Redding Ca Real Estate : May 2007

There's no doubt that spending a little time in Jail will change one's outlook on life. I can't personally comment on it but if you ask Martha Stewart I think you will come to the conclusion that even celebrities sometimes have to follow the rules! I see where she thinks that jail time is both cruel and unwarranted? mmm last time I looked the laws pertain to ALL of us...even the poor! What does all this have to do with real estate you might be asking? Well a lot. The power of the press is incredible and should be used to market properties for maximum exposure. A while back a cleaver local couple used the local paper to hype that they were going to auction off their one home to the highest bidder! It worked incredibly well as they sold it for much more that I thought it would ever sell for. I haven't checked to see that it closed yet or not but using the press to your advantage well...has an advantage!

If you feel sorry for Paris Hilton in jail send her a card! 

Regards,

Rick Goates 

The inventory or active available homes has been hovering around the 1850-1900 range now for many weeks. The buyers in the market place appear fickle with low offers being thrown out all over the board to see if some seller is truly DESPERATE. There are some motivated seller's out there and there are a ton that are trying to remember last years activity and prices!

With summer just around the corner we should see the inventory climb a little higher as traditionally the people sitting on the fence in the winter now want to get into the game. The key is still the same as it has always been.......Price/Location/Condition.....Three little words to live by if you are a seller.....If you are a buyer then you have to know which properties you can actually get a deal on and which owners are truly motivated etc or you will be wasting your and your agents time if you want a steal!

To see all the active available MLS listed homes on the Shasta County Multiple listing service just go to http://www.inforedding.com and search till your mouse finger gets tired!

Have a great week!

Regards,

Rick Goates

Broker

Atlantis Realty

Redding California

530-221-8850 

It's happening again...thanks to some profit seekers on wall street. Seems the last time people were doing this we had the Enron meltdown not to mention other problems. In the below article the author( who is a pretty smart guy) tells us what is up with this saga again. Remember the Brownouts and other great things that we had to endure? Well they may be back again.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/TheWarForYourElectricBill.aspx

 I am one for Solar power my self and will be looking into that much closer in the future when we build again!!

Regards,

Rick Goates 

There are many different types of homes out there. Some are wood framed and some steel. In fact in some area's of the country homes are constructed out of concrete! In our area I have noticed that some of the builders are staying on top of what consumers want. This is a good thing. Especially in this "Buyers" market that we still have here in our area.

Log homes appear to still be popular out there. They are more expensive to build/purchase but also sell for more when the time comes to move on. We don't see many adobe type homes here but who knows there may be some coming soon. Many builders are looking at composite materials to use on their homes. This makes sense as a happy home owners 10 years down the road that sends referrals to a quality builder is a good thing!

We have some newer companies here now that offer packages to people that want to build them themselves or have them built. There are two in particular that are pretty interesting. They sell you the shell of a home and you finish it yourself or pay someone to finish it.

I have not seen many concrete homes here in our area yet but that too may change as people understand the benefits of having it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. We do have some homes here that are steel framed and I think this may pickup some steam as wood costs continue to go up and steel continues to be reasonable or even go down in price.

With new lighting technologies out there and the new compact floresent bulbs on the market for really cheap prices that save tons of energy I think we will see more conservation in this area.

I think it's safe to say that most builders are building better and more efficient homes here in our area and I think this trend will continue also.

There is one development here in Redding that offers solar on all units as a way to cut down on the hot summer cooling bills! Great job to whom ever did that project and keep them coming!

Regards,

Rick Goates