Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Market trends and real estate appraisals for divorce, estate settlement, loans, property tax appeal, pre-listing and more. We cover Sacramento, Placer and Yolo County. We're professional, courteous and timely.

Heavenly Stairway in the “Oak Park” area of Sacramento

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Here is a before and after image of a house in the “Oak Park” area of Sacramento that one of my clients rehabbed recently. It’s a joy to see properties like this get an “extreme makeover” because it’s great for the community and wonderful for one lucky buyer too. The previous stairs were apparently failing, and so someone built a very shoddy walkway on top of them (don’t miss the huge pile of dirt underneath too). The new stairs are quite an improvement, don’t you think? Neighbors just might appreciate the upgrade too.  

The Twilight Bus in Galt: A Photo from the Field

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One of funny things about real estate is I get to see what’s in style with kids these days. The posters on the walls of teenage rooms are like an education in pop culture. I constantly run into Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and definitely characters from the Twilight series. Anyway, I came across a “Twilight Bus” while snapping comp photos in Galt a couple of days ago and this definitely caught my attention.

Oh the things I see. What do you think?

Thoughts on the real estate market in Mather, CA

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Here is a panoramic view of the real estate market in the “Independence at Mather” subdivision in Mather, CA. All blue dots below represent sales in Sacramento MLS.

What do you see?

My thoughts on the Mather real estate market:

  • First off, if this type of data makes you feel depressed, that’s understandable. I’d recommend not digesting these types of graphs if it doesn’t do good things for you emotionally. It’s not easy to swallow property values sometimes, and I get that. I purchased my home in 2004 and I can assure you I feel your pain.
  • It looks like the market has really bottomed out. This doesn’t mean that it can never go below $150,000, but it is interesting to note a low point around $160,000-ish that was reached in 2008. This low level has been fairly consistent since that time as properties have continued to not sell below this marker (for MLS sales).
  • Property values have clearly declined over the past three years.
  • Keep in mind that many of the above dots represent distressed sales. True market value is often higher than where REO and Short Sale properties close. Yet, the distressed market tends to have a strong impact on property value in a neighborhood.
  • Most sales are below $250,000. Properties above this level in Mather have tended to be ones with larger square footage and larger lot size (no surprise there). It always helps in Mather to back to open space too.
  • Many home owners are likely paying too much in property taxes because of the decline in property value. If you want me to check out your property for free to see if there is a potential savings for you, fill out THIS form and I’ll get back to you promptly (this is my property tax appeal company).

Keep me posted if you have any questions. You can call 916.5953735, catch me on Facebook or email ryan@LundquistCompany.com.

Dorothea Puente’s Duplex sold for $215,000

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Dorothea Puente’s locally famous duplex at 1426 F Street in Sacramento has sold for $215,000. This foreclosure property originally listed at $309,800 on 02/26/10 and eventually went to auction after a series of price decreases and over 150 days of market exposure.

This property has a notorious history (can you say “stigma”?) from the 1980s when seven bodies were found on the premises buried in the backyard. Dorothea Puente ran a “boarding house” at this location where she drugged and murdered  tenants to cash their social security checks.

More information? I wrote previously about this property twice: Would you buy Dorothea Puente’s house? and Dorothea Puente’s duplex is still on the market. Any takers? The Sacramento Bee published a Puente article yesterday and KCRA did a story too.

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