What’s been happening in the Rancho Cordova real estate market? I’d like to give you a glance below at the overall tend over the past few years as well as some current data tidbits too. Keep in mind that a specific property in Rancho Cordova may or may not fit in with the general trend shown below. 

As you can see, when looking at all sales from 2006, property values have clearly declined over time. There is a very obvious downtrend, wouldn’t you say? Additionally, there is a wide value spectrum too, which represents a big difference in neighborhoods like White Rock, Lincoln Village, Walnutwood, La Loma, Stone Creek, Sunriver, and Anatolia.

Let’s take a closer look at the 95670 zip code in Rancho Cordova(not Gold River – that’s a different market). Sometimes sales in Gold River and Rancho Cordova are grouped together on graphs because they have the same zip code, but that’s not proper in my opinion. Regarding the 95742 zip code, we can take a look at data in a future post if you’d like (just let me know). Overall it looks like there has been a decline in sales prices over the past year, though not as steep of a decline as in previous years. The trend toward more stability is similar to Citrus Heights.

Now let’s put an age parameter on the data to see if there is any difference between properties built before and after 1990. As you can see when comparing the graph above with the one below, newer areas in the 95670 represent the highest sales in the zip code (this would be basically be the Stone Creek area and Capital Village).

Here is a spectrum of price per square foot for all sales in Rancho Cordova (95670) over the past year. Remember though, don’t just take your square footage and multiply it by the average price per square foot. That’s not always the best idea to determine the value of your house. See my previous post entitled “Is price per square foot an accurate way to measure the value of a house?”

Specific Rancho Cordova Real Estate Market Data (95670 zip code):

• 165 sales over the past 90 days.
• 89 current active listings
• 55 current active short sale listings
• 42 current short sale contingent listings (this means an offer has been submitted already)
• 39% of all sales over the past year were REO (bank-owned)
• 22% of all sales over the past year were Short Sales
• Roughly 61% of all sales were distressed in some regard (REO or SS)
• Unemployment in Rancho Cordova is 14.6% per EDD (as of 11/2010)
• Unemployment in Sacramento County is 12.8% per EDD (as of 11/2010)

By the way, here is a video from the Rancho Cordova Historical Society with over ten minutes of old photos and maps of Rancho Cordova.

If you’ve been looking for Rancho Cordova real estate information, I hope this was helpful for you. What do you see in the data above? Does anything stand out to you? Keep me posted if you have any questions or a need for a real estate appraisal or property consulting. I am a member of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce, and I do appraisal work for estate planning, probate, divorce, second opinions, FHA, property tax appeal, private loans, bankruptcy, and so much more. Call 916.595.3735, email me, or visit my company website.

What’s been happening in the Rancho Cordova real estate market North of Highway 50 (referred to as the ”Riverside” portion of Rancho Cordova due to being on the side of the freeway with the “river” – clever, huh)? Let’s take a look below at some data and graphs. What do you notice?

Rancho Cordova Real Estate Market Trends (North of Hwy 50):

Over the past 90 days there were 83 sales North of Highway 50 (not including South of Highway 50 – Stone Creek, Anatolia, Capital Village…). All data is based upon single family residential units.

• 20 current Active listings
• 53 current Active Short Sale listings
• 44 current Pending properties
• 59% of sales since January 1, 2009 have been bank-owned sales
• 19% of sales since January 1, 2009 have been short sales
• Low Price over past 90 days:   $76,000
• High Price over past 90 days:  $265,000

The graph above shows all the current listings North of Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova (including pendings).

The data above is not meant to be exhaustive or be representative of every niche North of Highway 50. The Riverside portion of Rancho Cordova contains a multitude of neighborhoods and they are not all comparable to each other. You don’t have to be an expert in real estate, for example, to explain some of the differences between Sunriver, White Rock, Cordova Meadows or Croetto. So when data is lumped together as above, it does not mean that there are sales below $100,000 in every neighborhood North of Highway 50, or that the percentages of bank-owned and short sale properties are the same in each neighborhood either, or that there were even sales within certain areas of Rancho Cordova in the past 90 days.

The data above is meant solely for educational purposes. If you have a need for more detailed analysis or a need for a valuation for estate settlement, purchase, refinance, bankruptcy, pre-listing, litigation or any other type of appraisal purpose, feel free to reach me (Ryan) at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com.

www.SacramentoAppraisalBlog.com Rancho Cordova Sales & Listings: Past 90 Days North of Highway 50 (”Riverside” portion of Rancho Cordova)

Yesterday I took some photos from the field of the “Stone Creek” neighborhood in Rancho Cordova.

Stone Creek is a fairly new community within Southern Rancho Cordova in the 95670 zip code just South of Highway 50 in between International Drive & Mather Air Field basically. Stone Creek has a unique plan in that it has a large bike/walking path that basically surrounds the entire subdivision. Additionally, Stone Creek has a very nice 21-acre park (Stone Creek Community Park).

This neighborhood is not difficult to spot since there is a giant water tower on the Eastern end of the tract. Have you seen this one while traveling South on Sunrise Blvd?

Stone Creek is just North of Mather Air Field and there is still some vacant land to be built on (probably when the market rebounds). The image below is of the Stone Creek community in the background along with vacant land in the foreground.

This is a view of part of the bike trail/path along the perimeter of the subdivision.

I am very familiar with the Stone Creek neighborhood from my real estate appraisal experience within the community. If you have any questions about Stone Creek or any potential real estate appraisal needs, please contact me at www.lundquistcompany.com or 916-595-3735.

Here is a quick post to show what you can buy a house for in the 95670 zip code in Rancho Cordova these days. It looks like there are some good deals, huh? The 95670 zip code covers the North side of the freeway (”Riverside” portion) as well as some of the Southern side of Highway 50 (Stone Creek, Capital Village, some older tracts). There are currently 193 listings in MLS for detached single family residential properties.

If you have any questions about the Rancho Cordova real estate market, feel free to give us a call at 916-595-3735 and see www.lundquistcompany.com or www.ranchocordovaappraiser.com

“Anatolia” is a newly-built HOA community in Southern Rancho Cordova located within the 95742 zip code. There are roughly 2000 housing units which have been built since 2005 and construction is still ongoing. Below you will find some of the latest real estate market trends in Anatolia as of today’s date.

The following graphs take the past thirteen months of sales into consideration and are based upon data provided through Sacramento Metrolist.

“Anatolia” in Rancho Cordova Real Estate Market Data:

• 347 sales over past 12 months
• 80 sales over past 90 days
• Average of 26.67 sales per month over past 90 days
• 201 current Listings
• 7.5 months of housing supply currently listed on the market (due to aggressive pricing, this inventory may not necessarily be on the market that long. In fact, the previous 90 days had 8.5 months of inventory and then the six months prior to that had 12.4 months of inventory. It would appear then that right now the inventory is decreasing).
• Median Sales Price over past 90 days: $288,000
• Median Sales Price over previous 90 days: $312,016
• Median current List Price: $275,000
• Median Listing Days on Market: 54

Please feel free to give your two cents, ask questions, or provide any supplementary information or data by commenting above. You are welcome to contact me for additional information and questions too at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

I had a conversation today with a friend about Rancho Cordova real estate market trends and I made this graph to show her in an image of what words so often say – that the market has declined.

When making trend graphs in many local areas and cities in the Greater Sacramento Region, I often think the overall trend looks like a ski slope. This one above is maybe a bit more bunny-slope-like, but still, you get the point. If you have questions about the local real estate market, feel free to contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

A Closing Thought:  Looking at market trends doesn’t often times “bring gladness to the heart of man” so to speak (that was a quote from Chimay, if you follow), so let’s remember that relationships and so much of life can be wonderful even though home values aren’t much to brag about right now.

What’s been happening in the real estate market in the city of Rancho Cordova in 2009 so far? Below is a graph and some stats for you: 

Rancho Cordova Real Estate Market Trends in 2009:

• 179 total sales in MLS in 2009
• 77 current Active listings
• 129 current Short Sale listings
• 104 current Pending listings
• 99 of 179 sales were in the 95670 zip code
• 80 of 179 sales were in the 95742 zip code (Anatolia)
• Overall 2009 Median Sales Price for 95670:  $165,000
• Overall 2009 Median Sales Price for 95742:  $290,000
• Low Sales Price in 95670 in 2009:  $75,000
• High Sales Price in 95670 in 2009:  $420,000
• Low Sales Price in 95742 in 2009:  $220,000
• High Sales Price in 95742 in 2009:  $510,000

Property Taxes in Rancho Cordova (and Surrounding Counties):

While on the subject of Rancho Cordova, I wanted to say a few words on property taxes. When looking at my blog stats and what keywords people are typing in to get here, it is clear that property taxes are on the minds of fellow Cordovans as well as many locals in surrounding counties. There are quite a few people finding this blog by searching for things like “How to Lower Property Taxes in Rancho Cordova”, “City Taxes in Rancho Cordova”, “Stockton Property Taxes”, or “Placer County Property Taxes” (etc…) 

I hope the following information proves to be helpful:

1.Our local cities (including Rancho Cordova) do not collect property taxes. Property taxes are handled through the local Assessor’s Office (for Rancho Cordova, that would be the Sacramento County Assessor’s Office).

2. The Sacramento County Assessor’s Office has not yet released their assessed values for 2009. Their assessed values will be based upon January 1, 2009. You should receive a letter in the mail if they determined that your property taxes have decreased based upon a decline in value last year.

3. When the Assessor’s Office releases their assessment of your property in hopefully May 2009, you can follow a specific set of steps to contest the level of your property taxes if you disagree with their opinion (this process is the same for anyone in Sacramento County or for that matter, anyone in surrounding counties. The exact dates for appealing taxes may differ, so you can check with your local Assessor with specific dates).

4. Read an article I wrote called “The Skinny on Lowering Property Taxes” that gives you the gist of what you need to do to contest your property taxes. I would be glad to help you with this process also. Please see www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com for further information.

Local Assessor’s Offices in Surrounding Counties:

Let me know if you have any questions. I am glad to talk you through the process of appealing your property taxes in Rancho Cordova (or elsewhere) and help you understand what you need to do. Even if you are in a surrounding county that I also serve (Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, San Joaquin….), feel free to give me a call at 916-595-3735. Just last week I spoke with two property owners who found me through this blog and I was able to shed light on what they need to do for 2009 property taxes and also what they could have done in 2008.

One of the key factors for our market to improve and get back to “normal” is for the oversupply of foreclosure properties to be absorbed. Basically, it’s a messy real estate market out there in the Sacramento Region, and the mess has to be dealt with to move on.

Sacramento MLS allows us to analyze past sales as well as current listings to see how many properties sold as bank-owned or short sales and so on. What about future listings though? How many foreclosures will be coming to the market? Two interesting data sources for this type of information are Realquest and Realist.

RealQuest provides a free service online for anyone to view properties which are in “Pre-foreclosure” (coming soon to the market unless something happens to stop them – loan modification, catch up on payments, legislation, act of God, etc…), “Auction” (you’ve seen the commercials for the auction properties where “there are 2000 properties to sell off and they MUST sell this weekend”), and “Bank-Owned” (yes, the bank has title already).

This is what RealQuest looks like when doing a property search:

Realist is also a service of First American Core Logic and is commonly known as “Tax Records” for Sacramento Metrolist Subscribers (a paid service). Realist has a new “foreclosure activity” search feature that covers the same categories that RealQuest does. But when looking up data in both RealQuest and Realist, there is definitely a difference. Sometimes the data is very similar, but other times the figures are way off. This may be due to the way RealQuest and Realist categorize their information as well as the difference between a free service (RealQuest) and a paid service (Realist). Ultimately there could be a number of factors why the data is so different, but it’s not the purpose of this post to go into depth about that. The real thrust here is to show that there is a new wave of foreclosure properties coming and we ought to be prepared for that. Let’s continue to be full of hope as well as avoid a lifestyle of worrying, but let’s keep an eye on what is going on.

Market Data from RealQuest & Realist:

City of Folsom in Sacramento County

• Preforeclosure Properties: 296 (RealQuest) 186 (Realist)
• Auction Properties: 46 (RealQuest) 79 (Realist)
• Bank-Owned Properties: 158 (RealQuest) 262 (Realist)

City of Citrus Heights in Sacramento County

• Preforeclosure Properties: 309 (RealQuest) 435 (Realist)
• Auction Properties: 57 (RealQuest) 161 (Realist)
• Bank-Owned Properties: 134 (RealQuest) 330 (Realist)

City of Orangevale in Sacramento County

• Preforeclosure Properties: 136 (RealQuest) 145 (Realist)
• Auction Properties: 26 (RealQuest) 45 (Realist)
• Bank-Owned Properties: 126 (RealQuest) 128 (Realist)

City of Rancho Cordova in Sacramento County

• Preforeclosure Properties: 245 (RealQuest) 256 (Realist)
• Auction Properties: 32 (RealQuest) 107 (Realist)
• Bank-Owned Properties: 223 (RealQuest) 298 (Realist)

City of Fairfield in Solano County

• Preforeclosure Properties: 309 (RealQuest) 710 (Realist)
• Auction Properties: 51 (RealQuest) 283 (Realist)
• Bank-Owned Properties: 140 (RealQuest) 745 (Realist)

City of West Sacramento in Yolo County

• Preforeclosure Properties: 232 (RealQuest) 225 (Realist)
• Auction Properties: 109 (RealQuest) 114 (Realist)
• Bank-Owned Properties: 159 (RealQuest) 207 (Realist)

NOTE: The discrepancy in the data above would be very important to research and explain if the data was actually used in an appraisal report or to support value conclusions in any way. It is very important to use the best available data in an appraisal report because solid value must be based upon reliable information.

The data above was really provided as an FYI for those who may be interested. Since RealQuest provides a free service too, go spend a few minutes on their website, see what you can find, and draw your own conclusions about reliability.

If you have any questions or potential appraisal needs, please contact me at 916-595-3735 and www.lundquistcompany.com

Here are some images from the field today in the “Capital Village” neighborhood within the City of Rancho Cordova. Capital Village is a new and ongoing project by Beazer Homes. It is distinct locally because of its mixed-use concept and unique design (small lots, 1 to 3 stories, units attached or detached, flat or pitched roofing, vibrant or earth-tone colors, close proximity to commercial retail, two parks…).

Vibrant Colors & Unique Design: 

View of one of the local parks and detached units in background:

Construction is currently ongoing within Capital Village.

In the words of Beazer Homes:

Located in Rancho Cordova, off Zinfandel Drive just south of Highway 50, Capital Village is a progressive new home community featuring a combination of various architectural designs, several popular retail stores and restaurants, a mixed-use town center, numerous parks, a water feature and more! Urban living meets true suburban comfort at the new Capital Village community by Beazer Homes.

Capital Village Links:

• Capital Village Blog
• Beazer Homes Website
• Capital Village Video Tour by Lundquist Appraisal

If you are a Capital Village home owner, what is it that drew you to this community? And what do you think now that you are there? What commercial retail shops do you want to see come into your neighborhood?

If anyone has appraisal-related questions pertaining to Capital Village, let me know. I am experienced with appraising properties in the Capital Village market as well as the nearby “Stone Creek” area of Rancho Cordova. I can be reached at 916-595-3735 or www.ranchocordovaappraiser.com  And no, I am not paid to advertise Capital Village. I simply mention things I think I worthy of mentioning.

What has been happening in the Anatolia real estate market lately? Anatolia is a planned community located in the Southern territory of Rancho Cordova near Sunrise Blvd. & Douglas Rd. 

Over the past 90 days there have been 93 sales within the Anatolia market area (95742 zip code of Rancho Cordova). These sales are depicted below on the graph:

There are currently 92 available properties in the Anatolia market (per MLS). It is possible that not all builders within Anatolia are listing their properties on MLS, though it is typical for them to do so in today’s market).

Anatolia Neighborhood Data in Rancho Cordova, CA:

• 92 current Active listings (Active, Active Short Sale)
• 48 current Pending Listings
• 93 sales over past 90 days
• Median Price over past 90 days: $300,000
• Low Sale over past 90 days: $170,000
• High Sale over past 90 days: $513,000

The information above can be informative to the casual reader who is interested in local data, for the Anatolia home owner, and also for prospective home owners. If you are pondering the data and have questions or any sort of potential appraisal needs, please comment above or contact me at 916-595-3735 or www.lundquistcompany.com

Blogs can sometimes be hubs where over-sharing takes place, huh. Have you ever read something and thought, “whoa, that was way too much information.” Well, that’s not the vibe here, but I do want to get a little more personal and share something close to my heart.

After learning recently that there were 680 documented cases of homeless students last year within the Folsom Cordova School District, a group of residents and I decided to something about it. We call ourselves Project 680 and we seek to find simple and practical ways to assist these “680? students located in Folsom and Rancho Cordova. 

The Project 680 Promo Video Explains it All: 

On March 11th, 2009 at 6:30pm we have a community forum set up at 10600 Coloma Road in Rancho Cordova (Cordova Neighborhood Church is giving us free meeting space). We’ll meet with the District Liaison for Homeless Services, have a Q&A, and then take part in discussion as a community about what it can look like to support local students. This is about working together to discover simple solutions to a real problem that is relevant to many areas in the Sacramento Region. You are invited and please spread the word. For more information, see www.cordovatowne.com, leave a comment, or give me a call at 916-595-3735. Thank you.

What does this have to do with real estate appraisal? Not much per se. But isn’t it great when we can pool our resources together to make a meaningful difference in the lives of local students? Isn’t it wonderful when local businesses can network and promote something altruistic that impacts the local community? In both our personal and professional lives we can find ways to bring positive change in our communities, even in this economy - that’s the good stuff in life.

Have a tremendous day of business everyone!!!

I referred a Realtor just a few days ago to the Rancho Cordova Prospector website. This website enables anyone to search for available commercial properties within the City of Rancho Cordova (lease or sale) as well as list commercial properties for free.

Go to the website and spend a few minutes getting familiar with it. It is fairly easy to navigate and there is even a FAQ section to help out.

This is what the site looks like:

As an example of the power of Rancho Cordova Prospector, when performing a search for available office buildings to purchase within city limits, the following image came up. I was immediately given all addresses of available properties along with the ability to see APN numbers, square footage, and miscellaneous details.  

Moreover, it is possible to further refine your search (as shown below) to  obtain demographics information such as consumer expenditures, local population, workforce, wages, etc… And the icing on the cake is that you can export the data via email, print, Word, Adobe, or Excel.

This is a great resource for residents and anyone in the real estate field to know about. No, I am not paid to mention resources like this. When I see something worthy of talking about, I talk.