Rain, floods, rainbows and Real Estate...

                         Photo courtesy of Mary and Randy Upham, my dear friends & clients!

Can you believe it is already March?  I sure can't! Spring will be here before we know it.  It appears that it is true what they say, that the older we get, the faster time flies...  As I look at some of the photos from 5 or 10 years ago, I see how we are all changing and aging, which explains my gray hair now a days!!!

As time goes by, so many things aside from our age, also change and one of them is the value of one of the largest investments individuals have, OUR HOME!   We saw a very aggressive appreciation trend since 2019 and now that we can look back at history since then, it reached a peak in April of 2022.    Soon after interest rates experienced their first increase and since then we have continued to see those gains downward...  BUT WAIT!  Not everything is doom and gloom...  and I want to invite you to stop listening to the "over all" news when it comes to the value of your home, because Real Estate, like the weather, is 100% LOCAL..  and no matter how bad it gets, the sunshine always shines once again.

With the recent storms we experienced in January, California saw an immense amount of water and several areas had devastating damage and flooding. I am sure you saw the news and it was sure terrifying, but if you only listen to the news and looked at those images, you could easily believe (like many of my out of State friends did) that the entire State was in the same situation or even the entire Sacramento area and that was very far from the truth and not the case. We saw lots of trees down in East Sacramento, Midtown, Land Park and the surrounding areas, extensive flooding in Wilton with water so high that some people were trapped in their cars an a couple of deaths were reported, water running like a river down the streets in El Dorado Hills and Placer County and then other areas that experienced very little damage or flooding or almost nothing at all like my street and neighborhood in Elk Grove, which aside from a couple hrs. in the evening of power outage for only a couple of days, there was no destruction and no flooding... the weather was affecting everyone differently based on where we live. But to people outside our immediate area or out of State, we were ALL IN DEEP TROUBLE! (no pun intended) 

That is exactly how Real Estate is, values can be increasing or decreasing depending on where you live and also the kind of home you own and where it is located in your street and neighborhood. An older home with lots of character in East Sacramento will continue to command a higher price point than an older home in Elk Grove... A starter home that has been all remodeled and it is located in the inner streets of a cute neighborhood, may still see multiple offers and sell for way more than the original asking price; while a cute home in another area close to an avenue may take more than 3 months to sell. In higher end areas, homes may be seeing a double digit percentage depreciation, while other areas may be holding their values or have appreciation if nothing else is available and there are more buyers wanting to buy in that area. Do you see how Real Estate is 100% LOCAL just like the weather!?

For that reason, I wanted to let you know that while we are experiencing a challenging market right now, there are still buyers purchasing homes in all price points despite the higher interest rates and Real Estate in general continues to be one of the best investments people can make. It is also important for you to know that even when and if we are heading into a recession, home prices usually remain steady during these times and in some cases increase. 

In closing, if you are curious to find out where the value of your home stand, give me a call.  I will be happy to provide you with a quick snap shot of your neighborhood so that you have a better idea of where things are in your immediate area.  This is also extremely useful and important because you may not have all the coverage your need in your home if you remodeled recently or made some large improvements to appliances and other things.    

As always, I am here for you and remember that I am never too busy for any of your referrals.   It will be a pleasure to take great care of the people you know as they navigate the sometimes "scary" waters of Real Estate!