Linda Pillard's Real Estate Blog

Capay Valley - Olive Press Facility

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Capay Valley - Olive Press Facility is under development. Building is up, County Road widen, and landscaping almost complete.

The Yolo County Planning Commission has approved a conditional use permit for Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, allowing the development of a state-of-the-art olive mill for the region's farmers. Construction has began. The ground moved, building up and landscaping on its way to completion.

From what I understand the mill will be the first of its kind in the United States, it is being custom-manufactured in Italy and will feature the latest technology and will preserve the most flavor and the greatest health benefits, the milling process will allow minimal exposure to the air. This process will create a unique, premium extra virgin olive oil that will be as fresh as possible when bottled.

The new Yocha Dehe olive mill will enable olives grown by the Tribe and local farmers to be pressed quickly after harvest, preserving the freshness critical for creating premium olive oils. It will be interesting to watch this unravel...

Yolo County Market Trends

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Date	10/10	11/10	12/10	1/11	2/11	3/11	4/11	5/11	6/11	7/11	8/11	9/11	10/11	11/11	12/11
For Sale	567	537	509	486	451	453	460	458	460	483	488	461	439	330	297
New Listing	191	177	156	216	197	268	248	220	233	223	233	174	163	134	115
Sold	106	88	134	100	112	170	160	164	174	168	152	129	118	117	127
Pended	109	121	100	141	164	205	177	191	190	149	181	138	136	141	123
Months of Inventory based on Closed Sales	5.3	6.1	3.8	4.9	4.0	2.7	2.9	2.8	2.6	2.9	3.2	3.6	3.7	2.8	2.3
Months of Inventory based on Pended Sales	5.2	4.4	5.1	3.4	2.8	2.2	2.6	2.4	2.4	3.2	2.7	3.3	3.2	2.3	2.4
Absorption Rate based on Closed Sales (%)	18.7	16.4	26.3	20.6	24.8	37.5	34.8	35.8	37.8	34.8	31.1	28.0	26.9	35.5	42.8
Absorption Rate based on Pended Sales (%)	19.2	22.5	19.6	29.0	36.4	45.3	38.5	41.7	41.3	30.8	37.1	29.9	31.0	42.7	41.4
Avg. Active Price	351	340	318	319	321	347	362	375	372	364	352	360	364	357	340
Avg. Sld Price	257	265	261	255	261	252	286	283	297	281	287	283	239	237	267
Avg. Sq. Ft. Price	144	139	141	133	140	140	151	151	150	149	152	155	137	128	137
Sold/List Diff. %	98	98	96	98	97	97	98	98	97	98	97	97	95	98	98
Sold/Orig LP Diff. %	93	94	92	94	91	90	94	96	93	95	95	93	93	93	94
Days on Market	69	70	83	72	77	95	82	56	57	67	56	59	59	85	70
Avg CDOM	87	86	111	77	109	111	105	72	86	78	64	75	69	107	84
Median Price	228	234	236	229	230	225	240	220	235	230	229	235	200	205	225

*All reports are published Jan. 2012, based on data available at the end of Dec. 2011.
All reports presented are based on data supplied by the Metrolist MLS. The Metrolist MLS does not guarantee or is not in anyway responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Metrolist MLS may not reflect all real estate activities in the market. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

3 Reasons the Term “Strategic Default” Is Misleading

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

3 Reasons the Term “Strategic Default” Is Misleading

In a recent study, the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index found that a full 36% of Americans would consider “strategic default”—another term for walking away from your mortgage—if they were underwater (owed more on their home than what it was worth).

Now that more than one in four American homeowners is “underwater,” I feel that it’s important for the community to know the truth about strategic default.

The truth is the foreclosure process carries with it credit issues, current and future employment challenges, issues with security clearance and possible debt collections.

That’s why it is vital to explain the 3 reasons why the term “strategic default” is misleading:

1. There’s nothing strategic about defaulting on purpose, especially when you have options like short sales, mortgage modifications, and refinance (just to name a few) that may keep you from foreclosure.

2. The waiting periods to apply for a new mortgage loan are at least five years less in a short sale vs. a foreclosure.

3. A foreclosure will show up on your credit report every time you apply for a home loan, car loan, new job, etc., and will affect your financial situation for many years to come.

If you are underwater and can no longer afford your mortgage payments, you need to create a genuine strategy to avoid foreclosure, helping to provide stability for you and our community.

If you have any questions about what steps you or someone you care about should take next, contact me today!

Should I Buy a Home Now?

Tue, 10 May 2011 10:29:00 GMT

I’m often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don’t know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you’ve missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It’s important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial “comfort zone.” To that end, it may be more important to lock in today’s relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today’s market.