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If you didn’t see the videos from last year, take a look at:
Sincerely,
909.266.2662
877.283.7624
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I have had many people who own small businesses ask how to begin online marketing such as what I do for yucaipa-real-estate.com. I have tried to answer this questions many times but never seem to be able to spontaneously answer the question. So, I wrote a guide about how to market online called, Online Marketing 101. Take a look at it and let me know what you think by commenting on this blog.
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Have you called me lately? My phone system went through a minor overhaul. I have had Voice-Over-IP phone services through GagaPhone.com for a while now, but call queuing and call hunt have been added. Now if you call and I am on the phone you will have the option of waiting for me to get off the phone or leave a message. If I am away from my desk and you are calling during normal business hours, you can have the phone system try to locate me and call my mobile phone.
Pretty cool hu? Let me know what you think by commenting on this blog!
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I found the best Bluetooth headset out there. As a Realtor, I find myself occasionally needing to communicate with clients while driving. Since California passed a law prohibiting a person from holding a phone up to their ear while driving (well overdue in my opinion), it was necessary to find a Bluetooth headset. I had had an ear piece unit that was uncomfortable, and was a pain to put on my ear whenever I needed to talk on the phone. Personally, I do not like the look of wearing one constantly so I only had one on my ear when I was using it. EMFs have always been a concern to me and having a device that close to my head for a long period of time just didn’t sound like a good idea
Then my friend Bill showed me his Motorola T305. This is a Bluetooth device that mounts on your sun visor just like a garage door opener. You turn it on when you get in the car and presto, you have a Bluetooth speaker phone in your car. I immediately went to Amazon and bought three, one for each of our cars. The battery life is great, and the one-button operation is easy for anyone to figure out.
Post a comment to this bog entry and let me know what you think if you have one!
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Many sellers and agents do not understand what short-sales are and how they work. That is why so many attempts at short-sales fail - roughly only 1 in 3 actually sell. Many sellers and inexperienced agents think a short-sale is an easy way to get out of a house that has a mortgage larger than the current market value. Banks are not in the business of absorbing losses due to people’s poor investment decisions. There are strict financial criteria set by each bank that the seller must meet to to qualify for a short-sale. Even if the financial criteria is met, most banks are only willing to forgive a portion of the mortgage. For many buyers, the time it takes for a bank to respond to a short-sale request (upwards of 90 days) makes the process very undesirable.
A short-sale can be a great solution to a home owner in financial duress. However, more often than not, a homeowner attempts to use the short-sale as a tool to shift the impending loss on their investment to the bank. The short-sale process is not an avenue to protect the homeowner from a financial loss; it is in place to give the banks an easier more productive process instead of foreclosure. Unfortunately many home owners and agents are desperate to pass the loss off to the bank and lack the knowledge of the short-sale process. This results in an influx of homes on the market for sale as short-sales that have little to no hope of ever selling via the short-sale process.
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What a great day it was hanging out with my clients and their guests at Arrowhead Credit Union Park this past Saturday. We had a fabulous buffet style dinner served to us while relaxing on our private terrace. The weather was unfortunately hot, but the Zooperstarts performing in-between innings and the fireworks made for a fantastic evening. Bernie came to visit and posed with some of the kids (and some of the big kids) for a few photos. I am looking forward to yet another client appreciation dinner and game for 2009. Special thanks to all of my clients, friends and family for your support and business.
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There are some advantages to today’s tight housing market. A new home builder in Beaumont informed me today of a great new incentive program that allows home buyers to purchase a brand new home with no down payment and no closing costs. Their base model (selling in the low $200’s) that has three bedrooms and two bathrooms (no upgrades) resulted in an estimated payment of only $1,749 including principal, interest, taxes, insurance and the HOA fee. This isn’t a teaser rate either; this is a 30-year fixed rate payment using the builder incentives towards your mortgage. This might be a solid option for those who want to own a home but don’t have the large down payment that many lenders are requiring in today’s more cautious economy.
If you are interested in hearing more about this program, email or call me ASAP. I will setup an appointment for you to meet a builder sales representative to discuss the terms and conditions of this exciting opportunity.
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Many homeowners and renters still are curious as to how the
real estate market is performing in Yucaipa. Homeowners are worried they may loose equity
and renters are noticing that this is a great time to buy a home. It is often difficult to interpret the
information and statistics as they are confusing.
One number commonly used in the mainstream media is the
median home price. In March of 2007, the
median home price in Yucaipa was $377,500; in
March of 2008 it was $300,000. The
difference represents an overall change of over 20%. Many people often have mistaken this as a 20%
home price drop for the entire city. That
is not necessarily the case.
The median home price is calculated by determining the middle
of the lowest and the highest priced home sold (more or less) during a given
month. The lower median home price
indicates that there is a loss in value or only the smaller, less expensive
houses are selling. For the Yucaipa real estate market, it is a combination of both.
For example, the largest selling home in March of 2007 was 4,157
square feet; the largest home sold in March of 2008 was 3,850 square feet. That represents a difference of over 7.5% in
overall home size over the year period.
This indicates smaller, less expensive homes are in-fact adversely affecting
the median home price.
On the other hand, examining average three bedroom, 1600 +/-
square foot homes on an average size lot, in March of 2007 they would sell for
around $351,000; In March of 2008 similar homes would sell for around
$300,000. This calculation would
indicate a value loss of about 14.5% for an average home in Yucaipa
from March of 2007 to March of 2008.
The number of homes actually selling affects both the median
home price as well as the actual value of homes. In March of 2007, the MLS reported 44 homes
sold while only 37 sold in March of 2008.
Year to year, this does not appear to be good news, but month to month
the number of homes selling in Yucaipa has
improved. In December of 2007, there
were 20 homes sold, in January of this year there were 29, in February 35, in
March 37 and in April 34. The downward turn
in April is a concern, but time will tell what the rest of the year will bring.
At this point in time, it is difficult to say whether the
data indicates an improvement or not.
The year to year figures would lead to the belief that so far this year
is worse than last year. The month to
month data indicates gradual improvement may be occurring. Maybe we are at the bottom of the market and
can expect a slow recovery from this point on or maybe the future will bring
something different.
*Statistical information obtained from ‘California
Association of Realtor’s Trends in California Real Estate’ and the ‘Multi-Regional
Multiple Listing Service’ as of May 3, 2008.
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Last year’s appreciation dinner and San Bernardino 66ers game received rave reviews. Mark your calendar to join me for the second annual client appreciation dinner and baseball game on June 21st at 6:30PM. Held at Arrowhead Credit Union Park, dinner will be served at this private function on the 3rd base terrace promptly at 6:30PM and will include hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ chicken, potato salad, chips, peanuts, water, and soda. Following dinner, the 66ers will play the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at 7:05PM.
Priority will be given to past clients, but the event is open to all past, present and future clients and their immediate family members at no cost. Additional tickets are available to non-clients at $22 per ticket. Dinner attendance is currently capped at 30 people.
In the meantime, if you or anyone you know is thinking about making a move, I can provide assistance to anyone anywhere!
To RSVP to this event, visit my Evite invitation by clicking here.
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For the month of February, there were only 23 homes close in Yucaipa per the MLS, so not much is moving. As of today, there are 383 homes listed ‘for sale’ (as active) in the Yucaipa MLS. Statistically, a little over 1 in 17 homes are selling - just not a good number when you are a seller. My concern for sellers is that we are approaching a historically busy period of the year (who knows about this year though) with a great deal of inventory. Most of the homes that are selling are not ‘average’ homes. They are either priced low or have a great deal of amenities such as a pool, spa, etc.
On the other hand, this is great news for buyers. Buyers are finding fantastic pricing and homes with many amenities priced similar to homes without all the features. With an abundance of inventory, buyers can be picky and get a home that is exactly what they are looking for.
February Real Estate Sales - Yucaipa, California
February Real Estate Sales - Redlands, California
I would like to hear what the readers of my blog are thinking! Post your comments below.
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