A 2-Minute Guide To Flood Insurance: Do You Really Need it?

The 5-Minute Guide to Flood Insurance: What It Is, How It Works, and Whether You Need ItYou’ve got house insurance, and assume your property is covered for any type of detrimental occurrence that can possibly take place.

However, not all homeowners in Sacramento are aware that home insurance policies don’t necessarily cover damage related to a flood, as the risks are too great. As a result, homeowners must purchase flood insurance through a private company.

Floods are one of the most common hazards in the US, costing billions of dollars in damage to properties every year. And more importantly, if you are in the process of shopping for a new home in Sacramento or anywhere in California for that matter, budgeting that monthly payment, its good to know if flood insurance will be required. Continue reading

The Best Time Of The Year To Sell Your Sacramento Home

The Best And Worst Times Of Year To Sell Your HomeDoes it matter when you put your Sacramento home on the market and does timing affect how well it will sell?  What about the final sales price?

According to many studies in housing trends, the answer is yes. The time of year when you sell your home can have an effect on how many people are interested and how much the home will sell for. Continue reading

Should I Lock Or Float This Week : May 13, 2013

Whats Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week May 13 2013Over the past 7 trading days, Mortgage rates were wounded with 2 of the largest one-day spikes in over 2 years. Rates rose last week with average rates a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rising from last week’s 3.35 percent to 3.42 percent with buyers paying all closing costs and 0.7 percent in discount points.

We are in a definite “locking” bias at the moment. As I am publishing this blog, rates are still trending worse this Monday morning. Continue reading

Why The Sudden Change in Rates? Ask The Fed

Federal Open Market Committee Minutes Released 4-10-2013The minutes for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held March 19 and 20 were released on Wednesday April 10, 2013. These periodic meetings by the FOMC cover a wide-ranging group of topics that impact the overall economy in the United States.

The decisions made and acted upon from the FOMC meetings often sway the real estate and residential financing markets. Some highlights of the recent FOMC minutes for the March meeting include: Continue reading

Home Prices Accelerate In 2013 Big Time!

Case Shiller Index February 2013 Shows Home Prices AcceleratingLast week, the S&P/Case-Shiller Index showed home prices gaining 8.1 percent during the 12-month period ending January 2013, marking the largest year-over-year increases since the summer of 2006. Looking closer to home, here in Sacramento, that number is much greater.

The Case-Shiller Index measures changes in home prices by tracking same-home sales throughout 20 housing markets nationwide; and the change in sales price from sale-to-sale.

All 20 Case Shiller Index Markets Show Growth Continue reading