What do you see? Does anything surprise you? What happened between 2004 and 2005 to chop the level of permits in half? Do you think more or less permits will be issued in 2011? Do you pay attention to the number of permits pulled as an economic indicator?

Keep us posted if you have any questions or if you think you might have a need for property tax assistance. We are here to help you. Call 916.595.3735, email us, or fill out the contact form and we’ll look up your property for free.

Have a look at the following graphs, see my commentary below, and let us know what you think. What do you see?

Carmichael Trend Graph (95608 zip code):

Elk Grove Trend Graph (95624 zip code):

Elk Grove Trend Graph (95758 zip code):

Fair Oaks Trend Graph (95628 zip code):

Greenhaven / Pocket Trend Graph (95831 zip code):

Land Park / Curtis Park Trend Graph (95818 zip code):

Mather Trend Graph (95655 zip code):

West Sacramento Trend Graph (95605 zip code):

Basically, if you bought a house today in the post-bubble real estate market in Sacramento, you’d be paying somewhere around late 2001 house prices generally (depending on the area of course). Many areas currently have a median price somewhere just before 2002, while some of the higher-priced zip codes tend to have a median price level right now closer to 2003-ish level. Keep in mind too that each house is different and may or may not be consistent with the overall zip code trend.

If you have any questions or insight, I’d love to hear your comment belows. If you have a need for my property tax consluting services call 916.595.375 or send us an email. 

How do the graphs above strike you?

Let’s take a look at the Tahoe Park area of Sacramento. What are the boundaries to Tahoe Park? As you may know, the Tahoe Park neighborhood is comprised of four sections as shown below.

Let’s think further about the neighborhood boundaries above. If you are local, do you see any big value differences between some of the bordering areas such as Tallac Village, Colonial Heights, Elmhurst, Oak Park or UC Med Center? Some of these portions are competitive or more similar to each other, but others are VERY different neighborhoods despite sharing a street border such as Stockton Blvd.

What sort of boundaries have you seen make a big difference in real estate values in the real estate market? Maybe you’re thinking of a certain dividing street, a freeway, or a newly constructed subdivision in the midst of an older tract. And do you think the Assesor has taken into consideration these important boundaries when assessing your Sacramento area property?

Feel free to contact us with any real estate questions and insight into property taxes. We’re here to help. 916.595.3735.

* Data is based on Sacramento MLS for all single family detached properties in Sacramento.

7/25/2000 – $110,000 sale
7/16/2002 – $278,000 sale
8/18/2004 – $435,000 sale
2/10/2005 – $459,000 sale
9/08/2008 – $377,500 sale  (maybe a short sale – did not list in MLS)
5/01/2009 – $104,250 (transfer to bank – foreclosure)
7/13/2009 – $140,000 sale

What do you see? Does anything stand out to you? Let me know if you have any questions about the local real estate market or your neighborhoood. With the decline of property values in the Sacramento Region, it makes it very important to keep make sure that the Assessor reconciles their assessed value to a consistent level of true market value (it’s not always the same – at all).

When looking at all model match sales, it’s not hard to see that the Assessor valued this property too high. In this case, the assessed valued was only about $30,000 higher than true market value, but this amount is still $300+ out of the home owner’s pocket for the year. It’s more common for me to help property owners dispute their taxes for residential properties when there is a greater savings of $500, $1000 or even thousands of dollars, but in this instance the home owner felt strongly about moving forward to contest the Assessor’s value.

Let me know if you have any questions. Remember, the deadline for appealing property taxes in many counties surrounding Sacramento is November 30, 2009.

www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com The Assessor’s Value vs. True Market Value

Isn’t it amazing to see the impact of the housing bubble burst? Three years ago many quadruplex units in Sacramento County were selling between $400,000 to $600,000, but the bulk of sales lately have been easily hovering around $200,000 +/- or lower. With prices so low right now, many investors have understandably been purchasing 4-plex units. The ideal scenario would be to pick up a quadruplex, have postive cash flow, and then re-sell the property in a number of years when the market turns around.

I actually just finished a property tax appeal for an investor who purchased a fourplex in late 2009 for under $200,000, but the Assessor still had his property valued in the high $300,000s. He is scheduled to pay over $1,000 too much in property taxes this year because the Assessor’s records are not consistent with realistic trends in the marketplace. This is a common problem for so many properties that sold near the top of the market and are now re-selling in today’s market.

Let me know if you have any questions. Comments are welcome. Ryan 916-595-3735.

www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com The Crashing of the Fourplex Market in SacramentoSacramentoTaxAppeals.com

The information above is based on all residential sales listed in Sacramento Metrolist over the past two years. Overall, it’s true that there were less bank-owned sales in Sacramento County during the last 12 months in comparison to the year before that. The foreclosure rate decreased by 5% overall, but the interesting thing is that short sales increased by 7% during this same time period. What do you make of that? Have short sales simply replaced what would have been a similar rate of foreclosure for this year? As a home owner or real estate agent, have you found banks to be more receptive to working with you to do a short sale? Comments welcome.

www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com The Up and Down Dynamic of Foreclosures and Short Sales in Sacramento County

What do you notice about the graph above? It looks like the upper end of the market above $550,000 has pretty much disappeared during 2009. It’s also evident that in the midst of a downward trend over the past several years that there have been few sales under $300,000. What else do you see? If you are a local Realtor or home owner in Gold River, what insight do you have into your market, and why is Gold River desirable to buyers in the marketplace?

Gold River Real Estate Market Data:

• 251 sales over the past 3 years
• 62 sales over the past 12 months
• 13 sales over the past 90 days
• 11% of all sales over the past 12 months were REO (bank-owned)
• 3% of all sales over the past 12 months were Short Sales
• 29 current active listings
• 13 current active short sale listings
• 6 current pendings

The lower Western portion of the Gold River area is comprised of a subdivision called “Gold River Station”. Since Gold River Station is not a part of the Gold River HOA, it was prudent to look at data separately from Gold River. Sometimes outsiders to the area get confused about Gold River Station and therefore lump it in with Gold River, but it’s not a part of the Gold River neighborhood.

It’s not hard to see that there is a big value difference between Gold River and Gold River Station. Whereas there are few sales under $300,000 in Gold River, it appears that most recent sales in Gold River Station sold under $300,000. What else do you notice when comparing the graphs?

Feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or info@SacramentoTaxAppeals.com if you have any questions about the local real estate market or any appraisal needs.

www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com Gold River Market Trends: Past 3 Years of Sales