Governor's office files brief against new casino

CBS 47 has obtained a copy of a 13-page brief filed by the Governor's office of Legal Affairs. It argues at length against the proposed $250-million casino in Fresno County.

[via CBS 47: Local News]

Real estate agents have specialized role

You wouldn't choose a surgeon to diagnose your car's engine. Nor would you ask your accountant for a physical exam.

[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Metro: Clovis schools to redraw lines

The Clovis Unified School District will reconfigure middle and high school boundaries over the next several months as it plans for the opening of a seventh- through 12th-grade complex in the northwest part of the district in 2007.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Prices Squeezing Middle- and Low-Income Workers

The gap between high-income and low-income Americans is widening, the ranks of the poor in California and nationwide are swelling, and middle-class workers have lost ground compared with the 1970s, several national and state studies show. A disturbing new picture of low- and middle-income family finances is emerging from U.S. Census studies and from analyses of census and other data by the California ...

[via KnowledgePlex.org News]

Froth Report: A Little Foam Never Hurt Anybody

A scant three months ago, it seemed a near certainty that Alan Greenspan's declaration that there were "at a minimum, signs of froth in some local markets" would become the "irrational exuberance" of this housing boom gone wrong -- i.e., code for "this will not end well." But it turns out that froth (so light! so airy!) isn't really scaring anyone, least of all Greenspan.

Yesterday, the Fed Chairman presented some good, old-fashioned empirical research that shows that most homeowers are not in fact overextended, and that should home prices dip, the increased equity built up during the boom times should shield most homeowners from severe injury. "The vast majority of homeowners have a sizable equity cushion with which to absorb a potential decline in house prices," he said.

Now, let's not sugar-coat this. Interest-only and piggy-back loan holders? Greenspan thinks they're screwed. But, the rest of us? We shouldn't be embarrassed about sticking our noses in the froth, slurping it up, even, dare we say, adding a little cinammon.
· Most Homeowners Not Overly in Debt, Fed Chief Says [NY Times]
· BarbaraWatch: And What's the Deal with Bubbles? [Curbed]
· Greenspan: Housing Debt Okey Dokey [Curbed]
· Greenspan: Real Estate Is, Or Is Not, Inflated [Curbed]

[via Curbed]

Housing market in balance?

With more houses available, prices starting to deflate Out of Valley Markets The Southern California market continues to be strong in August, as it rounded out the summer buying season with record prices and a ...

[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Metro: Project stalls in council meeting

Until last week, a proposal for a major mixed-use development at Nees and Palm avenues in north Fresno was moving fairly smoothly through the city bureaucracy.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Greenspan: Most Homeowners in Good Shape

"The vast majority of homeowners have a sizable equity cushion with which to absorb a potential decline in house prices," he said in remarks delivered via satellite to a banking conference in Palm Desert, ...

[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Real Estate: Center will help home buyers

Wages in Fresno County increased an average of 3.7% in the past year.

[via FresnoBee.com: Real Estate]

Fresno Real Estate Market Changing!

Our market is changing slowly but surely as we now have 1466 "active" listings in the Fresno/Clovis area as of 9/23/05. This is at least double the inventory we had from a year ago! Consequently, it's cooling the market and making it easier for us agents to find properties for our buyers. There's not as much "overbidding" going on with the increased inventory. Frankly, I like it better. We are also starting to see some price reductions on listings that remain on the market over 30 days. I like seeing a more balanced ratio between buyers and sellers! There still remains a lot of buyers because interest rates are still historically low. Sellers in the "sellers market" we had were getting too greedy with their pricing, now they are facing more competition with the increased inventory. Fresno remains one of the lowest price markets in the state, keeping us very busy.

Metro: Four-mile Freeway 180 extension opens

The newest link in Fresno's metropolitan freeway system is now opening.Barring last-minute delays, a four-mile stretch of Freeway 180 from the Freeway 168 junction east to Clovis Avenue will open in time for rush-hour traffic this morning, officials from CalTrans and the Fresno County Transportation Authority said at a Thursday morning ribbon cutting.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Builder Plans Condos for Central Valley, California

The nation's largest home builder plans to construct condominiums in the Fresno area, which could provide a lower-cost alternative for would-be homeowners. D.R. Horton, which is establishing an office in Fresno and developing traditional housing subdivisions in Fowler, Sanger and other local communities, also has condominium projects planned in Sanger and northwest Fresno, said Tony Wyman, division ...

[via KnowledgePlex.org News]

Slower Rise in Home Prices Forecast for California, West

Experts up and down the state have warned that the housing market is starting to lose steam. And the latest forecast Wednesday from the California Assn. of Realtors predicted that home prices would moderate in 2006, rising a mere 10% after four years of hefty gains, on slightly lower sales. But as the old real estate adage goes, it's all about location, location, location when it comes to cooling ...

[via KnowledgePlex.org News]

Metro: Hospital to be built in Clovis

A $22 million hospital that would create 350 good-paying jobs is planned at the southwest corner of Temperance and Alluvial avenues in Clovis.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Metro: Road work frustrates residents

Tony Petrosino doesn't hesitate to move "Road Closed" signs or drive in the unfinished lanes along Copper Avenue.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Real Estate: Expiration of law to cut notice for evicting renters

California tenants are about to lose one of the biggest protections they've won in the state Legislature in the past decade.

[via FresnoBee.com: Real Estate]

Sellers should consider an agent

The value of a real estate agent is constantly discussed - especially in neighborhoods where prices seem to be going up every day.

[via Real Estate - Topix.net]

Real Estate: Rent increases losing steam

The steep rent increases that bedeviled apartment dwellers over the past four years are diminishing because more units are being built, giving people additional options for housing.

[via FresnoBee.com: Real Estate]

Metro: Fireplaces face new limits

Fireplaces in new homes will be restricted beginning next month after new rules were approved Tuesday by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Metro: Hearing set Thursday on Fresno Co. foothill casino

Residents will have the opportunity to voice their concerns this week about plans by the Big Sandy Band of Western Mono Indians to build a $250million casino-hotel in the Fresno County foothills.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Real Estate The Right Way!

The new marketing tagline for my office Realty Concepts is "Real Estate The Right Way" which was just unveiled in September along with a marketing campaign of mixed media coverage. In the coming months we will be branding our message on 6 radio channels, 7 cable TV channels, Fresno Bee newspaper, billboards in choice locations, and 30 second video ads at local movie theaters. Our message is emphasizing that our business is that of high quality and full service oriented and pointing out that "cheaper isn't better" when it comes to real estate fees and the limited service of discounted brokers in the Fresno, California area real estate market.

Real Estate: Sellers should price homes realistically for their markets

WASHINGTON — If you're thinking about selling a house this fall, keep in mind this real-life real estate parable. It's all about pushing the envelope — being too greedy — at the very moment that your local market may be past its price-growth peak and is slowly cooling off.

[via FresnoBee.com: Real Estate]

Real Estate: Industrial park enjoys hot market

The hot real estate market is proving to be a boon to the developers of Three Crowns industrial park on Freeway 99 just south of Fresno.

[via FresnoBee.com: Real Estate]

Metro: Housing prices plague Fresno's working poor

Diana Jimenez lived in a trailer park with gas leaks and a home where sewage from broken pipes regularly collected on the floor. Her journey across Fresno's low-rent landscape included another stop, where firefighters warned her that the house she was renting could collapse at any time.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Free Credit Reports For All - But Watch Your Step

Now everyone can get a free credit report - just watch your typing fingers.

The Northeast, the last region of the country to be entitled to yearly free credit reports, became eligible on September 1. Effective that date, under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) everyone in the country is finally entitled to access their credit information once a year from each of the three major credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). This right has been rolled out on a regional basis since January, 2005. Read More Now

[via MortgageNewsDaily.com]

Metro: UC Merced shines on opening day

MERCED — The University of California officially opened UC Merced on Labor Day with state and university speakers vowing that this 10th UC campus will jolt higher education and research in the San Joaquin Valley.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

California Realty Experts Say Houses Linger Longer, Prices Drop

Modesto home sales begin to shift

[via RISMedia.com RSS FEED]

Metro: Valley air has clean streak

The summer of 2005 might well be remembered most for Fresno's three-week streak of triple-digit heat, if not for this startling news:

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]

Metro: Old Hilton may house condos

An empty hotel in the heart of Fresno may soon come back to life with 77 condominium units on upper floors and a mix of office and commercial activity below.

[via FresnoBee.com: Metro]