SMUD demo house in Fair Oaks shows how to save energy

The 26-year-old house in Fair Oaks was a product of its time, all-electric and power hungry, built in an era of Rancho Seco nuclear power.

Remodeled in 2009, the house is now the product of a new time, and it’s all about energy conservation.

Tucked away on a quiet, pleasant street near Hazel Avenue, the house is the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s newest demonstration of how Californians will use energy more sparingly in the future.

It’s also a showcase of products and technique... Read more

Home Front: Small home makes big splash in Sacramento development

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2108425.html?storylink=pd

The K. Hovnanian-built house in Natomas has a standard-size bedroom and a surprisingly large great room that combines a kitchen and living room. But that’s about it for 817 square feet – likely the smallest new house for sale in Sacramento. Price: $126,000.

Home Front discovered this seventh wonder of the real estate world via colleagues who got builder postcards aiming to pry boom... Read more

Suburban Sacramento land rush? Big homebuilders buy up ’finished’ lots


By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2108559.html


Sacramento’s new-home sales are still down and out, but some capital-area builders are betting money that the region’s suburbs will soon resume their growth boom.

They’ve begun snapping up ready-to-build home lots at prices ranging from $25,000 to $67,000, setting the stage for a new suburban land rush.

The phenomenon suggests that a real estate... Read more

Capital-area foreclosures keep climbing in second quarter

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2047112.html

The capital-area foreclosure crisis raged on in April, May and June, with lenders repossessing another 4,448 homes and filing notices of default against 10,682 more households late on their payments.

The newest statistics from La Jolla-based researcher MDA DataQuick brought the foreclosure total to 41,903 households since the start of 2007 in Amador, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yu... Read more

Repo business soars as Sacramento area home sales slump

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2002300.html

At the beginning, Alejandro Maybuena lost the Sacramento house he bought in April 2005 for $350,000. At the end, in early 2009, Kim Gish bought it for $109,000.

Stories like this have happened more than 40,000 times in the Sacramento area. Still, the tale in particular of one house in California’s capital region shows the sweeping change in a real estate industry that once involved mainly a mom-and-po... Read more

"We’re in a slow, but definite recovery mode"

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/real_estate/archives/2009/06/were-in-a-slow.html?mi_atom=Home%20Front


So says Alexis McGee, president of Fair Oaks-based Foreclosures.com, which tracks the nation’s foreclosure markets for real estate investors. Here’s McGee’s new national roundup:


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -While President Obama, Congress, and the American people debate financial regulatory reform, foreclosures continue to mount as embattled housing markets bump along the bottom. ... Read more

Use of short sales on rise in Sacramento housing market

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1933643.html


For years real estate agents have steered buyers away from "short sales," labeling them a mind-numbing, difficult experience that could exhaust the patience of the biblical Job.

Now buyers can hardly avoid them.

"When it’s 50 percent of the inventory you don’t have a choice," said Scott Williams, a Roseville-based ReMax broker. Williams specializes in a complex transaction that may be... Read more

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s new rules are raising appraisal costs, critics say

http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-fi-harney17-2009may17,0,5903005.story

The rules, intended to improve the accuracy of home valuations, push most large lenders to use third-party appraisal management companies.


Reporting from Washington -- How about this scenario the next time you refinance or apply for a mortgage: The real estate appraisal that used to cost you $325 now costs $450, even though the appraiser doing the work is getting only $175 or $200.
Read more

February sales of new California homes weak
State tax credit for new homes in demand
By Inman News, Wednesday, April 15, 2009.

http://www.inman.com/news/2009/04/15/february-sales-new-california-homes-weak

Inman news

February sales of new homes in California were down 54 percent from a year ago, but showed modest improvement from January, the California Building Industry Association said.

Sales of single-family homes and townhomes were both down 55 percent from a year ago, while sales of condominiums were off 51 percent. That’s still an improve... Read more

Given recent changes in home prices and the current low mortgage rate climate, there have been significant gains in affordability for prospective first-time homeowners. Earlier in 2009, a provision in the Stimulus Bill provided for a first-time Homebuyer Tax Credit of 10 percent of the purchase price of the home up to $8,000. The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® analyzed the difference between renting and buying a home in light of recent market and policy developments. Housing costs and tax implications of buying a home and renting a home were computed as a part of the analysis.

A... Read more

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