Redding's Ups and Downs

Price	Sold Jan		Jan sold avg DOM		Active Listings Jan		Active Listings DOM		# Sold 1/11-1/12		1/11-1/12 Avg DOM		1/11-1/12 Withdrawn/expired		# Months Inventory		% sold 1/12		% sold Previous 12 months
0 - $150,000	96		117		233		136		1267		121		714		2.4		52.5%		48.6%
$150,001-$200,000	33		153		118		190		561		134		428		3.6		18.0%		21.5%
$200,001-$250,000	15		94		73		205		274		126		324		4.9		8.2%		10.5%
$250,001-$300,000	13		126		93		166		200		153		260		7.2		7.1%		7.7%
$300,001-$350,000	7		164		38		143		111		162		147		5.4		3.8%		4.3%
$350,001-$400,000	4		322		44		207		83		160		123		11.0		2.2%		3.2%
$400,001-$450,000	5		104		26		191		33		147		68		5.2		2.7%		1.3%
$450,001-$500,000	1		168		24		126		27		123		61		24.0		0.5%		1.0%
$500,001-$550,000	4		101		13		176		21		149		37		3.3		2.2%		0.8%
$550,001-$600,000	1		114		20		216		5		117		47		20.0		0.5%		0.2%
$600,001-$650,000	0		n/a		6		191		3		306		18		unlimited		0.0%		0.1%
$650,001-$700,000	0		n/a		5		507		7		167		14		unlimited		0.0%		0.3%
$700,001-$750,000	0		n/a		3		304		2		32		6		unlimited		0.0%		0.1%
$750,001-$800,000	0		n/a		3		222		3		105		12		unlimited		0.0%		0.1%
$800,001-$850,000	0		n/a		1		28		0		n/a		12		unlimited		0.0%		0.0%
$850,001-$900,000	3		198		3		409		4		261		10		1.0		1.6%		0.2%
$900,001-$1,000,000	0		n/a		11		259		0		n/a		18		unlimited		0.0%		0.0%
>$1,000,000	1		264		30		275		6		366		43		30.0		0.5%		0.2%
183		146		744		220		2607		164		2342		4.1		100%		100%

A kitchen can sell a house.  Even in our modern day of fast food, buyers are drawn to an updated kitchen when searching for a home to purchase.

So if you are wanting to sell your home, give it some thought.  However, don't upgrade to granite counter tops if the neighborhood does not support that kind of expense.  Find out what your competition is doing by going to open houses in your neighborhood and areas where the homes are similar in age and size. 

Or call a good Realtor and ask for ideas.  :-)

From...Real Estate Insider New:  Harris Real Estate University...

"The question remains, given today’s guidelines what are the absolute bare-minimums to obtain a mortgage?

….and perhaps more interesting…how to obtain a mortgage immediately after a Short Sale..read on…

By far the easiest mortgage to obtain is a FHA loan:

1) 3.5 percent down payment, based on the purchase price of the home (e.g., $7,000 on a $200,000 home), or a gift of that same amount;

2) 3 percent to 6 percent of the purchase price, on top of the down payment, for closing costs, or a credit from the seller of the same amount; and

3) 640 FICO credit score — the middle score of those generated by the three credit bureaus (some banks will lend to borrowers with middle scores lower than 640, but will require more than the minimum down payment).

Lenders will want you to document income, asset and job history documentation, current paycheck stubs, two months’ bank statements and two years of W-2 forms or tax returns, and:

a minimum of two years have passed since the discharge of a bankruptcy;
a minimum of three years have passed since a foreclosure;
anywhere from zero to three years have passed since a short sale, depending on the circumstances surrounding the short sale."

Hope everyone had a great yesterday. Wow!  Redding is incredible.

In Shasta County, there were 274 listings that went pending in March, compared to 225 a year ago.  This is a 21.8 percent increase.

Pending sales also rose on a national level.  The national association of Realtors reported the Homes Sales Index was up to 94.1 compared to 89.5 in February.

According to the latest polls, distressed properties (short sales and foreclosures) made up 40% of all home sales in the month of March. 

Absorption rate is at 10.2 months and the average days on the market is 155.

Twenty eight homes priced from $140,000 to $160,000 sold in March in Shasta County compared to 19 a year ago.