Real Estate News for Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Median Price of a Home in California at $551,300 in January, up 13.8 Percent from Year Ago; Sales Decrease 24.1 Percent. Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 500,470 in January at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR(R) associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity decreased 24.1 percent from the 659,410 sales pace recorded in January 2005. The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2006 would be if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales. The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during January 2006 was $551,300, a 13.8 percent increase over the $484,580 median for January 2005, C.A.R. reported. The January 2006 median price increased 0.5 percent compared with December's $548,640 median price. Click here to read more.

Phoenix rising: Life thrives in the desert. Part 1: Growth is a given in Arizona. The population in the Phoenix metro area has exploded over the past decade, with waves of new construction spilling into formerly rural communities. This two-part series examines the cause of this desert bloom and its effect on local real estate markets. Click here to read more.

Entire US Real Estate Market Falling - Should you buy or should you rent? SF Bay Area Housing Crash Continues Entire US Real Estate Market Falling Why? Prices disconnected from fundamentals. House prices are far beyond any historically known relationship to rents or salaries. Rents are less than half of mortgage payments. Salaries cannot cover mortgages except in the very short term, by using adjustable interest-only loans. Click here to read more.

Community real estate sites taking off. Part 2: More people engaging in real estate discussions online. In the early days of the Web, not many people were adding content on their own. But that is quickly changing with more community-focused and social networking sites popping up and more people writing blogs. In this three-part report we explore how more people are adding their own real estate content and discussions onto the Internet, what they are talking about and what's motivating them. Click here to read more.

Six tips to help you negotiate. The year 2005 has been good for most property owners and realty sales agents. Home sales prices appreciated handsomely in most communities and the sales volume of new and resale homes were near-record. But 2006 promises to be more "normal" as mortgage interest rates slowly rise, resulting in a modest new home construction volume decline with a corresponding residence market value appreciation and sales volume slowing. Having been through many real estate market ups and downs over almost four decades, both as an investor, sales broker and realty writer, I've learned that success in a slowing real estate market requires paying greater attention to negotiation skills. HOW TO ACHIEVE A SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION. Whatever your role in a home sale, as buyer, seller or realty agent, you can't ask too many questions. Of course, the best negotiators inquire in a friendly manner interjected with compliments. Here are the six key questions to get answered for a successful home sale negotiation... click here to read more.

~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com