Isn't it amazing how the new year makes us look at things that we have wanted to do but haven't in quite a while?  Well...I finally got a minute to sit down and come to AR to do some research about new brokerages (we just opened one) and I realized that it has been a whole year since I made a blog post!  WOW!  I remember teaching many of the agents in our old office about AR and how great of a tool it is for networking, ideas and of course, a blog...and now they all have surpassed my AR points!  So...my resolution?  To try to become an active AR member in my area and to also remember that it is the greatest idea place around for Realtors!

Well the holidays are over and its back to our scheduled programming! I figured that it was a great time to start the New Year with some updated statistics on the Redding real estate market and where its been over the past 6 months with our ever-changing market.

You'll notice that the number of available listings has been steadily decreasing since July when there were over 1,500 available properties...with January increasing over December from those listings that had been taken off for the holidays and then re-added in January and those that waited for the "New Year" to list. What does this number mean? Well...there are fewer homes currently available than the last few months which is good for buyers but there is still quite a bit of inventory for buyers to choose from. It is a good time to list a home (with less competition) than there was a few months ago and the tax credits are making it good for both first time and move-up buyers while helping provide an incentive that sellers see helping to get more homes sold.

Available residential listings as of January 4, 2010: 1,304
December 2009: 1,258
November 2009: 1,332
October 2009: 1,396
September 2009: 1,470
August 2009: 1,511
July 2009: 1,565

Total # of Homes that closed escrow during 2009: 2,047
December 2009: 185
November 2009: 170
October 2009: 216
September 2009: 213
August 2009: 174
July 2009: 181

Total Homes in escrow: 386 (down from the low 500's in October)

If you'd like more information on the Redding real estate market, short sales, REO's or would like help with starting to buy or sell a home we'd be happy to help!

Clint and Mindy Cronic

Next Generation Real Estate Services

942 Merchant Street, Redding, CA 96002

(530) 227-0345  contactus@sellingredding.com

www.sellingredding.com

www.myreddingrealestate.com

www.reddingblogs.com

So yesterday we got up and went to the Redding Farmer's Market at City Hall.  It was a great morning...all the fruit and vegetables you could imagine in one location, waiting for you to bring them home to eat!  So we walked around, selecting our produce like we were professional buyers for a posh restaurant when it hit me that we really DO have a choice as to the legacy we leave our kids.  It must have hit Clint as well because as we left (with my fresh lemongrass in hand...what do you use it for anyway????) he informed me that we were going to really start recycling.  He and Austin went to go get a 2nd garbage can and we began!

Well here it is 24 hours later and what is in the cans?  A full recycle bin (needs to be emptied) and a garbage can the same size that is only 1/4 full!  WOW...I am totally amazed.  The items that are in the garbage can are mostly food scraps which makes me wonder...should we try worm casting or a compost pile?  Maybe that is going too far but it is amazing how BIG our footprint is on the earth and how easy it is to shrink it with just being aware!

I challenge all of you to try this...set up a can for recycling inside the home and see which fills first!  I bet if you are avidly recycling you will see just how much we do waste on containers, storage and packaging that will be pulled out of our landfills if we just watch! 

Let me know how it goes!

One major area we focus on when representing buyers is the home inspection.  If you are thinking of buying a home you should be familiar with what a home inspector is and why you would hire one.  First, a home inspector does just that-inspects the home.  Generally a licensed home inspector will help you to determine the major problem areas (if any) and help guide you to get further inspections if necessary.  In our area home inspections generally cost under $350 and provide a level of comfort to the buyer (who generally pays for the inspection if they so desire). 

The five areas that you want to ensure your home inspector inspects are: roof, electrical, foundation, plumbing and inspect the attic.  The inspector will review the electrical panel and outlets to ensure they are grounded, crawl under home if possible to check foundation, run dishwasher, sinks and toilets for leaks, look in the attic for insulation and/or pests.  Not all home inspectors are created equal so ensure you are hiring a reputable inspector and that they are licensed!  Also, a good home inspector will refer you to other inspectors (ie a roof inspector) as needed.

This is a small price for some great peace of mind for one of the largest investments you'll ever make!

On Sunday, Federal officials unveiled the elaborate plans to takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giants in mortgage lending backers in the United States.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently back over $5 trillion in home loans, not directly lending the money but backing the money that is lent by mortgage lenders. 

Click Here to read the entire post

Well this week has been the rush to get all of our buyers that have been working under the Nehemiah program (a grant program given by sellers to buyers of FHA loan homes) into escrow before the program goes away permanently.  I think we were successful and learned a lot along the way.  Although we were skeptical about how it worked (seller made a grant to the Nehemiah foundation who in turn granted the money to buyers) it did help a lot of first-time buyers who otherwise wouldn't have been able to gather a down payment.  Okay..here's today's real estate market update:

Residential Listings:  There are currently 1877 active listings and another 368 listings that are pending (in escrow).  Last week there were 1893 active listings with another 376 in escrow which was up from 1,702 active listings 3 months ago! 

To read the entire post about the local Redding Real Estate Market click here

The Redding, California real estate market has seemed to pick up over the last 3 weeks.  After viewing a home 2 times for one client the day we went back for the 3rd visit the home went into escrow after being on the market only a month.  Another client has seen a couple of homes recently go into escrow that they were considering which is a sign that buyers are trying to actually get into a home before interest rates rise due to uncertain economy.

Residential Listings:  There are currently 1893 active listings and another 376 listings that are pending (in escrow).  Last week there were 1886 active listings with another 393 in escrow which was up from 1,702 active listings 3 months ago! 

To read the entire post about the local Redding Real Estate Market click here

So...how many people out there actively market their listings via email?  Up until about 6 months ago we didn't spend much time actually sending "emails" out to market our listings, knowing that we had basically plastered them all over the web with the usual places (Trulia, Yahoo, Google, Craigslist, etc.). 

One day I decided to locate the list of email addresses for agents in our board of Realtors so that I could directly mail them outside of the MLS system to get our properties "noticed".  I utilized a program which allowed me to send hundreds of emails at once (sending that many from your normal account would get it marked as "spam" and your account temporarily blocked). 

What I realized was that there are SO MANY more agents that will read an email like this over the traditional email through the MLS system as they are inundated with those all day long.  I sent one out a bit ago and already got 5 responses from it...that is about a 400% increase from my normal MLS emails! 

I also turn around and send the same email to a database of website visitors (yes, they can ALL opt out at any time) and we always get responses from those.  Just be sure to include links to your website, blog, listings and whatever else you want to get out there...someone will follow the links straight to you!

Well for many of us up here in Northern California this is a joyous weekend.  For us in particular, trying to juggle kids that are out of school for the summer, keeping them from getting bored but also trying to ensure that we still focus on work...is a never-ending battle. School shopping is done, last years clothes have been pulled from the closet and we are ready to go!  Yippee!

I have talked with so many agents that do the same thing we do during the summer.  Since Clint and I are both in the business it makes it doubly hard for us to try to get work accomplished with kids underfoot.  This being said, my job as of late has been to stay up late to get MY work accomplished so that I could still focus on the kids and not my computer all day.  This has been a good compromise but I will be very happy to get back to bedtime before 1am.  I am definately not a late night person and one can only watch so many movies while working on the computer to keep them awake and sane.  I do give kudos to Blockbuster though...we did previously subscribe to Netflix but changed over to Blockbuster so we can exchange watched movies in the store and always have something new to watch.

We'd love to hear your "summer" stories!

These are some great curb appeal tips that sellers can use before getting their home listed...remember, first impressions DO count!