Shasta Association of REALTORS® Consumer Information

WHY CHOOSE A REALTOR®?:

The idea of homeownership can be both an exciting and terrifying experience for most consumers. Thankfully, there are REALTORS® to address your questions and/or concerns of a real estate transaction.

A REALTORS®’ abilities and skills stem from several factors, including, the mandatory educational requirements of the State of California, Department of Real Estate, for licensing; and the completion of initial and continuing Code of Ethics training mandated by the National Association of REALTORS® ("NAR"). It is this education and training that demand professionalism and competency of all REALTORS® to assure your best interests are represented from your initial interview through close of escrow.

Therefore, when selecting a REALTOR®, we suggest you do your homework, to include:

Confirming their licensing status;
Seeking referrals from family and/or friends;
Interviewing at least three candidates; and
Requesting candidate references.

Additionally, NAR recently reported on a new study by Collateral Analytics Research indicating that For-sale-by-owners, aka FSBOs, even successful FSBO sellers achieve prices “significantly below” those from similar properties sold more traditionally via REALTORS®.

Armed with the foregoing information, you can then make an informed decision in choosing a REALTOR® with intimate knowledge and experience of the real estate market necessary to successfully navigate the waters of the sale or purchase of a home.

MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE:

Shasta Association of REALTORS® belong to and participate in a Multiple Listing Service (“MLS”) which is utilized daily for sharing and promoting properties for sale within our community. Such a service broadens the exposure of those properties to hundreds of REALTORS® and members of the public resulting in the successful sale and purchase of a property.

Additionally, the MLS also allows REALTORS® the ability to monitor the competition while maintaining a pulse on the ever changing real estate market thereby providing sellers and buyers with the most accurate and reliable property information available. We encourage you to discuss the benefits of including your property on the MLS with your REALTOR®, and invite you to view current properties for sale within our area by visiting FlexMLS Property Search.

OPEN HOUSE:

Your property is “For Sale” but have you considered the benefits of an Open House?

The National Association of REALTORS® recently reported that despite all the changes technology has made in the housing market, the Sunday open house has undoubtedly been a tradition in real estate industry. In fact, it is a tradition that is still alive and growing, as Google search data shows, and nationwide, public interest in open houses seems to have increased over time.

This increased interest may benefit both a buyer and seller by providing an up-close and personal preview of a home that goes beyond its layout and physical characteristics, thereby, boosting its exposure and marketability.

In light of the foregoing, the Shasta Association of REALTORS® proudly offers ShastaOpenHouse.com which is specifically designed to promote an Open House at your property while showcasing the properties features and amenities.

Additionally, although today’s technology provides photographs and information about countless properties for sale, it cannot take the place of a personal viewing of a property. Therefore, in response to this need, REALTOR® members have the ability to offer other REALTOR® members an up-close and personal tour of a property through our “Tour of Homes.” This affords our REALTOR® members an opportunity to (1) personally share specific information about a property; and (2) gain personal knowledge about a property that may meet a buyer’s particular need. If you are interested in learning more about this feature, please contact your REALTOR® today.

Conforming loan limits up for 2024:

December 04, 2023 - The housing market received some encouraging news this past week as the Federal Housing Agency announced an increase in conforming loan limits in 2024, while interest rates declined for the fifth consecutive week. Tight supply and high cost of borrowing are the two primary factors that slowed the housing market this year. With loan limits rising and mortgage rates declining, more people should be able to afford to buy a home, and the market should begin to turn around in the first quarter of next year. In the meantime, an improvement in consumer confidence last month is a welcome sign that suggests the economy is doing fine as the Fed continues to engineer a soft-landing scenario. A recession is still expected by many as we are about to enter 2024, but a mild one is what most people anticipate in the upcoming year.

Conforming loan limits up for 2024: To keep up with higher home prices, the maximum baseline conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will increase 5.6% to $766,550 in 2024 from $726,200 in 2023, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced last Thursday. For high-cost states like California and New York, higher loan limits will also be adjusted with the new ceiling being raised to $1,149,825 next year from $1,089,300 this year. The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or “guarantee.” As conforming loans typically have lower interest rates than non-conforming loans, the increase in the limits next year should benefit many California homebuyers, especially since home prices are expected to grow moderately in 2024.

Read the full story.

Source: MarketWatch (Article courtesy of California Association of REALTORS®, Market Matters, December 2023)

SIGN UP TO BE AN INFORMED HOMEOWNER

Keep up-to-date with issues affecting homeowners.

Get the facts about homeownership.
Take action on issues important to you and your community.

By clicking “Sign-Up,” you agree to receive our monthly homeownership newsletter and learn about the latest advocacy news happening in your community. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy.

HOMES LISTED WITH PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE PHOTOS SELL QUICKER AND FOR MORE MONEY. THIS IS WHY:

First impressions are everything, especially in home buying. A gorgeous exterior vs. an uninviting one decides whether you walk in the front door. Inside, spotless interiors are more likely to inspire a life there than a cluttered house that’s clearly, well, someone else’s home.

And while this is where staging can play a huge role, it’s the listing pictures buyers see online that is often the first barrier of entry. So they better be really good.

Across the board, homes listed with professional real estate photos sell quicker and for more money. But why?

We’ll get into more in-depth explanations below, but the bottom line is that professional photography should be important to agents and sellers because it’s important to buyers. In a study by NAR among all generations of home buyers, photography ranked as the number one most useful feature of a listing.

Why specifically are photos important when it comes to selling listings quicker and with larger price tags? Check out the top 3 reasons.

CONSUMER SERVICES:

Whether you are buying or selling a home around the corner or across town, your REALTOR® can direct you to the services needed for a smooth transition.

AREA RESOURCES / UTILITIES:

City of Anderson • www.ci.anderson.ca.us • Building Department • (530) 378-6636

City of Redding • www.cityofredding.org • Building Department • (530) 225-4014 • Housing Division • (530) 225-4048 • Animal Regulation/Haven Humane • (530) 241-2550 • Redding Electric Utility (REU) • (530) 339-7200 • Transfer Station & Recycling Center • (530) 224-6201

City of Shasta Lake • www.ci.shasta-lake.ca.us • Building Department • (530) 275-7450 • Housing Division • (530) 275-7464 • Animal Regulation • (530) 275-7480 • Electric/Solid Waste Utility • (530) 275-7400

County of Shasta • www.co.shasta.ca.us • Building Division • (530) 225-5761 • Housing Authority • (530) 225-5160 • Tax Assessor • (530) 225-3600 • Tax Collector • (530) 225-5511 • Veterans Services Office • (530) 225-5616

Pacific Gas & Electric • www.pge.com • (800) 743-5000

USA North / 811 “Call before you Dig” • www.usanorth811.org • Call 811 or (800) 227-2600

OTHER RESOURCES:

Redding Chamber of Commerce • www.reddingchamber.com • (530) 225-4433

United States Postal Service • www.usps.com • Yuba Street • (530) 246-2571 • Churn Creek Road • (530) 223-7523

California Department of Fair Employment & Housing • www.dfeh.ca.gov • (800) 884-1684

California Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers • www.orea.ca.gov • (916) 552-9000

California Contractors State License Board • www.cslb.ca.gov • Licensing & Consumer Information • (800) 321-2752