Home Front: Quarterly home sales worst yet for Sacramento area

Sacramento-area home builders just keep singing the blues.

July, August and September brought their worst quarter yet in this long housing crash: just 616 sales in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties, the Folsom-based Gregory Group reports today.

Actually, nearly all the region’s sales were in Placer and Sacramento counties alone. The suburban cities of Placer County accounted for 44 percent of third-quarter sales of new homes in the region. Sacramento County’s outer... Read more

Recently, GreatWest GMAC Real Estate Professionals have heard from folks interested in possibly obtaining lower property tax assessments on their homes. Generally, these folks are individuals who purchased homes in the last few years, at the height of the market, and now find their homes valued less than they paid for them.

The link below is to the County of Sacramento Assessor’s Office. If you think you may qualify for a reduced assessment, you will be able to easily find the necessary information to more easily procure reassessment.

Be forewarned that like loan modificati... Read more

Home Front: First-time buyers reap reward of median price in Sacramento County

Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1863568.html

For all the pain and trouble associated with this housing bust, one thing is clear: It’s getting better and better for first-time buyers.

And few places beat Sacramento, according to a new report from the California Association of Realtors.

CAR says 80 percent of Sacramento County first-timers could afford a median-priced entry-level home in the first quarter of 2009.
Read more

GreatWest GMAC Real Estate professionals are continuing to hear from troubled homeowners, who are hoping to get a better mortgage, or take advantage of the lower interest rates currently available.

However, the news media has provided many reports about foreclosure scams, and many folks are a little gun-shy of beginning the process that could improve their financial lot.

There are a number of qualified, honest and caring professionals trying to help with loan modifications. But the question remains – How do you identify a legitimate agency from a scam?

There have be... Read more