Smith Real Estate Services, Inc.'s Blog

Discover the Fortune That Lies Hidden In Serrano

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:45:00 GMT

What are we talking about? What fortune? The fortune is found when you buy a home in a desirable community like Serrano in El Dorado Hills for less than $310,000!

Visit our Valentine's Day open house on February 14, 2010 from 1-4PM. There will be treats for your sweet tooth in addition to the "fortune" that awaits you here.

Serrano is a beautiful gated community incorporated into the hilly landscape and it boasts it's own private golf course. Main street shopping is nearby but is far enough away to have you feel like you are away from it all.

4101 Ironwood Drive, El Dorado Hills, Ca 95762 is your "fortune" destination. This single family home is listed for just $308,000 and has 1,733 square feet. By way of comparison, single family homes in El Dorado Hills with square footage between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet have an average list price on actives and solds of $323,000.

Thar's gold in them there hills! Call your El Dorado Hills experts today to help you find yours.

Where is the New Wave of Bank Owned Homes?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Buyers, Investors and REO agents have been hearing for months that the next wave of foreclosures are going to hit the market. Bottom line is, they haven't, inventories have decreased and the average sales price of properties have increased. Buyers are frustrated because many properties receive multiple offers and they lose out when the seller request buyers to submit their "Highest & Best" offer.

In our immediate office area there are just 24 Bank Owned Active Listings in the Folsom area and 14 Active Listings in El Dorado Hills. The balance of the inventory is made up of Short Sales and a few regular listings.

There is a lot of speculation why lenders are not releasing inventory. Some of the reasons are:

Lenders that took Tarp money are under pressure to modify loans.
Lenders are accepting more short sales.
Mark to Market rules have changed. Click below to watch a short You Tube Video hosted by two Las Vegas real estate agents that discusses Mark to Market.

Click Here to watch Video

This is another article worth reading by Sean O'Toole owner of Foreclosure Radar.com regarding the Stealth Stimulus and how it has affected the current housing market.

Industry experts are currently predicting that the next new wave will hit the market in the first quarter of 2010. We will see if those predictions hold true.

Should I Buy a Home Now?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.