I hate to say it, but if you are looking for homes in the $20,000 to $80,000 range here in Del Norte County, California you may be out of luck. HOW CAN THIS HAVE HAPPENED SO FAST? Early in 2012, they were still plentiful, but since then homes have gone under contract in big numbers. Investors realized the market was bottoming out as the inventory tightened up and they purchased. Same with home buyers, but they were competing with the investors and often the investors won out because they had cash. Now, unless there is hidden inventory somewhere, it is almost impossible to find a low priced house in good condition so it can be financed. The occasional REO still comes on the market, but it is grabbed fast--or there is something seriously wrong with it. SO, MR. BUYER, IF YOU ARE STILL LOOK... 01/28/2013

If you read my yesterday's blog, you can probably relate that today I needed some normalcy in my life, to fix some things I have control over. So there I am in the new Walmart Superstore (it used to be just "Walmart", the "Superstore" upgrade has been constructed over many months this year and is pretty much complete now). There were few customers today (probably because the major storm we have coming through right now) and shelves are still being stocked to get ready for BLACK FRIDAY. My real estate phone kept ringing, (hey, I'm used to that, shopping and talking) including one from Activerain. The latter I would normally welcome - we have great conversations - but today I needed to put everyone off until after Thanksgiving week - which is this week. And then I find the perfect aisle f... 11/20/2012

When you buy fresh fish at TOP BLUE MARINE that just opened here in Crescent City, California, you don't even need to ask "is it fresh?" Because you will be able to choose your fish from those swimming in a tank. For example, Red Tail Perch is available at the moment. But they will also offer seafood specialties that are not swimming around but which, in some cases, come fresh off a Crescent City fishing boat including salmon, halibut, lingcod, rockfish, oysters, lobster tail, prawns and clams - whatever is in season at the moment. There will also be locally caught crab soon, my favorite!!! Grand opening of Top Blue Marine - November 30, 2012 Location: 400 Front Street, Crescent City, California 95531 11/18/2012

As you know from reading my last few blogs, I was in Carmel-by-the-Sea for a couple of weeks. It was a mixture of business and pleasure. The "pleasure" part was mainly just being in that wonderful one square mile city in the forest and on Carmel Beach. Yesterday was a long 8 hour drive back here to Crescent City. Yep, I count the hours, not the miles. The weather was supposed to be rainy, but it was actually pretty nice between San Francisco and Eureka. Then the rains came. Because Highway 101 meanders from the ocean and up into mountainous areas, I kept my fingers crossed that I would not hit any snow. I was not carrying chains, so that would have been bad. But even though it was pretty miserable weather, it was not cold enough for that, thank heavens. One minor heartstopping thing did... 11/17/2012

It's been an amazingly mild winter here in Del Norte County and that translates into phone calls from buyers out and about looking at properties. Or can it be that we've turned the corner on the real estate market? With properties listed at lows not seen in a decade, buyers don't even ask me to find "a deal", they assume that everything is priced low. And those that are not? I don't even recommend them knowing that they won't appraise. And sellers who had been holding out about lowering their sales price, have finally realized that if they don't, they might as well take it off the market. And that is what I recommended to several of them this past year. None did. Now it is 2012, and I won't take on overpriced listings. It's just too hard for everyone, the seller trying to be optimistic,... 02/10/2012

 3 Bedroom Home For Sale In Crescent City California 95531 features 3 Bedrooms and 2 Bathrooms with 1,732 Square fee and the lot size is 15,000.  The front of this 3 Bedroom Home For Sale near Pine Grove Elementary School lies on a quiet street with nice yard and a 2 car garage.  The back of this 3 Bedroom Home For Sale near Pine Grove Elementary School has a large yard, gazzebo with jacuzzi, deck, storage shed and wood shed.  955 Vipond Drive is located in Crescent City which is in the Del Norte County Unified School District, the High School is Sunset High School and the Elementary School is Pine Grove Elementary School.  To view this 3 Bedroom For Sale near Pine Grove Elementary School home please click the “Find Out More” link.   To schedule a private showing, or to get more informa... 09/09/2011

03/13/2011

Don't change a thing until your escrow closes.  What does that mean exactly? Don't charge anything on your credit cards Don't get married Don't get a divorce Don't purchase a car Don't change jobs Don't start attending school If you're attending school already, don't take out additional student loans Don't borrow any money Don't retire In short...DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING. Why not?  Underwriters are checking their list and checking it twice.  It is becoming common for an underwriter to rerun credit and do additional verification of facts right up to funding.  A little change, like deciding to retire or purchasing a car could send your underwriter into paroxysms and bring your escrow to an untimely death.  In order to keep your purchase from becoming a dead escrow, keep your situation, not j... 07/07/2010

Crescent City/Del Norte County Real Estate Market Report - May 2010 Number of residential sales improved over April 2010 and May 2009 sales, however the median price has dropped 21% from the May 2009 median of $180,000.  The effect of foreclosures, declining prices, can not be denied. REO (foreclosure) sales comprised 56% of May 2010 sales and 37% of sales so far for 2010. Upper end sales continue to remain stagnant with only two homes closing in May over $300k and one of those sales was an REO.  So far in 2010 homes $300,000 and over were 11% of total residential sales. What does it mean?  It's a buyers market and there aren't a lot of buyers.  The buyers that are out there are experiencing a difficult time getting pre-approved (even with the best of credit) and escrows are taking long... 06/16/2010

Listing website: CrescentCityLuxuryHomes.com   Fran Gatti | RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods | 707-218-8162 1385 Sandmann Road, Crescent City, CA 2008 custom home - Luxury living on 2 acres with end of roadprivacy in the redwoods. 4BR/2+2BA Single Family House offered at $670,000 Year Built 2008 Sq Footage 3,173 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 2 partial Floors 1 Parking 3 Car garage Lot Size 2 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION 2008, 3173 sq. ft. custom Richterich & Jones home on 2 acres with end of road privacy and so much more. Travertine floors in living spaces, carpet in bedrooms, huge chefs kitchen with stainless appliances, granite countertops, 2 ovens, Jenn air range/oven, dining area in kitchen, formal dining, HUGE family room with fireplace, built-ins, split floor plan, oversized ma... 03/16/2010

 It is after Christmas and I am still on my family vacation in Seattle, WA.  The home of Active Rain believe it or not.  Well, being on vacation and visiting my family, I have realized something important that I mostly forget during the rest of the year when I am frantically working.  I realize that we have to take time out to invest in ourselves and our families the way we put all that effort into our jobs and work because without those family moments and enjoying personal happiness, then what is the point of all that hard work? After hanging out with the cousins, nieces and nephews all day yesterday and taking them to see the new Alvin and the Chipmonks movie as well as ice skating (something that I have not done before) in Bellevue, it dawned on me that these few and precious moments... 12/27/2009

My Crescent City Fed Ex driver is the best there is and just one more reason I love living in a small town. First off, I don't know his name, but I will find out and put it in this post.  He is awesome.  My husband and I had a delivery that needed a signature and it was impossible for either of us to be home from work, so he delivered the package to my husbands school (he's a teacher) during my husbands lunch break. How convenient is that? Today, I was at work and noticed the Fed Ex truck in our parking lot.  I had a fax cartridge ready to be sent back to the manufacturer and took it outside to hand to the driver and he said, "I saw your car in the parking lot and thought I would deliver this package to you at work, so I didn't miss you at home." I defy anyone out there to tell me they ... 11/16/2009

Crescent City makes America's Prettiest Towns list at Forbes Traveler.com There are so many reasons that Crescent City would make the Prettiest Towns in America list.  To name a few: Pristine parks: Tolowa Dunes State Park, Beachfront Park, Lake Earl Wildlife Refuge, Jedediah Smith State Park Miles of rivers for rafting, fishing and more: Gasquet, home of the forks of the Smith River, the Klamath River Beautiful and quiet places to swim: Second Bridge a swimmer's delight Miles of beaches: South Beach, Enderts Beach Fresh seafood: Fresh Crab, Fresh Tuna, Tuna fishing w/Mike Nolan, Fishing the Pacific North Coast w/Mike Nolan World Class Fishing: Crescent City Harbor, Fishing the Rogue River Not to mention Pt. Saint George Reef Lighthouse, Battery Point Lighthouse, Batter Point Pier, Redw... 10/24/2009

This is an update for Crescent City/Del Norte County Home Sellers - The time is quickly approaching for my monthly market report, which is for the general public; however times are tough for Crescent City home sellers right now and I thought I would do an update just for my those of you with active Crescent City/Del Norte County listings.32 listings have sold since 9/1/09 (I included land sales because many of you have land listed and are concerned with what is going on with that segment of the market).The median priced Crescent City/Del Norte County residential listing to sell in that time period is $150,000. 19% of those sales were REO's (foreclosed homes), which is down from previous months.  The sellers that sold their home in that time period had their home priced to sell.  The pri... 10/23/2009

In Crescent City, CA, a new Ordinance has been passed that puts landlords responsible for the trash that accumulates in rental properties, even though the trash came from the tenants.  This law seems unfair to landlords as tenants can take advantage of this and not take care of their own trash.  Here is a link to an artical about concerns from the landlords: http://www.triplicate.com/20091014107212/News/Local-News/Landlords-question-new-waste-law So are the landlords' concerns valid?  There has to be a balance for this between the tenants and landlords as to who is responsible.    "Helping to make your dreams of home ownership come true." Thavisak "Lucky" Syphanthong, Broker Phone:  707-954-7926Lucky Star Realty   email: lucky@luckystarrealty.com Phone toll free: 866-875-2279 Fax toll f... 10/15/2009

Here is another of Mike's Crescent City fishing excursions for Tuna off the Del Norte County coast.   This was THE MOST DELICIOUS tuna ever.  My family likes our tuna marinated in Soy Vay marinade, wrapped in bacon around 2 inch sized tuna pieces, then barbecued, but it's delicous baked as well and excellent to eat cold the next day. My daughter hides the leftovers, if there are any, in the refrigerator for the next day.  My kids will make sure they are home for dinner when fresh tuna is being served.  Thank you Mike for ALL the fresh fish throughout the year.  You're great! Mike has lots of friends who like to take him fishing.  He has quite the reputation as an excellent fishermen both on the ocean and on our local rivers, the Chetco, Klamath, and Smith River. Cheers! 10/13/2009

The Crescent City/Fred Endert Municipal Swimming Pool just underwent a complete makeover and is it something to see.  Take a look: The swimming pool has a salt water system that uses significantly less chlorine than old technology swimming pools. This type of pool is easier on the eyes and skin.  This mural was painted by The Harbor Gallery.  It is truly stunning and adds just the right mood to the pool area. The newly added water slide is available during most family and recreation swims. The Crescent City swimming pool and slide have handicap accessibility. Some of the other features of the Crescent City indoor swimming pool: The water slide Open recreation swim Family recreation swim Aerobics Water walking/Aqua jogging Spa and sauna that are open during adult program (available for u... 10/12/2009

Selling Your Crescent City Home - Part 1 - Proper Pricing Proper pricing, how important is it?  In the current Crescent City real estate market; it's everything.  Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year or so, you are highly aware that the Crescent City real estate marketis a buyer's market. There are a plethora (oversupply) of listings for sale versus the supply of ready, willing and able buyer's. What that means for you the seller is that you have a lot of competition in selling your home.  The number one factor in getting your home sold in this current buyer's market is to price your home below the mid range of the competing listings (or lower if the home is in worse condition than most of the competing listings).  Foreclosed listings are coming onto the market at the... 10/10/2009

Crescent City/Del Norte County Real Estate Market Report for September 2009 - Number of sales were down. Sales were down for September, however I expect a sizable increase in number of sales closing in October (keep reading for the reasons for this optimism).  The median price home that sold in September was $145,000.  This supports my statement I have made 100 times or more over the past few weeks that, "What is selling is $200,000 and under."  Why?  This segment of the market was shut-out for years because of skyrocketing housing prices and now, these home buyers are taking advantage of falling prices, awesome interest rates and the federal income tax credit of $8000 which goes away on December 1, 2009.  I've heard rumor the tax credit will be extended, but I have not seen anything of... 10/07/2009

Are you Selling Your Crescent City Home and want to know how to get Top Dollar? I recently had several local agents share their surprise at the sales price of two of my listings that sold earlier this year.  These two homes fetched Top Dollar in the Crescent City market.   In fact, in their opinion, these homes sold for more than the market value at the time.  I had the same reaction from several local real estate agents at the sales price of my personal residence that I sold in 2005. All three of these homes had something in common, something that set them apart from the competition and caused them to sell for Top Dollar in their market. How do you get Top Dollar for your Crescent City, CA home or your home where ever it is located?  My home was unmistakeably the nicest home in it's pr... 09/28/2009