In a time where the G 20 summit has mixed feelings and demands, it is reassuring to know that there are some places in the world where the word ‘environment’ has been revered with serious action. Sacramento, according to the journal, American bicyclist, ranks fourth in the country for bicycle commuting. Business professionals and specialists are claiming that the use of bicycles is more viable than the regular transport for two reasons – pollution free atmosphere and healthier lifestyles.

The New Year has also brought in the hopes of constructing a new sports and entertainment center ... Read more

Recession has had its impact on real estate too. The real estate market is now struggling in many areas of the country. The real estate agents and brokers have realized the importance of being a financial planner in accord to being a sales person. Traditional approaches to the current market do not have its stand in the global real estate market. With real estate transactions going online, agents are seeing themselves in new levels with professionalism and customer service. In such a situation, real estate agents are to be high on heels with technology.

The easy access to information... Read more

Located in the region of mild Mediterranean climate dominated by wet, cold winters and dot, dry summers, Yuba City was home to the Maidu people until 1800s. But in the beginning of 1800s Yuba City saw the Maidu people encountered by the Mexicans and Spanish. The ‘Gold Rush’ in 1848 saw small establishments along the Yuba River. Yuba City got its first county seat in 1856. This region is also called as ‘Feather River Valley’.

Yuba City is home to many employment opportunities with many local and global companies. The city enjoys a steady economy which has been free from recession. Read more

Recession’s over, but it doesn’t feel that way in capital area

It looks like the longest U.S. recession since the 1930s is over.

So why doesn’t it feel that way?

After four quarters of shrinking, the nation’s economy – as measured by its gross domestic product – grew 3.5 percent in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

But the news did little to erase the gloom that has settled over Sacramento’s economic landscape like a thick tule fog.

Local businesses are keeping the umbrellas within arm&rsquo... 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

July 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. home prices had the smallest annual drop in 10 months, signaling the free fall of property values is abating in the three-year housing slump at the center of a global recession.

Prices declined 5.6 percent in May from a year earlier and rose 0.9 from April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency in Washington said today. Economists expected a 0.2 percent drop for the month, according to the median of 16 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

“We saw a rebound of home prices in some parts of the country in part because the share of distressed sales dipped,”... Read more

Small banks start feeling financial stress

By Charles Piller
cpiller@sacbee.com


http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2000836.html

At first, the Sacramento region’s small, business-oriented community banks appeared to have sidestepped the plight of banking titans that staggered under the burden of home mortgage defaults. Now some are showing signs of stress.

Gold Country Bank in Marysville has become the weakest bank of its size in California – below 98 percent of similar banks nationwide, according to Bankrate.com, a leading independent ev... Read more

Rate-rise threatens economic relapse

http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/loubarnes/rate-rise-threatens-economic-relapse



The economic optimists are still in charge of markets, rates and stocks still rising. However, the divergence is widening between them and those worried about credit and latent weakness. It may take a month or two to figure whose stubbornness has merit.

Markets first, then new economic data.

The 10-year T-note has jumped to 3.85 percent this morning, the highest since last fall, and even two-year Treasurys rose in yield... Read more

Fed says more banks tighten home loan standards

By JEANNINE AVERSA
AP Economics Writer
http://www.sacbee.com/830/story/1832585.html


WASHINGTON -- A larger share of banks has made it more difficult for people to obtain home mortgages over the last three months even as demand has grown, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

The Fed’s new quarterly survey found that about 50 percent of U.S. banks tightened their lending standards on prime mortgages, up from about 45 percent in the survey issued in early February.

Meanwhile, 65 percent of ban... Read more

Daily Real Estate News | April 28, 2009

Homeownership at Lowest Level Since 2000

According to the Census Bureau, the rate of U.S. homeownership slipped in the 2009 first quarter to the lowest level since the start of the decade.

The U.S. homeownership rate dropped to 67.5 percent from 68 percent a year earlier, driven largely by a sharp decline among younger buyers as well as among African-American households.

Loose credit pushed up national homeownership levels in recent years, but the trend is now being reversed by the recession and a foreclosure ep... Read more

According to Daily Real Estate News, April 27, 2009, Some economic analysts say that the possibility that the economy will go into overdrive and inflation will skyrocket is a much more frightening possibility than the current recession.

One inflation hedge nearly all of them point to is real estate. Owning it outright is the best scenario, but if that’s not possible, a low-rate, 30-year fixed mortgage is the next best thing. As inflation drives up salaries, mortgage payments will stay the same, analysts point out.

Source: USA Today, John Waggoner (04/24/2009)
... Read more

Article from RISMedia.com:
Could New Stimulus Plan Actually Cost You Money?

Posted By Paige On April 20, 2009 @ 3:57 pm In Today’s Marketplace, Today’s Top Story - Consumer | Comments Disabled

[1]RISMEDIA, April 21, 2009-(MCT)-Wage earners beware: One of the federal government’s new tax breaks, designed to put more take-home pay in your wallet now, may take a bite out of your wallet next spring. Under certain conditions, the extra cash you’ve started seeing in your paychecks could shrink your refund or boost the size of the check you have to write when you fi... Read more