Visit Lovely Orange County Great Park in Irvine

One of the many good reasons to own Irvine real estate is the Orange County Great Park. 

The Great Park Balloon is the signature attraction of the park. Between 25 and 30 people can float 400 feet above the park. On clear days, passengers can see 40 miles in every direction. Adult tickets for the balloon are $10. Children are free with an adult ticket.

There are lots of activities on firm ground for Irvine real estate owners, too. There are many paths to walk or run. One of the distinctive paths is the Walkable Historical Timeline. It begins at 13,000 BC, when humans reach the Americas and ends at 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down. There are fields and facilities for sports, and visitors can check out sports equipment at the Visitors Center.

On Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., stock up on fresh produce at the Farmers Market. It’s a great time to meet up with friends and get breakfast or lunch from one of the delicious food trucks.

Speaking of food, the Farm + Food Lab is open everyday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors can explore the Pizza and Spaghetti Garden, to see how the ingredients in tomato sauce look before they’re cooked. The Great Park also hosts many events for Irvine real estate owners and their families. There are story times for children, gardening and cooking workshops, and musical performances, among others. Click here for some info on Great Park homes for sale in Irvine and more.

There are many other things to do at the Great Park, and pretty soon, a 175-acre sports park will be built there. This will be in addition to the existing South Lawn and North Lawn Sports & Fitness Complex. The sports park will become a premier recreational and competitive location with a planned 18 new additional soccer and multi-use fields, 25 tennis courts, 4 sports courts, 12 baseball/softball fields, and 5 sand volleyball courts. If you golf, you'll be happy to hear that a 188-acre golf course and golf practice facility and clubhouse will be developed too. 

Did you know that Johnson Brothers Xmas Tree Lot is right here in Irvine?

Not all Irvine homeowners know that the best place to get a Christmas tree is at Johnson Brothers Christmas Tree Lot, which can be found at 15500 Jeffrey Rd.

They're open daily from 9:00 am but they'll shut down for the holidays on December 23rd.

Among the Johnson Brothers trees are varieties like Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Fraser Fir, Nordman Fir, Noble Fir and Scotch Pine, all of which are grown in the Pacific Northwest.

Whether your Irvine home needs a really small tree for a table-top decoration, or a huge large tree to fill up a formal living-room, you'll find the perfect tree at the Johnson Brothers Jeffrey Road lot.

Flocked trees are also available in traditional white or in pink, blue, purple, orange, or green.

While you’re checking out the lovely trees, remember to also get a wreath, centerpiece, or garland. And get a tree-stand installed prior to buying your tree, so all will be ready to go as soon as you get it home.

You can also get fire-retardant applied to your tree. Pick up a little bottle of preservative to keep your tree looking fresh for Christmas morning.

If you're too busy to get down to the Jeffrey Road lot in person, that's not a problem because Johnson Brothers can deliver to your Irvine property. Visit johnsonbros.net to see more options and choose your tree.

Take the Kids in Your Irvine Home to Pretend City

If you have kids in your Irvine home, check out Pretend City, a novel children’s museum. It’s easily accessed, just south of the junction of the 5 and 405 freeways at 29 Hubble. 

The museum has several interactive exhibits where kids can play and explore. The Imagination Playground is a favorite, with blocks that can be used to build a fort, a robot, or anything else a kid can dream up. 

There’s also Pretend City, with all the institutions and businesses found in a real city. Children can explore and learn about their world in the exhibits in Pretend City.

Pretend City is a great place to go when you need to get your kids out of your Irvine home. It’s open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Babies up to 12 months old are free. Tickets for children and adults are $12.50.

Memberships are also available. Members can take advantage of members-only hours from 9 to 10 a.m. everyday. If you have a birthday boy or girl in your Irvine home, throw a party at Pretend City.

Learn more about this fun, child-oriented museum at pretendcity.org.

The Irvine Global Village Festival is tomorrow!

The 13th annual City of Irvine Global Village Festival will take place tomorrow Saturday, September 27, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Bill Barber Park. 

Come hungry, and I hope to see you there!

Recognized as one of the best cultural festivals in Orange County, this day-long event features:

·       live entertainment

·       international cuisine

·       a kid’s village with crafts and activities

·       cultural and religious exhibits, and

·       an international marketplace. 

The festival is intended to promote meaningful cross-cultural interactions, and is a mosaic of food, music and dance performances representative of more than 50 cultures.

Festival admission and parking are free.

Food tasting tickets are available for purchase at the event with prices ranging from $1 to $5 for a sample-sized serving. 

Here are some things to do:

Walk for Unity (Pre-event Activity)

Join others for a pre-event “Walk for Unity" hosted by The Tiyya Foundation to bring Irvine’s community together in support of global harmony and celebrate cultural diversity. The 5K walk begins at the corner of Harvard and San Juan at 9 a.m. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. Please park your vehicle at the Woodbridge satellite parking lotand ride the shuttle to the Festival. The shuttle from Woodbridge drops off near the Walk of Unity check-in tent.

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Live Music & Roving Entertainment

Featuring artistic performances symbolic of Irvine’s diverse cultural community, the Festival’s entertainment line-up is a mosaic of music and dance from around the world. To keep up-to-date with Festival entertainment, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, view and share images on Instagram (follow us at @irvinefestival).  

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Food & Drink

More than 50 local restaurants and gourmet food trucks serve up samples of regional and international specialties from Boba Smoothies, Miso Soup, Falafels, Mexican Fusion tacos and German pretzels to Japanese dumplings, Hawaiian shaved ice and the all American bacon-wrapped hot dog.    

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International Marketplace

Bustling with activity, the Festival’s Global Marketplace is overflowing with local, regional and international vendors offering unique gifts, crafts, artwork and textiles’ representative of Irvine’s cultural community and beyond.  

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Kids Village

The Festival’s Kids Village is a fanciful and vibrant destination for children, featuring kids-inspired music and dance performances, an inflatable play area, crafting, games and sports activities, plus “kid-friendly” food selections that appeal to our younger guests. 

Safety Suggestion: Free ID wristbands will be available at the Information Booth. include only your cell number on the wristband and NOT the child’s name. In the event you become separated, Festival staff will be able to contact you immediately.

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Demonstrations

Demonstrations Interactive, educational and entertaining – the Demonstration stage and the Martial Arts Arena highlights a diverse array of cultural arts and crafts, musical instruments, as well as dance and martial arts performances.       

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Exhibits

A showcase of cultural displays, the exhibitor area provides guests with an opportunity to learn about other cultures through interactive displays, costumes, artifacts, and art.   

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Tennis Demo

New in 2014! Visit tennis court #1 near the Kids Village to try your hand at tennis! Meet City of Irvine tennis instructors, learn about City leagues and lessons for juniors and adults, and bring the kids along for interactive demonstrations using the 10 & Under teaching method.

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Green Expo

Hosted by the City of Irvine’s Environmental Programs section, the Green Expo highlights sustainable and environmentally friendly services, products and practices for residential and business consumers. Stop by to view demonstrations and grab some free giveaways. Click here for detailed information about the Festival’s eco-friendly efforts.   

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World Religions – A Voyage of Discovery

The World Religions tent provides guests with an opportunity to explore, discuss and expand their spiritual knowledge through interaction with established faith-based organizations from the Irvine area. The focus of this attraction is educational – solicitation and/or recruitment of members are strictly prohibited. Click here to view a timeline of World Religions. 

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Community Partners

At the heart of the Festival is the Community Partners Pavilion, where non-profit, local community groups and government agencies have an opportunity to showcase their programs and services to the community.  

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Festival Welcome

Irvine is truly a diverse City and we are honored to welcome a number of consulates serving Southern California. Check the Festival program for "Welcome Ceremony" times and join us in greeting our special international guests.  

A car on fire outside my office window!

I arrived back at my office at Woodbridge Home Sales at about 9:00 am this morning, to see members of the Irvine Police Dept and the OC Fire Authority at work.

There had been a car fire literally outside my office window, and I had missed all the action! 

I spoke to the owner who said that the car had over 250,000 miles on it.

Imagine his surprise to get the call telling him to come downstairs....

One shouldn't expect to see many homes in "The Landings" on the market for sale, (usually they're snapped up pretty fast!), however, right now three are listed, (all in Landing I), including my listing at 12 Silverbreeze, a gorgeous home, priced at $1,375,000. 

Also Active are 4 Cottoncloud, an NOD listing, priced at $1,300,000, and 27 Earlymorn, still priced at $1,250,000, after 238 days on the market. This home failed to sell back in March 2006, (listed at $1,290,000, and it was relisted with the same Irvine real estate agent in May last year.

Just one Landings home is in escrow right now, and this is my latest Landing II listing at 20 Emerald. I listed this home on January 27th, and I sold it the next day! We close escrow at the end of this month.

Click on this photo to see some photos and info on 20 Emerald, Landing 2.

The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $286,499 for a 1 bedroom 750 square foot attached condo at 148 Echo Run, (standard sale), to $1,999,900 for a 4 bedroom 2,669 square foot detached LAKE FRONT condo at 12 Waterway, (also a standard sale). How nice that 148 Echo Run had a one dollar, ($1), price reduction on January 27th.

Right now, there are 35 Woodbridge homes listed for sale. There are 389 properties for sale elsewhere in Irvine.

29 Woodbridge homes are in escrow, (Pending or Backup Offers status), at a total list price a little under $18 million.

14 Woodbridge homes sold in January 2014, at prices from $360,000, (for a 2 bedroom attached REO condo at 152 Clearbrook), to $1,230,000 for 33 Foxboro, a 4 bedroom home in Landing II.

You need TWO stainless steel built-in BBQs in the back yard? No problem!

When I received the “swing by to discuss listing our house” call, of course I was excited. Not only because 12 Silverbreeze is in one of the most prestigious tracts in Woodbridge, Irvine, (The Landings), but also because I have a lot of experience in listing and selling real estate in both Landing I and Landing II.

My sellers spent about $100K upgrading their back yard alone... and it's gorgeous. Need TWO stainless steel built-in BBQs? No problem. And the outside fridge & sink are stainless steel too.

The rest of the outside area is just as appealing, for example, the outside fireplace, the brick, tile & slate hardscape, and the custom spa.

Like Brazilian Cherry Wood flooring? How about top-of-the-line appliances in a beautifully upgraded kitchen? Or stunning custom Travertine stonework in a master bathroom with a huge Jacuzzi tub? Well then, I think you’ll like this Landing I home for sale. See more at www.WoodbridgeHomeSales.com

This Woodbridge house is one of 46 Woodbridge homes for sale right now, and there are 496 properties for sale elsewhere in Irvine.

The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $308,400 for a 1 bedroom, 750 square foot attached condo at 148 Echo Run, (standard sale), to $1,999,900 for a 4 bedroom 2,669 square foot detached LAKE FRONT condo at 12 Waterway, (also a standard sale). Oh, by the way, 12 Silverbreeze, (above), is offered at $1,375,000.

29 Woodbridge homes are in escrow, (Pending or Backup Offers status), at a total list price a little over $16 million, and last month, (October), 26 Woodbridge homes sold, at prices from $329,000, (for a 2 bedroom attached condo at 17 Firwood), to $1,290,0000 for 23 Eastlake, (a 5 bedroom single family home).

Irvine market trends - biggest shift in 10 years

As a Woodbridge homeowner and Realtor, I’m excited to see that prices and sales activity have increased substantially. This is true in all areas of the Woodbridge market, including condo tracts like Lakeside and Seasons, and detached SFR tracts like Landing I and II.
These two Woodbridge listings of mine close escrow this month:

Speaking of the “Landings”, so far this year 11 homes have sold, (4 sides were mine), one is in escrow, and two are "active". That's up quite a bit from the 7 sales per year we saw each in 2012, 2011 & 2010. See details of Landing I and II activity here.

Many homeowners who were delaying listing their homes for sale a year or so ago, saw the improvement in the market, and are now cashing in!

Look at this chart. Active, (for sale), units have been climbing consistently in Irvine, (the green bars), but the Pending units have been dropping since May. “Pending” units are the ones that went into escrow each month. 

That said, unless the homes are marketed incredibly well, thereby maximizing their exposure, and the list prices are realistic, they will languish on the market.

You can see that 602 properties were active in September, and only 132 were in escrow. Just 210 sold in September.

The month of May saw the biggest market shift in 10 years!

Historically, as we enter the holiday season, many would-be sellers stall putting their homes on the market until the New Year. Savvy sellers are now seriously considering whether they want their house to be one of many on the market in January, (so they’ll have more competition), or whether to list in the last quarter of the year, when lower inventory creates more demand, which maximizes prices.

Here's a stupid question to all homeowners out there.

Did you hear about the house that was destroyed by a fire this week in Woodbridge?


Thank goodness the parents & kids got out safely, and the OC firefighters rescued their black lab and gave it oxygen.

The fire dept estimated damage to the house at $750,000, and the loss of contents was estimated at $150,000.

Apparently a multi-plug electrical adapter malfunctioned and this caused the 29 Sandstone fire. 


Now I'm no expert in fires, but I guess this could happen to anyone.

Here's a stupid question to all homeowners out there: Do you have insurance to cover your house & belongings?

What about you renters? Your landlord will have, (should have), already taken out a policy to cover the house, but it's unlikely that your personal property will be covered in this policy.


Insurance is pretty inexpensive, especially if you're in a condo development. I urge you not to wait for a fire to destroy all your possessions, before you think about this.

Housing Shortage? Really? What Low Inventory?

The number of active listings in Woodbridge more than DOUBLED in the last 30 days! Right now, there are 53 Woodbridge homes listed for sale, and 310 properties for sale elsewhere in Irvine.
While we certainly are still in a seller’s market, it is not as extreme as it was a few weeks ago.


16 Wintermist, Woodbridge

11 Snowapple, Woodbridge

6 Racing Wind, Woodbridge

14 Shooting Star, Woodbridge
Among those active listings are my listings at 16 Wintermist, ($525K), 11 Snowapple, ($650K), 6 Racing Wind, ($865K), and 14 Shooting Star, ($999K).
The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $329,900 for a 2 bedroom 921 square foot attached condo at 16 Eastmont, (standard sale), to $1,999,900 for a 4 bedroom 2,669 square foot detached condo at 12 Waterway, (also a standard sale).
It’s especially tough for buyers looking for a 3 bedroom Woodbridge home in the “under $500K” price range: only 6 are listed, including that 22 Lakeview short sale that the OC Register quoted me mentioning in a blog in 2008. It is STILL available, with an asking price of $450K, down from $589K. The price history prior was $685K, then $649K, $625K, $619K and $599K!
The Lakeview property is an exception. We are still seeing multiple offers being received for Woodbridge properties, within a few days of listing.
What with interest rates continuing to surge last week, (rising above 4.1% for the first time in a year), the demand from homeowners to refinance, has slowed. These higher interest rates also are reducing the buying-power of homebuyers – those that could afford a $600K home now find themselves only able to afford a lower-priced home.
26 Woodbridge homes sold in May 2013, at prices from $348,800, (for a 2 bedroom attached condo at 203 Briarwood), to $1,180,000 for 17 Daybreak, (a 4 bedroom single family home in Landing I).
30 Woodbridge homes are in escrow, (Pending or Backup Offers status), at a total list price a little over of $18.5 million. It will be interesting to see how many close escrow this month.  

Look's like the rain is stopping! Great news for my new Woodbridge listing's Open House!

30 Tanglewood Dr Woodbridge, Irvine OPEN HOUSE   SAT 9TH, 12 - 4:00 PM 2BR/2 BA Single Family         Sq Footage  1,257 Bedrooms  2 Bathrooms  2 Lot Size  2,817 sq ft description Desirable SINGLE LEVEL end-unit Single Family home. Gated courtyard entry to this wonderful Cypresswood floor plan with 2 SPACIOUS BEDROOMS, 2 bathrooms and TWO CAR GARAGE. Living room with cathedral ceilings and cozy fireplace. Formal dining. White kitchen cabinets, lots of counter space with true eating area. Corian couter-tops. SUNNY ATRIUM, accessed from the family room and second bedroom. Double vanities in master bathroom. Pergo flooring throughout. CENTRAL AIRCON. Well maintained home in a quiet Woodbridge location with great amenities close by. Walking distance to Stone Creek Elementary. additional photos Contact info:     Debbie Sagorin First Team Real Estate (949) 232-5634 DRE # 01411020

I hope to see you there!

How LOW will it go?!

Right now, there are only 16 Woodbridge homes listed for sale! Inventory is the lowest it's ever been that I can remember!!! There are 161 properties for sale elsewhere in Irvine. In August last year I posted a blog about the super-low inventory, but it's gotten even lower! 

See this chart showing active Irvine housing inventory since December 2005.

20 Woodbridge homes sold in December 2012, at prices from $268K, (for a 3 bedroom short sale condo at 3213 Briarwood), to $1.2 million for 19 Buckthorn, a 5 bedroom standard sale single family home in the Gables tract.

The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $379,500 for a 3 bedroom 1,117 square foot attached condo at 110 Echo Run, (standard sale) in the Park Vista tract, to $1,750,000 for a 2 bedroom 3,363 square foot SFR at 18 Bayview!

31 Woodbridge homes are in escrow, (Pending or Backup Offers status), at a total list price a little over of $13.5 million.

I hear from fellow-agents all the time "there's nothing to sell!", but there ARE homes to sell. In fact more Woodbridge homes sold in 2012 than in 2011, (298 vs 259). That's a 15% increase. 

Read some of my previous blogs to see what I do to find my buyer clients homes when there are none!  :)

Clearly the inventory "problem" isn't caused by sellers not listing their homes, (because they ARE), but rather by buyers who snap these homes up, (competing with multiple other offers), thus reducing the available inventory. 

Will the inventory drop any further? How low can it possibly go? Stay tuned....

How to get your REO offer accepted - just break the front door key in the lock!

My very excited first-time homebuyer met me at the newly-listed house at 7:30 am this morning.

She was sure that this REO property was THE house, and yesterday I had urged her to meet me there before other buyers had the opportunity to view it, and submit offers ahead of hers!

As usual, I got there early, and retrieved the key from the lock-box. The top lock opened OK, but the key didn’t fit in the bottom lock. I was still struggling to open the door when my buyer client arrived, all excited and happy that she was about to see the house…..

 

I texted the listing agent and was pleasantly surprised that he responded almost immediately, (at 7:30 in the morning!):

“Yes I know… Someone broke the key in the lock.” He texted. Then: “Sucks, there is more and more of it happening these days”.

My client understood and told me that it wasn’t a big deal that she had travelled for 25 minutes at that crazy hour in the morning to meet me. Of course neither of us was happy.

Clearly agents are so desperate to get a property for their buyers that they resort to this tactic, (correctly), assuming that if they prevent other buyers from viewing the property, there is more chance that THEIR offer would be accepted.

Yes, inventory is the lowest it’s been since December 2005, and what with the lowest interest rates we’ve EVER seen in this country, demand is higher that the supply. BUT, (this to those few guilty agents out there – you know who you are), this is not acceptable.

Breaking keys in locks or removing them from the premises, is not only unethical, but ILLEGAL too!

And to the listing agents out there, what’s with these combo lock-boxes? You have no idea who last opened the lock-box, so don’t know who the offending agent is. It’s an MLS regulation that the electronic lock-boxes are used on all listings, so why aren’t you using them?

It’s great to get an email immediately after an electronic lock-box s opened, telling you WHO opened WHICH lockbox at WHICH property, and WHEN!

Yes I’m ranting and raving a bit, (a bit?!), but you’ll understand why when I explain that all this happened BEFORE my first Starbucks Grande Espresso Macchiato!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It's not magic. If there aren't any listings out there.... make one appear.

Everyone knows that house prices are on the way up again, in fact the average sold price per square foot of SFR homes in September was the highest Irvine has seen since April 2010.

A few weeks ago I blogged about the super-low housing inventory.  This low supply has caused bidding-wars, and many buyers are throwing caution to the wind, submitting offers higher than list price, and dealing with the appraisal issues later. A large percentage of these buyers remove appraisal and loan contingencies long before the appraisal has even been ordered. That's a great way to get an offer accepted these days, as long as the buyers understands that they will have to bring more money to the table, and possibly have unexpected mortgage insurance costs too.
 
Although prices are rising, they are still generally much lower than years past, and with interest rates being the lowest that they've ever been, it remains a seller's market here in Irvine and beyond.
 
A buyer client of mine was out-bid on an offer he made, (2% higher than list price), and the sellers accepted an offer 5.2% higher than their asking price! I knew that I had to find him a property that matched his wish-list although there were no other properties listed. I do this for my buyer clients.
 
How do I find listings when they do not exist? Well, there are a few ways, and without giving away all my secrets, let me tell you how I found this buyer a home. I wrote a letter to all homeowners in the tract that my buyer liked, explaining our challenge, and then, a couple of days later, I put on my walking shoes, and started door-knocking.

I've had good results doing this in the past. Some homeowners are skeptical, thinking that my intention was to get a regular listing, and that my buyers don't even exist. However, after explaining that a "one-party-show" agreement was only for a couple of days, didn't tie them up for months on end, and either the buyers liked the house and submitted an offer.... or they don't! No harm - no foul. Everyone moves on.
 
We close escrow on the "one party show" listing today! Both my buyer and seller are very happy and the transaction was an extremely smooth one.
 
Sellers who like the idea of a "one party show" are made to understand that it's likely that they'd sell their house for a higher price if they exposed it to all buyers, rather than just to one buyer. For a regular listing, I advertize on hundreds of websites as well as in print, with direct mail, and more. Most "one-party-show" sellers prefer not to have to keep their homes spic and span, not to have to vacate the house during showings and open houses.
 
22 Woodbridge homes sold in September 2012, at prices from $290K, (for a 2 bedroom short sale condo at 218 Greenmoor), to $950K for 21 Bayside, a 4 bedroom standard sale SFR.
 
Right now, there are only 33 Woodbridge homes listed for sale!
 
The prices of Woodbridge homes for sale right now, range from $355K for a 3 bedroom 1,135 square foot attached condo at 193 Briarwood, (standard sale), to $1,750,000 for a 2 bedroom 3,363 square foot SFR AT 18 Bayview!
 
42 are in escrow, (Pending or Backup Offers status), at a total list price of $19.4 million.

Today's housing market challenges bring OPPORTUNITIES.

All indicators are pointing to a gradual real estate market recovery. Woodbridge, (and the rest of Irvine), has a shortage of available housing inventory, which is sparking price increases and bidding wars for the first time in many years.

This chart shows that we haven't seen inventory this low since December 2005!

In addition to this low inventory, rising rental costs and the lowest mortgage rates EVER, are a significant incentive for potential homeowners to purchase and also for investors to increase their portfolios.

Over a third of Woodbridge sales prices the past couple of months were at, or OVER list price.

Attitudes about the U.S. housing market continue to improve. Fannie Mae’s recent survey showed that 73% of Americans surveyed believe it is a good time to buy a home.

Most people know that while real estate is LOCAL, the market has become GLOBAL. About a third of all buyers these days are from overseas, and international buyers bought $82.5 billion in real estate in the U.S. over the past year.

There is always an attraction to buying a foreclosed property, (REO), or a short sale. Whenever I meet with new clients, particularly investors, their purchase goals typically include the purchase of a distressed property. Most buyers still believe that they can get the best screaming deal ever by buying a distressed property.

The problem in Irvine is there are not many to choose from.

In the past 9 weeks, only 14 of the 65 Woodbridge closed sales were distressed properties, and as of today, NONE of the 32 active Woodbridge listings are distressed.

Last year when defaults were higher and the market was weaker, the number of Irvine bank-owned properties, (REOs), listed as active, regularly ranged between 35 and 50.

Today we have only SIX active bank-owned properties listed in the whole of Irvine, and there are only 30 short sale listings, (out of a total of 402 active Irvine listings). Note that many of those "active" short sales are not really active. Many agents working with offers just haven't changed the status of the listings on the MLS to "backup offers" or "pending".

There are 28 Woodbridge distressed properties in "backup offers" or "pending" status right now, and who knows ho long each will take to close, (and some will NOT close!). Short sales can take anything from a few months to over a YEAR to close.

Sometimes buyers have offers in on multiple properties, or their situation changes after a few months, and when the whole long process is finally near completion, they decide not to go through with the purchase. So the process starts again with another buyer.

An offer was accepted on my 9 Cedarlake short sale listing after only a few days on the market. This was in late January. The "buyer" disappeared after six months, so I relisted the property as “active”, and an offer was accepted the next day. Escrow is scheduled to close this week.

Look at the great location of this Lakeside tract home.

Sure there are challenges in today's housing market, but those challenges bring opportunities.

The main challenge that I see in the market today is the shortage of housing. I believe that shortly, more and more homeowners who have casually been thinking of selling, will realize that low supply = high demand, and the "sellers market" that we are in right now, could be a good time to talk with a real estate professional about their home's value, and to find out what creative means that agent could use to get top dollar for their home.