Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter Market Profile Report - Truckee/No. Lake Tahoe The median sales price for single family homes increased by 48% over February 2013; for condos/townhomes, that increase was 40%. Average number of days on the market for homes decreased by y 76,, from 169 in 2013 versus 93 days y in Februaryy of 2014;; for condos/townhomes,, the decrease was approx. 1 month, from 172 days in 2013 to 145 in 2014. The average price per square foot for homes increased from $315 in 2013 to $352 in 2014 whereas condos/townhomes dropped slightly from $408 in February 2013 to $386 in February 2014.
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter Why it might be right for you to Divorce your Rate! As a lender, giving clients a good rate and closing on time is merely the price of admission (in our opinion). A good lender will be set apart by being a market expert and a trusted advisor. We at the Rice Conway Team try to set ourselves apart by working closely with financial advisors. The reason why having a trusted loan advisor is so important is because when a lender looks at your overall financial goals they can structure a loan for your long term financial security and success. We had a client who came to us and we were impressed by her great low rate on a 15 year loan. She g got this loan because the rate was so low she could not resist. However, the company p y and loan officer who put her in this loan never asked about her retirement and/or about her financial ability to pay for her kids’ college. The loan officer just sold the client on a low rate by saying how great it was and how quickly she could pay off home, without taking into consideration her life goals. Well now this client is trying to help her daughter through college and this monthly mortgage payment (which had a great low rate) was so high that she was having trouble making the payments each month. She has been accruing debt. She loved the rate on the 15 year loan, but the overall loan program was not the right fit for her situation. By refinancing her into a 30 year loan she was able to save over $800.00 a month, help her daughter pay for college, and still have money left over each month to start setting herself up for retirement. We worked with her financial planner and set her on the path to a better fiscal future for herself and her family. While her rate was low, it did not meet her needs for a strong financial future. She did divorce the rate! The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter
Some basic key questions that should be addressed when doing a mortgage: 1. Is the payment you can afford in your comfort zone? And are you taking retirement and college education into account? 2. Have you started putting money into retirement? If so, are you going to meet your goals? Has your financial advisor set you up with a plan so you reach your goals? Are you on target and has the payment into retirement been accounted for? a. When do you plan on retiring? Will you want mortgage paid off by then? 3. It shows on your loan application you have kids? a. It shows you have started putting money away for your kids’ college. Is this also something that has been accounted for? By working with your financial advisor, we can make sure to put you in a product that allows you to reach all of your financial goals. Please call us at 530-582-9992 or reach us by email at Team@RiceConwayTeam, we’d love to be of assistance!
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter
Home Price Expectation Survey – what’s in store over the next 5 years? Every quarter, E t Pulsenomics P l i surveys a nationwide ti id panell off over one h hundred d d economists, i t reall estate experts and investment & market strategists about where prices are headed over the next five years. They then average the projections of all 100+ experts into a single number. The latest survey y was released last week. Here are the results: Home values will appreciate by 4.5% in 2014. The average annual appreciation will be 3.94% over the next 5 years The cumulative appreciation will be 19.7% by 2018. Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of almost 11% by 2018. All of which make home buying a smart choice – and there’s even more reasons to consider it! Next we’ll take a look at Buying vs. Renting.
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter
Real estate website, Trulia, released their Rent vs. Buy Report last week. The report explained that homeownership remains cheaper than renting in all of the 100 largest metro areas by an average of 38%! The other interesting findings in the report include: Even though prices increased sharply in many markets over the past year, low mortgage rates have kept homeownership from becoming more expensive than renting. Some markets might tip in favor of renting this year as prices continue to rise faster than rents and if – as most economists expect – mortgage rates rise, due both to the strengthening economy and Fed tapering. Nationally rates would have to rise to 10 Nationally, 10.6% 6% for renting to be cheaper than buying – and rates haven’t been that high since 1989. Buying a home now makes sense. You can lock in a mortgage payment before home prices and mortgage rates rise as experts expect they will. If you rent, your housing expense will only continue to increase.
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter
April 4 First Friday events Historic Downtown Truckee 5:30 – 8pm. Participating shops/ restaurants offer complimentary food, drinks and music. Information: www.historictruckee.com April 4 Kids Night Out 5 – 9 p.m Northwoods Clubhouse, Tahoe Donner Kids ages 4 – 9 are invited to an evening of games, dinner, arts t and d crafts, ft our Friday F id Night Ni ht M Movie i and d even a b bedtime dti story. Parents can enjoy a night out while our trained staff look after your little ones. Cost is $20 per child. Space is limited. Pre-registration Pre registration and payment is required at least one day in advance. Information: (530) 587-9437. The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter
April 4 – occurring weekly Family Movie Night 6:30-8:30. Free. Northwoods Clubhouse, Tahoe Donner Bring g yyour favorite pillow and blanket, kick yyour feet up, and enjoy j y both classic and new G and PG rated movies. Information: www.tahoedonner.com April 6 Sierra Senior Services Pancake Breakfast Sierra Senior Center, 10040 Estates Drive, Truckee 8 to 11am, $7adults/$3 kids A fundraiser for Sierra Senior Services Information: www.sierraseniors.org
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter April 12 Snow Golf at Alpine As the only top-to-bottom snow golf course, this highly anticipated spring event is a unique way to spend a day on the slopes. The nine-hole course starts at the top of Summit Express chair and meanders its way down the mountain with the last holes bringing competitors back to the bottom of Alpine Bowl. Information: www.skialpine.com April 12 C li Culinary T Tour d de F France Stella Restaurant @ The Cedar House Sport Hotel 12-2:30pm. Join Chef Jacob Burton for a multi-course,, educational lecture about various regions of France and it’s culinary offerings. Today’s region is North/Central France. $97 per person with $33 optional wine pairing Information: www.stellaculinary.com/blog/stellas-culinary-tour-de-france www stellaculinary com/blog/stellas culinary tour de france The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter
April 20 Easter Eggstravganza gg g 11am -1pm The Lodge Restaurant and Pub, Tahoe Donner The Easter Bunny will host an Easter eggstravaganza hunt for the kids with plenty of eggs to go around. around Kids 12 and under will enjoy carnival games, spoon races, crafts, face painting and a performance by Penny the Clown. The Easter Bunny arrives at 11:30 a.m. and the egg hunt begins at noon. Information: www.tahoedonner.com
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440
Dickson Realty’s April 2014 Newsletter April 24-26 20th Quasi–Semi-Annual Truckee Follies The Truckee Follies is a unique and hilarious variety show that pulls together the entire community's talent and non-talent to poke fun irreverently at ourselves. Not for the faint of heart or easil easily offended offended. Sponsored by and for the benefit of the Truckee Downtown Merchant’s Association. $35 - $55 Tickets go on sale April 1 at Cabona’s and sell out quickly! Food and drink available on-site. Information: www.historictruckee.com www historictruckee com
The Dickson Truckee Team 11500 Donner Pass Road | Truckee, CA 96161 | 800.541.4440