Best Realty's Lake Oroville Real Estate Blog

 Hello again Paradise CA real estate market watchers and welcome back to your weekly stats. There is really not anything of note in this weeks’s report. With the deadline to qualify for any type of homebuyer tax credit fast approaching, I would expect to seeing some upward movements in the stats over the next 4-6 weeks.

MLS Stats for Paradise Area
Week Ending
Week Ending
Week Ending
Weekly % 

 
2/19/2010
2/26/2009
3/5/2010
Change

# of Total Sales
2
16
9
-43.75%

# REO/Short Sales Sold (SS)
1
7
4
-42.86%

% Sales that are REO/SS
50.00%
43.75%
44.44%
1.59%

Avg. List Price
$269,250
$161,546
$171,789
6.34%

Avg. Sold Price
$254,000
$151,912
$158,378
4.26%

Sold Price % of Listing Price
94.34%
94.04%
92.19%
-1.96%

Avg. Days On The Market
24
87
101
16.09%

Total Sales Volume
$508,000
$2,430,600
$1,425,402
-41.36%

# of Single Family Listings
148
225
227
0.89%

# Foreclosed On Market
18
29
30
3.45%

% of Foreclosed on Market
12.16%
12.89%
13.22%
2.54%

# Short Sales on Market
17
24
25
4.17%

% Short Sales on Market
11.49%
10.67%
11.01%
3.25%

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This is the 200th  post for thisLake Oroville & Paradise, CA real estate market blog. For a milestone such as this you might think that I would have something profound to impress upon you about the housing market in the Lake Oroville and Paradise, California areas.
To tell the truth, I actually considered that. But I came upon something yesterday that changed my mind about how to celebrate this monumental moment.
The hard drive on the computer that I use in my day to day operations is getting a little full. Ok, it is almost totally full. The hard drives on all my computers are  like my garage and storage area at my home.  I have a hard time throwing anything out. After all, I might need that stuff someday.
But, the time had finally come to clean house in a cyberspace sort of way.  As I was deleting files to make room for those that are now more important,  I came upon some old ad copy that I had written more than 10 years ago for listings that we were marketing back in the days when I was working with Bob Beever Realty.
Given the condition of the housing market in Oroville and Paradise, I thought you might enjoy a look back at some of those ads. See, I told you I might need them some day!!!

Ad copy for 9/30/99
 HARD TO FINDfive acres with well and 3 bd septic. Close to airport, golf, fishing and boating at Afterbay. Power readily accessible. Owner will carry with low down. Asking $45,000
 BANK REPO! 3bd 2ba 1980 mobile on 4 level acres. Has potential but needs work. Seller willing to finance for a long long long time with low low low down. Only $34,900
 TRIPLEX close to downtown. Seller motivated to sell quickly. Almost no vacancy rate. Assume favorable financing or ask seller to carry some paper. All offers considered. $114,900
 BEAUTIFUL VALLEY VIEW: Level to gentle sloping 5 acre parcel. Power close, minutes to lake, and you can almost see forever from here. Just $37,000
 ALMOST DESPERATE sellers need quick sale on this gorgeous property. Over 2700 sq ft incl. finished basement, 2 kitchens, 2 fireplaces, 24X48 shop, fenced pasture, small citrus grove. All on five acres close to town. Recently reduced to $198,000
 OUT OF TOWN SELLER can’t play landlord anymore. This home would make good rental or be perfect for buyer on small budget. Only $35,500
COPY FOR 12/3 – 12/4 1999
 
CLOSE TO LAKE.3bd 2 ¾ ba. 2200+ sq ft., tiled kitchen, huge garage w/ office, in-ground pool, lg. Hot tub, covered redwood deck. Asking $182,500
WELL AND SEPTIC IN. 5+ acres only 3.5 miles from town. Power very close-by.  Owner/broker will carry. Only $45,000
GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD. 2/1 on McClellan Ave. Covered patio, nicely landscaped, same owner since 1956. Seller motivated. $62,000
END OF THE CUL-DE-SAC. 3/1 on approx. ½ ac lot. Central heat and air, attached garage, large backyard with electric gate opener. Only $72,500
OVER 5 ACRES WITH A VIEW. Well and septic are in, power is adjacent. Your choice of 2 building pads. Paved driveway. Just minutes to lake.  $59,500
PRICE REDUCED. 2/1 close to downtown. Out of town seller is desperate for quick sale. Now only $33,500
ESTATE SALE  4 bd 2ba  approx 1800 sq ft. Lg living rm w/ fireplace and insert. Great location. ¾ acre lot. Asking $79,500

 Now, before you get too excited about the change in sales for the Paradise real estate market compared to last week, you need to know that I have made a change in the areas that I am tracking for you.  Due to popular demand I have now added the Magalia area to my Paradise CA weekly reporting.  Reporting on a larger geographical area will smooth our the wild swings in the numbers that sometime occur with smaller samples of numbers. Stay tuned for future reports.

MLS Stats for Paradise Area
Week Ending
Week Ending
Week Ending
Weekly % 

 
2/12/2010
2/19/2010
2/26/2009
Change

# of Total Sales
7
2
16
700.00%

# REO/Short Sales Sold (SS)
2
1
7
600.00%

% Sales that are REO/SS
28.57%
50.00%
43.75%
-12.50%

Avg. List Price
$126,442
$269,250

$161,546

-40.00%

Avg. Sold Price
$113,142
$254,000
$151,912
-40.19%

Sold Price % of Listing Price
89.48%
94.34%
94.04%
-0.32%

Avg. Days On The Market
107
24
87
262.50%

Total Sales Volume
$791,994
$508,000
$2,430,600
378.46%

# of Single Family Listings
148
148
225
52.03%

# Foreclosed On Market
18
18
29
61.11%

% of Foreclosed on Market
12.16%
12.16%
12.89%
5.98%

# Short Sales on Market
17
17
24
41.18%

% Short Sales on Market
11.49%
11.49%
10.67%
-7.14%

Of all the real estate blog posts I have read over the past year, very few, if any attempt to get a feel for what their readers think. In fact most of what I see out there in the blogosphere are glorified advertisements touting the author as the only person you should be using to help you buy or sell your next home.
In our office in the Lake Oroville and Paradise real estate markets we attempt to provide not only real estate market information on our blogs, but also a good mix of what is going on in our communities. And while it is easy to provide comment and feedback to each of our posts we realize that not everyone has the time in their hectic lives to sit down and submit written comments on any particular blog post.
Well, providing your opinion just got easier for those interested in the Paradise andLake Oroville housing markets. With the newest feature to my blog site having just been released by REALTY WORLD  you can now provide your opinion with just a quick mouse click or two on what will be a broad range of real estate topics, and even some topics that have nothing to do with the local real estate markets.
Introducing the Poll Question of the Month. Each month (or more often if you wish) I will post a question that you can answer quickly and easily. To the right of this post you will see this month’s question asking your opinion on where you think real estate prices are headed. Simply click on your answer and then click the VOTE button. It really is that easy.
And better yet, if you have a question you would like to see made part of the poll,  just drop me an e-mail and I will consider using your question.
Let me know what you think. This site is as much yours as it is mine.

Over the past eighteen months or so I am sure you have seen many an article written by various real estate professionals encouraging buyers to “get off the fence” to take advantage of the low prices and low interest rates currently available.  As a regular reader of this Lake Oroville and Paradise, CA real estate blog you have also seen my views of market conditions over the past year. Many buyers have taken the advice and made some magnificent deals on their purchase of homes in the Oroville and Paradise, Ca real estate markets.
The advice has been taken so seriously in fact that a new dilemma is now facing potential Oroville and Paradise buyers: A lack of adequate inventory!
Suffering from significant loses in the value of their homes, many Oroville and Paradise potential home sellers have decided to wait for the market to get “better” before putting their homes on the market. What the definition of “better” is remains to be seen, but a look at the trend in the Oroville inventory numbers (see chart) points to a need for some sellers to get off the fence themselves and take advantage of the lower interest rates, and the increase in buyer inquiries we are beginning to experience.
Granted, home prices are not what they were in 2006, but if you are waiting for a return to those prices, you are in for a very long wait. Those prices were a result of very loose and irresponsible lending standards. They were not driven by free market demand.
So what is a seller to do? Well, that depends on your circumstances. If you do not need to sell, then DON’T. If you are considering a sell but are thinking about waiting for a year or so for the market to improve, you may be outsmarting yourself. While it is possible (isn’t anything possible) that prices may move up in the next year, it is not very probable. I continue to think that we are at the bottom of this market but that we will be bouncing along the bottom for quite some time. Maybe two to three years before we see any consistent price appreciation trends in our local markets.
Historically low interest rates, and lower prices have significantly increased the home affordability for Californians. An increase in either of these factors will exclude potential buyers from the market further delaying any meaningful recovery.
Another thing to consider when contemplating a sale is how many other homes are on the market that compete for the attention of potential buyers. With inventories at an 8 month low, now would be the best time for your home to be seen by the most buyers.
I know that many of you are upside down with your mortgages at the present time and NEED to wait for a significant turn in home values. But for those of you who owe less than the value of your home or own your homes outright, this may be a good time to think about getting off the fence.
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