Linda Kay's Blog: California

A Toast of the Town in San Dimas

The San Dimas Chamber of Commerce is holding their Toast of the Town event.  The event consists of wine tasting and food tasting and boasts live music.

The event will be held at the San Dimas Stanly Plummet Community Building on February 16, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.  The cost after February 6th is $30 per person.  

If you've never been to one of these events, I wholeheartedly suggest you stop by and sample the local cuisine and award winning wines.  You can meet some great people in your own neck of the woods and sample some foods you may have never thought of before.  A great time to be had by all.

For more information, click HERE or call the San Dimas Chamber of Commerce at (909) 592-3818. 

December 2011 Home Sales in California

Okay, so it's time for the December 2011 California Housing Report... and this time it's only a couple of days late... really, I AM catching up, I am, I am!  DQ News has released their monthly report  for December 2011 on the state of thehousing market in California.  

Home sales in California were up by 15.5% from November, which is quite a huge jump.  This is a jump from December 2010 of 4.2%  It seems as if things are looking up for the California Housing Market!  

The median home price went up to $246,000 from $244,000 in the month of November.  This figure is down from $254,000 in 2011.  This goes along with things we are seeing in our area.  real Estate is becoming more and more localized where you see one city's prices edging up while the city next door may be heading downward.

Another topic DQ News reports on is the amount of "distressed" homes.  Short sales made up approximately 20% of the sales for the month while 34.2% were homes that had been foreclosed on within the past year.

To read more of the statistics, please read the article HERE.

 And as always, if you want to buy or sell real estate in the area, or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

La Verne State of The City and School District

Okay, so I was reading an article about the State of the City and School District in the City of La Verne.

Mayor Don Kendrick along with Bonita Unified Superintendent of Schools (which covers both San Dimas and La Verne) Gary Rapkin made a joint presentation to share how things are going along.

The City of La Verne portion stated that there are major budget cuts coming due to the fact that the federal government has dissolved all of the Redevelopment Agencies.  This will lower the budget for this year by $4M and then $2M in the following years.

The Bonita Unified School District is reported to be ready to tackle a loss of $5M for the next year if the voters do not approve the state's proposed tax increases on the November ballot.  (Right here I'm inserting a private rant.)

But Superintendent Rapkin said in spite of all of these cuts, "our schools are not surviving, but thriving!"  The district's 2011 Academic Performance Index rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of 854.  Rapkin said it's not simply about the test scores, though, it's also about arts, athletics and activities.  Coming from me, a parent in this district, I'd have to agree - it has been a well-rounded program up to this point in spite of losing $13,000,000 from their budget since the 2007-2008 school year.

So if you want to buy or sell real estate in the La Verne area, or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

Claremont Continues with Redevelopment Projects

Okay, so here's a bit of good news from the City of Claremont, CA.  The Claremont City Council voted unanimously to continue some projects even though the $3,000,000 they usually receive from the federal government has been halted.  It's like this for every city since the disbanding of the Redevelopment Agencies.

Some of the projects they have agreed to continue are Friday Nights Live - a program directed at teens and lowering the deaths and injuries caused by teens who are under the influence of one substance or another. Also a senior unit subsidy for Claremont Senior Villas which helps seniors afford their housing in senior communities within the City of Claremont.  You can read more about it here.

The amount set aside by the Claremont City Council is $50,000 to continue these and other projects.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate in the Claremont area, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

HIGHS AND LOWS - La Verne, CA - January 20, 2012

Okay, so here is today's report for the LA VERNE, CA Real Estate Market.

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE

Lowest Priced Home   $     229,900

Highest Priced Home   $  3,500,000

Average   $     419,000

Active Listings   121

Sold This Week  3

New Listings This Week  7

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the LA VERNE REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  The average price in LA VERNE this week is $419,000 which is lower than before.  Prices have fallen just a little bit, but it looks like they are starting to stabilize in this area.

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 121 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 121 by the number of homes sold this week, in this case 3, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 40 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...  In fact this past week there were 7 new listings.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 40 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  It truly helps to have an agent that has an existing web presence since most people start their home search online.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a large selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Not to mention that the average home price has dropped in the last month making you as they buyer able to afford a better home.

CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES

Lowest   $    75,000

Highest   $ 344,300

Average   $ 154,000

Active Listings   8

Condos Sold This Week  0

New Listings This Week  0

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take at least 8 weeks to sell your condo or townhome and probably more.  It is more difficult to tell because of the lack of sales this week. And a buyer has 8 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling condos.

Since I am local to the area, I work hard to be a local expert in LA VERNE Real Estate.  The prices, the inventory and the trends so I can be a better agent for you.  However, it is not only real estate information that makes one a local expert.  There must also be knowledge of local events, schools and neighborhoods.  Since I happen to live in LA VERNE I am pretty on top of things here.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

HIGHS AND LOWS - Claremont, CA - January 20, 2012

Okay, so here is today's report for the CLAREMONT, CA Real Estate Market.

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE

Lowest Priced Home   $     152,000

Highest Priced Home   $  4,000,000

Average   $     549,000

Active Listings   116

Sold This Week  3

New Listings This Week  9

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  The average price in CLAREMONT this week is $549,000 which is lower than before.  Prices have fallen just a little bit, but it looks like they are starting to stabilize in this area.

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 116 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 116 by the number of homes sold this week, in this case 3, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 38 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...  In fact this past week there were 9 new listings.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 38 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  It truly helps to have an agent that has an existing web presence since most people start their home search online.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a large selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Not to mention that the average home price has dropped in the last month making you as they buyer able to afford a better home.

CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES

Lowest   $   180,000

Highest   $ 702,688

Average   $ 300,000

Active Listings   14

Condos Sold This Week  1

New Listings This Week  0

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take approximately 14 weeks to sell your condo or townhome.  And a buyer has 14 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling condos.

Since I am local to the area, I work hard to be a local expert in CLAREMONT Real Estate.  The prices, the inventory and the trends so I can be a better agent for you.  However, it is not only real estate information that makes one a local expert.  There must also be knowledge of local events, schools and neighborhoods.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

 World Famous Donut Man, Located in Glendora, CA

Okay, so when I was younger, I used to have a friend who loved Donut Man in Glendora where I grew up.  We would sneak out of the house in the middle of the night (she lived around the corner) since they were open 24/7 and grab a donut or two... a lady never tells how many!  My Momma (who is wonderful) always brings me one on my birthday, it's become a tradition.

Since that time, Donut Man has been featured on The Food Network, The Huffington Post and been written up in the LA Times just to mention a few.  Their strawberry and (my favorite) peach donuts are simply to die for!

So I've taken the liberty of posting the (HOW TO) make Peach Donutsfrom YouTube and Huell Howser's visit to the Donut Man for your enjoyment.  Simply click on these links.

In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures for you to savor!

HIGHS AND LOWS - Glendora, CA - January 18, 2012

Okay, so here is today's report for the GLENDORA, CA Real Estate Market.

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE

Lowest Priced Home   $     210,000

Highest Priced Home   $  4,750,000

Average   $     399,000

Active Listings   165

Sold This Week  7

New Listings This Week  8

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the GLENDORA REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  The average price in GLENDORA this week is $399,000 which is lower than before.  Prices have fallen just a little bit, but it looks like they are starting to stabilize in this area.

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 165 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 165 by the number of homes sold this week, in this case 7, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 23 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...  In fact this past week there were 8 new listings.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 23 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  It truly helps to have an agent that has an existing web presence since most people start their home search online.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a large selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Not to mention that the average home price has dropped in the last month making you as they buyer able to afford a better home.

CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES

Lowest   $   199,900

Highest   $ 400,000

Average   $ 320,000

Active Listings   22

Condos Sold This Week  0

New Listings This Week  2

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take approximately 11 weeks to sell your condo or townhome.  And a buyer has 22 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling condos however the number of listings has picked up a bit.

Since I am local to the area, I work hard to be a local expert in GLENDORA Real Estate.  The prices, the inventory and the trends so I can be a better agent for you.  However, it is not only real estate information that makes one a local expert.  There must also be knowledge of local events, schools and neighborhoods.  And since I grew up in GLENDORA and still live less than ten minutes away, I'm pretty Glendora-Savvy.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you. Call me for your free home market analysis!

HIGHS AND LOWS - San Dimas, CA - January 18, 2012

Okay, so here is today's report for the San Dimas, CA real estate market.

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE

Lowest Priced Home   $     150,000

Highest Priced Home   $  2,250,000

Average   $     319,000

Active Listings   103

Sold This Week  3

New Listings This Week  11

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the SAN DIMAS REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  The average price in SAN DIMAS this week is $319,000 which is lower than before.  Prices have fallen just a little bit, but it looks like they are starting to stabilize in this area.

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 103 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 103 by the number of homes sold this week, in this case 3, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 34 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...  In fact this past week there were 11 new listings.

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 34 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  It truly helps to have an agent that has an existing web presence since most people start their home search online.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a large selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Not to mention that the average home price has dropped in the last month making you as they buyer able to afford a better home.

CONDOS AND TOWNHOMES

Lowest   $   199,000

Highest   $ 440,000

Average   $ 265,000

Active Listings   38

Condos Sold This Week  2

New Listings This Week  2

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take approximately 19 weeks to sell your condo or townhome.  And a buyer has 38 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling condos however the number of listings has picked up a bit.

Since I am local to the area, I work hard to be a local expert in SAN DIMAS Real Estate.  The prices, the inventory and the trends so I can be a better agent for you.  However, it is not only real estate information that makes one a local expert.  There must also be knowledge of local events, schools and neighborhoods.

So if you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you Call me for your free home market analysis!

Steps To Selling A Home in Today's Market

 I wrote this blog way back at the beginning of my blogging career.  I think it's worth a revisit and revision, so I've added a couple of things for your reading pleasure!  

1.  In today's market, pricing is the absolute, the most important thing to consider.  You need to be competitive and sometimes that means competing with foreclosures and short sale prices.  Now, I know that is simply not what you want to hear, but it's true nevertheless.  If your home is priced too high, you may never get a buyer to step foot inside your door.  Why would they, when everyone is looking for a bargain and your price tells them it's not your home!  Let me give you an example:

    Buyers determine value by comparison shopping.  They look at the price of your home based on its features and upgrades and compare it with features and upgrades of similar homes that have sold recently or are currently on the market. 

    So, if you were going to purchase a new stereo system, and one store had that system for $500 and another store had the same stereo for $500 but it had a cassette deck and a turn table for your old vinyl records, which would be more valuable?  The stereo with the upgrades, of course!  

    But now, the first store put the stereo with no upgrades on sale for $250.  Which would be a better value then?  The stereo with the lower price because you can buy your own turn table and CD player probably for less and have it be more custom to you!

So you can see that if you want to increase value you either have to lower the price or add upgrades and features.  This applies directly to the sale of your home.

2.  Unclutter your life! and your home.  It's difficult for prospective buyers to separate what they see and what is under all of that stuff.  Believe it or not, there is also such a thing as too much furniture that can make the rooms look smaller.  Please keep your knick-knacks, etc. to a minimum so the space will have a more neutral feeling to it.  

3.  I know sometimes it's hard, but you need to keep your home in good condition for showing at a moments notice.  This may include changing some habits such as smoking.  If you smoke indoors, a buyer can definitely tell and this detracts from the quality of your home and, not to mention causes damage to your walls and paint and carpets.

4.  Now it's time for open houses.  It is imperative that you allow your home to be seen and an open house is a good way to accomplish that very thing.  Usually the frequency of the open houses is two times per month.  In the beginning I recommend possibly one or two more.  In the past, Sundays have been the open house day, but in today's market you have to add Saturdays and a weekday such as Thursday.  Of course this will not all be in one weekend, unless you wish, and will vary from week to week.  

5. That used to be the end of things.  Now, however, you need to find an agent with a great marketing strategy.  Surveys say the majority of people start their home search on line, before they get prequalified with a lender and before they get serious with an agent.  Your agent needs to have a good established presence on the web, whether it be a blog, a website and/or social media venues.  

It is my job to coordinate these things with you to ensure a smooth process and make it easy on your existing life.  So if you have questions or need to buy or sell a home, please don't hesitate to contact me.  I will be more than honored to help.