Cost of LivingCost of living is the total amount of money one would spend to maintain a particular standard of living in a given area. This includes a variety of factors including food, healthcare, transportation, housing, taxes, etc. Individuals and families planning to move into a city should consider the cost of living to make an objective analysis of whether moving would be a good decision. Although not the only thing you should consider, knowing how much you would need to spend to stay in an area is a good indication if a move would be right for you.Check out our original neighborhood page at https://sacramentohomesre.com/sacramento-cost-of-living/. Cost of Living IndexWe have curated standard indicators for cost of living in the city of Sacramento in comparison to the state and na... 03/20/2019

One of my buyer's agents reported that a few open house guests said they did not like three levels. My response to him was take a look at Mill at Broadway. Mostly all 3 flights of stairs (and selling) despite being under two freeways, with HOA dues and slammed together in tight quarters. In addition, what else can you buy in 95818 for less than half a million? Well, there is a small 1 bath home in Upper Land Park for sale. Or, you can buy a two bedroom, 1 bath with less than 1,000 square feet. Or how about a 1 bath home that needs work in Curtis Park? Or you can get 2 bedrooms, plus a loft, and 3 baths with all the bells and whistles at Southpark. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Reduced Price for 2214 Davini Lane in 95818. 03/16/2019

Even though we are all fully aware that Craigslist is full of slimy characters, it is still a good way to sell stuff as long as you use common sense. However, even I was tricked, although hopefully I caught it in time. I ended up changing passwords, user names, phone numbers and email addresses.The lesson learned here is beware of text messages. And listen to your gut. If somebody pushes you to "hurry up," that's a red flag. The next guy I was onto. Simply told him I could not help him with his quest, and he had a whole different way to scam. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Who Texted a Google Verification Code From Craigslist? 03/15/2019

Working with agents who try to represent family members can be somewhat of a pain-in-the-you-know-what for a Sacramento listing agent. Why just a few days ago, I had a family member call and ask to see a listing. He acknowledged that he had an agent, but was too embarassed to disclose the agent was his aunt or really discuss how I could get in touch with her. Next up, his father called and tried to intimidate with the old I am a lawyer nonsense. So what? Hey, many of my clients are lawyers and I love working with lawyers, when they are my clients and not necessarily some random guy with a sister for an agent, but what the hey. I want my seller's house to sell. Will work with whomever.At least from the dad I extracted his sister's name and called the agent. Turns out she lives too far so... 03/14/2019

Except for the steak dinner a friend invited me to in Kona a while back, I have not readily thought of going out for a steak. It used to be a craving but I have lessened my intake of red meat for years. Not on purpose, it just sort of happened. For one thing, it gets harder to eat once living things than it does vegetables. From a perspective. Sometimes it is hard to forget it was once a live animal. If I had to score my own meals, I could not kill a critter. I would rather dine on grass.However, there is still nothing like a good steak. Fortunately, Sacamento has several wonderful restaurants in the Midtown area for steak as well. You can read more about it in my personal blog today at this link: The Waterboy is a Great Spot for Steak. 03/13/2019

There is some kind of deal with my Mercedes where I get free GPS for 3 years, and then I think they try to find a way to charge for it. Everybody seeks subscription-based services today so they can charge you over and over. You own nothing. You lease everything.Which wouldn't be so bad if it was a decent GPS that came with my vehicle, but it's a terrible system. It's clunky and old fashioned, and it works like crap. Half the time the system cannot understand the street names, which is why they provide you with a spelling capacity, but they won't let you use it when you're driving. Imagine that.Most of the time, I don't even use the installed GPS because it's such a PITA. Instead, I set up my phone app GPS voices to a UK female accent . . . because I am not listening to directions from a... 03/12/2019

Last week I wandered over to Planet Fitness on Stockton Blvd. in south Sacramento to check it out. I like this particular club because they are all over the country so I can workout regardless of where I am. That particular gym in south Sacramento is huge, bigger than the gym in Kona, yet despite all of its size, there is no aerobic rowing machine.Rows of ellipticals, step aerobics a/k/a the roadway to hell, and treadmills, bikes.The rowing machine is my favorite because, obviously, I get to sit down. Just like I favor the leg extension piece of equipment because I get to lie down flat on my face. At least with the rowing machine, I am working both upper and lower a bit at the same time. Which was sort of the idea with the elliptical but for much longer periods of time.You can read more... 03/11/2019

Are you tired yet of reading about how many awards have been bestowed upon the Elizabeth Weintraub Team for our production last year? Every year it is pretty much the same. The players change a little bit in the competition, but it is still basically we are the #1 agent in the downtown office of Lyon Real Estate (which is really located in Midtown but who is quibbling?).Given our accomplishments, last year was not easy. Not like previous years where nose to the grindstone would result in increased sales. Last year we fought tooth and nail for almost every listing and certainly every buyer sale. It was a bit grueling. Not that the public would notice. And this year it's not gonna be much different.However, it still would have been nice if my office or somebody in management had notified ... 03/10/2019

Years ago, when these start-up companies began springing up to capture real estate leads in northern California, I was a bit skeptical. After all, most of them were doing nothing more than forking out big bucks to buy SEO placement and advertising in hopes of capturing the eyeballs of sellers and buyers combing the internet for an agent. They dealt in volume. 90% of the leads were crap. Just some loser up late at night doing whatever turns off the brain and clicking on links, dreaming about the unreachable.Of course, they also had to deliver the goods. Those companies promised to match top producers, but really, they accepted any agent who could breathe. Then along came Homelight, and that company was different. They hired reps who actually talked with buyers and sellers. And they disbu... 03/09/2019

All I can say is I am pretty lucky that my natural disposition is pretty easy going. Plans change? That's OK. I go with the flow, after all, I spend a considerable amount of time in Hawaii where the motto is expect the unexpected. I also actually thought I would simply "ease" back into being in Sacramento, in our chilly and wet weather, by leaving open options and starting out slow. Well, none of that happened yesterday. Much to the surprise, I imagine, of this guy who called to demand a showing. He called from out of state, said he and his father would be buying a home together, and he wanted to see a listing the following morning. He also mentioned his agent was on vacation. When I explained to him that his agent would not appreciate another agent interferring in their relationship an... 03/08/2019

This photo is of the newly remodeled A330 First Class section on Hawaiian Airlines. Surprised me because I wasn't expecting it. Generally, it's one of the older models I hop aboard in Honolulu. The new remodel places pods, in groups of 2, three across. I probably would have noticed it on the seating chart if I had made my own reservation but I did not. Instead, because I called Hawaiian to extend my stay for another month, the customer service rep selected the seat.Really loving this new set up. See that guy's toes next to me? He is resting on a foot stool that helps to support the seat when it's turned into a flatbed. Much easier to squeeze out into the aisle from the window seat without disturbing the person next to you as well. A lot more room. And the iPads are 13-inch, not the tiny... 03/07/2019

When looking at the statistics for the Sacramento housing market in February of 2019, it is hard to find silver linings, which is what most brokerages try to do. They look for strong signs and focus on those. Which makes me think everybody will be talking about the pending sale numbers, but I laugh at that. I see how many buyers flake in escrow and the number of sales that fall apart.Overall, we have more inventory than last year, sales are down, and I don't believe the vast majority of those sales in escrow will close. For example, in January, our pending sales were up by 35%. However the closed sales for February were up only 7.9% over January. True, we have fewer days in February but not everybody went into escrow at the end of January.You can read more in my personal blog and see th... 03/06/2019

Full disclosure, I did not attend the Lyon real estate awards for 2018 because they were held on March 1, 2019, and I am still in Hawaii, on my winter vacation. Every year, I stay a little bit longer in Hawaii. It started with a two week vacation one winter. Following year it was 3 weeks. Year after that, a month. And after I don't know how many trips it's up to 3 1/2 months. I just keep stretching it out to match the rhythm of the real estate market.And the rhythm of the Sacramento real estate market this year told me I could stay in Hawaii from November to March and would not miss much. Well, except for picking up my award for Top 1% of all agents at Lyon Real Estate. We only have about 1,000 agents, so you can do the math. I should mention I tend to consistently rank in the top 1%, r... 03/03/2019

When I see people in sales professions working so hard to make a few sales that probably pay pittances, I can't help but wonder why they aren't in real estate. Maybe that's why, though. Because they are not confident enough in their own abilities to make it in a 100%-based commisson world. Maybe that's why some other agents prefer to join a discount brokerage where they still make peanuts but receive a salary.It's a bit scary to work on your own without a safety net, basing your success on your own abilities. By the way, it was Chris Ann Cleland who inspired me to explore this topic in my own life. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: How a Sales Background Helps Real Estate Agents. 02/22/2019

Every time I sell a home facing the freeway in Sacramento, I am amazed. It is difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that buyers tend to prefer homes that are either newer or remodeled and don't seem to pay much mind to where they are located. Suppose it's because so many people go to work, come home, drive into the garage, lock the door. I am amazed that the sellers bought the home in the first place, and amazed another buyer wants it as well. A seller whose home backed directly to railroad tracks and within reach of high tension electrical towers said she bought it because it was brand new and so pretty. I believe her, too. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Condition Trumps Location in Sacramento Real Estate. 02/20/2019

You don't have to monetize your website to make money in real estate, although, I don't disparage those who do. Nothing wrong with extra income. I know because although I've made a fortune selling a ton of real estate over the past 17 years in Sacramento, I also held a second job writing about home buying for another website. Up until last year, that is. I quit because I was not encouraged to write new content any longer and was financially rewarded basically for updates. Not enough motivation. My mark was already made.The reasons though to hold that second job were many. For example, it was fun and I love to write, and very importantly, I felt I had knowledge to share. But also, it elevated my ranking in Google for my own business. It all comes down to SEO. Always has. Blogging solely ... 02/16/2019

Honestly, I know a lot of people who don't give a hoot about climate change because they a) won't be around when the world is destroyed, and b) they don't really understand it. They think oh, it's three degrees hotter, I can live with that. But they don't realize how many other living things cannot. And when other living things cease to exist, it's only a matter of time for us.I don't know about you, but this new report on climate change that shows how our actions today can affect more than 500 metropolitan areas in America and Canada, and how it can happen in your children's life time, is a bit disturbing. You can read more in my personal blog today at this link: Climate Change in Sacramento by 2080. 02/14/2019

Sacramento, the state’s capital  Explore Sacramento like a local! Do as the locals do for an authentic California experience. Sacramento Old Town If you are looking for things to do in Sacramento, head on to The Old Town! This high-energy district is filled with shopping, dining, entertainment, wild historical attractions with the sounds of live music, featuring sidewalk artists to world-renowned musicians. Capitol Cafe of SacramentoLooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner? They have been serving delicious food in Sacramento for over 20 yrs. Capitol GarageAnother great restaurant that is a must try in Sacramento!  If you happen to be in Sacramento and is a fan of art and history, try to check and explore the city! Offers a lot of old architecture and I’m sure you’ll appreciate a day spen... 02/13/2019

You won't find very many Sacramento Realtors who wear only one hat. The reason is most of them can't afford to do it. If they stopped working with buyers, for example, and focused solely on sellers, they would lose half of their business. Or at least that's the way I figure they think. A fairly successful agent in Sacramento is a person who sells maybe 8 to 12 homes a year. Usually the way it works out is half of that is buyers and the other half is sellers. I understand that fear about giving away half of your business. But I have also discovered that focusing solely on one type of client, like I do with sellers and my team does with buyers, we close closer to 1 or 2 homes a week on average.However, what works for me doesn't work for every other agent. Not every agent wants to work tha... 02/12/2019

When I withdraw a listing from MLS and re-enter it as a new listing, that is done for one purpose and one purpose only. To reset the days on market. I am not the only Sacramento Realtor who realizes how buyers tend to gravitate toward new listings and ignore older listings. A home can be on the market for 6 months, come back as a new listing at the RIGHT TIME and bingo, it sells in one day.However, with that comes a downside. First, we have the agents who call sellers to drill them about what did their lousy no-good agent do for them that she could not sell the house. Which drives sellers nuts with their aggressiveness, not to mention clueless behavior. Agents: don't go chasing canceled, expireds and withdrawns without checking to see if the home has been relisted. Further, contacting a... 02/11/2019