Madison/Merrell Lead the Pack!
May 9th, 2008 Categories: Davis CA Real Estate, Davis RE Trends, Realtor Tales
Jamie Madison and Kim Merrell, partners in the Madison/Merrell group, are pleased to announce that we individually hold the Number 1 and Number 2 spots in Davis for the total dollar volume of real estate transactions in 2008. Thank you to all of our wonderful clients who have made it so! AND a big thanks to Sharon Pannell, our assisting agent who helps us keep the busy transactions on course! In addition to Sharon Pannell, we have recently welcomed Rebecca Restreppo and Beth Ellenberger as referring agents for Madison/ Merrell.
What does that mean to you? It means that behind Kim and Jamie there are agents helping to streamline the many appointments and details that go into completing a transaction, and that there is greater availability to tend to all of the needs of our clients. It also means that collectively we draw from a larger group of friends and acquaintances to find buyers and sellers. What it doesn’t mean is that you are pushed off onto an assistant once you have joined up with Kim or Jamie. We are both actively involved in every conversation and in every step of your real estate transaction. And always, we live by our motto - Good People/Good Properties.
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Davis CA Real Estate Sales: All at Once
May 9th, 2008 Categories: Davis CA Real Estate, Davis RE Trends, RE Week in Review, Real Estate News
“Sale Pending” signs are popping up all over Davis. Buyers, particularly those in the $600k and under, are noticing that homes that they were leisurely considering for purchase are selling out from under them.
For the year we are down a whopping 51%, but there are currently 85 residential properties in escrow, in addition to 30 sales that closed in April. If those pendings were closed, we would be at exactly the same rate of sales we were last year at this time. So be circumspect in considering the figures below - it will look very different a month from now.
YEAR - to - DATE 2007 2008 Change
Number sold 152 75 -51%
Median price $522k $458k -12%
Days on Market 69 71 +2
Average price $559k $535k -4%
Dollar volume $170.2m $80.3m -53%
APRIL 2007 2008 Change
Number sold 53 30 -43%
Median price $529k $449k -17%
DOM 45 53 +8
Average price $560k $525k -6%
Volume $5.94m $3.52m -47%
Avg price sq ft $337 $300 -11%
If you are looking for your home, or thinking that it is time to sell, call me and together lets think about your scenario… Jamie Madison
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Philanthropy at Work: Saving our Schools $1 at a Time
April 30th, 2008 Categories: Davis CA Real Estate, Davis Schools, Davis Schools Foundation, Real Estate News
Davis, known for its excellent, high ranking has been hit with financial cuts from several sides:
1. The Governor of California has cut support for schools
2. Due to fewer home sales, income from taxes has slowed
3. We don’t have as many children as we used to have - state income is on a per/child basis
Leave it to the citizens of our town to band together. There has been a tremendous outpouring of energy and money to support the focused and organized effort of the Davis Schools Foundation. The primary effort centers around the Dollar-A-Day campaign that asks every citizen to donate $1/day or $365 for the coming year. By raising $4million the foundation can spare libraries, counselors, school staff, elementary science and arts programs and more for the coming year. To date, over $806,000 has been raised.
Not only children and parents of Davis, but small business owners are giving generously and continue to sponsor in events. Events include a celebrity waiter dinner, all schools rally, a downtown festival called Schoolapalooza, BBQs, wine tastings, golf days and more. I have joined with a client, shop owner (Five Figs) and another agent to sponsor a central Davis walking home tour coming June 8.
Coldwell Banker Agents and Management have pledged $10,000 which will be delivered to the foundation shortly.
Our schools are an important part of the value of Davis. It is amazing to see the efforts and involvement of the entire community to protect this valuable asset, and makes me feel more proud than ever to be a part of our town.
-Jamie Madison
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Davis Market Rocks: 79 Pendings in April
April 29th, 2008 Categories: Davis CA Real Estate, Davis RE Trends, RE Week in Review, Real Estate News
Wow! Slow to start and then it came all at once…during April there have been 79 sales and pendings in Davis! There are 145 listed single family homes…meaning that we have just slightly less than a 2 month supply of homes in Davis.
77% of the listings sold were Coldwell Banker listings. What does this mean to you? If you are selling you will get greater exposure before your home even goes on the market. If you are buying, you will hear about your home before it hits the market if you are working with Coldwell Banker in Davis.
Overall in year to date sales, Davis is down 46% from this time 2007. Interestingly, the very down nearby markets are up from 2007 - Woodland +27%, Natomas +37%, Elk Grove +36% and West Sacramento is +18%. Investors are coming in hoards to the land of short sales and foreclosures.
Back to Davis, here is a snapshot of price per square foot for two ranges of homes:
1200 - 1600 sq ft homes 2000 - 2500 sq ft homes
2005 $372/sf $325/ sf
2006 $353/sf $313/sf
2007 $337 /sf $310/sf
2008 $323/sf $290/sf
Overall prices are down an average of 11% from the height of the market in 2005.
-Jamie Madison
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760 is the new 720: Angst in the 700 club…
April 24th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate News
That is Suze Orman’s claim and she is apparently right. If you are obsessing about your credit score, you may have reason. Lenders are demanding higher scores because they have been burned by increasing delinquincy rates. Simultaneously, new scoring systems may complicate your efforts to monitor and improve your score.
Fair Isaac is introducing FICO 08 to better predict the liklihood of defaults. One change in the new scoring method is that “authorized users” on your credit cards will now be disreagarded. More emphasis will be placed on having a variety of credit types (installment loans and revolving accounts).
What makes up your FICO number? Payment history accounts for about 35%, while what you owe accounts for another 30%. Other factors are length of credit history and the type of credit used.
What to do?
Get a copy of your credit report
Look for mistakes - according to US Public Interest Research Group, 25% of reports contain errors. Check to make sure that credit limits are noted - an ommission will skew your score.
Don’t increase your limits shortly before shopping for a loan - it can be a sign of increased risk for the lender.
Confine your loan shopping to a few weeks - multiple credit inquiries can damage your score.
Pay your bills on time
Have a good mix of credit products
Get your own credit cards if you are a joint holder.
Don’t max out your available credit
Don’t open up credit card accounts you don’t need.
Don’t close old credit card accounts.
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Charismatic Megafauna on Putah Creek
April 21st, 2008 Categories: Amusement, Davis Nature, Photo Tours
Feast your eyes on these amazing recent photographs of bird life along the creek near Davis. Credit goes to Manfred Kusch for his amazing patience and abilities…
Great Horned Owl
Rufous Hummingbird
Two hummingbird babies outgrowing the nest.
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