Ruth Mills's Blog

Convention Center Acquiring Land for Expansion

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Sat, 15 May 2010 23:43:48 -0700

The board of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation is acquiring a key piece of land to expand the facility. The 7+ acre property was held by Fifth Avenue Landing LLC and the board agreed to pay $13.5 million to buy out the lease. The deal calls for a $1 million payment upfront, then $500k per year for the next four years, then a baloon payment of the balance on the fifth anniversary of the sale. The contract does allow the city to back out of the deal at anytime, but they would forfeit any payments already made. Search all La Jolla homes for sale.

NAR Makes Changes in Internet Data Exchange Policy

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:13:05 -0800

The National Association of Realtors’ board of directors on Monday adopted a change in policy which will let real estate brokers allow search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to index their property listings from their websites under agreements to share data with other brokers. The change was among a handful of changes made to the NAR’s Internet Data Exchange, or IDX, policy as it was wrapping up its annual meeting in SanDiego early this week.

Tips for Furniture & Computer Help in San Diego

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:54:28 -0700

The other day, one of my clients asked me if I knew of any place that sold nice / classy leather furniture in San Diego. Since I did, I thought maybe there might be others who were interested. Whenever I have needed to purchase some nice contemporary furniture, I head down to Casa Divani located in Chula Vista.

Anyhow, my clients loved the place and the furniture can not only be purchased on their floor, but also online. Great service and great furniture at a great price....what more can you ask for? Generally, I never really promote anything on this blog, but I have always felt this place was great and needed a boost.

Also, if you are looking for San Diego computer repair, I use Tech Pros in San Diego and love them. They have done everything from simple fixes to data recovery.

San Diego Home Sales are on the Rise

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:27:24 -0700

I just posted an article on my san diego real estate blog on my website. Looks like home sales in San Diego are on the rise, jumping more than ten percent compared to the same month in 2008. However, the median price dropped fourteen percent, in the same comparison. The article is at this location.

San Diego Union-Tribune Set to Make a Profit

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:59:50 -0700

After making two rounds of cutbacks in May and last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune in reporting an expected profit of $5 million. Platinum Equity acquired the paper from the Copley family in May, and immediately slashed 192 jobs, laying off 112 more last week. The company says it’s finished making cuts.

The paper’s profit has dropped significantly in the last few years from $68 million in 2006 down to $38 million in 2007, then down to only a million dollars last year. Before Platinum took over, the paper was on a pace to lose $7 million. The newspaper’s revenue has tumbled almost 55% since 2006.

La Jolla real estate ---- Del Mar Real Estate

La Jolla Based Company Pico Suffers Loss

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:33:08 -0700

PICO Suffers Second Quarter Loss Pico Holdings (Nasdaq: PICO), a company based in La Jolla, reported a second quarter loss, in spite of an expanding portfolio. The company is in the business of acquiring, operating, or financing companies with low value to raise the companies’ net worth. Currently, the company has in its control insurance, water, and real estate companies, and they also have some interests in small businesses.

Pico’s reported second quarter losses came to nearly $2.5 million, about 12 cents a share for stockholders, compared with last year’s second quarter gain of just over $28 million, about $1.50 a share for stockholders.

San Diego Property Tax Defaults Declining

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:12:10 -0700

The San Diego treasurer / tax collector reported yesterday that fewer San Diego residents are defaulting on their property taxes. As of July 1st, 3.6 % of property owners were in default, compared with 3.7 % last year, 2.7 % in ‘07, and 1.9 % in ‘06. The office is mailing out just over 47,000 notices of default, compared to over 50,000 a year ago.

Economists say that the trend is encouraging, if it continues, but that a key factor is that when lenders foreclose they must pay delinquent tax-debt before listing the property.

Owners who fail to pay taxes on time are hit with a 10 % surcharge and a 1.5 % monthly penalty. Collectively, San Diego’s delinquent owners owe nearly $290 million, compared with $270 million at the same time last year

Coronado Bridge Has Birthday

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:01:19 -0700

The Coronado Bridge, that leads us, living in San Diego, effortlessly to Coronado, turns forty years old today. The Coronado Bridge was opened in 1969 and has been paid in full by San Diego residents and tourists.

The $1.00 toll was collected until 2002, even though it was paid off by 1986. The reason for the extended toll was due to those who had purchased their piece of Coronado real estate and their fear that by discontinuing the toll, traffic to the island would substantially increase. Turns out they were right. Traffic has increased by approximately twenty percent since 2002.

The cost of the bridge was nearly fifty million dollars in state construction bonds and is able to withstand around thirty thousand cars on a daily basis. However, nowadays there are around eighty thousand cars traveling across the bridge daily.

Happy Birthday Coronado Bridge.

Innovative New Programs to Sell Homes

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:20:26 -0700

Rockrose Development Corporation has begun offering an interesting incentive to potential buyers. They will buy the property back. Anybody who purchases one of their hundreds of condominiums in New York, can, if values continue to fall, sell the apartment back after five years for 110% of what they paid. Home builders have been forced to come up with innovative ideas to urge people to buy as inventories of unsold homes are at their highest since the early 60s and sales are at their lowest levels in decades.

In addition to money-back clauses, some sellers are offering credits for renovation projects, mortgage protection for buyers who become unemployed and cash incentives for lenders to control interest rates. Although interest rates are near record lows and housing affordability is higher than ever, many potential homebuyers are still hesitant to act with unemployment at its highest since ‘83 and property values expected to drop another 20% by the end of 2010. Rockrose is not the only company with outrageous ideas to draw in buyers. In Estero, Florida, Toll Bros. is offering a $100k incentive to buyers of its homes in Belle Lago Villas. The incentive can be used for customizing options like upgrading kitchens, bathrooms, or flooring, etc. or can be applied to closing costs, reducing principle, or buying down interest rates.

Easy access to La Jolla real estate

A Toll Bros. official says the incentive has brought increased interest. The nation’s housing market is experiencing its worst crisis since the Great Depression and the effects have spread throughout the economy as well as the rest of the world. A springtime pickup in the market could help spur a recovery for the world’s largest economy. As part of a broader economic stimulus plan, the government is offering an $8,000 tax credit to first-time buyers who purchase a home before November 30. Many Americans, however, are still hesitant to buy fearing the loss of their job. To help alleviate those fears, Toll Bros. has launch a “Mortgage Protection Plan”, under which the company will pay the mortgage of buyers who lose their jobs. According to the Commerce Dept., sales of new homes rose 4.6% in February after setting a record low level in January. Sales have fallen over 41% from last year and are almost 76% below their peak in July 2005. Reducing interest rates in another method being used to bring buyers into the market. Lennar Corp., for example, is offering to qualified buyers a 30 year fixed rate mortgage with a 3.625%, even as rates average between 4.7% and 4.8%. The rate does come with several stipulations.

Search our website for quick access to these favorite areas in San Diego:

La Jolla Homes

La Jolla Condos

Rancho Santa Fe Homes

University City Homes

University City Condos

Downtown San Diego Condos

Carmel Valley Homes

Carmel Valley Condos

Del Mar Condos

Del Mar Homes

Latest NABE Survey Shows Freefall In Economy Slowing

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:52:02 -0700

The economy is still in a downturn. However, evidence that the recession is slowing exists in rising demand for products, increased consumer confidence, a slowing of nationwide layoffs, and more companies reporting profits.

The National Association for Business Economics (NABE), based on its latest quarterly survey, says that key indicators such as unemployment, capital spending, profit reports, and industry demand are still in decline, though the rate of decline is abating. The report follows similar statements made by the Federal Reserve last week. The Fed said that five of its 12 regional banks reported a slowing in the economic decline. The NABE survey, however, reported 93% of respondents expect the GDP to decline this year. That is 15 more pessimist outlook responses than in its previous survey in January. In the latest survey, fewer companies reported a decline in demand for its products than those reporting a rise in demand. From those two numbers, the NABE gets the net rising index for industry demand, which improved from -28 to -14 from the Jan. survey to the latest one.

The January figure was the worst in the survey's history going back to 1982. Some industries, finance, real estate, services, and insurance actually reported positive net rising indexes. Others such as information and communications, transportation, and utilizes remained in decline.

Profit margins are also on the rise for many companies. In the latest survey, almost 15% of respondents claimed rising profits and 46% said profits were falling. The remaining respondents reported no change, making the net rising index -31%, up from January's -42%, when 11% of respondents reported a rise in profits and 51 reported declines. A key indicator for business growth, capital spending, improved as well. 16% of respondents reported raising capital spending, while 32% cut back and 52% reported making no change.

Remaining low are employment prospects and wages, which are at their lowest since the survey's inception. The survey had 15% of companies report a rise in employment, unchanged from the Jan. survey, and 40% experiencing a drop in employment, 4% lower than in Jan. Hardest hit was the goods-producing sector, which saw 82% of it's companies reporting job losses and none reporting growth. Meanwhile, the financial, real estate, and investment sectors reported stabilization. The future for jobs looks shaky with many experts expecting job losses to continue. Only 15% of companies expect to create new jobs, which is slightly worse than the 16% planning new hiring in the Jan. survey. The number of companies planning job cuts, however, from 40% to 34%. Search La Jolla Real Estate today.

Solar Energy to Become More Affordable

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:44:13 -0700

One of the leading developers of solar power solutions, Applied Solar, Inc. today unveiled its new Solar Communities™ program in San Diego County. The program aims to increase the number of homes using solar power by eliminating two significant deterrents: aesthetics and cost. They will start the program off by holding a series of open house events. While many people are interested in renewable, environment-friendly energy sources, few are willing to make the initial investment of installing rooftop solar panel, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Also, though federal and state incentives are designed to significantly lower this initial cost, many people do not fully qualify. Applied Solar wants this to change. A spokesman for the company said that while more Americans than ever are aware of the environmental impact of their actions, the ailing economy has them keenly focused on controlling their monthly expenses. He added that any initiative designed to raise solar power usage must be combined with measures to control short-term costs. The company aims to reduce the typical payback term from ten years down to three or four.

The program makes available to homeowners in San Diego County power purchase agreements, or PPA essentially the same idea that‘s been a huge success in the commercial sector. PPAs have actually been available in San Diego since last year, but until now they were only for typical rack-mounted solar panels that many people find to be an eyesore. Under Applied Solar’s new program, PPAs will be available on premium, building-integrated solar tiles. These newer systems are designed to blend in with the color and texture of your roof to create a nicer look. SolarBlend™ Solar Tiles , developed by Applied Solar, are available in several colors and style to match multiple roof types. They are manufactured by Suntech Power Holdings Company, Ltd. Suntech is the largest manufacturer of solar module in the world. Some of the largest builders in the country, such as Pulte, Centex, and Toll Bros. use the tiles due to their efficiency, reliability and visual appeal.

The Solar Communities™ program works in five specific steps:
Step 1 involves company reps deciding on a system that best suit’s the needs of the home. Systems should be of sufficient size that they significantly cut Tier 3 and Tier 4 energy purchases, which commonly account for 55% or more of San Diego County electricity consumers’ bills.
Step 2 is where the homeowner signs the PPA. The PPA allows the customer to pay only a fraction of the purchase price for the system, typically 10% to 15%.
In Step 3 the system is installed, along with a free EcoTouch™ Energy Management System, a value of well over $1,000. This system has a touch screen display panel to help homeowners monitor their electricity usage in real time. It is a valuable tool for optimal energy usage and increasing future savings.
Step 4 entails homeowners purchasing the electricity generated by the solar system. The prices are locked in at up to 20% lower than those charged by San Diego Gas & Electric.
Step 5 makes Applied Solar or an affiliate liable for any future maintenance costs or repairs while the homeowner benefits with affordable, environment-friendly, long-term solar energy.

Things to Remember When Buying a Home

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:37:57 -0700

One of the great things to keep in mind is the fact that if you decide to purchase a home this year in 2009, even if you have already filed your taxes; you can file an amendment and still receive your $8,000 tax credit this year.

Falling prices, favorable interest rates, and government tax credits are creating a favorable atmosphere for people looking to buy a home. One report indicated that Juanuary home prices were almost 20% lower than a year ago, on average. But, buyers should educate themselves on the intricacies of buying as home before diving into the market and making some common mistakes that will plague them later on.

Search Rancho Bernardo real estate

Many first-time buyers go right into shopping and comparing homes, then find out when they try to get financing for the home they want, only to find that it's out of their grasp. Experts recommend obtaining pre-approval for a loan before shopping so that you know how much house you can afford.

Be wary of foreclosures. Although the San Diego real estate market seems to be on the rebound, make sure to do your homework. Just because somebody only owed $600,000 on a house that was valued at $675,000 when they bought it doesn't mean the home is worth that much now. Property values have dropped significantly in many areas, so foreclosures may not offer the best bargains. Also, some foreclosed properties have sat vacant for some time and could have been vandalized. These properties, while inexpensive to aquire, could end up costing a lot more after renovations and repairs.

Obtaining financing has gotten considerably more difficult recently so buyers should find a reliable buyer's agent to assist them. A good place to start your search for an agent is the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. It is a not for profit organization that represents buyers. Another option is to use a buyer that someone you know who recently bought a home used, if they recommend them. Before hiring an agent, ask about their experience, particularly with first-time buyers, and what kind of service they provide.

Many new home owners make the mistake of not budgeting for maintenance costs and repairs. As a rule, things go wrong with houses and need to be fixed. Most experts recommend setting aside about 1% of a homes value annually for upkeep and maintenance.

Owners also forget about property taxes. First time owners have never had to deal with taxes because they've rented recently, so they can get a big surprise come tax-time. Also be aware that tax rates are likely to rise while you own your new home so consult local tax professionals to determine how much should be set aside for taxes.

Sometimes new homeowners are so excited to move into their first home, they skip the inspection. Very bad idea. The seller isn't likely to tell you about problems like mold, foundation issues, or insufficient insulation. After all, they want to sell the house. Buyers should hire their own inspector, not one appointed by the agent, to avoid potential conflict of interest. Inspection companies can be easily found in the phone book or on the web.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, try to get a contingency clause added into any contract before you sign it. It can protect you if you are laid off or the home is appraised for less than you paid. With a contingency clause in place, you may be able to get your money back; without one, you will still be obligated to buy the home and may lose a substantial amount in the process.

Leather Furniture Maintenance

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:58:13 -0700

Although furniture is not nearly the investment as investing in San Diego homes or condos; I know you would still like to keep it as long as possible. This week I thought I would share some info on leather furniture maintenance. In the past leather furniture was found only in the homes of the wealthy. But now people of all walks of life own various pieces. Leather is an all-natural material which can be derived from either cow hide or lambskin. The most durable type of upholstery fabric, pieces of leather furniture, when properly maintained, can last over 20 years. Aesthetically speaking, leather is produced in a wide variety of color choices making leather furniture very versatile for home décor. Leather is porous like cloth which allows it to breath. Therefore, it stays cool in the summer and warm during the winter.

Proper maintenance will, of course, prolong the life of your leather furniture and keep it looking its best. Vital to the life of leather is proper weekly cleaning. For rarely-used pieces a quick wipe-off with a soft clean cloth should suffice. But, if you have a heavily used leather sofa, you should vacuum the fabric with a brush attachment to remove dirt, dust and skin flakes that accumulate. When something is spilled on leather, it should be cleaned immediately. Stains should be blotted rather than wiped as wiping can cause the stain to spread and the wine, sauce or whatever to absorb into the fabric. Generally speaking, stain removal can be accomplished with a damp cloth and warm, soapy water. However, some manufacturers recommend their own care so be sure to check the tag.

California Solar Market Cloudy

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:11:23 -0700

California Energy Commission has published data that show slumping figures in the state's number of applications for solar energy rebates in the new housing sector. There were three hundred applications in the first two months of 2009, as opposed to twelve hundred applications in the last two months of 2008.

Experts from the Commission have made a loose connection between the failing housing market and the burgeoning solar market. The California Solar Initiative is run by the state Public Utilities Commission and inspired by Governor Schwartzenegger (R), The rebate program was begun in 2007, and through out that time the California housing market has seen the average price for a home fall from over $400,000 to under $300,000, from December 2007 to December 2008. These numbers are from the California Association of Realtors. The new home construction has been halved as a result of the falling market prices, according to the California Building Industry Association.

A larger trend may be evident from the lower number of applications, as the rebate program allows for 36 months to complete the solar project from the time the application is granted. What this suggests is that the pessimism about the future of the housing market by investors points to a longer term recession.

There is another market for solar photo voltaic cells in existing homes, or a solar retrofit. The numbers released by the CSI show almost as much dramatic loss for residential applications for retrofit as applications for new construction. The real drive behind the governor's vision of one million solar rooftops was the retrofit sector of the housing/energy market. The numbers for 2009 are significantly lower from only one year ago, by almost half.

The experts at both the CEC and the PUC point to a rebate level change from 2008 to 2009 was about to take place. Also it is thought installers feared the removal of a federal tax incentive, and there is always a notable short-term slow down when a rate change goes into effect.

However, the PUC has pointed out that they have never had the number of completed installations before, with over eleven megawatts interconnected in the first two months of 2009. Mary Sterkel from the CSI has admitted that this is not the best picture for the solar sector, but points to consolidation of investor companies as a contributing factor for the solar slow-down.

The two largest investor-owned utility companies in California are Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) and Southern California Edison (SoCal Edison). Officials at both utility companies seem aware but not panicked about the new projects low numbers. They also insist the rebate level change has had a short-term impact.

A spokeswoman from PG&E said the numbers were lower everywhere and that it was too early to determine if that was a trend. And SoCal Edison maintains that their numbers for the first of 2009 are above the number of applications for solar projects for the same time in 2008, regardless of the end of year boost seen in November and December 2008. Managers of solar projects from both companies surmised that the new construction applications for solar rebates will be slow for quite some time. Search La Jolla Condos.

Maintenance Costs Associated With Luxury Homes

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:56:40 -0700

In the current housing market, people can afford bigger homes than a few years ago. But, just because you may be able to buy your piece of luxury real estate in La Jolla, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford to own it. While home prices have been dropping steadily, other costs associated with maintenance and upkeep for a home haven’t. Here are some factors to consider when deciding just how much house you can afford.

A bigger home means higher property taxes. Property taxes are generally calculated by dividing the total amount of taxes needed by the local government by your home’s total value. So even though your new home’s value is comparable to your old one, your share of the tax could be higher as property values may have dropped in the area. As the recession continues, local governments across the country have had to raise local property taxes to recover from budget shortfalls in other areas.

Home insurance can vary widely from state to state and town to town, but, generally speaking, they are calculated based on a homes square footage. Hence, moving into a bigger home could raise the insurance cost.

Owning a larger home also means it will cost more to maintain it. Experts recommend you factor in 1.5% to 4% of your home’s value toward maintenance costs when budgeting. Other costs associated with home ownership, such as repairing a roof or replacing ductwork, furnaces, etc. have gone up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the costs for homeowners have risen 2.4% in 2008. So pay special attention to these factors when budgeting to maintain a healthy financial outlook for many years to come.

Falling Home Prices Spur a Return to Normalcy in Affordability in Southern California

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:36:40 -0800

Economists and housing market analysts say that with home prices comparable to 2002 and continuing to fall, we could be in for a lengthy period of fairly affordable housing. Typical prices of homes are currently below historical averages in comparison with incomes making them affordable to more buyers than any time since 2000. And if unemployment continues to rise, prices should drop even further.

The median sales price for homes in the South California area in January was 250k, a 40 percent drop from January a year ago, according to a report released Thursday by MDA DataQuick. The falling prices are largely attributable to an increase in foreclosed homes, which represented about sixty percent of January’s sales. Experts say that prices should continue the current trend, falling another 25 to 30 percent before stabilizing. Unemployment claims have been historically high in recent months, which should contribute to the continued dropping in home prices, as people already unemployed or in fear of layoffs are unwilling to buy a home. One analyst predicts that the trend in falling home prices will continue until the middle of 2010. He predicts that In Los Angeles the trend could continue into 2012. The last time LA area home affordability was normal in ‘92, prices continues to drop until ‘97. The La Jolla real estate market has also benefited from falling home prices, as there has never been a better time to purchase a home in La Jolla. La Jolla condos have also hit price drops that we have not seen in years. In addition, many experts are saying that the La Jolla and San Diego real estate market have possibly hit bottom and are beginning to show signs of recovery.

In contrast, the price of homes in higher income areas tend to drop more slowly during a recession as those homeowners are more secure and less affected by foreclosure avoid being compelled to sell their homes. Homes sales in the affluent areas of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach were all significantly below average as prices have not dropped significantly so the areas have not benefited from the bargain hunting atmosphere that has boosted sales in less affluent areas in recent months.

As home prices and mortgage rates continue to drop, affordability is on the rise. DataQuick of San Diego reports that the average monthly mortgage payment for homeowners in Southern California in January was $1081 as compared with $1239 in December ‘08 and $1940 January of last year. Allowing for adjustments for inflation, average payments are currently 51 percent lower than those from the spring of ‘89, considered the peak of the last real estate cycle and almost 60% lower than the current cycle‘s peak, June of ‘06.

The median price of homes sold dropped significantly in all counties in the Southern California area. The lowest median price of homes reported was San Bernardino County (162k) and Riverside County(195k) due to mass foreclosures. L.A. County’s median price(300k) was down 35 percent from January last year as was San Diego County’s median of 280k. Ventura County’s median dropped 30 percent to 335k and Orange County’s fell 29% to 370k.

Foreclosures Drop for Second Consecutive Month

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:23:22 -0800

Instead of increasing foreclosures, the latest trend seems to show that foreclosures have fallen for the second consecutive month. The numbers indicate that foreclosures have not fallen to this level since the second month of 2007 and it appears that the trend will continue. Foreclosure filings were down over ten percent from Aug '08 and down a bit less than seven percent from Sept '08.

Homes that had been taken over by lenders, in October, were dramatically down at nearly twenty-five percent from the previous month. The numbers also indicate that foreclosures, in the United States, have not been this low in five months.

What does this mean for the housing market? Real estate experts agree that the drop in foreclosures suggests that we are beginning to see the intitial signs of a housing market on the rebound. More foreclosures are going to take place, but until the market is able to absorb the excess of homes, it will not be able to recover. In addition, the drop is also due to banks and lenders taking efforts to prevent the home for going into forelosure in the first place.

Another factor to keep in mind is the fact that foreclosures are concentrated to certain regions of the United States. Coastal areas like California have been hit hard because of the unrealistic price increases of the past. While some areas are being inundated with foreclosures due to growing unemployment rates and misguided sub-prime loans.

Areas in California that have been hit the hardest are Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Riverside and some areas in San Diego. The La Jolla real estate market has not been one of the counties in San Diego hit the hardest by foreclosures, but some have benefited from the drop in average prices in La Jolla and have even been able to find La Jolla condos priced at under $200,000 in some cases. While a home in La Jolla being sold for under a million dollars was once a rare sight, now you can usually find several on the market.

Nearly twenty-five out of one thousand households have had to deal with pre-foreclosure notices, while more than ten out of one thousand households have actually had their home or condo repossessed. In both cases, the numbers are up more than seventy percent from the previous year. So, don't think we are out of the woods just yet.

Barack Obama has said that he will put a three month freeze on foreclosures once he takes office. However, the task may not so easy, as individual states have their own form of regulation when it comes to foreclosure. In addition, there will be a new stimulus package which is expected to have better tax credits for first time buyers. The last tax credit, put into effect by the Bush administration has done little to boost the ailing housing market.

Staging Your Home Can Make the Difference, in La Jolla

Ruth Mills (The Mills Team) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:03:37 -0700

If you are trying to sell your home in La Jolla, staging it can sometimes make the difference in selling your home quicker. In some areas stagers seem to be making quite an impact on slagging home and condo sales. With all the homes on the market, you must begin thinking about what it is that will make your home stand out from all the rest.

What does a stager do? For starters, staging pros are trained to prepare your home and optimize its potential to sell. They do so by improving traffic flow throughout the house, by rearranging furniture and getting rid of the clutter. Basically, they view the home as if they were a potential buyer.

As you probably already know, first impressions are everything, especially in today's housing market. The job of a stager is to take every aspect of the home into consideration from the outside to the inside. This will ensure that your home will look its best when the day of your open house comes.

We always work with a stager and I will send her in whenever we have a new listing. Sites like stagedhomes.com state that 94% of homes that were staged usually sell within a month of being added to the market.