We have a good team to cover for me while we are away and I have my phone and email so hopefully we can get some work done and have some fun with family here too.   

If you are interested in learning more about what is happening in the real estate market and where we are here in the Sacramento area, take a look at my column, “Some Steam has Left the Market” over at Rocklin & Roseville Today and Sacramento Today.

I have watched this show in the past and always think, where do they get these people, I would never do that!  Well that was before yesterday when I got an email from the show’s producer asking me to consider being on the show.  Evidently they are looking for a “wife” who is also a Realtor and they found my website, www.jalone.com.  I thought for sure Michael and Mikie would have fit and not want me to do it.  I was wrong; Mikie really wants to do it.  I think he likes the idea of him being on TV.  Michael was a bit less enthusiastic but encouraged me to at least talk to the producer.  He thinks I would make a great participant but could see me having a meltdown if they sent me to house that was dirty or had reptile pets.  He thought it would be good exposure for my business, “…if you behave yourself!”  On the other hand he is not sure about having a “new wife” in the house. 

Everyone I mention it to laughs first then encourages me to do the interview.  Maybe they know something I don’t?  What do you think?  Send me an email at juliej@jalone.com and let me know.

If you read the headline in the Sacramento Bee this morning, “Home Sales up for 2^nd month” it might give you a feeling that our real estate market is doing pretty well after almost three years of slumping.  Don’t get me wrong, I am feeling optimistic about eventually getting back to a balanced real estate market but when you get behind some of the numbers it is pretty clear we have a ways to go.

Compared to a year ago, there were over 47 percent more sales of existing homes in Sacramento County during May than a year ago and up 154 sales from April to 1,827 closed escrows.  This is a significant increase but for Placer County the news was not as positive.  Sales or existing homes in Placer was down 24 percent from last May to 473 sales and this number was down 6.5 percent in the past month.  Nevada County sales were also down while Amador, El Dorado, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties all experienced increase.

Prices of existing residences in all eight counties were down year over year.  Not surprisingly, Sacramento had the largest decline at almost 36 percent.  Placer was down 24.6 percent and Amador experienced the smallest decline, 18 percent.    Only Yolo and Yuba counties had a price increase from the previous month.

Total sales for May in the eight county region totaled 3,420 which is up 204 from April but this number does not compare well to May 2004 when over 6,700 homes were sold. 

The pressure on price will continue as long as we have excess inventory available.  The good news is that even with the continued increase in foreclosures inventory has actually been declining over the past few months during a time when you would expect to have more houses coming on the market than

Check back tomorrow, I want to give my thoughts on the declining prices we are still seeing.

The trend is clear; we are not going to be seeing the normal buildup of inventory of homes in the Sacramento real estate market this year.  Normally starting in late February or early March the number of homes coming on the market is faster than sales so inventory of available homes increases until August.  Going into the spring, inventory was already high but instead of increasing it has actually declined.   As of June 9, according to HousingTracker, there were 14,670 homes on the market in the Sacramento area.  This level of inventory is down 4.2 percent in the past three months and down 11.5 percent from six months ago.  Again this is particularly noteworthy that the decline is happening during a time of year when we would expect to see inventory growing.

The decline in inventory is a direct result of more homes being sold than houses being put on the market.  Yes, sales are up but I also believe there are homeowners who, although they would like to sell are holding off until they see if the market will improve.

In the latest report from HousingTracker, the median asking price of homes on the market was $305,000.  This is down $2,000 from the week before but holding level from a month ago.  Compared to six months ago the median asking price is down almost 10 percent and off 23.4 percent from a year ago.  If inventory continues to decline there will be some pressure on prices to increase but I am not making any predictions in this area as I think it will be mid-2009 before we may see any firming of prices and some balance in the market.

Approximately 183,000 at-risk homeowners were provided loan workouts in April, 23,000 more than in March, according to a new report from HOPE NOW, a private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, counselors, and investors working to prevent home foreclosures across the country. The April numbers represent the highest number of workouts provided through HOPE NOW since the program was launched in July 2007, according to the alliance.

"These numbers clearly demonstrate that we are succeeding at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes," said HOPE NOW Executive Director Faith Schwartz. "Foreclosure benefits no one: the borrower, community, lender, and investor all lose. HOPE NOW has every incentive to help troubled homeowners hold on to their homes, and the alliance will continue to do everything possible to reach and help as many as possible."

From California Association of Realtors Newsline

I have been writing about using short sales to avoid foreclosures here in the Sacramento area but if you or someone you know is having difficulty paying their mortgage and wants to stay in their home, HOPE NOW is a great resource to help dealing with your lender.  As you can imagine banks and other mortgage lenders have been swamped by what is happening so like I recommended for considering a short sale, find someone with experience and knowledge to help you.  For more information about HOPE NOW, visit their website.