Lake

Homes take a 25% Jump in median price for Lake County for March 2015.

April 20, 2015 by Rick White

The Lake County Association of Realtors just posted the statistics for March 2015. Prices rose by 25%

Here is the report:

Home Sale Prices Increase by Twenty Five Percent

LAKEPORT (April 17) – The Lake County Association of Realtors® (LCAOR) reported that the median sales price of single family residences for Lake County rose from $180,000 in February 2015 to $224,000 in March, a 24.44% increase. Like sales in March 2014 had a median sales price of $155,000 showing a 44.5% increase when comparing year to year sales. Fluctuations in median pricing on a month to month basis can vary widely because of the limited number of sales however the trend has been on the upswing since December of 2014. The median sales price for all of 2014 was $169,000 compared to $175,000 for the first three months of 2015.

Fifty two (52) units sold in March compared to 43 in February for a 20.9% increase.

In March 2014 the number of units selling was 51. Inventory levels remained relatively the same at 7.1 months of inventory in March and 7.4 months of inventory in February. The months of inventory in March 2014 was 5.6 indicating that there are more homes available this year than last year.

“Realtors are reporting that the activity and interest in buying a home has picked up,” stated LCAOR President Yvette Sloan. “Interest rates are still attractive and the ability to get a loan has improved.”

Mortgage rates moved upward in March, with the 30-year, fixed mortgage interest rate averaging 3.77 percent, up from 3.71 percent in February but down from 4.34 percent in March 2014, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates also rose in March, averaging 2.46 percent, up from 2.43 percent in February but down from 2.48 percent in March 2014.

Distressed sales, homes sold after foreclosure or for less than what was owed, continued to decline falling from 18.6% of the sales in February to 11.5% in March. The decline was more significant, 11.5% from 27.5%, when compared to March 2014.

Cash only purchases accounted for 25% of the sales with 42.3% of the sales being financed through conventional loans. These percentages are similar to both February 2015 and March 2014. The median days to sell a home was 116. For all of 2014 the median days to sell was 76. The median days to sell is the number of days from the time the property was listed until it went into escrow.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Lake County – March 2015

Median price: $224,000
Median days to sell: 116
Units Sold: 52

Lake County – February 2015

Median price: $180,000
Median days to sell: 118
Units Sold: 43

Lake County – March 2014

Median price: $155,000
Median days to sell: 98
Units Sold: 51

Filed Under: Rick's Blog Tagged With: Buying, CA, California, Clear Lake, Clearlake, For Sale, Home, Kelseyville, Lake, Lake County, Lakeport, Market Values, Median, Northern California, Prices, Real Estate, Residential, Rick White

Great Section about Lake County in the SF Chronical! :)

April 13, 2015 by Rick White

Lake County wine: Tasting without the traffic.

I was very pleased to see this special section provided in the Sunday, San Francisco Chronicle dated April 12, 2015 To know more go to their link to this section provided below.

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Lake-County-wine-Tasting-without-the-traffic-6192585.php?cmpid=email-desktop

Filed Under: Rick's Blog Tagged With: California, Clear Lake, Fishing, grapes, High Valley Appellation, Kelseyville, Konocti Realty, Lake, Lake County, Lakeport, Northern California, Red Hills Appellation, Rick White, vineyard, Vineyards, walnuts, Wine, Wineries, Winery

July 4th 2013 Fireworks show on Clear Lake

July 6, 2013 by Rick White

Here is another fun event in Lake County, CA. It’s the 4th of July Fireworks Show on Clear Lake. The fireworks are launched from a barge several hundred yards off shore from Library Park in Lakeport. We like to view the show by boat. The evening trip from Corinthian Bay to the viewing area in Lakeport is a lot of fun. We enjoy watching the evening sky change colors from amber and oranges to deep purple and black as the night sets in before the show. This year during the show the lake was calm and no rice flies! The cool temperatures were a welcome pleasure after having a bit of a heatwave for several days prior. The show lasted about 20 minutes but this is just a 5 minute highlight clip that shows the grand finale. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Rick's Blog Tagged With: 2013, 4th of July, Boat, Boating, CA, California, Clear Lake, FIreworks. Lakeport, Lake, Lake County

Searching for Lakefront Property in Lake County California

February 1, 2012 by Rick White

A unique feature about living in Lake County, California is actually owning property with lake front. It’s exciting for me to hand the keys over to a new home owner of lake front property because I know one of the things on their mind is to go for that first boat ride and come home to park the boat at their own boat dock. Water skiing, sailing, kayaking, fishing and moonlight cruises are just a few of the simple pleasures of living on the Clear Lake.

There are options and price ranges and things to know when it comes to searching for lakefront property in Lake County and I will be happy to assist you with your lakefront search. You can find everything from the simplest lakefront cabin or bungalow to luxury homes on large lakefront parcels. I recommend that you first come to the area and familiarize yourself with the various venues around the lake. Lower cost alternatives to living directly on the lake are properties in waterfront channels. Waterfront Channel properties will still provide you with access to the lake. Waterfront Channel properties can be found in areas like the Clearlake Keys located in Clearlake Oaks and in Lakeport there is Corinthian Bay, Lands End, Pier 1900 and Lakeport Lagoons. The City of Clearlake has a waterfront channel community called Highlands Harbor. The other thing to know is that if lakefront or channel front property is still beyond financial reach then you might consider another option. There are Home Owner Associations (HOAs) like the Riviera West, Riviera Heights that have marinas on the lake for home owners that live in those communities. More exclusive areas like Buckingham Park in Kelseyville and Paradise Cove in Lucerne also provide home owners with a place to launch boats and tie up for the day. Most of our lakefront communities have public boat launch facilities that are free to the public.

You can start searching for lake front property from my website. I offer open access to the multiple listings in Lake County. To start searching just click on the Property Search tab on my home page. Select the county, the price range and be sure to check the box that says waterfront then scroll down and click on the pull down menu that says lot features. Look for a description under lot features that says “On Lake Front”. Once you have done this you can initiate the search by clicking on the find properties button at the bottom of the page. If you aren’t getting any results it may mean that you need to adjust the price range and try again.