Archive for April, 2008
5 Reasons Why the Chico Real Estate Market is Hot!
April 30th, 2008 categories: Chico Real Estate, Pick of The Week
Here are 5 homes in Chico that recently, within the last week, have gone pending or have been reported sold that were on the market for less than 10 days. I intended to blog on 2 of them as a “Pick of The Week” home, but just didn’t get to it in time. Sorry…
Could it be that we are in the kind of market in which “good deal” homes sell faster than I can blog about them?
1. 151 Aspen Glen Dr. 3/2, 1,420 square feet, built in 2000. Listed at, $259,000. Days on Market: 7. Status: Sold, $259,000. Listed by, Teresa Larson-Coldwell Banker. MLS# 200803003.
2. 911 Sheridan Ave. 3/2, 1,200 square feet, built in 1964. Listed at, $279,000. Days on Market: 7. Status: Sold, $275,000. Listed by, Lori Akers-C-21. MLS# 200801561.
3. 1871 Auburn Oak Way. 3/2, 1,316 square feet, built in 2001. Listed at, $280,000. Days on Market: 8. Status: Pending. Listed by, Jonathan Rilea, Keller Williams. MLS# 200803897.
4. 2801 Vistamont Way. Duplex. 3/2 and 2/2, 2,287 square feet, built in 2006. Listed at, $354,900. Days on Market: 10. Status: Pending. Listed by, Judy Cane - Aloha Realty. MLS# 200803791.
5. 2235 Dorado Cerro. 3/2.5, 3,116 square feet, built in 1963. Listed at, $599,000. Days on Market: 11 (ok. not 10 or less, but usually takes a day or two to input status change). Status: Pending. Listed at, $599,000. Listed by, Michael Fortino-Coldwell Banker.
And, as a bonus- I love bonuses- I just represented clients on the purchase of a 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo for $97,000. It was an REO (bank owned property) listed at, $114,900. Even the listing price was below appraised value. Aside from one other condo sale nearly 2 years ago that was a 1 bedroom and 164 square feet less, this was the cheapest condo reported on MLS in the past couple of years.
The Point
There are quite a few homes languishing on the market in Chico. But, for the astute, ready to move Buyer, there are many good deals to be had. And, those good deals- go Fast!
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New HVCC Regulation: Could it Put YOU out of Business?
April 29th, 2008 categories: Mortgage News
There is very little time to get your voice heard on this critical regulation that could have dire consequences to your business, and the housing industry as a whole.
In a call to action received from David Biggers, Chairman, a la mode, inc., “… a nearly silently adopted regulation which could very well be the most dangerous restriction ever placed on the mortgage industry. It literally threatens to eliminate mortgage brokers almost overnight.”
According to Biggers, the new regulations came out of a lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General involving coercion of appraisers by large institutions. In the settlement agreement, the GSE’s (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) agreed to change national appraisal rules-in exchange for the Attorney General’s office terminating its investigation of the GSE’s.
He further explains, “Unfortunately, while we believe the agreement has the best of intentions, the hastily written embedded regulations (called the, “Home Valuation Code of Conduct”, or HVCC), do not solve the problem and in fact severely punish agents, mortgage brokers, appraisers, and ultimately consumers.”
“If there was ever a case of the cure being worse than the disease, this is it.”
Although, this issue deserves far more discussion and analysis, regrettably, in the interest in and lack of time to get your voice heard, I will simply provide two links that should further explain the proposed regulation and leave the analysis and any further input to you.
To have your voice heard by 5:00 PM CST today, http://www.alamode.com/HVCC-MB.
And, visit, proposal [PDF], to judge for yourself.
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Chico, CA Wildflower Century Ride
April 28th, 2008 categories: Around Town, Events
About 3,500 cyclists came to Chico to ride the 27th annual Wildflower Century this year, which
has become recognized as one of the premier distance rides around.
Although, as its name implies, the Wildflower Century does offer a 100 mile loop, the event also offers shorter options for folks looking to spin their wheels a few less revolutions. The 65 mile loop, known as the Mildflower, the 30 to 60 mile loop called the Flatflower, and the 15 mile pedal-the Childflower.
The “Big Daddy” ride begins in Chico, travels through beautiful Butte Creek Canyon on Honey Run Rd., to Paradise, south to Table Mountain, and back on the flats through Durham and back to Chico. The ride does have its share of climbs, especially the short, but steep climb up Honey Run. That baby should definitely make the average rider “feel the burn”. The biggest speed shot is down Clark Rd. on the backside of Paradise, where it is not difficult to experience the “speed wobbles” at 45 miles per. Fun stuff.
Unfortunately, I did not make the ride this year as I recently dusted off the old “roadie” and lent it to a friend to use in a triathlon taking place next weekend. I did, however, plan to ride my townie -through a portion of the ride anyway- but, ended up spending the morning with visiting family. Oh well… There is always next year!
Photo: Historical Honey Run Covered Bridge in Butte Creek Canyon.
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Chico, CA Market Report 4/28/2008
April 28th, 2008 categories: Market Report
Since the beginning of the year:
188 Single Family Homes and 13 Condos have sold in Chico (includes, Forest Ranch, Durham and Cohasset) for a grand total of 201 Homes and Condos.
The average price of Single Family homes sold: $346,347. Median Price: $293,500. Average Days on Market, 82.
The average price of Condos sold: $170,250. Median Price, $145,000. Average Days on Market, 140.
Compared to the last quarter of 2007:
204 Single Family Homes sold, with an average price of, $350,672, median price of: 316,600. Average Days on Market, 94.
15 Condos sold, with an average price of, $174,660, median price of, $162,000. Average Days on Market, 89.
Currently:
456 Single Family Homes and Condos active (for sale). 139 are Pending sale.
The ratio of Pending sales to active listings is now 30%, up 2% from my previous market report of April 11, 2008.
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Tube Good to Pass Up…
April 25th, 2008 categories: This and That
Okay… so, we took a little time last night to veg-out on some TV…
Unfortunately, our 200 channels or so didn’t seem to offer anything that we felt like watching. And, news was not an option, especially for my wife. I mean how much depressing news can a person take? Beyond that, election fatigue began right around “Super Tuesday”.Flipping through our typical favorite channels, we came across the 1999, Reese Witherspoon-John Cussack movie, Election. Now, this is a pretty funny movie… even though, we had both seen it before… we settled in and watched.
The difference, we noticed this time around (one that made the movie even funnier), was the obvious likeness one of the characters shared with one of our esteemed Presidential candidates.
I mean, it was uncanny. And, we had some good laughs because of it. Inspired to see if we were the first to make this connection, I quickly visited Youtube, only to discover that our observations were actually not new. In fact, someone had actually created a video clip using footage from the movie. I felt compelled to share… hope you enjoy…
Uhmmm… I know. I’m supposed to limit my blog musings to real estate, mortgage, and local Chico themes. Politics are definitely a “No, No”.
They say to stick to what’s safe or, run the risk of offending someone and alienating the very people who help put food on the table and pay the rent (mortgage). You know… the client. And, for the most part, I have bit my tongue and respected that rule… just good business practice, I suppose.
But, every once in a while… you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do, even if that means breaking a rule now and then.
Some things are just too good to pass up. And, I don’t think anybody should truly be offended. But, in the unfortunate event that you are, my apologies. But, for those of you who share my sense of humor and growing sense of election fatigue, watch the movie. It is pretty darn funny.
Oh, yes. There are many great Chico, Ca real estate deals out there that are just too goo to pass up! Stay tuned and I will tell you about some of them…
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