Today's Paradise real estate market has a great deal of inventory available for prospective buyers to choose from.  As sellers in Paradise, we therefore need to be sure that our house is always in show ready condition both inside and out to keep up with our competition and to keep our house on the top of interested buyers. One thing that Paradise buyers all have in common is they want to view a clean home when they are considering making a purchase.  So I would strongly recommend a thorough spring cleaning if you currently have your home on the market or if you are getting ready to put that for sale sign in the front yard.  As you start your cleaning, think about considering what products you are using on those windows, sinks, floors, and decks.  Take a look at Ecover products and BioSh... 03/26/2008

I'll start by saying, I don't ever really expect I would become a famous blogger.  But it has made me realise that I'm not as good a real estate blogger as I would like to be. Unlike other real estate bloggers, I don't blog purely for my benefit - perhaps if I did, it would make me a better blog writer - but really I blog as a way of interacting with people and hope that a small blog post, I contribute will stimulate some discussion.  ...I wasn't disappointed when I wasn't nonimated into real estate blogging awards.  Maybe, I should have devoted more time or energy into creative writing but with real estate, so many tasks so little extra time.  Instead of blogging, I focus on assisting those who need some help but can least afford to pay for it.  No...I'll never get rich, but the reward... 03/21/2008

Happy Spring Everyone!!  I have been looking forwarad to this day for quite some time, as I am sure many of you have!!  I found a cute little quick on msn.com that is all things spring.  Holiday traditions, weather, spring cleaning...you name it!!  I only scored a 3 out of 10.  Yikes!!  I think I need to catch up on my trivia!  Good Luck and again Happy Spring to you all! 03/20/2008

The Paradise real estate market had one of the best weeks of activity we've seen in quite a while.  There were 7 properties that closed escrow and another 19 properties that went under agreement.  This better level of activity unfortunately did not have any impact on the overall Paradise inventory as we saw a startling 27 new listings hit the market.  This, along with the fact that we saw 34 price reductions in Paradise, is still signaling great opportunities for Paradise buyers!  The interest rates are still at very low levels with the average 30 year fixed rate at 6.13.   The real estate categories remaining the strongest in Paradise are those single family homes priced under $250,000, as well as though priced between $350,000 and $450,000 with both categories having 25% of their tota... 03/20/2008

The weather is warmer, people are starting to open windows, and thinking about a little spring remodel of their Paradise home.  Often times people put up new curtains, purchase new slipcovers for their furniture, re-paint a room, change the wall paper, or just purchase some new wall decor.  Did you know there are more and more companies now that offer organic materials for curtains, wall papers, paint, decor etc.  It is amazing.  Check out the mod green pod for some examples.  Happy Decorating!! 03/17/2008

Two good things happened last week in the Paradise Real Estate Market.  The first was that the interest rates for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage dropped back down to 6.03 from 6.24.   The second is that we had 12 Paradise properties go under agreement and another 10 properties close escrow.  We therefore had 22 properties move off the market last week which is a great sign that Paradise buyers are out taking advantage of the lower interest rates and real estate inventory.  There were only 9 price reductions last week in Paradise; this is a significant drop from the 27 price reductions we saw the previous week.  We also saw a shift in activity last week in the category of Paradise properties that experienced the most activity.  Single family homes priced between $350,000 and $450,000 had ... 03/14/2008

Another water conservation tip for all you Paradise home owners.  Last week, my water conservation tip was about outdoor landscape watering and this week it is about saving water in the kitchen.  Tip #1 - The dishwasher uses less water than hand washing in the sink.  We should try and only wash things by hand if it they aren't dishwasher safe.  Aslo, it is best to try and load the dishwasher as full as possible.  The fewer big loads you can do will save water, energy, and money. Tip#2 - By placing an aerating faucet attachment on your kitchen sink you can get the same type of cleaning power as you normally would get with much less water.  If you add one of the very easy to use screw on faucets you can save hundreds of gallons of waters, a great deal of energy, and hundreds of pounds of ... 03/13/2008

Envy.....Wearing green or Saving lots of GREEN. It's been said before but now is a great time to save lots of green when you buy a home in Paradise, California.Record low sales prices are bring out home buyers, not a lot but some are venturing out to see the bargains and other properties listed for sale.  With foreclosures looming at the front door, chipping away at home values, home owners are stelthfully upset that the goverment is making some attempts to save those who bought into no interest loan fiasco.  Really, the goverment is not bailing out everyone.  Certain guidelines apply and you may or may not qualify for assistance, this may surprise many.  Visit my site for bargains in the Paradise California area.  03/13/2008

Finally, it's a buyer's market out there.For years rapidly rising prices kept many first-time home buyers out of the housing market. But as home values slide further downward and interest rates hover at relatively low levels, it may be time to start looking to buy that first house.That is, if you have a secure job, can afford higher down payments than were required a few years ago and can meet lenders' much stricter income and credit requirements."Lenders aren't cutting everyone off. They're reverting to sanity after years of making bad loans," says Dick Lepre, senior loan officer at Residential Pacific Mortgage, in San Francisco.The U.S. median home price was $201,000 in January, down 4.6% from January 2007. The S&P/Case-Shiller national home-price index for the fourth quarter was down... 03/12/2008

Often, property owners don't understand the "Who, What, When, Where and Why" of selling a home, especially in this market.  It is up to professional realtors, to utilize our persuasive powers to assure home sellers of the finer points of selling in this depreciating market.  I'd like to share some of my favorite points that you can share with your home sellers. What you might have sold your home for a year ago is irrelevant.  Properties sell for the best price obtainable in the CURRENT Market and not one penny more.If your present property has appreciated in value, a reduced price affects only a paper value, which was never actually realized. If your home has been on the market for a considerable period of time, and not attracting the attention of prospective home buyers, it is OVERPRIC... 03/09/2008

Attention prospective Paradise real estate buyers, the sellers want you to know that they are willing to negotiate.  We saw 27 price reductions take place last week as Paradise sellers attempt to get their properties noticed at the start of our spring market.  Activity seems to be keeping the same pace as the last couple of weeks with 12 properties closing escrow and 7 properties moving under agreement.  Currently there are a total of 316 listings comprising the inventory of the Paradise real estate market, with 215 of those listings being single family homes.  There was a huge spike in activity in the single family homes under $250,000 with 30% of the current listings being under agreement.  Another area that experienced a spike was those homes priced between $350,000 and $450,000 as 2... 03/05/2008

Eligible first time home buyers may qualify for assistance from the Town of Paradise First Time Home Buyer Program.  This program provides a bridge between what borrowers can afford and the actual amount needed to qualify to purchase a home in Paradise California.  TO BE ELIGIBLE, THE APPLICANT MUST MEET THE CERTAIN CRITERIA: To learn more about this program, call Suzi Enders, (530) 873-6146.  Your Century 21 Realtor in Paradise, California.  03/03/2008

Today the Town of Paradise announced a free building division workshop, which covers residential building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing codes.  This is to be held at the Town of Paradise, building division between 3:00 - 5:00 PM in chamber #9 on March 13, 2008.   Everyone is invited.The second workshop is regarding proposed revisions to the Town of Paradise manual for the onsite treatment of wastewater. To attend, please meet at the Town of Paradise, onsite division, chamber #8 between 2:00 - 5:00 PM. on March 13, 2008Please join us for these free workshops.  See you there.   03/03/2008

A quick green tip for you.  As we start to make our landscape plans this year, let's keep in mind the impact that watering our plants and grass has on the environment.  Water is a very valuable resource and should be treated as such...even when we want to have greener grass.  Now please understand that I am not suggesting we don't water our grass and plants.  As a Realtor, I know first hand the importance of curb appeal.  Especially in the current real estate market where there is a lot of inventory available for Paradises prospective buyers and a lot of competition among Paradise sellers.  Before you hook up the sprinklers and turn on the hose, consider purchasing a rain barrel.  This will capture rain water that you can later use for watering.  They range in price and type so I have a... 03/03/2008

This past Thursday, the Gold Nugget Museum, some local volunteers, and Mendon's Nursery made some great headway in restoring one of Paradise's most well known historical attributes; the apple.  By planting 12 different varieties of apples, they took the first step towards developing a community apple orchard on the Gold Nugget Museum's grounds.  The 12 varieties of apples were donated by Mendon's Nursery and then planted by the volunteers.  All of the varieties have historical roots to Paradise from the 20th century.  The hope is that this orchard will provide a place for Paradise residents to learn and relax.  With the orchard being right on the Gold Nugget Museum grounds , residents can take a museum tour that provides a history lesson of Paradise all while visiting the orchard to lea... 03/02/2008

Even if you could "time the market," that strategy would most benefit first-time buyers. You see, people who already have a home usually need to sell it in order to come up with the down payment for their next home. Even if they don't, they would have to carry the debt and obligations on two homes at the same time. This can create financial hardship, even when you rent out the previous home. There are maintenance costs, renters don't always make their payments on time, the rent may not cover the mortgage and other costs, and sometimes the property may be vacant. So if you are downsizing or a move-up buyer and want to purchase your next home during a depressed market, you generally have to sell your current paradise home during that same depressed market. If you want to sell during a boo... 03/01/2008

Lately, when I present a market analysis to Paradise area residents interested in selling their home, the discussion becomes similar from house to house.  “My neighbor just sold their house for 5% more than that less than a year ago” or “ I had my house appraised for more than that just 6 months ago.”   Because the Paradise real estate market has slowed and the prices have started to drop, my home analysis is understandably received with frustration and concern.  Everyone wants to maximize their profits and protect their investments whenever selling a home.  However, the other thing that is often similar among many of the Paradise sellers I am visiting is their need and desire for more space.  They want to sell their home to “move-up.”  Whether it is due to expanding families or the ri... 02/28/2008

Ok all you Butte County Seinfeld fans, a great little soup story for you!!  An article was recently featured in the Paradise Post and I wanted to share it with all my fellow Seinfeld lovers!!  The Original SoupMan’s soups are now being sold right here in our very own Butte County at Raleys.  Both the locations in Chico and Oroville will carry the soup.  So now you can go and buy the SoupMan’s soup, but don’t expect anyone from Raley’s to yell “no soup for you,”  I think they really want it to keep selling well. 02/28/2008

Things are definitely looking up in the Paradise real estate market.  After looking at the activity level of this past week, the local market is showing signs of improvement.  We had 8 properties close escrow and another 15 properties go under agreement.  There were 16 new listings that hit the market, which is promising considering we had the 15 listings that went under agreement.  With 20 price reductions last week, it is clear that Paradise sellers are still eager to sell, and attempting to have their properties noticed amidst the 309 total listings currently on the market in Paradise.  The most significant real estate activity in Paradise continues to be on those single family homes priced under $250,000.  There was a slight increase in activity on single family homes priced betwee... 02/27/2008

Well into a buyers market with the indicators shouting loudly yet few home buyers are listening?  Lots of inventory means choices in homes, great interest rates could mean lower payments so those wanting to move up.  Home prices reduced are a better bargain for home buyers.  Seems while home buyers stand at the sidelines waiting for the touchdown, savvy investors snag up on the biggest housing bargains. We are aware home buyers are actually looking at homes in our Paradise California real estate market, I believe the thaw is set to occur in our Paradise area.  What seems to be frozen is the tightening lending standards and it's going to be tough for prospective buyers, even though they want the homes.  If people have a good track record of paying their bills timely, the loans are there.... 02/27/2008