| Last |
This |
Up or |
|
|
Week Ending |
8/15/2008 |
8/22/2008 |
|
|
Active homes for sale |
377 |
385 |
Up 11 |
|
Median price, active |
$371,000 |
$365,000 |
Down 6K |
|
New listings |
25 |
40 |
Up 15 |
|
Escrows opened |
12 |
15 |
Up 3 |
|
Escrows closed |
18 |
17 |
Down 1 |
|
Avg days on market |
107 |
103 |
Down 4 |
| SNVMLS |
Source:
→ No CommentsTags: Quick MLS Facts
Ben Holland is a butterfly. He was born in
His first venture into the social world was in
After graduation, he landed a good paying job as a management consultant/tech nerd in the bay area. After a few years, some unknown force drove him back to
Is this unusual? No. It seems to be a common migration pattern. I am concerned that we may be in danger of altering the natural migration patterns of this very highly evolved species.
Updating the city’s general plan is no small endeavor. There are multiple layers of regulations. So many that a special consulting firm is doing most of the work. After many months of special meetings and surveys, the consultants have presented the community with three tentative plans. For ease, they are named A, B and C.
→ No CommentsTags: Around town · Growth · Home prices · Housing market
| Last |
This |
Up or |
|
|
Week Ending |
8/8/2008 |
8/15/2008 |
|
|
Active homes for sale |
366 |
377 |
Up 11 |
|
Median price, active |
$374,500 |
$371,000 |
Down 3.5K |
|
New listings |
37 |
25 |
Down 12 |
|
Escrows opened |
10 |
12 |
Up 2 |
|
Escrows closed |
24 |
18 |
Down 6 |
|
Avg days on market |
58 |
107 |
Up 49 |
| SNVMLS |
Source:
→ No CommentsTags: Quick MLS Facts
The Chico Association of Realtors is raising money for two families that lost their homes in the recent fires.
Thanks to all of you who have contributed to my team for the “Bowling for Fire Victims” fundraiser.
The winners of the drawing are:
Frank Ritter Ticket #469025 Winner of a Chico Vecino Map
Ticket #469043 (no name) Winner of the Trader Joe’s gift basket
Rose Krepelka, InterWest Highest donation, Winner of a Chico Vecino Map
→ No CommentsTags: Around town · Wildfires
| Last |
This |
Up or |
|
|
Week Ending |
8/1/2008 |
8/8/2008 |
|
|
Active homes for sale |
347 |
366 |
Up 19 |
|
Median price, active |
$375,000 |
$374,500 |
Down $500 |
|
New listings |
43 |
37 |
Down 6 |
|
Escrows opened |
11 |
10 |
Down 1 |
|
Escrows closed |
17 |
24 |
Up 7 |
|
Avg days on market |
65 |
58 |
Down 7 |
| SNVMLS |
Source:
→ No CommentsTags: Other · Quick MLS Facts
Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM, I get the call I have been waiting for. After the sudden closing of Financial Title last week, my client’s file has found its way to southern California. It’s on Pat’s desk at First American Title.
My first question: “How about the deposit money?” The answer: “Well, we are still working on that.” Not a lot of answers at this point, but at least we have a contact person. Pat tells me the Financial Title files were distributed to First American offices all over the state.
By Thursday morning they found the money, a comfort to my client. Now we are working on getting bits and pieces of the escrow file together. Remember our final closing documents, in the Fed Ex packet? After being stuck in limbo, it was finally delivered to First American (Mid Valley) Title in Chico. Now they are forwarding it on to Pat. [Read more →]
→ No CommentsTags: Curious? · Economy · Foreclosure
Buying your first home? You will be amazed at the sheer volume of paperwork you will sign. There are currently 13 pages dedicated primarily to telling you, the buyer, to get inspections on the house. Obviously, the powers that be feel inspections are very important!
With 13-plus pages telling you about all the things you should inspect and investigate, how do you know what to do? This is where an experienced Realtor can be very helpful. So much depends on particulars of the home you are buying. Sewer or septic? Well or city water? Old or new? Manufactured or site built? Comp or shake roof?
Inspections cost money, so you are not likely to order every one of the inspections listed on the advisories. There are two inspections I would recommend on every home purchase. One is the pest inspection. These inspectors are state-certified and they look for termites, dry rot and other wood-destroying organisms. Often the seller will pay for this one.
The other is the Whole House Inspection, which costs around $300-$350. Imagine a bicycle wheel. In the center is the hub. From there, the spokes poke out all the way around. I view the Whole House Inspection as the hub, and other inspections spiral out from there. [Read more →]
→ No CommentsTags: Curious? · Household tips · Housing market · Other
| Last |
This |
Up or |
|
|
Week Ending |
7/25/2008 |
8/1/2008 |
|
|
Active homes for sale |
350 |
347 |
Down 3 |
|
Median price, active |
$375,000 |
$375,000 |
= |
|
New listings |
43 |
43 |
= |
|
Escrows opened |
10 |
11 |
Up 1 |
|
Escrows closed |
14 |
17 |
Up 3 |
|
Avg days on market |
86 |
65 |
Down 21 |
| SNVMLS |
Source:
→ No CommentsTags: Housing market · Quick MLS Facts
My client called me this afternoon. “Should I wire the money to Financial Title for my escrow?” I tell him I want to call first, to make sure they received the FedEx packet that went out to them yesterday. I have no idea that Financial Title won’t be answering my call, because they no longer exist.
Returning to my office, I find an email on my computer from Mid Valley Title. Financial Title has locked the doors. Later, I get a call from FedEx. They can’t deliver the packet we sent ’cause the business is closed, should they send it back to me?
Financial Title was unknown to me until this year. That is because they don’t have an office in Butte County. Chico Realtors were used to using local title companies until recently. With foreclosure volume increasing, many banks were cutting deals with title and escrow companies to handle the sale of REO’s at a discount. Financial Title was one of those companies. [Read more →]
→ 2 CommentsTags: Curious? · Economy · Foreclosure · Housing market · Scams
This morning President Bush signed the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.” For the past several years, C.A.R. and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® have aggressively lobbied for Congress to pass numerous provisions found in this historic bill.
Here are some highlights, courtesy of the California Association of Realtors:
The legislation will assist an estimated 400,000 homeowners facing foreclosure, many of whom reside in California, by allowing them to refinance their current mortgages with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed loan. The bill also will permanently increase FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac loan limits in high-cost areas.
The bill permanently increases the conforming loan limit to $625,500. C.A.R. has long advocated for higher conforming loan limits. In February, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 was signed, temporarily raising the conforming loan limit in high-cost areas to $729,750 from $417,000 until December 31, 2008.
Although we would have liked Congress to make permanent the current $729,750 loan limit, C.A.R. is pleased with the new permanent loan limit of $625,500. It will allow California homeowners to refinance their loans into safe affordable loan products and allow first-time home buyers to enter the market. [Read more →]
→ No CommentsTags: Economy · Foreclosure
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© 2007 Chico Home Blog — Cutline theme by Chris Pearson. All posts belong to their authors. All photos, charts, logos and images belong to Debbie Brodie unless otherwise noted. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.