Beginning January 1, 2007 every U.S. citizen wishing to travel outside the United States will be required to have a valid U.S. passport.  Previously many travelers to neighboring Mexico and Canada were allowed to exit and re-enter the U.S. with valid photo identification and a certified copy of their birth certificate.  Those days are over December 31, 2006.

Chalk it up to changing times and world events but controlling our nation's borders and points of entry has become increasingly challenging and more and more important for our own safey and security.  So, if you are planning to warm yourself in the sun on the Mexican Riveria or ski at Whistler or Banff this winter you had better get your passport now to avoid the rush for them after the first of the year.  Visit the Department of State's website to find a location near you.

Get, or renew, your passport today so you can enjoy the ski in Canada or the beaches of Mexico this winter.

 A sign of the season

We are quickly moving into winter from fall.  The air is getting chillier and the leaves have mostly dropped.  Here in Sacramento - the city of trees - the fall is both a lovely time and a time spent raking, blowing and sweeping up leaves.  All this leaf business got me thinking about mulching and laying down bark around the garden.

I did a quick search and found out through the Sacramento Tree Foundation that our very own utility, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District or SMUD, provides FREE wood chips for customers to use around our trees.  Free pick up of wood chips is available weekdays from 9:00am to 2:30pm at the SMUD yard in East Sacramento on 59th Street between Folsom Blvd. and the Light Rail. 

To pick up you free mulch all you need to do is:

• Bring your own tools to load the mulch
• Bring bags or a tarp to fill or cover a load
• Apply mulch to an area around your trees or shrubs at least 4' in diameter and 4"-6" deep, keeping it a few inches from the trunk

If you do this you will be helping utilize the green waste and helping your garden all at the same time.  And for FREE!  Sounds like a bargain to me. 

Oh yeah, don't forget about SMUD's FREE SHADE TREE program in conjunction with the Sacramento Tree Foundation. Now is a great time to plant one in your yard. Trees are a great way to let nature help keep you cool and lower your energy bills in the summer.

Looking for something special to do this weekend?  Well, if you're not out shopping for holiday gifts you should definitely plan to attend the 33rd Annual Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour. The tour runs this Friday through Sunday in Sacramento's "Fabulous 40's" neighborhood in East Sacramento.  

Each year several of the incredible homes in East Sacramento are staged and decorated for the holidays.  These spectacularly decorated homes are in one of Sacramento's most desireable neighborhoods and not to be missed.

This terrific event is organized annually by the parents of the Sacred Heart Parrish School located at 39th and H Street as a benefit for the school.   Tickets are available online and are $20 through November 30 and $30 during the event. 

The tour begins at 1209 47th Street between J and M Streets and winds its way through East Sacramento ending at 1513 39th Street.  You may start at either end for an enjoyable, self-guided walking tour that will take about two hours to complete. You may use your ticket for a one-time admittance to each house any time during the tour weekend.

Check it out.  You will be glad you did.

Well, it is a good news/bad news situation for home buyers and sellers in our local housing market.  The good news is Sacramento County is one of the most affordable areas of the 58 counties in the state for first-time homebuyers.  The California Association of Realtors reported yesterday that 38% of potential home buyers locally can afford to buy a home.

Sacramento County's 38% compares very favorably to just 24% statewide, 25% in the SF Bay Area, and just 14% in Santa Barbara County.  The same survey said that 35% of first-time buyers in the state were able to afford condos.

CAR's "affordability index" assumes a 10% down payment with adjustable rate financing at 6.58%.  Using that formula in Sacramento  County means that it takes a household income of $65,910 and monthly payments of $2,200 (including taxes and insurance) to buy the median-priced home of $319,060.

Even better for buyers is the amount of inventory currently on the market.  With the flood of homes out there homes are staying on the market three to four times longer than just nine months to a year ago causing sellers to become more realistic in order to sell their homes. 

So, where's the bad news?  The bad news is for the sellers who are still holding onto to expectations based on the hot go-go market of the past few years.  That just is not happening.  The key for sellers to price their home to sell today - not trying to get what they might have gotten had they tried to sell a year or more ago. 

Again, this does provide some upside for sellers assuming they are going to purchase another home.  Why?  Well, because the home they are buying will likely be priced lower as well.  In fact, it is conceivable that someone selling today can get more home for less money than they could have a year ago. 

My take on this is the market is transitioning back to equilbrium and will ultimately benefit both buyers and sellers.  Though for the time being it appears that buyers are in the driver's seat.

TOWER IS GOING, GOING...

[Above - Tower Records at Broadway and Land Park Dr. across the street from its beginnings.]

Earlier this year I wrote a brief article on the Tower Theater, Tower Records and Sacramento history.  At the time I wrote the piece Tower Records was in bankruptcy for the third time in recent years.  Unfortunately, the empire Russ Solomon built just couldn't survive in the age of iPods and internet downloads.

Russ Solomon began Tower Records in his father's pharmacy in the Tower Theater building.  Back then Russ was on the cutting edge and through the years the culture of Tower Records was known for being edgy and at the forefront of the music business locally and, as it grew, nationally and internationally.  Musicians, disc jockeys, and ordinary folks flocked to Tower in Sacramento and beyond.  I recall that a trip to Tower as a kid and young adult was as much about the "experience" as it was a place to buy a 45, an LP, 8track, cassette, and eventually CDs.  Yes, I owned an 8track player as a kid.

Tower employees considered their stores an experience as well.  Several former employees recently began a website to stay connected.  They call it TowerReunion.com.  The purpose is to keep their unique sense of community together as the company slips away quietly into the night. 

Tower Records like other industries before it didn't change enough with the times to keep the business going.  A large liquidator purchased Tower through bankruptcy court ordered auction in October and is in the process of liquidating the merchandise and closing down all the stores.  To complete the process all of the properties owned by Tower are being sold as well.  It is projected that by mid December Tower will close for good.  Ending just as it began - humbly.  

Thanks Russ.  It was a great ride.

CA HOUSING PRICES STILL GOING UP

But Increases Are Not At the Heated Pace Seen In Recent Years

View of California's most expense real estate - the Santa Barbara Pier and Coastline

Affordability continues to present a challenge for buyers (and REALTORS®) in California.  Recent statistics provided by the California Association of REALTORS® bear this out.  In spite of the increasing in prices paid for homes sellers (and REALTORS®) are feeling a slowdown in sales due to the more than doubling of homes on the market year over year in most areas of the state. 

While this should bode well for buyers they appear to be holding back despite the fact interest rates are extremely favorable the choice of homes is so much greater.  Makes me think that too much choice may simply make it too difficult for some buyers to decide to act.  When the supply was limited buyers were gobbling up homes like relatives fighting for the last piece of pie at Thanksgiving dinner.  But that is not the case today.

The CAR survey  determined the median home price in California during September 2006 rose to $553,050.  The median is the point at which half of the homes sold for more than a specific amount and the remaining half sold for less than the amount.

The highest median home price during the same period was found in Santa Barbara County's South Coast where the median home was selling for $1,025,000.  The High Desert region was once again the lowest median home price in the statewide survey.  In that area the median price increased to $329,040 from $321,500 in January 2006.

Sacramento REALTORS® Are First In The Nation

BROKER TRAINING INSTITUTE DEBUT IS A SUCCESS!

Left to right: Judy Wegener, SAR Director of Education; Corey Wilkerson, SAR Education Committee Chair; and yours truly. 

The Broker Training Institute was enthusiastically championed by SAR Education Committee Chair Corey Wilkerson and his entire committee.  The BTI brought together brokers interested in elevating their knowledge and skills to improve ways to help their agents and clients achieve greater success.  What made the program a success was the tremendous support of a variety of brokers and other real estate industry professionals who put time and energy into developing the curriculum and presentations for the BTI.

Each of the participating brokers attended six half day sessions devoted to a range of topics critical to running a successful real estate brokerage.  Topics included:

• A panel discussion with local brokers and Q & A from BTI participants
• Insurance Concerns
• Running a Brokerage from a legal perspective
• Creating a vision and office logistics
• Marketing your Office and broker responsibilities
• Creating a manageable filing system
• How to run a stimulating office meeting
• Training and retaining high producing, ethical agents

Another significant aspect of the SAR Broker Training Institute is that it will serve as a model for the National Association of REALTORS® and other state and local association around the country.  The NAR and other association have already been in contact with Judy seeking information for the benefit of their members.  Proving once again that the really cool trends start in California!

The cooling trend in Sacramento area real estate that began nearly a year ago is continuing and moving the housing market toward a much needed equilibrium point.  Unfortunately few seem to understand this.  Despite a slight uptick in activity during August, September saw another decrease in sales and though inventory remains high it too is finally beginning to scale back.  Here are a few quick statistics of interest from the Sacramento Association of Realtors. 

• Closed escrows of single family homes in September were down 38.1% from a year ago. 
• The median sale price of a single family home was $363,000 which is down 5.7% from September 2005
• Closed escrows of Condos/PUDs in September were down 36% from a year ago.
• The median sale price of a Condo/PUD $237,000, 4% lower than September 2005

The Sacramento market was one of the hottest housing markets in the nation the past couple of years so while this may look gloomy to some it is simply an overheated market moving back toward equilibrium.  Despite our sluggish sellers market our Sacramento economy remains stable and interest continue to be very low.  Based on the economic stability of the region and the strength of real estate nationally it is my observation that the primary forces causing skepticism in the market is psychological.  That is, the constant drumbeat in the news of gloom and doom in real estate combined with the large number of people who are too late in trying to capitalize on the phenomenal appreciation we have experienced the past several years creates a misinformed public who perceives the negative news as reality.  And, the dynamic continues.  However, once the housing market reaches the equilibrium point between buyers and sellers the standoff will end and we will move into a "normal" market for the first time in several years.  And that's my two cents!