Tomales Point Hike
Posted: September 27, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: hike, Northern California hiking, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, Tomales Bay, Tomales Point, Tule Elk Leave a comment »For more photos of this wonderful hike please go to our website, steps2home.com, under Outdoor Fun.
August 28, 2011
The Tomales Point hike starts at Pierce Ranch trailhead which is a 30-minute scenic drive from the quaint town of Inverness, and is the final stop on the road leading out to the Point. The drive out is a treat in itself because of the open views to grazing land and the water beyond. The hike is approximately 9.5 miles out and back and is generally level with several gradual ascents and descents.
On this Sunday, there were docents available about 1 1/2 miles into the hike to answer questions and give some closeup views with their spotting scope. Looking down into a small valley, a herd of Elk could be seen grazing close to a small inlet of Tomales Bay. We paddle by this spot when we kayak, looking up into the same valley, hoping to catch sight of the Elk. Now we know it is possible to see them from that vantage point.
One of the many outstanding features of this hike is that you have Tomales Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other! The terrain is mostly out in the open except for a beautiful grove of Cypress just before the final push out to the end of the point, a wonderful place to take a break. As you get closer to the end of Tomales Point the trail becomes sandy and the hike a little more strenuous. We decided to eat lunch where the Elk had matted all of the tall grass down for beds at the very tip of the point, overlooking Tomales Bay and farther out to Bodega Bay and beyond.
The views here are truly magnificent in all directions. The weather conditions are changeable, this day the fog came in very quickly but the effect was for the Elk to sort of ”magically” appear out of the mist, very cool.
Sacramento August Real Estate Stats
Posted: September 21, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: August Statistics, Equity Sales, Foreclosure Sales, Multiple Listing Servive, Percentage of Real Estate Sales, Richard Kitowski, Sacramento Real Estate Good News, Sacramento Residential Real Estate, Sacramento Single Family Home Sales, short sales, Traditional Real Estate Sales, West Sacramento real Estate Leave a comment »Sacramento Single Family Home Sale Market News
The residential resale home statistics for the month of August for Sacramento County and City of West Sacramento were recently released by our local Multiple Listing Service. The news appears to be good! For the second month in a row conventional sales ( 38.5% of the total ) are a higher percentage of the closed sales than bank owned sales,( 37.5% ) Short Sales make up the rest of the sales at 24%. And the number of closed sales for August was up 8.4% over the previous month, July 2011. Pending Sales, new escrows , were also up at 15.3% higher than the previous month. Good news for now.
In our region we still have a serious situation with bank sales and short sales (negotiated settlement of debt with the bank) being 61.5% of the total closed sales. Our region is probably close to the top in the United States for distressed property sales. This is not good news. It will take several years of a positive economic climate before we start seeing major improvement in this area. Statistics show that many homeowners in Sacramento County owe more on their home than it is worth. In years past when we were in a normal market distressed sales were typically around 5% of closed sales. We have a long way to go.
Sacramento is a great region and our single family real estate market will improve with time. Now appears to be a very good time to purchase a home with interest rates near an all time low and prices close to what they were in the years 2000 and 2001.
The Great American River Cleanup
Posted: September 21, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: American River bike trail, American River Cleanup, American River Parkway Leave a comment »This past Saturday, September 17th, Kathleen and I participated, along with over 2300 other volunteers, in the Great American River Cleanup. We helped in the area along the bikeway between the start point at REI , Cal Expo store, and moved west along the south side of the bike trail to the Northgate Blvd. crossing. The area along the bike trail and 50 to 100 yards to the south of the bike trail was quite clean until we got closer to the Northgate Blvd. crossing. We were advised by the area coordinators to stay clear of any active homeless camps and if the camp looks abandoned to proceed with caution because of the potential of coming into contact with drug related material. We saw several abandoned camps and cleaned up around them but stayed away from the main gathering area. We also came across what appeared to be active camps. We just kept on walking! The camps, both abandoned and active, were littered with all sorts of debris.
I have a great deal of respect for the park rangers and the law enforcement officials who deal with the campers on a daily basis. It is unfortunate that the people who use the parkway as a camp site don’t show more respect for the parkway environment.
We volunteered about 2 1/2 hours and were busy picking up trash during that time. This was our first experience with the Great American River Cleanup day. We will definitely participate again, it felt very good knowing that our efforts along with many other volunteers made the parkway a much cleaner and better place. What an impact a coordinated effort of volunteers can produce. No government program or policy, just regular people who are concerned enough about one of the greatest assets in our community. It was a very worthwhile experience!!
First Six Months-Sacramento Real Estate
Posted: August 1, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bank owned sales, closed sales, Conventional Sales, Foreclosure Sales, Rent vs. Buy, Richard Kitowski, Sacramento County, Sacramento real estate, short sales, Steps2home Leave a comment »To get some perspective on the local real estate market it helps to look back over a period of time. In this case I am looking at some statistics for the first 6 months for the residential real estate market in Sacramento County and the City of West Sacramento. Without getting into a lot of numbers, here are some highlights:
Closed sales on a monthly basis have been increasing. In January 2011 there were 1239 closed single family home sales. In June 2011 there were 1724 closed sales. A very nice increase! In June, the last month that information is available there were 735 (42.2%) bank owned sales, 396 (22.8%) short sales and 603 (34.8%) conventional sales.
The number of conventional sales has been increasing each month while the number of bank owned sales has been decreasing. Short sales as a percentage of the whole have remained stable at around 22% of the whole. Seems like it is a good sign to see the number of conventional sales increasing although bank sales and short sales still are a strong majority of the closed sale activity. Hopefully over the second half of the year bank owned and short sale numbers will decrease and conventional sales will increase.
At the beginning of the year there were more homes on the market than there are now. It is not a “Seller’s Market” but if a home is in a good location, is properly priced, has a desirable floor plan and in good condition it will sell within 30 days at very close to the listing price. In today’s market a home has to be priced fairly to be sold.
Later this week I will feature a blog on our experience in having a new roof installed on our home and a Rent vs. Buy comparison.
Please e mail me with any questions you may have regarding residential real estate.
Local Statistics for Sacramento Real Estate
Posted: July 1, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bank owned sales, Foreclosure Sales, median home price, real estate market, richard4homes.com, Sacramento Residential Real Estate, short sales, statistics Leave a comment »Local Stats Are More Relevent
There are many statistics presented to the general public about the single- family home market on a national, state and county level but not much is printed about local zip codes and neighborhoods. In my opinion, the true real estate market is local, there are significant differences by region, even comparing one neighborhood to another. In this article I will present the statistics for Sacramento County. In future articles I will present and discuss information on various neighborhoods throughout Sacramento to illustrate the differences and how important it is to look at local trends and facts.
The figures presented here are for Sacramento County including the City of West Sacramento.
Closed sales for the month of May increased from April by 8.3%,#1650 in May vs. #1524 units sold in April
In the month of May, Bank-owned homes were 41.5% of the market (#685),Short Sales were 23.4% (#386) and Conventional Sales were 35.1% (#579). In a future article I will show how these percentages of closed sales vary from month to month
The May median home price for Sacramento County is $167,000, declining by 1.2% from the April median of $169,000. For perspective, the median home price in May of 2010 was $190,000. The median in January, 2002 was $178,800. These figures give some perspective on major price adjustments we experienced over the past 10 years.
To conclude this article on the May statistics, I find the following information very interesting:
Of the 1650 closed sales for single-family homes, 96.3% or approximate 1593 homes had a selling price below $400,000. This means that only 3.7%, or 57 homes sold over $400,000.
On Saturday I will write about the experience my wife and I had in securing bids to have our own home re-roofed. We learned A LOT!
A closing comment: There is an article in Wednesday’s New York Times that a recent poll taken by the Times and CBS shows that 90% of the respondents stated that home ownership is an important part of the American Dream, they want it to stay that way and will work toward that end.
Richard Kitowski
Sacramento Resale Home Market Shows Continued Stability
Posted: December 18, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Foreclosure Sales, number of homes sold, residential real estate, Richard Kitowski, richard4homes.com, Sacramento County, Sacramento real estate, Sacramento REO Sales, Sacramento Residential Real Estate, short sales, stepseachday.com Leave a comment »
Sacramento Resale Home Market shows Continued Stability . . . . But There Are Still Questions
In the month of November there were 1,439 closed sales in Sacramento County, including the City of West Sacramento. This is 277 fewer closed sales than October, 2009. What tells of future closings are the Pending Sales, i.e., new escrows. In November there were 1,247 new escrows opened compared to 1,582 opened in October. This is a 21.1% decline from October to November. The tax credit extension was not announced until mid November so many of the pending sales in October were the result of buyers wanting to get their home purchase secured so they could qualify for the tax credit scheduled to end on December 1. This credit has now been extended to homes closed by June 30, 2010 and contracts entered into by April 30th.
What is an interesting trend is that the type of sale has changed dramatically in the past year. Last November REO (bank owned homes) were 71.2% of the closed sales, Short Sales were 11.5% and Conventional Sales were 17.1%. In November, 2009, REO sales were down to 40%, short Sales increased to 21.5% and Conventional increased to 38.3%.
The majority of the home sales continue to be under $400,000, 95.25% in November. Of the sales over $400,000, 2.5% were in the price range $400,000-$449,999. That leaves 2.25% of the total closed sales for November over $450,000. Price continues to be the huge factor in getting a home sold.
The unknown facts that will influence our market going into next year are:
1) Is there a shadow inventory of bank owned homes? If so, how large is this inventory.
2) Will the current rate of unemployment improve or stabilize?
3) Will the State of California continue with the 3-day furlough policy?
4) Will credit standars be more rigid for potential buyers?
5) Will interest rates increase when the Federal Government stops supporting our current low interest rates?
6) Will the current high delinquency rate among borrowers translate into more foreclosures and more bank owned homes?
These are questions that can be answered by Realtors who stay informed about market conditions and trends. For more detailed information please contact me at rkitowski@surewest.net or visit the web site http://www.stepseachday.com
Richard Kitowski
Our goal is to provide professional real estate services for home buyers and home sellers
Sacramento Residential Real Estate Market Appears Stable
Posted: November 19, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Richard Kitowski, Sacramento Convention Real Estate Sales, Sacramento Housing Market, Sacramento Real Estate Market, Sacramento REO Sales, Sacramento Residential Real Estate, Sacramento Short Sales Leave a comment »The Multiple Listing Service statistics were recently published for the month of October and the figures show a very stable residential real estate market. There were 1,716 closed sales for October contrasted with the 1,631 sales that closed in September, a 5.2% increase. Of the October closed sales, 713 (41.6%) were bank owned (REO), 356 (20.7%) short sales and 647 (37.7%) conventional sales. The bank owned sales continue a steady decline since the first of the year and the short sales and conventional sales continue to increase as a percentage of the total.
The median home price increased in October to $185,000 from the September median of $183,000. Over the past six months the median home price has been in the range of $180,000 to $190,000. This is continued evidence as to the stability of our current market.
The last two months of the year should be interesting in terms of sales volume. Now that the tax credit has been extended to April 30, with a 60-day extension if a binding contact is in place prior to the April deadline, the immediate pressure has been taken off of prospective home buyers to enter into a contract and get it closed the prior deadline of November 30th. Will prospective buyers take a breather and perhaps take more time in the home selection process? Only time will answer that question. With low interest rates and low home prices, now is certainly a great time to purchase a home.
Richard
Please visit us at www.stepseachday.com
Posted: October 28, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bank owned home sales, REO sales, Richard Kitowski, Sacramento real estate, total sales 2009 Leave a comment »
In May of 2008 the Sacramento Assn of Realtors started showing the number of bank owned home sales as a part of the total home sales for Sacramento County and the City of West Sacramento. The May, 2008 statistical report showed that there were 1084 (65.5%) REO out of the total of 1654 single family home sales. From May through August the REO sales were running about 66% to 69% of the total for any given month. Beginning in September of 2008 the REO sales for the first time topped 70% and stayed in the 70% plus category through December 2008.
The graph shows what is happening in 2009. In January the REO were 75.7% of the total closed sales. In February the REO closed sales were 74.3%, March 70.5% and they are declining as a percentage of the total each month through September when the REO sales are 45.4% of the total. Is this a trend that will continue? Some people are saying that the banks are withholding homes to avoid flooding the market . The monthly statistics tell the accurate story. Bank owned homes in our region are becoming a smaller part of the total market. Will this trend continue? Time will tell.
Beginning in June 2009 the Sacramento Board of Realtors starting publishing the number of short sale closings as a part of the whole. In June of 2009 short sales were 16.6% of the total closed sales. In September 2009 short sales were 19.3% of the total closings. Is this a trend?? Watching the numbers will provide the answers.
Using graphs is a very effective way to tell a story quickly, so we are now using them as a visual aid to show what is happening in our marketplace.
Sacramento Market Report for September, 2009
Posted: October 13, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: closed sales, market report, median home price, median sales price, pending sales, REO sales, residential real estate, Richard Kitowski, Sacramento County, Sacramento real estate, short sales, stepseachday.com Leave a comment »There were 1,631 closed single family home sales for the month of September, 2009. This is down from 1,683 home sales for the month of August. For September, REO sales were 45.4% (741), short sales 19.3%(314) and conventional sales at 35.3%(576).
The median home price for Sacramento County decreased to $183,000 from $190,000 in August. September median at $183,000 is 6.1% below the September median of 2008 at $194,950.
The market seems very stable in terms of closed sales and pending sales vs. new listings. There were 1,794 new single family homes listings published for September. Compare this with the number of homes that went into escrow at 1,679 and closed sales of 1,631. Based on current rate of homes going into pending sale there is about a 3.2 month supply of homes for sale.
I will have a graph posed in the next couple of days showing the number of sales each month for Sacramento County vs. the number of homes that went into escrow.
Please email if you have any questions, comments or would like additional information on Sacramento real estate.
Richard Kitowski
Please visit us at: stepseachday.com
Commodity to House to Home
Posted: October 10, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: home is not a commodity, house to home Leave a comment »Over the past several years it seems that a house may have been looked at more as a commodity than a home. I looked up the meaning of commodity and it was pretty much what I thought . . . a product that is the same no matter where it is located. Copper is copper. Gold is gold, wood is wood and so on. Copper in England is the same as copper in California. The prices of these commodities will fluctuate from day to day because of supply and demand.
A house is constructed from various commodities and they all add up to the finished product. Turning the house into a home becomes very personal. Some homeowners may never call their house a home but I believe that most homeowners really do value what it means to live in their home and their definition of home is unique to them.
There was a time here in Sacramento, CA when people would look at the value of their home like they would a certain stock or a commodity. Almost like day trading, but the housing may be called monthly trading. How much did my home go up in value last month? They would actually track value increases. Now we are tracking value decreases. It seems to me that we are nearing a market bottom where home prices will stabilize and remain that way for some years to come. Maybe people will be purchasing a house primarily as a place to live for a number of enjoyable years and not as an investment, expecting unrealistic gains in value. When we have a stable housing market with normal economic conditions homes will appreciate over time. The appreciation will be more in some areas than others based on supply and demand. Getting back to good, solid, basic values where homeowners develop equity from years of ownership and well thought out improvements will be a huge contributor to a stable economy and lifestyle.
Defining the meaning of home will be different for each individual and I think that all of the meanings will be relevant. We will receive from our home what we put into it. For me, my home is like a sanctuary, it is my defined space. We should all appreciate the basic benefits of homeownership . . . the best benefit being a place to live and to call home.
Richard Kitowski
