season. The nice thing about being a Broker is that I too am enjoying the busy season, but I get to spend more time at my desk than most agents even in the busy season.

Maybe I should stop phoning it in and start writing great in-depth journalism and engaging in witty repartee. Or half-witty repartee, maybe. Half-witted Cool Whip, in any case.

In one respect, having a blog where not much is going on is somewhat liberating. I get to say what I want here, without fear of undue readership.

I had wished for a few more people to come by and check out Houssee.com from here. Response was underwhelming. I guess incoming links are less entertaining than points. Either that or no one's got anything to submit up there, because they're phoning it in, too.

I'm going to think about setting up call forwarding.

If you know what that means, let me know. I phoned it in.

A Perfect 10 Inside and Out in Cameron Park

2008-06-05T12:18:07Z

A Perfect 10 Inside and Out

Wanted: bright, open floor plan. Competitively priced, yet not a short sale or foreclosure. Immaculately remodeled within the last few years. A big, shady, corner lot with a big back yard. All this in a fantastic location with great schools. Stop looking, we found it for you, and it would be an honor to show it to you. Or call your agent and get her to show you this before it's gone.

Information

Contact Information

Vicki Agregado-Babcock

(530) 409-1100

Contact Reply Form

Forward to a Friend

View Other Flyers

Pricing

Asking Price: $399,900

Features

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2

Parking: Ample

Year Built: 1987

Subdivision: Deertrail Estates

Lot Size: .253

Garage Size: 2 car

School District: Rescue Union / El Dorado Union

Square Footage: 1640

Agent Name: Vicki Agregado-Babcock

Broker: Elite Properties

MLS #: 80055485

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Dishwasher

Sink Disposal

Microwave

Interior Amenities

Security System

Exterior Amenities

Fenced Yard

Trek deck

Photo Gallery

View as Slideshow View Photo Gallery (20 Photos)

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

VFLYER ID: 1693151

Houssee.com adds Top User Feature

2008-06-03T20:25:33Z

Read about it here.

Submit early. Vote often!

Publish and Vote for Your Favorite Real Estate Stories on Houssee.com

2008-06-02T13:30:10Z

For the past few weeks I've been an active user of RealEstateVoices.com, which I review here. This is a neat, established site, but one of the things I really didn't like about it was the huge amount of Spam, including ads for little blue pills, laptop batteries, cheap hotels, and any other sort of Spam you can think of.

With this in mind, I have just launched Houssee.com, which is running on the same open source software (Pligg), but which I've vowed to make as spam free as possible. I would like to invite you all to come and check it out and publish your stories there.

Naturally I have a lot more to do. The Spam fighting tools in Pligg beta are pretty primitive, so I have to look into upgrading or coding my own fixes to help with this. Also, as time goes on, in addition to the links you get from submitting your stories, I'll also be rewarding top contributors with home page links. (Based on who voted for your stories like RealEstateVoices, or possibly top # of stories submitted, or how many people YOU voted for -- or some combination of that to be determined later).

None of this is especially difficult, and I'm willing to take on all of that and really dig in and make this a valuable resource, if there's enough interest. But I need your help. So come sign up, spread the word, etc.

Another possible aspect of Houssee is this: I would also like to do a weekly link love post featuring the best of Houssee.com. I had originally envisioned Houssee site as not just another Digg clone, but as a cross between Digg and the Carnival of Real Estate. So "Houssee" was the name of the award you win. Unlike the Carnival, however, the selection would be entirely or mostly user-vote driven, but like the Carnival the content would be highlighted each week in a blog post somewhere.

I may have more news about this depending on how it all works out.

Meantime please come by, sign up, and start submitting and voting on stories!

Greater Sacramento Real Estate Market Update Roundup

2008-05-27T13:59:06Z

Here's a roundup of some of the real estate market updates that Elite Properties bloggers published in May in Sacramento County. Generally these articles deal with sales for the previous month (April):

Folsom

Franklin / Freeport

East Florin / Churchhill Downs

Rosemont

Elk Grove

Antelope

Sacramento County Condo Market

Sacramento County Real Estate Market Part I and Part II.

Overall the story for our entire area is one where prices have fallen heavily, and demand has turned a corner and is picking up. Even the Sac Bee is picking up the story of a real estate recovery.

Maybe you can use some of the clout you claim to have...

2008-05-19T20:50:36Z

...in the email you sent a dozen times to see about getting the bug fixed.

Click on the picture to see the whole thing.

Short Sales Are Fake Listings

2008-05-17T00:09:01Z

I've been writing a lot about short sales in the past week or so, because I really do feel that we do a buyer a disservice if we don't point out that short sales are neither short nor sales.

Lately I've gotten even more curmudgeonly about it and have taken to calling them fake listings, following Frank LLosa's lead. For more on that point of view, see my three part article series, Are Short Sales Fake Listings?

I'm also going to have another article coming out on the overall Sacramento numbers and how they continue to make the point. These listings are discounted some 24% from non-distressed listings, yet the non-distressed homes out-close them by more than two to one!

Gimme them old time REOs, they're good enough for me.

Open House Sunday in Cameron Park, 1-4 PM

2008-05-15T12:37:00Z

Vicki Agregado-Babcock is holding her beautiful listing at 3262 Sandhurst Court open on Sunday, May 18th, from 1PM to 4PM.

Come check out this lovely home -- I got a chance to preview it this past week and it's definitely a keeper!

For more information about this lovely home, check out the following links:

3262 Sandhurst Court Web Site (with photo gallery)
Map to Property
School Information
Schedule a Showing

Location Information
County:	El Dorado	MLS Area:	12601
Cross Street:	Sandhurst	Census Tract:	0
Location:	Cul-De-Sac, Snow Line Below	Subdivision:	Deer Trail Estates
Directions:	Hwy 50, North on Cambridge Rd. go aprox. 2 miles. Turn left left on Sandhurst Dr.(across from entrance to Cameron Park Lake. Left on Sanhurst Ct to end.	Map:	Thomas Bros. (PL, SA), 263 C-4

Interior Features
Master Bedroom Description:	Closet, Ground Floor	Master Bathroom Description:	Closet, Remodeled/Updated, Shower Stall(s)
Other Bathrooms Description:	Tub w/Shower Over	Dining Room Description:	Breakfast Nook, Dining/Living Combo
Kitchen Description:	Counter Granite, Kitchen/Family Combo, Pantry Closet, Remodeled/Updated	Has Fireplace:	No
Number of Fireplaces:	0	Heating:	Central, Propane, Other-Attch
Cooling:	Central	Floors:	Carpet, Tile, Wood
Laundry:	220 Volt Hook-Up, Cabinets, Inside Room	Additional Equipment:	Cable TV Installed, DSL Possible, Window Furnishings
Appliances:	Dishwasher, Disposal, Ice Maker Plumbed, Microwave B/I, Oven Elec F/S

Exterior Features
Style:	Ranch	Stories:	1 Story
Construction:	Frame, Wood	Builder:	Peterson
Exterior:	Wood	Foundation:	Raised
Roof:	Comp Shingle	Water / Sewer:	In & Connected
Water:	Public District	Utilities:	220 Volts, All Public, Propane, Underground
Security System:	Smoke Detector	Parking Description:	2 Car Attached
Has Garage:	Yes	Landscaping:	Sprinkler Auto F&R, Sprinkler Auto Rear
Has a Pool:	No	Is Short Sale:	No
Is a Horse Property:	No	Exposure Faces:	North
Topography:	Lot Grade Varies, Lot Sloped, View Local, View Special	Elevation:	1300
Lot Size in Acres:	0.23	Lot Size in Sq. Ft.:	10019
Dimensions:	0	Zoning:	res
Energy Features:	Ceiling Fan(s), Dual Pane Full, Skylight	Improvements:	None
Road Description:	Paved, Public Maintained	Space Rent:	0

School
Elementary School:	Rescue Union	Jr. High School:	Rescue Union
High School:	El Dorado Union High

Additional Information
Property Type:	SFR	Property SubType:	1 House on Lot
Property SubType 2:	Detached, Remodeled/Updated	Year Built:	1988
APN:	116-482-08-10	Status:	Active
Other Structures:	Tool Shed	HOA Dues:	0

The Craigslist Version

2008-04-21T19:58:09Z

I know, I know.

Some of you won't believe anything until you see it on Craigslist.

After all, what kind of broker would I be if I couldn't even afford twenty-five bucks to advertise for you on Craigslist?

So here you go, here's the ad on Craigslist.

You drive a hard bargain. That's precisely the kind of shrewd negotiator I'm looking for.

Is that fifty words yet?

Real Estate Agent Jobs In Sacramento

2008-04-21T15:54:08Z

Elite Properties is a small, independent brokerage servicing Sacramento County, Placer County, and El Dorado County, California. We currently have five agents, and are looking to hire up to five more in 2008. We especially need more agents in Placer County and Sacramento County.

Unlike many real estate companies, at Elite Properties, marketing online is not an afterthought -- it is the foundation of our business. Our broker, John Lockwood (hey look, that's me!) is a former software engineer who has created the number one real estate web site in Sacramento -- as well as several other successful web sites and blogs targeting Placer County and El Dorado County. As a result, we need agents who like working with Internet savvy buyers and sellers, because we frequently have many more opportunities (leads) coming in than we can handle.

I was here before ActiveRain. That's not a big deal. I have the leads because of it. That is a big deal.

We talk to many agents who brag about their brokers' marketing because their broker will send out 50 just listed postcards or whatever, but when we ask these agents if they're closing any business from these programs, their eyes glaze over. People looking to buy homes are looking online -- not waiting for a postcard. We offer many good leads, as well as a very competitive split for business you generate from your own efforts. In addition, we can offer you training and mentoring if you wish to develop an Internet presence of your own.

We are very informal. We work at home, using online transaction management and a company transaction coordinator to assist us with the nuts and bolts. We value cooperative arrangements with our agents such as shared marketing efforts, and we welcome agents who are strong recruiters / listing agents and who wish to lead a profitable team. We have excellent one on one training and review, and infrequent meetings.

What we need you to bring to the table are your enthusiasm and your one or more years of real estate experience. We need agents who can help us build online and love to write, as well as those who don't want to spend their time in front of a keyboard and who live to be out showing and selling houses. Above all we need people who are ethical, fun to be around, and want to do a great job for their clients.

If you're interested, please contact John Lockwood at (530) 672-9160 and let's see if there's a good fit.

The Maureens Have Landed

2008-04-02T10:35:50Z

Here you go!

Coming To ParticleWave - Maureen Francis

2008-04-01T21:00:56Z

Tomorrow's guest contributor to the ParticleWave What's Your Internet Marketing Strategy series will be none other than the Oakland County real estate blogging phenomenon, Maureen Francis.

I'll have a link to the article itself when it appears, but meantime if you want to camp out waiting for Maureen's article (get in line early for the best paragraphs), you'll find the article on ParticleWave sometime bright and early tomorrow.

Darn it -- did I miss April Fools? Well, the Sacramento Market Recovered, if you want to read about that.

Real Estate Blog Lab Author Dave Smith Appears on ParticleWave

2008-03-24T19:38:47Z

ParticleWave.com -- home of the the Internet Real Estate Marketing Blog -- is very pleased to welcome top Tucson blogger Dave Smith as the first author to contribute to our guest author series, What's Your Internet Marketing Strategy?

Dave is the marketing powerhouse behind his wife's many successful Tucson based blogs, as well as the author of an excellent technology blog, the Real Estate Blog Lab.

Check out Dave's Article.

New Real Estate Paradigms Now Worth 20 Cents

2008-03-12T16:17:16Z

Well, I didn't get featured for Help ActiveRain win a six month ad.

I guess they don't care if Cronin wins it.

I thought if used the word paradigm it might help.

Damn you Thomas Kuhn! :)

Help ActiveRain Win a Six Month Ad

2008-03-11T20:53:56Z

I am promoting a brand new blog. It's only about real estate in a very general way, but you may nevertheless enjoy it. I'm loving the heck out of writing it!

Our point here as real estate bloggers is of course to write to make money, right? Well, the point of this new blog is to discuss / teach / learn about making money by writing online in a more general way, so it has aspects of pro blogging, blog promotion, freelance writing, making money on your blog with advertising... that kind of good stuff. All brought to you by an aspiring real estate broker / wannabe writer, your (not-)humble servant, me.

The Contest ActiveRain Can Win

You know you have an RSS reader with spot for one more good blog in it, right? Well, now's your chance to add that blog and help ActiveRain Win a Free 6-Month Ad. All you have to do is visit my new blog and subscribe to the RSS feed, then let me know somehow -- maybe comment here that you subscribed.

What Else Do You Get?

In addition to a cool 6 month ad for ActiveRain, ActiveRain will automatically be eligible for a two year free ad as well. Plus you'll get to read me talking about fun topics like How to Get 101 New Blog Subscribers in 30 Days -- which is the whole point of the contest!

Fun, huh? You bet it is.

Johnoshperians, Stay Tuned for an Important Assignment

2008-03-11T20:34:05Z

...coming in my next post. In order for me to win my goal, any assistance you might provide in letting folks know about the next post would be great. Side benefit: ActiveRain may win a 6 month ad on a site I'm working hard at growing.

Sorry, did I just game the system? Dang? What's this world coming to? :)

Beautiful Four Bedroom Home in Placerville

2008-03-10T17:29:16Z

Beautiful Four Bedroom Home With Pool on Acreage

Location: Pleasant Valley

This is a beautiful home on picturesque acreage. Plenty of room for a growing family or for vacation home with 1950 square feet and four bedrooms. Back yard features pool, a seasonal creek, and a large deck, with low maintenance landscaping and the smell of pines. Open floor plan with bright and lovely kitchen and a pantry. Plenty of parking and room for a boat or RV, etc. Large master bedroom with walk-in closet. Minutes from downtown and highway 50. Must see inside to appreciate.

Information

Contact Information

John Lockwood

(530) 672-9160

Contact Reply Form

Forward to a Friend

View Other Flyers

Pricing

Asking Price: $364,900.00

Property Location

3400 Fort Jim Road
Placerville, CA 95667
View Map

Links

View Details

Features

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 2

Parking: Ample

Year Built: 1999

Lot Size: 3.856

Garage Size: None

School District: Placerville Union

Square Footage: 1950

Agent Name: John Lockwood

Broker: Elite Properties

MLS #: 80022941

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Dishwasher

Sink Disposal

Satellite

Interior Amenities

Kitchen Island

Wood Stove

Pantry

Exterior Amenities

Swimming Pool

Secluded setting

Large Front and Rear Decks

Low Maintenance Landscaping

Photo Gallery

View as Slideshow View Photo Gallery (11 Photos)

Equal Housing Opportunity

VFLYER ID: 1243384

This week in the Johnophere

2008-03-07T21:03:41Z

Well, it's been quite a week in the Real Estate Johnosphere. I want to thank all of you who wanted to be members and all those of you who've gotten me to like you enough so that you are members, whether you wanted to be or not.

I've been making some forays out into the non-real-estate Johnosphere, leaving the real estate Johnosphere somewhat Johniless. For example, this new Inklit.com blog over here is about the Writing Johnosphere, which is all about doing more writing and creating informational products that will be sold on a Web 1.0 shopping cart, which will launch over here and dovetail with the Real Estate Internet Marketing Johnosphere.

You remember Web 1.0, right? Shopping carts. Ebooks. Commercial transactions.

Good times.

I also want to announce that this I have located The Official Small Broker Forum of the Real Estate Johnosphere. Tell Jay Thompson that member #1 sent you.