31 January 2011

JUST LISTED by Jillian Bos

5704 West Prospect Drive in THE LAKES
This inviting home located in The Lakes gated community has 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, and features beautiful front and backyard landscaping, complete with stately oak tree in front. An elegant formal living room with fireplace beautifully flows into a formal dining room with access to a well equipped kitchen. Off the kitchen is a second family room with fireplace. An entertainer's delight...9 cars can be parked in the driveway, and the kitchen opens up to a family room and also a sprawling backyard. The master suite opens to an expansive deck, and also boasts a soaking tub and large walk in closet. Plantation shutters throughout. Make an appointment to see this quintessential family home!

Listed for $899,000
Presented by JILLIAN BOS

27 January 2011

THIS MONTH IN REAL ESTATE / January 2011

The housing market is recovering. As more home buyers are taking advantage of the improved affordability conditions. With mortgage rates hovering around recent record lows and home prices having generally stabilized, economists are expecting an upward trend to a healthy and sustainable level in 2011.

Encouraging signs are showing up across the economy. Retail sales recently hit their highest level since before the recession. Key measures of small and big businesses’ optimism marched back up to prerecession levels and new claims for jobless benefits are trending lower. Together they bode well for steady job creation and improved consumer confidence which is generally manifested in more spending.

As the economy improves, current stimulus efforts by the government and the Federal Reserve Board are expected to gradually wind down. Meanwhile, serious buyers stand to benefit from historically favorable buying conditions.


Home Sales
Existing home sales resumed on an upward trend since bottoming in July. Sales activity rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in November. This was up 22% from July and 5.6% above the 4.43 million level in October, but remained 27.9% below the 6.49 million tax credit rush a year ago. As steady job creation is expected to continue, industry experts are hopeful for 2011.

Home Price
Home prices continued to stabilize. Median home prices edged up slightly to $170,600, 0.4% above year-ago levels. Distressed homes have accounted for a fairly stable market share, representing 33% of sales in November. This is on par with the 34% in October and 33% in November 2009. Historically favorable interest rates, coupled with stable home prices, continue to offer advantageous buying opportunities .

Inventory
The number of homes on the market continued to decline. Total inventory fell to 3.71 million in November from 3.86 million in October. This reflects the increasing response from buyers to improved affordability conditions. As lending standards return to historical norms and consumers become more confident about their financial situation, more people will be able to buy their first home, move up, or invest.

Affordability
Housing affordability set a new record in November. The relationship between mortgage rates, home prices, and family income is the most favorable on record for buying. The home price-to-income ratio, currently at 13.5%, continues to remain well below the historical standard. Stabilizing home prices and rising interest rates are expected to begin drawing affordability back up toward more normal levels.

Source: National Association of Realtors - October housing data released December 22.
Interest Rates
Mortgage rates are inching up but remain historically low. This trend continues to support home buying as it translates to significant savings for buyers. As overall economic recovery remains on track, rates are expected to rise to keep inflation in check.

Type
Rate
30 year fixed
4.77%
15 year fixed
4.13%
5/1-year ARM
3.75%
30 year average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage
8.9%
Source: Freddie Mac, Rates as of Jan 7, 2011
Topics For Home Owners, Buyers & Sellers
 

Use the Season to Your Home-Selling Advantage


While summer is generally known as the peak season for home sales activity, the winter can also offer great advantages for sellers – such as less competition from other sellers. With a little effort, you can use the season to your home-selling advantage.
Let’s put these ideas to work, so your home shows at its best.

Keep snow and ice at bay. If the buyer can't get in easily, the house won't sell. That means keeping walkways and driveways free of the frozen stuff. You want to make the home look well maintained.

Warm it up. Think warm, cozy, and homey. Before a buyer comes through, adjust the thermostat to a warmer temperature to make it welcoming. If you have a fireplace, turning it on right before the tour can create a more welcoming ambience.

Emphasize winter positives. Is your home on a bus route or some other vital service that means it's plowed or deiced regularly in bad weather? Be sure to mention that to the buyers.

Make it festive. Even if you're not actually going to be present, greet your buyers as if they were going to be guests at a party. Set up the dinner table with the good china and silver. Have a plate of cookies for your guests, some warm cider, or even chilled bottles of water.

Use the season to your advantage.  When the holidays are over, you can still use winter wreaths and dried arrangements around the door to spark interest. In the winter, with the leaves off the trees, you might also have a nice view that isn't as apparent in the spring and summer months.
Source: msn.com

15 January 2011

OPEN HOUSE!

OPEN HOUSE in RANCHO SANTA BARBARA

2340 North Maselli, Visalia
Saturday, January 15
1-4:00 pm

This fabulous home in NW Visalia is attractively priced at $539,900.  2 bedrooms / 2.5 bathrooms + casita.  This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of the very desirable Rancho Santa Barbara gated community.

And...of course, we'll be serving STARBUCKS hot chocolate.  Stop by...bring a friend!

08 January 2011

OPEN HOUSE in MARSEILLE TODAY!


OPEN HOUSE in MARSEILLE TODAY!

2006 N. Maselli in Northwest Visalia

1-4 pm

Serving STARBUCKS Hot Chocolate...stop by...bring a friend...would love to see you :-)

Jillian

04 January 2011

Price Reductions Increase Year Over Year In December


An article brought to you by the CAR (California Association of REALTORS):

Trulia.com, a top site for homebuyers, sellers and renters, today released its December price reduction report for the U.S. housing market. Nationally, the number of listings with at least one price cut grew by 23 percent from 22 percent in December 2009 to 27 percent in December 2010. Meanwhile, average reductions remained flat at 11 percent in a year-over-year comparison, although they have risen by 10 percent since last month.

Among the 50 largest U.S. cities, 32 experienced price reduction levels at 30 percent or higher this month compared to just 14 in December 2009.

The 10 cities with the highest percentage change in price reductions between December 2009 and December 2010 are all in the western and southwestern states of California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas.  At the top of the list, Fresno more than doubled its year-over-year price reductions by 117 percent while Mesa and Phoenix - which have two of the highest price reduction levels this month - increased by 54 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

“The homebuyer tax credit successfully created an impactful short-term demand which temporarily stabilized prices, but stopped short of being a true spark for real estate recovery,” said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO, Trulia. “As I said in the beginning of the year, job creation will be the strongest indicator that the housing market is turning around.  Looking at the latest unemployment rate which rose to 9.8 percent this month, we expect prices will continue to decline between five and seven percent nationally especially in the first of half of 2011.”

WOW...we're making national news.  This data indicates we are the epicenter of this national issue.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:

Buyers, this is a perfect storm; interest rates are at record lows as are home values....strike while the iron's hot.

Sellers, be conservative.  Take into consideration your homes competition and price to sell before the competition.  There is an influx of NOD's (Notice of Defaults) headed our way, so it is wise to avoid the risk of your home losing interest due to more competitively priced properties.


If you have any questions....please ask me!  I am happy to help you, or someone you know.

Very sincerely,
Jillian

02 January 2011

Happy New Year!

MAKE 2011 FABULOUS!

 Happy New Year,
Jillian

*** In celebration of the New Year...see my new FACEBOOK pages listed to the left...let me know whatcha think! ***