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.

Lundquist Appraisal Company

A tour of the Citrus Heights real estate market over the past several years

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What’s been happening in the Citrus Heights real estate market? I wanted to give you a glimpse below at some market-wide data to help give some insight. Of course, keep in mind that a specific property in Citrus Heights may or may not fit in with the general trend of the data below. 

As you can see, when looking at all sales from 2006, property values have clearly declined over time. When you consider the lower end of the market was hovering around $250,000 in mid-2006, but is now closer to $100,000, the drop in property value is pretty substantial. There is big difference for the upper end too.

But at least the past three years have shown a bit more stability, right? That’s encouraging news for home owners (I know real estate data can feel dysmal at times). Overall the trend below over the past three years appears to show a decline,  but the blue dots representing sales sure do look a whole lot more horizontal over the past couple years. 

For historical reference, below are two graphs of all sales in Citrus Heights between 1997-2010 based on the 95610 and 95621 zip codes. The blue line represents monthly median price figures for the respective zip code, whereas the red line shows the market-wide median price (Sacramento Area). These historic graphs come from the Sacramento Association of Realtors.

Specific Citrus Heights Real Estate Market Data:

  • 217 sales over the past 90 days.
  • 171 current active listings
  • 108 current active short sale listings
  • 84 current short sale contingent listings (this means an offer has been submitted already)
  • 39.5% of all sales over the past year were REO (bank-owned)
  • 25% of all sales over the past year were Short Sales
  • Roughly 65% of all sales were distressed in some regard (REO or SS)
  • Unemployment in Citrus Heights is 9.0% per EDD (as of 11/2010)
  • Unemployment in Sacramento County is 12.8% per EDD (as of 11/2010)

If you’ve been looking for Citrus Heights 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. 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.

Introducing my new office green screen

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I mentioned last week that I was planning on making a green screen for my office over the weekend. I’ve been using a FlexDrop 2 green screen to create videos for business and non-profit stuff, but I felt like it was time for an upgrade. 

This was really an easy project that didn’t take much skill or time. I purchased a $25 MDF board (Medium-density fibreboard), $10 of Disney paint (one quart – flat paint) from Home Depot, some drywall screws, and liquid nails (glue). Thank you to Sonja for the tip on MDF board. I actually purchased drywall at first, but once I started to tinker with it, I really felt like the MDF board was going to be a more durable product (just don’t get it wet). The Disney paint seems like it’ll be fine, but we’ll see if it holds up over time. A chroma key paint is probably the best way to go, but it is $60+ per gallon.

Have a look at the video below to see how this project came together and if the screen works or not. What do you think?

Is there a connection between local parks and real estate values?

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A park can really function as a soul for a community in that it can help define a neighborhood as well as provide a hub for relationships to grow. Parks offer space for exercise, kids to play, community events, and just hanging out with locals. A great park can help boost real estate values too since families are often attracted to living within walking distance to a park. On the contrast, if a park is deemed unsafe, blighted, or has continual illegal activity, it can create a stigma for the community, and therefore be a real estate turn-off.

My favorite parks in the Sacramento area include McKinley Park, Southside Park (Spaceship), William Land Park, Stone Creek Park, and Hagan Park. Nothing beats walking around McKinley Park with my wife, but I think overall Hagan Park is really my favorite because I love the location literally next to the American River, the vast open space, fishing, and so many great events throughout the year. I actually did some creative photo “videos” on the trails at Hagan Park a couple years ago on my bike.

Why are parks on my mind? I recently shot a video update of White Rock Park in Rancho Cordova as it is currently being rehabbed. This park has long been an eyesore for the community, but it is finally being updated after many years of disrepair. This park ought to breathe fresh life into the community, and that is a great thing.

What is your favorite park in the Sacramento area? What benefit does a good park have for a community? Have you ever made a real estate decision based on a local park?

This video was uploaded from a MyTouch 4G phone with no editing at all. As a side note, I am loving this new phone and the video quality.

Yes, you can still refer business to me despite HVCC

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I run into real estate agents and loan officers in the Sacramento area who say, “I wish I could still refer you business, but I can’t anymore because of HVCC.” The common thought is that because the appraisal ordering process for loans has changed in recent years (basically appraisers cannot be hand-picked by loan officers or real estate agents for specific loans geared toward Fannie Mae), that our paths cannot cross for business any more. That’s not the case though, so I wanted to give you the skinny on how we can still connect for business. I know, this post seems very self-serving, but since I have this conversation at nearly every Chamber of Commerce or real estate related networking meeting, I figured it was definitely relevant blog fodder.

1. Estate Settlement / Probate Appraisals: When an estate has a transfer of ownership due to death or inheritance, it is very common for a real estate appraisal to be needed for tax purposes. Home owners and attorneys order these types of appraisals (www.SacramentoEstateSettlement.com).

2. Divorce Appraisals: I handle appraisals during the divorce / mediation process, and I run a website at www.SacramentoDivorceAppraisals.com.

3. Property Tax Appeals: Do you know anyone who is paying too much in property taxes? Send them to me. I cover multiple counties in the Greater Sacramento Region. I founded www.SacramentoTaxAppeals.com.

4. Second opinion of value: Sometimes a second opinion of value is needed. Maybe the buyer wants an outside opinion in place of the appraisal the lender ordered. Or maybe you as the real estate agent need some additional research to help the lender see true market value. Or maybe a transaction is heading south very quickly, and some value reinforcement is needed (research or full appraisal).

5. Appraisals during a short sale: Sometimes a bank will absolutely not budge to accept an offer lower than what they deem to be acceptable (even though their price is way too high), so the Listing Agent or home owner will hire me to do a full appraisal. I wrote a full post on this topic here.

6. Pre-listing appraisals:What is the current market doing? A pre-listing appraisal helps give some perspective for the home owner or agent.

7. Home owner wants an appraisal: I’m so grateful when local real estate professionals trust me with their clients’ needs. Sometimes a home owner will want to see an actual appraisal before listing their property. Or other times an all-cash buyer wants to make sure the cash purchase is consistent with market value. Or an owner needs an appraisal for some other reason, and their trusted agent will refer the owner to me.

8. Approval List: You can get me on the approved appraiser list for your favorite lender or attorney. I had a fantastic referral this year to a really great local company. They sent me quite a bit of work and they run an excellent shop. In fact, I sent the loan officer a referral this morning because he got me on their approved appraiser list (and he does a fantastic job).

9. Bankruptcy Appraisals: If a home owner needs an appraisal during the bankruptcy process, I can certainly help them with that. Read a full post here.

I sincerely vaule the relationships I have with local Realtors, real estate agents, and loan officers in the Sacramento area, and I appreciate the business we can send to one another. If you have any questions or a need for an appraisal or property tax consulting in the Sacramento area, give me a call at 916.595.3735, send me an email, or catch me on Facebook.

What does a good referral look like for you?

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