Hello & Happy New Year! We WILL have the Folsom MLS Tour tomorrow morning at 8:30AM.


Location: The Folsom Community Center (52 Natoma Street/corner of Wales & Natoma)


If you would like a sneak preview of the homes that will be showcased tomorrow, you can logon to our NEW WEBSITE and check it out!


www.folsomcaravan.com


All tour information is provided on this site, along with a calendar of scheduled SAR & Folsom MLS events with dates and times.


I would like to thank Ron & Joyce of SOURCIS for designing our gorgeous and user friendly website! We ALL owe them a tremendous deal of gratitude! This website www.folsomcaravan.com will really streamline the tour process, and enable everyone to be up to speed with ALL tour information to include: meeting dates, placing your home on tour (which can now be done on-line!), printable MLS tour sheets, property feedback forms, guidelines, calendar showing upcoming meetings, speakers, classes, etc. for both SAR & our Folsom MLS!


Now if you can not attend the meeting, (which of course, we hope you do!) you CAN still print the list of homes on tour and either “catch up” with the tour or view them at your leisure based on showing instructions. This benefits ALL Sellers and Listing Agents, as this will truly maximize the exposure your listing receives!


If you are looking to revamp your website this year or start one, please give Ron & Joyce a call. Let’s show our appreciation through utilizing their services! If you are happy with the website you currently have-they are also instrumental in getting your site premium exposure by ranking you higher on search engines and check out their NEW and EMERGING Sacramento Valley Real Estate and Realtor Resource Guide. SacMetroRealEstate It is an "exclusive" online Internet directory for realtors and real estate services in Sacramento County, El Dorado County, Placer County.


Contact Information:
916.990.5822
ron@sourcis.com
joyce@sourcis.com


Again, I hope to see you tomorrow and thank you all for your continued support of the Folsom MLS Tour as we celebrate our First Anniversary!


Brie~

What's Hot and What's Not in Home Design
Source: Washington Post, Kirstin Downey (01/06/07)
Daily Real Estate News | January 9, 2007


Mark Nash, the Chicago-based real estate broker who penned 1,001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home (Thomson/South-Western, 2004), has released a list of home features that remain popular among buyers and those that are no longer in vogue. His list is based on responses from more than 900 real estate professionals nationwide.


For example, practitioners surveyed reported that the inability to keep stainless steel appliances, glass-front cabinets, and vessel-style sinks clean has caused them to fall out of favor with buyers. Also, spiral staircases have become less popular, particularly among buyers with young children.


As for what's "in," Nash found buyers are increasingly looking for some of the following features in homes:


. Glass bathroom and kitchen tiles.
. His-and-her home offices complete with fiber-optic cables for Internet connectivity.
. Wood floors — except for those made of bamboo, which is not as durable.
. Extra storage space in the form of linen closets, pantries, and luggage rooms.


With a large supply of unsold homes on the market, practitioners note that buyers have become pickier and expect homes to be in move-in condition.


See Related Link for the OTHER Real Estate News article ...

Real Estate Lingo: What's a Country Kitchen?
Source: Newsday, Sylvia Adcock
Daily Real Estate News | November 27, 2006


When you're working in the real estate business, you need to be able to cut through marketing language that sellers use in ads to find out what a property really is like. The staff of Newsday newspaper in New York interviewed several Long Island real estate professionals to come up with these commonly used terms, and their somewhat unexpected definitions:


. Country club landscaping: The land is flat and has been landscaped.
. Handyman's dream: "It's better to say 'fixer-upper' than 'in a serious state of disrepair,'" says one practitioner.
. Investor's delight: The property's best bet may be if the new owner just knocked down the building and started over.
. Country kitchen: Warm and cheery kitchen with maple or pine cabinets.
. Do not windshield: Means don't just drive by this one. It has no curb appeal, but there's something good inside.
. Rolling acres: Extremely hilly; no place to put a pool or playset.
. Victorian: This can mean a range of things. Either it's built in Victorian era (turn of the 20th century), or it could mean a brand-new home with peaked roof, turret, and maybe some gingerbread trim.
. Winter water views. Don't expect to see any water except for a brief period in the winter when all the leaves are off the trees.
. 3-4 bedrooms: Three bedrooms, with a fourth room that you could put a bed in if you had to.


Although real estate ads are known for their euphemisms, practitioners say they're careful to not be misleading and they ask sellers to do the same. "I always advise clients to be truthful because we have a very litigious society," says Lita Smith-Mines, a real estate lawyer in Commack. New York State law prohibits false advertising. "You can be flowery," she says. "But don't exaggerate."


See Related Link for the OTHER Real Estate News article ...

Energy Costs to Become Top Buyer Concern
By Camilla McLaughlin for REALTOR® Magazine Online
Daily Real Estate News | November 27, 2006
— REALTOR® Magazine Online


Look for “house miles” to become an important consideration in home purchases in coming years, say land-use experts who gathered for the Urban Land Institute’s recent meeting in Denver.


“A new generation of home buyers is looking at the world differently, and to them, green building will be a given," says John McIlwain, a senior resident fellow of ULI. "The issue of energy savings will be a fundamental driver in their decisions on what and where to buy."


The cost of distance, along with heating and cooling, has a direct impact on housing affordability, McIlwain pointed out, noting that “miles per house” — the number of miles a home is from employment, retail, education, and entertainment — could become a standard measurement of location desirability.


A 2005 ULI survey of consumers found them willing to combine more trips and use mass transit more to cut down on fuel consumption, said Robert Dunphy, who's also a senior resident fellow of ULI. Transportation spending is the second largest component of consumer expenses, currently taking up an average of 19 percent of their monthly income (monthly home mortgage payments generally at least 33 percent).


As the cost of energy plays a more important role in home-buying decisions, house miles will become a deal breaker or maker. That trend will drive the development of sustainable housing and "green" communities. The land-use experts discussed some designs that are now gaining traction, such as close-in infill projects, more downtown housing, and more mixed-use projects in urban centers and on the urban fringe.


See Related Link for the OTHER Real Estate News article ...

Research - What's New
— REALTOR® Magazine Online


For more housing market statistics and research reports, see Related Link for the COMPLETE Real Estate News articles ...