Pops in the Park

June 1, kicks off this year’s Popsin the Park series. So don’t forget to stop by EastPortal Park at 6pm to enjoy the toe-tapping Cajun and zydeco tunes of Tom Rigney and Flambeau. Actually, you’ll probably want to get there a little early to find a good spot to set up your lawn chairs and grab a bite to eat from one of the local food vendors.

Here are some pictures that I took at the event. Quite the turnout and this was on a 100 degree day!

Rebuild McKinley

A direct recipient of funds raised by Pops in the Park goes to this project ($5000). Almost a year ago, on July 21, 2012, nearly a third of the McKinley Park playground was burned down. Since then, community members have rallied to rebuild it. According to the website:

"The theme of the playground will be essentially East Sacramento, with an intent to reflect its history and sense of place. To this end, the playground will have elements such as a trolley, architectural elements reminiscent of the Alhambra Theater and natural elements such as logs and stones. The playground may also include other features reminiscent of Sacramento's past and present."

If you're interested in volunteering your services, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so: three shifts a day for six days from Tuesday June 4th to Sunday June 9th. For more information on how to volunteer or make a donation to the cause, see the official website at http://www.cityofsacramento.org/rebuildmckinley.

Pops in the Park

If you didn’t get your fill of live music with the Sacramento Music Festival, never fear. All this June, we have Pops in the Park. Starting out in 1991 as an afternoon concert, the East Sac Pops in the Park has since evolved into a series of evening concerts to help fund the upkeep of neighborhood parks.

This year, it kicks off June 1 in East Portal Park with perennial Sacramento Music Festival favorites Tom Rigney and Flambeau. Rigney and his gang of talented musicians always gets the audience up on their feet with their energetic Cajun and zydeco tunes, traditional New Orleans jazz, waltzes, blues and ballads. The emcees for the evening are B Street Theatre’s Buck Busfield and Bill Blake.

The series continues through June in various East Sacramento parks. Here’s the schedule:

June 1- Tom Rigney and Flambeau, East Portal Park

June 8- Mercy Me, Glenn Hall Park

June 15- The John Skinner Band, Bertha Henschel Park

June 22- Mick Martin & The Blues Rockers, McKinley Park

All shows start at 6pm. Get there early with your blankets or lawn chairs to get the best spots. The shows are free, with proceeds from food and drink vendors benefitting neighborhood projects.

To find out more about Pops in the Park, visit the website at http://eastsacpopsinthepark.com.

Sacramento Music Festival

Rejoice, all music lovers! This Memorial Day weekend you can listen to all the live music you desire at the Sacramento Music Festival. Once upon a time, this was known as the Sacramento Jazz Festival. However, a name change to the Sacramento Music Festival was deemed necessary to more accurately reflect the wider range of music genres the festival will offer. There is something there for everyone.

Celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year, the Festival is, as the organizers put it, "one GIANT PARTY pulsing with many styles of music. There will be dancing in the streets! Music will be running morning, noon, and night."

The Festival will feature such notable bands as Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, Los Lobos and the Bob Ringwald Trio (featuring his daughter, Molly). These and more than 80 other bands will serve up traditional New Orleans style jazz and swing, blues, R & B, Cajun/zydeco, American Roots rock, Western swing, Rockabilly, country, bluegrass, Latin and mariachi music.

Over the weekend, these bands will perform at more than 20 sites throughout Old Sacramento and the Convention Center (including a number of free Next Generation youth band sites).

Tickets are available by the day or as an All-Events pass for the entire weekend. For more information on who will be performing, when and where, and ticket info, visit http://www.sacjazz.com/.

McKinley Village Project on the Table Again in East Sac

Well, once again the 48 acres of land North of East Sac between the Capital City Freeway and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near Sutter’s Landing Park is being reviewed for development. The current name for the proposed development is the Mckinley Village.

Many residents are getting involved in the conversation and want to know what the impact will be.

Fortunately, there are many ways to find out. I'm not going to try to recreate the wheel with all the thorough journalistic (and some less than journalistic) reporting out there, I'm just going to summarize the facts and point towards the information.

I'm also not going to weigh in for one side or the other just yet. As a resident of East Sac and the McKinley Park neighborhood, I'm very cautious of new development and any increased traffic. As a Realtor, I am always intrigued by new development (a good sign for the economy) and homes for sale. I'll read all the information and go to the meeting and try to slowly form my opinion of this potential development...

According to the Q&A of the developer this would be:

328 single family one and two story homes on a 48-acre lot. Homes will range in size from approximately 1,250 square feet with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms to approximately 2,500 square feet with five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Some of the homes will feature an option for second units, and others will have a master bedroom on the ground floor. This will be a $130 million development and they would expected the homes to sell from $300,000 to $600,000 plus.

Access to the Mckinley Village development for cars, bike, and pedestrian would be through A and 28^th Streets in Midtown, and via an under-crossing of the UnionPacific Railroad tracks that connects through the Cannery Business Park to C Street between 40^th Street and Tivoli Way in the McKinley Park neighborhood. There will also be a bike and pedestrian under-crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at B Street and Alhambra Boulevard in the McKinley Park neighborhood

Mckinley Village would also include 2.9 acres of park land, which will require that RCI (the developer) pay maintenance fees to the Park and Recreation Department. There will be over 2,000 trees and an additional 3.26 arches of common green space.

Here are the links to the most informative articles that I have found:

A detailed article in The Sacrament Bee

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/12/5413743/phil-angelides-pushes-housing.html

The developers Q&A document

http://www.scribd.com/doc/141664071/Frequently-Asked-Questions-for-McKinley-Village

Brochure

http://www.scribd.com/doc/141668073/McKinley-Village-brochure#download

Illustration

http://www.scribd.com/doc/141665259/McKinley-Village-Illustrative

Plans

http://www.scribd.com/doc/139731007/McKinley-Village-Plans

Several articles in the Sacramento Press

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/82300/Residents_react_to_the_McKinley_Village_project

http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/82716/Sacramento_Old_City_Association_forum_on_McKinley_Village_development

http://sacramentopress.com/headline/82710/McKinley_Village_RCI_response

And an article in the East Sac News

http://www.valcomnews.com/?p=9851

There are two upcoming meetings that I plan on attending to find out more about the development and participate in the conversation.

A community meeting sponsored by MENA and ESIA on June 4th at 6:30pm at the Clunie Auditorium. The presenters will display graphics and answer questions on the proposed development. Other local development projects will be displaying materials and answering questions at the meeting as well.

The Sacramento Old City Association is organizing a public forum on Mckinley Village on June 8 at the Midtown Village Cafe (1827 I St, Sacramento, CA 95811). The event begins on at 9:00 AM so you better show up early to get your coffee and a chair!

This might be an interesting one to follow like the project at Curtis Park Village that has taken years to get off the ground. Then again it might not even get close to becoming anything and just stay an empty field for the next several decades with the occasional resident living under a blue tarp against that chain link fence seen from the highway...

Sacramento County Fair

The State Fair may get all the attention, but the Sacramento County Fair has just about as much going on. And it's going on sooner, this Memorial Day weekend from May 23rd to the 27th. There's the Midway of Fun, livestock auctions, a demolition derby, live entertainment and, of course, plenty of delicious (bad for you) Fair food.

The organizers sum up the event on their website:

"The Sacramento County Fair takes place during the Memorial Day weekend and draws nearly 90,000 attendees. We are fun, affordable and safe for the whole family! Our community enjoys our friendly atmosphere, traditional county fair competitions, agriculture displays, hands-on family activities, carnival, festival-style entertainment, and specialty foods.

"We serve our community through our youth programs. For over seventy years our County Fair has provided a platform for local 4-H and FFA youth to show and sell livestock; demonstrate club projects; and display their arts and crafts. More recently, the Fair has opened its doors to Sacramento area elementary schools with its popular Free School Tour Program hosting over 10,000 local students, educators and chaperones and the County Fair distributes a fully-funded wheelbarrow garden program to over 85 classrooms."

This year’s theme is "Let's Eat, Have Fun & Celebrate the Red, White & Blue." Can't argue with that.

Admission is just $5 for adults, with children 12 and under free. (Parking at Cal Expo is $10.) For more info on Fair events, check out the website at http://www.sacfair.com.

Glenn Hall Park Volunteer Day

One of East Sac's beloved parks--GlennHall Park--needs a little TLC to keep looking its gorgeous self this summer. From 9am to noon on May 18, volunteers are needed for some light landscaping: pruning hedges and planting flowerbeds.

The only things requested that you bring are your own garden gloves, a hat and a water bottle. Garden tools, coffee and other refreshments will be on hand. Coffee and donuts for just a few hours work out in the fresh air? Sounds pretty good to me.

To RSVP with your assistance or to request more information, send an email to cadence@surewest.net.

1457 47th Street Just Sold

I helped my investors purchase this property at 1457 47^th Street back in June last year. It was a small 2 bed, 1 bath home in a great Fab 40's location in East Sac.

When they completed the construction it was a four bedroom plus a den, three and a half bath home. The demand was so high for this great home that we had it under contract months before the construction was completed.

We just closed the transaction after a bit of challenges with the loan and we are all happy to have completed this transaction.

Just Sold in East Sac and River Park

I am often asked what a home in East Sac or River Park has recently sold for. I’ve decide to post the recent sale here to my blog and each month I’ll do a new posting with the all the new homes that have just sold.

I went a little crazy with my first post of Just Sold properties and have gone back to the start of the year! Apparently we have had 90 sales in the past 127 days. That is one home sold every 1.4 days.

1531 42nd St sold for $351,000 on Jan 2, 2013. This is $338 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1037 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12066887

1569 49th St sold for $245,000 on Jan 3, 2013. This is $293 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 835 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12052433

4718 B St sold for $490,000 on Jan 7, 2013. This is $331 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1480 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12067367

3566 C St sold for $316,000 on Jan 9, 2013. This is $265 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1191 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12058147

5643 Elvas Ave sold for $245,000 on Jan 10, 2013. This is $276 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 889 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12039330

1625 42nd St sold for $689,500 on Jan 11, 2013. This is $315 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2188 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12067269

3114 N St sold for $280,000 on Jan 14, 2013. This is $255 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1096 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12048215

1736 Berkeley Way sold for $456,000 on Jan 15, 2013. This is $202 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2261 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12038000

5007 Teichert Ave sold for $290,000 on Jan 15, 2013. This is $210 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1382 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12068362

1327 63rd St sold for $295,000 on Jan 17, 2013. This is $250 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1179 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12067715

5236 G St sold for $335,000 on Jan 22, 2013. This is $235 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1424 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12064013

5400 Spilman Ave sold for $318,100 on Jan 24, 2013. This is $263 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1211 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12070486

4317 F St sold for $710,000 on Jan 25, 2013. This is $229 per square foot for this 5 bed home with 3100 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12064443

857 51st St sold for $389,000 on Jan 28, 2013. This is $283 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1375 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12069910

858 56th St sold for $230,000 on Jan 29, 2013. This is $235 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 978 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12036976

561 37th St sold for $390,000 on Jan 29, 2013. This is $264 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1479 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12073986

271 39th St sold for $360,000 on Jan 30, 2013. This is $271 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1326 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12072121

4441 I St sold for $455,000 on Jan 31, 2013. This is $337 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1350 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12063292

4749 B St sold for $283,000 on Feb 5, 2013. This is $273 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1035 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12053418

190 Tivoli Way sold for $505,000 on Feb 11, 2013. This is $238 per square foot for this 5 bed home with 2125 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12051203

4350 Moddison Ave sold for $380,001 on Feb 11, 2013. This is $233 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1633 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12061809

4525 D St sold for $310,000 on Feb 11, 2013. This is $324 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 956 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000861

648 36th St sold for $645,000 on Feb 14, 2013. This is $283 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2277 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000926

5200 B St sold for $479,000 on Feb 14, 2013. This is $305 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1569 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13001856

1334 47th St sold for $1,175,000 on Feb 15, 2013. This is $467 per square foot for this 4 (5) bed home with 2514 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12058162

4800 Moddison Ave sold for $380,000 on Feb 15, 2013. This is $223 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1701 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12067458

652 El Dorado Way sold for $295,000 on Feb 15, 2013. This is $304 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 971 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12067516

5907 Camelia Ave sold for $405,000 on Feb 15, 2013. This is $231 per square foot for this 3 (4) bed home with 1752 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12068537

5301 C St sold for $479,000 on Feb 20, 2013. This is $315 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1523 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12070560

1317 35th St sold for $515,000 on Feb 21, 2013. This is $353 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1460 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000320

3826 Breuner Ave sold for $255,000 on Feb 21, 2013. This is $195 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1309 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13001798

1623-51st & 1620 52nd St sold for $470,500 on Feb 22, 2013. This is $157 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 3000 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12034864

55 50th St sold for $339,900 on Feb 22, 2013. This is $287 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1183 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12059761

733 51st St sold for $320,000 on Feb 25, 2013. This is $233 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1371 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13005311

1462 46th St sold for $750,000 on Feb 26, 2013. This is $370 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2025 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12046408

4670 Breuner Ave sold for $400,000 on Feb 27, 2013. This is $195 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2050 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12068098

1415 40th St sold for $1,228,000 on Feb 28, 2013. This is $370 per square foot for this 4 (5) bed home with 3321 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12052225

5331 J St sold for $335,000 on Mar 5, 2013. This is $352 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 952 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13002277

409 La Purissima Way sold for $345,000 on Mar 8, 2013. This is $330 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1044 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12060531

1464 51st St sold for $354,000 on Mar 8, 2013. This is $309 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1144 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12062295

1339 42nd St sold for $721,500 on Mar 11, 2013. This is $285 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 2531 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13006941

1516 48th St sold for $380,000 on Mar 12, 2013. This is $240 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1584 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12072984

921 51st St sold for $329,900 on Mar 12, 2013. This is $327 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1008 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13009348

4125 D St sold for $450,000 on Mar 13, 2013. This is $306 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1470 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13006587

1716 36th St sold for $406,000 on Mar 13, 2013. This is $249 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1628 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13007564

5501 E St sold for $267,000 on Mar 13, 2013. This is $289 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 923 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13009470

401 35th St sold for $1,198,000 on Mar 14, 2013. This is $413 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 2900 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13006695

558 lagomarsino Way sold for $310,000 on Mar 14, 2013. This is $268 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1156 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13008395

5430 H St sold for $267,000 on Mar 15, 2013. This is $224 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1192 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12064868

801 50th St sold for $619,950 on Mar 15, 2013. This is $381 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1626 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13004776

1101 Santa Barbara Ct sold for $385,000 on Mar 15, 2013. This is $291 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1323 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13008493

5220 Callister Ave sold for $395,000 on Mar 15, 2013. This is $256 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1540 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13008713

4741 Brand Way sold for $525,000 on Mar 18, 2013. This is $357 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1471 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000484

950 El Dorado Way sold for $280,000 on Mar 19, 2013. This is $227 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1232 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000558

5018 B St sold for $460,000 on Mar 19, 2013. This is $297 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1550 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13001486

1521 Santa Ynez Way sold for $407,107 on Mar 19, 2013. This is $339 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1202 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13004326

592 Coloma Way sold for $400,000 on Mar 21, 2013. This is $303 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1320 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000345

4100 Folsom Blvd #1A sold for $345,000 on Mar 22, 2013. This is $195 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1767 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13001241

701 47th St sold for $599,000 on Mar 26, 2013. This is $396 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 1512 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13004479

44 Lupine Way sold for $317,000 on Mar 27, 2013. This is $309 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1026 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13008942

1010 Dolores Way sold for $420,450 on Mar 28, 2013. This is $318 per square foot for this 2 (3) bed home with 1324 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13006635

5271 Folsom Blvd sold for $267,000 on Mar 29, 2013. This is $229 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1165 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12064053

901 44th St sold for $459,950 on Mar 29, 2013. This is $330 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1395 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13010786

1080 Santa Ynez Way sold for $360,000 on Mar 29, 2013. This is $328 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1096 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13007588

3209 D St sold for $410,000 on Mar 29, 2013. This is $344 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1192 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13011709

909 Sonoma Way sold for $470,500 on Mar 29, 2013. This is $418 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1125 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13012443

1135 Dolores Way sold for $358,000 on Apr 3, 2013. This is $323 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1108 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12066061

844 35th St sold for $660,000 on Apr 3, 2013. This is $286 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2306 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13004968

148 Meister Way sold for $400,000 on Apr 4, 2013. This is $305 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1312 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13000531

1136 46th St sold for $970,000 on Apr 5, 2013. This is $331 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 2929 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12051241

1206 41st St sold for $675,000 on Apr 5, 2013. This is $347 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 1947 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12051749

5323 Spilman Ave sold for $408,000 on Apr 5, 2013. This is $307 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1329 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13011054

1070 55th St sold for $338,000 on Apr 8, 2013. This is $314 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1076 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13009765

1409 47th St sold for $685,000 on Apr 11, 2013. This is $276 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2484 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13006584

3163 Carly Way sold for $305,000 on Apr 12, 2013. This is $332 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 918 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13011640

401 41st St sold for $410,000 on Apr 12, 2013. This is $318 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1288 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13016786

4708 B St sold for $406,000 on Apr 16, 2013. This is $370 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1097 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13008773

72 52nd St sold for $375,000 on Apr 18, 2013. This is $328 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1142 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13010008

624 San Antonio Way sold for $540,000 on Apr 18, 2013. This is $240 per square foot for this 4 bed home with 2251 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13011984

4201 D St sold for $278,000 on Apr 19, 2013. This is $339 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 821 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13018673

5109 L St sold for $215,000 on Apr 22, 2013. This is $339 per square foot for this 1 bed home with 634 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 12001546

1558 33rd St sold for $325,000 on Apr 22, 2013. This is $294 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1104 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13005442

5615 Moddison Ave sold for $364,950 on Apr 25, 2013. This is $263 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1387 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13007539

5314 Aileen Way sold for $480,000 on Apr 26, 2013. This is $291 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1651 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13014916

5214 C St sold for $250,000 on Apr 26, 2013. This is $278 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 900 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13020442

4811 M St sold for $685,000 on Apr 29, 2013. This is $309 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 2215 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13008314

1525 Santa Ynez Way sold for $395,000 on Apr 30, 2013. This is $427 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 924 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13011721

1601 55th St sold for $366,900 on Apr 30, 2013. This is $305 per square foot for this 3 bed home with 1203 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13015790

724 40th St sold for $399,000 on May 1, 2013. This is $431 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 926 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13012974

5752 Moddison Ave sold for $364,000 on May 3, 2013. This is $317 per square foot for this 2 bed home with 1147 square feet. For more info click on the listing number 13016277

OK, so maybe I didn't want to do regular work today and spent a lot of time working on this instead. I had fun with it and one of the great things about running my own business is that I can work on "pet projects" when ever I like!

3021 Ottumwa Way Just Sold

I helped Seth buy this property two years ago and just had the honor of helping to sell it for him. His timing for the purchase was almost perfect and we were able to sell it for well above where he bought.

We priced it aggressively and still received eight offers, several well above asking price.

It was one of the smoothest transactions that I've had so far this year.

Zillow, Zestimates, Love and Hate

I love Zillow and I hate Zillow.

I love Zillow. I've loved it since I first discovered it a decade ago. My love of zilliow is for it's compilation of information in a mapped source. I can pull up the app on my phone and zoom in on a house across the street from a listing and be able to tell my clients the lot size and square footage of their neighbors. I will probably be able to see what it last sold for as well.

I hate Zillow. I hate how inaccurate the price opinion is in Zillow, what they call a “Zestimate”. They can't give an accurate estimation of price just by averaging similar sized home sales close by. This doesn't take into account upgrades, lot size and most importantly, location, location, location! East Sac can have a huge price change in just one block. Compare the sales in the Fab 40's to any sale just one block outside of those boundaries. Some streets are quite with a full canopy of trees and the next street over could be a high pass through street with very little curb appeal.

When a home owner tries to use Zillow to get an estimate of value on their house, they could be greatly off.

Zillow recently published a very interesting article about the accuracy of their Zestimate numbers. Looking at Sacramento, they proudly state that 24.4% of the time their estimate is withing 5% of the actual sales price of any give home that sells. Without going into how much being 5% off on the price can cost a seller, let's look at the rest of their numbers.

When you increase the margin of error up to 10% they hit that 47.1% of the time. This means that less than half of the Zestimate numbers for Sacramento properties are within 10% of the actual value of the home. 74.8% of the time they are within at least 20% plus or minus the actual sales value of a home.

Wait, this means that the other 25.2% of the time they are off by more that 20% of the actual value of the home! I don't like those odds at all.

As much as I love Zillow for the easy access it gives to a variety of information, I hate the false sense of accuracy the Zestimate gives buyers and sellers.

Nothing can replace the accuracy of an experienced agent working the neighborhood and knowing the value of each given block and why the comps in the neighborhood might be better or worse than any give home.  

1326 F Street Just Sold

This downtown home needs some work but that is what my client was looking for. For what this property needs it was well priced. 

It was a short sale and it took several months to get through the process and there were many bumps along the way, but we finally made it!

Catching Up on the Blog

OK, here I go again, realizing that my blog has suffered while my work has had a wonderful Spring bloom.

Time to start catching up, again....

This time I am making a plan on I'm going to stick to it! Regular blog updates of work, play and East Sac events.  

440 Santa Ynez Just Sold

This is my favorite sale ever!

My wife and I lived one block away from this great house and often walked on this block and talked about the houses that we like the most. One day she pointed to this one and said that it is still one of her favorite brick homes and she would love to live here. We talked about all the things we loved about the house and that when we start searching for a new home to buy in about 6 months we would want one just like this.

The very next day the owner of this home called me and let me know that he wanted to sell it and wanted me to list it.

You just can't ignore a sign like that. We move up our plans to buy (and move back the plans to replace my car) and on April 12^th we bought our dream home.

While there were many benefits of being so connected in the transaction, the one drawback is that the buyer in me and the agent in me were in constant communication. It made it very hard to sleep at time with the buyer constantly bugging me. Fortunately, we plan on this being the last time that we move!

Between the great level of business that I have been enjoying and moving into a new home, I have been a very busy man. We are all moved in and I have two dozen items checked off the New Home To Do List, so hopefully live will get a little bit more back to normal.