CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2011

CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH - SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2011

Market Watch

New Listing (7)
Price Change (15)
Back On Market (5)
Backup Offer (6)
Expired (1)
Pending (7)
Sold (6)

Okay, so here flows the information.  Seven new listings with six sold.  Looks like inventory is still strong in CLAREMONT.  As a buyer this means that your choices in CLAREMONT are picking up a bit.  Sellers, it means that the pricing of your home is extremely critical at this time.

We have discussed "back on the market" before, but I think everyone could use a refresher on this subject.  These five homes have either been labeled as pending which means it was entered into escrow, or as back up offers only which means it had an offer that the bank was thinking about.  Like we have said perviously, the bank owned and short sales can take a few months.  This means that sometimes a buyer will cancel his offer or the bank can turn down the offer.  All this time leads to homes being changed to "back on the market".

In the City of CLAREMONT this past week, there were 15 price changes.  

Goodness that's a lot in a city where they only closed six homes.  It's tough when a bank takes a long time to make up it's mind about sales.  The prices locally are continuing to change and sometimes that means price changes on the homes. However, if you have a really good agent who knows how to price properly from the beginning, it should help you out quite a bit.  It also helps if they know how to get through a short sale, and every bank is different.  Those should be questions you ask your agent right from the get-go.

There are six homes in backup status and seven pending homes.  This could very well lead thirteen new families shortly moving into their new home.  This is always exciting! 

 And just a reminder,  this weekend (October 1 and 2) is the annual SAN DIMAS RODEO AND WESTERN DAYS.  You can read about it here.  SAN DIMAS is only a ten minute drive from of CLAREMONT.  Remember this while you're out looking for something to do this weekend.

If you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you!

**All information is taken from the IMRMLS.

CLAREMONT LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

La Verne Real Estate Market Watch - September 24-30, 2011

LA VERNE REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH, SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2011 

Market Watch

New Listing (10)
Price Change (10)
Back On Market (2)
Backup Offer (1)
Expired (3)
Pending (4)
Sold (5)

Okay, so here flows the information.  Ten new listings with five sold.  Looks like inventory is still strong in LA VERNE.  As a buyer this means that your choices in LA VERNE are picking up a bit.  Sellers, it means that the pricing of your home is extremely critical at this time.

In the City of LA VERNE this past week, there were ten price changes.  It's tough when a bank takes a long time to make up it's mind about sales.  The prices locally are continuing to change and sometimes that means price changes on the homes.  However, if you have a really good agent who knows how to price properly from the beginning, it should help you out quite a bit.  It also helps if they know how to get through a short sale, and every bank is different.  Those should be questions you ask your agent right from the get-go.

We have discussed "back on the market" before, but I think everyone could use a refresher on this subject.  These two homes have either been labeled as pending which means it was entered into escrow, or as back up offers only which means it had an offer that the bank was thinking about.  Like we have said perviously, the bank owned and short sales can take a few months.  This means that sometimes a buyer will cancel his offer or the bank can turn down the offer.  All this time leads to homes being changed to "back on the market".

There are two homes in backup status and four pending homes.  This could very well lead six new families shortly moving into their new home.  This is always exciting!

  And just a reminder,  this weekend (October 1 and 2) is the annual SAN DIMAS RODEO AND WESTERN DAYS.  You can read about it here.  SAN DIMAS is the next-door neighbor of LA VERNE.  Remember this while you're out looking for something to do this weekend.


If you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you!


**All information is taken from the IMRMLS.


LA VERNE LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

San Dimas Real Estate Market Watch - September 24-30, 2011

SAN DIMAS REAL ESTATE MARKET WATCH, SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2011 

Market Watch

New Listing (5)
Price Change (13)
Back On Market (3)
Backup Offer (3)
Expired (3)
Pending (5)
Sold (7)

 

Okay, so here flows the information.  Five new listings with seven sold.  Looks like the inventory or homes coming into the market are slowing down while the actual selling is speeding up a bit.  Good for SAN DIMAS!  As a buyer this means that your choices in SAN DIMAS are narrowing a bit.  It also means that the banks appear to be moving along on selling those short sales and Bank owned homes.  Can I say it?  It's about time!

In the City of SAN DIMAS this past week, there were 13 price changes.  It's tough when a bank takes a long time to make up it's mind about sales.  The prices locally are continuing to change and sometimes that means price changes on the homes.  However, if you have a really good agent who knows how to price properly from the beginning, it should help you out quite a bit.  It also helps if they know how to get through a short sale, and every bank is different.  Those should be questions you ask your agent right from the get-go.

We have discussed "back on the market" before, but I think everyone could use a refresher on this subject.  These three homes have either been labeled as pending which means it was entered into escrow, or as back up offers only which means it had an offer that the bank was thinking about.  Like we have said previously, the bank owned and short sales can take a few months.  This means that sometimes a buyer will cancel his offer or the bank can turn down the offer.  All this time leads to homes being changed to "back on the market".

There are three homes in backup status and five pending homes.  This could very well lead to eight new families shortly moving into their new home.  This is always exciting!

  And just a reminder,  this weekend (October 1 and 2) is the annual SAN DIMAS RODEO AND WESTERN DAYS.  You can read about it here.


If you are interested in buying or selling or simply have questions about real estate, please feel free to contact me.  I will be more than happy to assist you!


**All information is taken from the IMRMLS.


SAN DIMAS LIVING! 

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

Linda's Most Amazing Pizza Series #3

Linda's Most Amazing Pizza Series #3

Okay, so it's time for me to write another delicious pizza restaurant review!  I love doing these blogs and people seem to really enjoy reading them to get local ideas for great food.

This installment is about WAREHOUSE PIZZA in downtown La Verne.  And their website has interesting little tidbits like THE HISTORY OF PIZZA.  

My personal history of WAREHOUSE PIZZA  is that when I was in high school we used to go there quite a bit after school.  What a fun place for high school and college students to hang out.  And their location is conveniently locaed just down the block from University of La Verne.

Well, recently I had a couple of occasions to go to WAREHOUSE PIZZA.  And I got to remember my old high school days, the sights, the sounds, the smells... LOVED IT!  Not only is the pizza some of the best around, they have amazing bread sticks and salads.  Plus the hoagie sandwiches are to die for!  I love a good Italian!

But don't take my word for it, go HERE and read reviews or HERE and read more in depth reviews.  Everyone loves this place!  

So while you're searching the LA VERNE AREA for your new home, stop in to WAREHOUSE PIZZA and have lunch!  You definitely won't be sorry!

Warmest Regards,

Linda K. Mayer,

Realtor, Office Manager  

License # 01767321

A Realtor you can Trust!

(626) 824-8927 Cell

(909) 670-2711 Direct

LindaKMayer@live.com

Linda's Website

Race Track Annoucer Sows Some Seeds in La Verne

Race Track Annoucer Sows Some Seeds in La Verne


Okay, so in order to be a "local expert", I believe you have to read about your local communities and know what's going on.  So naturally I was reading this article in the online version of La Verne's information, La Verne Online.

So we have a local food bank in La Verne called SOWING SEEDS FOR LIFE.  They have a food pantry that give food to local familes who need a bit of help to make sure food is on the table.  They started by feeding about 100 people in 2007 and, with the way things are, they are now feeding more than 6,000 each month.   You can read about it here.  Anyway, they had a celebrity golf classic this past week at the Sierra La Verne Country Club.  


As you are aware if you read my blog about the Los Angeles County Fair, the fair is close to my central cities of Claremont, San Dimas and and La Verne.  So one of the celebrities is our local track announcer at Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia, about 20 minutes away.  His name is Trevor Denman and his is calling the races during the fair at the Fairplex Racetrack.



So Trevor decided to donate a visit to his broadcast booth at Santa Anita as an auction item IF the price was over $250.  If not, he would simply donate the $250 himself.  What a guy!  Long story short, the bidding reached $1,100 and if he would do it twice, there was another taker at $1,100.  Of course he agreed and so this worthy charity reaped the rewards of his generosity.  (I should have entitled this blog THE TREVOR DENMAN FAN CLUB BLOG.)


What an amazing local community we have here.  So if you are interested in information about buying or selling in La Verne or the surrounding cities, please feel free to give me a call, or text or email or...  I will be honored to answer your questions and help you.

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

10 Things That Paint A Bullseye On Your Home

10 Things That Paint A Bullseye On Your Home


Okay, so once again I was reading an article.  This time it was in YAHOO FINANCE about things thieves look for when they are casing an area to rob.  Some of them can be quite sneaky so I will just mention a few of the high lights.



For those of you with an entrance into your home from the garage:  close and lock your garage doors!  If a thief can enter the garage and shut the door from inside, he has plenty of time, out of sight of your neighbors, to break into your home and rob the place.  According to the article, there are garage door openers that randomly choose codes and change them frequently.  sounds like a good investment.
We used to do this when I was a little girl:  If you have a sliding glass door, put a dowel in the channel.  This will stop a burglar from opening the door wide enough to either get through or take out the dowel and open the door.


And lastly, but certainly not least:  DO NOT POST YOUR VACATION PHOTOS ON Facebook or any other social media site until you are back home.  Burglars search for just this type of thing and are ready to come on over and take your things before you get home!  It's especially dangerous if you are leaving the kids home by themselves.  Can you imagine the scene when the burglar enters your home?  Terrifying!


If you want to see the other seven on the list, please click on the article link above.  In the day and age, and with our disintegrating economy, you can never be too careful!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

San Dimas Rodeo and Western Days 2011

San Dimas Rodeo and Western Days 2011

Okay, so coming up in the City of San Dimas, is the  44th annual WESTERN DAYS AND 17th annual SAN DIMAS RODEO!  This year the events will take place on October first and second.

If you've never been to downtown San Dimas, it's like something out of Gunsmoke or any of those old early westerns.  And it boasts intersting shops and businesses such as the old hardware store.  (I can remember going there when I was a little girl with my dad and buying a handful of nails out of a bin.)  And Roady's diner has been there literally forever (since before I was born and my kids say I dated dinosaurs, so it must be true!).

But I digress, again.  These events are joined by many local participants from the cities surrounding San Dimas, including but not limited to La Verne, San Dimas and Glendora.  Some of the events are, Little Miss San Dimas (a talent and personality contest for girls ages 6-9), a dog contest (best western costume, most exotic, etc.), and of course, the rodeo!  You can read about the city contests HERE and about the Rodeo HERE.

And for all of you buyers and sellers out there, Go Get 'Em, Cowboy!

SAN DIMAS LIVING! 

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

California Home Sales, August 2011

CALIFORNIA HOME SALES, AUGUST 2011


Okay, so I was looking at an article, (reading requires brain participation and I think my brain is on vacation today) in DQ news about the home sales in CALIFORNIA for August 2011.  The good news is that August was up from July by 8.8%!  Things are looking up, although it seemed like the slowest summer on record.  It was also up 10.2% from last August.  The article suggested that home prices are continuing to decline with the median sales price being $249,000 which was down from July by 1.2% and last August by 4.2%  



In the article it mentions distressed home sales (short sale and foreclosed on homes) making up more than half of CALIFORNIA'S sales for the month.  34.6% of the existing homes sold last month were REO's (foreclosed on homes).  That was up .1% from July and down from 35.6% last August.  Short sale statistics claimed a whopping 17.8% of the sales in August which was up .5% from July and down .2% from last August.


For further information, check out the article HERE.


CALIFORNIA LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

HIGHS AND LOWS - CLAREMONT, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

HIGHS AND LOWS - CLAREMONT, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011


Okay, so here are the highs and lows of Claremont today.


SINGLE FAMILY HOMES


Highest Priced Home$ 4,000,000
Lowest Priced Home$    240,000
Average$    475,000
# Of Active Listings 101
Sold Homes This Week  3


WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happening with the CLAREMONT REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  


The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 101 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 101 by the number of homes sold this week, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 33 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...


HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 48 weeks.  Whether your home is a standard sale, a short sale or a bank owned sale also factors in.  Short sales can take a long time to get an answer and many times the first buyers will back out and you have to start over with another.  REO's are a bit faster, and standard sales are in demand!


It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  


If you are a buyer, this means you have a bigger selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.  Just remember, if the home you want is a short sale it could literally take a few months to complete the sale, so be patient!

CONDOS/TOWNHOMES


Highest Priced Condo$ 702,688
Lowest Priced Condo$  158,000
Average$  339,000
# of Active Listings       15
Sold Condos This Week   1


So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take 15 weeks to sell your condo or townhome.  And a buyer only has 15 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling a condo.


And, as always, if you have real estate questions or need to buy or sell a home, please feel free to call me, a local expert.  I will be honored to assist you.

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

Redneck Real Estate

Redneck Real Estate


Okay, so I was watching some youtube videos instead of reading - time to take a quick break.  Anyway this one struck me as one of the funniest videos.  How we do spin things to our advantage and the property's. Besides, my dad's side of the family is from Arkansas.  I LOVE good old fashioned southern sweet tea, all things cooked in bacon grease, and Redneck jokes/stories! And if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

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Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

HIGHS AND LOWS - LA VERNE, SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

HIGHS AND LOWS - LA VERNE, SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

Okay, so here are the highs and lows of La Verne today.

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

Highest Priced Home$ 3,500,000

Lowest Priced Home$    258,500

Average$    450,000

# Of Active Listings 96

Sold Homes This Week  2

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU:  You now have more information about what's happeing with the LA VERNE REAL ESTATE MARKET so you can make an informed decision on whether this city is right for you and if the prices fit into your budget.  

The other thing you can learn from this information is the saturation rate of the existing active real estate listings.  The saturation rate is determined by the amount of sales in a week and the number of listings available for sale.  So in this case, there are 96 homes being actively marketed by Realtors for sale.  If you divide those 96 by the number of homes sold this week, you have your saturation rate.  This means that if you placed your home on the market to sell you can expect it to take a little over 48 weeks to complete the sale of your home.  That is if no other listings come into the real estate marketplace during that time.  And we all know how likely that is, now don't we...

HOW THIS AFFECTS YOU:  If your price is competitive and your home is in relatively decent shape you can have it sold in as little as one day or as much or more than the 48 weeks.  It also depends on the agent you are using.  The more aggressive your agent's marketing plan is for your home, the more exposure your home gets and you can see that would have a great impact.  On the other hand, if you use someone who merely puts your home on the MLS and does nothing more, it will most likely take a little more time to sell.  

If you are a buyer, this means you have a bigger selection to choose from and you have a better chance right now of getting an offer accepted.

CONDOS/TOWNHOMES

Highest Priced Condo$ 359,890

Lowest Priced Condo$ 154,600

Average$ 225,000

# of Active Listings       6

Sold Condos This Week   1

So if the same holds true for CONDOS, then it would take approximately 6 weeks to sell your condo or townhome.  And a buyer only has 6 to choose from right now.  It seems that during these trying economic times, people are really not doing much in the way of buying or selling a condo.

And, as always, if you have real estate questions or need to buy or sell a home, please feel free to call me, a local expert.  I will be honored to assist you.

LA VERNE LIVING!

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website

Speechless Saturday - Sort Of

Speechless Saturday - Sort Of 

Okay, so I know it's not Sunday, but can't we have a silent Saturday, just this once?  


I just wanted to share some amazing/fun pictures with you from the Los Angeles County Fair.  And to say that from San Dimas, La Verne or Claremont it only takes like 10 or 15 minutes to get there.  So close and so fun.  They have even started selling season passes so you can go any time during the entire month and enjoy!

One of the three (yep, count 'em three) ferris wheels!



   Rich N Linda
  Wilbur the pig, I made friends with him and he was so sweet.

 
  The Yak, I thought he was really cool looking.



  King Taco is a great nearby restaurant and they were at the fair.



  Chili Cheese Fries



   The dinosaur exhibit is always a favorite!



  
  Lucy in the forensic science jail



  Rich in the frozen banana cut out!  (The dipped ice cream bars are awesome!)



  And last, but certainly not least, my favorite horses, Clydsdales.

Warmest Regards,
Linda K. Mayer,
Realtor, Office Manager  
License # 01767321
A Realtor you can Trust!
(626) 824-8927 Cell
(909) 670-2711 Direct
LindaKMayer@live.com
Linda's Website