New home analyst, the Gregory Group of Folsom is reporting that new home builders have shut down 10 percent of the regions new home projects.  Those closures removed approximately 2800 potential home sites from the market- a likely factor in reducing new home inventories by approximately 31%.  This is the first significant drop in inventory levels since the fall of 2005.  The Gregory Group found that since June, companies have halted sales in 34 of the region’s 370 new home communities.  New home builder’s have finally started to heed their own advice about the need to start restricting the new home supply to spur the market recovery.

Steve Siegel, Coldwell Banker
Email: steve.siegel@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.212.5066
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search

The Federal Reserve reduced the Fed Funds rate yesterday by a quarter point. Wall Street responded with another volatile day of trading and the Dow lost 300 points because of unrealized expectations of an even larger drop in rates. 

The bigger question for homeowners and potential buyer’s is how this Fed funds rate drop effects mortgage rates.  Actually, mortgage rates follow the bond market, not the Fed funds rate. The interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage tracks the yield on the 10 year Treasury note.  Lenders typically set their base mortgage rate around two percentage points higher than the 10 year bond yield. Rates on adjustable rate mortgages are tied to yields on two, three, and five year Treasuries.  These short term loans are more sensitive to Fed rate movements, and those with the shortest maturities see the greatest impact when short term rates rise and fall.  So, if you want to know the direction of mortgage rates, you need to get a sense of where bond yields are heading.

Steve Siegel, Coldwell Banker
Email: steve.siegel@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.212.5066
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently confirmed that the maximum conforming loan limit in 2008 for single family mortgages purchased by the two mortgage-finance companies will remain at this year’s level of $417,000 in most of the US.  Higher limits apply to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the US Virgin Islands. The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that Washington, DC based Fannie Mae or Mclean, VA based Freddie Mac may buy or guarantee.  Both companies purchase residential mortgages and also package loans into mortgage backed securities for sale to other investors. 

US lawmakers have sought to increase the conforming loan limit for the two mortgage finance giants with the hope that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could provide some liquidity to the mortgage market, which continues to struggle from the fallout in the subprime sector. 

Steve Siegel, Coldwell Banker
Email: steve.siegel@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.212.5066
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search

Eli Broad, founder and former chairman of KB Home, recently announced his intention to seek annexation into the city of Roseville for the Placer Ranch development.  Placer Ranch is the 2,200 acre developement that has proposed as many as 5,000 new homes, up to 9 million square feet of commercial, office and light industrial land use, as well as a possible California State University campus.  Broad has been in discussions with Placer County for years over the costs of providing new services for the project.  Annexation approval must come from both Roseville, as well as Placer County.

If you’re considering selling your home In challenging times like these, it’s more important than ever to place your trust with "leaders".  Coldwell Banker is once again the top selling brokerage in the prestigious communities of Granite Bay (zip code 95746) and East Roseville (zip code 95661). Coldwell Banker has approximately 22% market share in Granite Bay and 17% in East Roseville in the last 12 months.

Steve Dailey & Steve Siegel ("Team Steve") have been Realtors with Coldwell Banker in Roseville since 2002.  In that time, we have focused largely on Granite Bay and East Roseville, along with other South Placer County communities like Rocklin, Loomis, and Lincoln.  During that time, we’ve work with clients on over 30 transactions in Granite Bay alone, and nearly 100 in the South Placer County area.  We’ve developed a keen knowledge of area schools, demographics, and neighborhoods, and we have a proven track record in not just "listing" but aggressively marketing and selling our clients’ homes. 

If you’re considering a move in the future or would just like a free, no-obligation market analysis from area experts, please e-mail us or give us a call!

Steve Dailey, Coldwell Banker
Email: steven.dailey@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.276.9244
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search

By now we are all familiar with the Sacramento region’s "challenging" Real Estate market.  However, even in these difficult times there are some shining examples that the best communities perform the best in Real Estate during both good times and bad.  Granite Bay is one of the best examples of this.

Overall, prices in the greater Sacramento region have declined approximately 20% during the 2005-2007 downturn. And "transactions" (the number of homes sold) are down even more - 30% to 40% on average.  But check out these numbers in Granite Bay (source: Metrolist MLS):

• 2006: Median Sale Price - $791,000; total homes sold - 270 (22.5 per month)
• 2007: Median Sale Price - $811,000; total homes sold - 244 as of 11/20/07 (22.9 per month)

The numbers don’t lie!  Granite Bay’s median sales price is UP in 2007 by 2.5%, and the number of homes sold per month is up slightly as well!  It just goes to show - the old Real Estate adage "location, location, location" still holds true, in good markets and in bad.

Let’s be clear - we’re not saying it would be easy to sell your home in Granite Bay today.  In fact, there is almost 9 months of inventory currently in Granite Bay (that’s the number of homes on the market vs the number of homes sold per month).  But what we are saying is that Granite Bay continues to be one of if not the best location to own a home in the Sacramento region, and if you do choose to sell you’ll need patience, but you can still expect to receive a solid return on your investment when it does sell.

Steve Dailey, Coldwell Banker
Email: steven.dailey@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.276.9244
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search

We knew they were “great places to live”, but now it’s official!  Granite Bay (#74) and El Dorado Hills (#77) each made Money’s Magazine’s “Best Places to Live 2007″ Top 100 lists!

Each town was given “A” marks in jobs / economy, ease of living, and education.  It’s yet another testament to their well-earned reputation as two of the most desireable communities in the greater Sacramento Area Real Estate market.

Click here for more information:

• Money Magazine article
• Granite Bay summary
• El Dorado Hills summary

Steve Dailey, Coldwell Banker
Email: steven.dailey@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.276.9244
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search

Hello everyone!

We’re thrilled to introduce our weblog to the Greater Sacramento Area Real Estate Community!  We’ll be providing you with market information, insights into the latest in the mortgage/lending industry, with a special focus on South Placer County, including Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay, Loomis, and Lincoln, plus additional insights into the neighboring communities of Folsom and El Dorado Hills.  We’ll even keep you updated on current events in the greater Sacramento area.

We hope you enjoy, and invite you to comment on what you read - whether you agree or disagree!  If you’d like to get e-mails of new posts, subscribe to our blog using the simple form above.  Thanks for visiting!

Steve Dailey, Coldwell Banker
Email: steven.dailey@cbnorcal.com
mobile: 916.276.9244
www.teamstevehomes.com
Visit our Complimentary Sacramento Area MLS Search