Archive for June, 2010
City of Redding:Know Your Hispanic Gangs?
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, SHASTA COUNTY
Top City of Redding officials want city employees to be on the lookout for signs of gang activity following several recent highly publicized gang incidents in the Redding area. An internal communication memo sent out last week asks city employees to keep their eyes open for gang-related activity since many employees are out and about the Redding area performing their work duties.
Anyone observing gang activity is asked to contact Sergeant Bruce Bonner at 225-4294 or Sergeant Jeff Wallace at 225-4297. I believe the citizens can aid the city by reporting suspected gang activity. Here are some facts about the gangs in question:
Nortenos
- use the number 14 for the 14th letter of the alphabet “N” for north
- controlled by the Nuestra Family prison gang
- gang attire includes red shirts, pants, boxers ,shoes, shoelaces, bandanas, hats, etc.
- call rival Surenos gang members “Scrap”
Surenos
- use the number 13 for the 13th letter “M” which stands for Mexican Mafia
- The Mexican Mafia is the prison gang that controls all Sureno street gangs
- gang attire includes blue shirts, pants, boxers, shoes, shoelaces, bandanas, hats, etc.
- call rival Nortenos gang members “Buster”
More resources have been assigned to this problem according to City Manager Kurt Starman and Police Chief Peter Hansen. They hope to squelch these gangs quickly before they get a foothold in the Redding area. Let’s all help the city in their efforts to stamp out these gangsters!
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL LIVING REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
CORNER OF COURT AND PLACER IN REDDING
MORE THAN 25 YEARS LOCAL REAL ESTATE SALES EXPERIENCE
Unscrupulos Interests Blamed For Housing Market Meltdown
Henry Cisneros pinned the housing crisis on greedy Wall Street firms, not government policies he championed as HUD Secretary during the Clinton Administration. Exotic instruments were created to collateralize mortgages then packaged and sold around the world by profiteers wishing to take advantage of the housing boom. Henry is credited with expanding homeownership during his term as HUD Secretary from 1993-1997.
He also believes insurance agencies that rated these new financial instruments failed to accurately assess the riskiness of these investments. Cisneros addressed a group of real estate editors recently in Austin, Texas. However, he did place some blame on government’s unwillingness to regulate risky financial instruments during the Clinton and Bush Administrations.
Many have blamed the government for policies designed to increase homeownership among minorities for causing the housing bubble. Few would disagree that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac facilitated the crisis by buying, repackaging and selling mortgage-backed securities that fell short of previous standards. Whistle-blowers at Fannie Mae alerted superiors that loans being presented by banks for purchase were not underwritten to their standards.
I believe there is plenty of blame to go around. If any of the players necessary to create this fiasco would have done their job, this crisis would have been averted. Overzealous lenders, Wall Street investment bankers, insurance companies and government regulators all failed to protect the integrity of time tested policies designed to prevent just such a tragedy. Unfortunately, few will be punished leaving them to enjoy their millions in profits as long as they live in this world.
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL LIVING REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
CORNER OF COURT AND PLACER IN REDDING
MORE THAN 25 YEARS LOCAL REAL ESTATE SALES EXPERIENCE
Redding Real Estate Prices Stabilizing?
HOME LOANS, INDUSTRY NEWS, SHASTA COUNTY, TIPS FOR BUYERS, TIPS FOR SELLERS
According to one Redding appraiser who tracks average home prices, prices are slowly ticking upward. The low point since the bubble burst in 2006 was March with 91 home sales with an average sales price of $203,830 or $121.08 per square foot. May saw 99 home sales averaging $214,352 or $124.6 per square foot. It would not be unreasonable to say the market is showing signs of stability especially if we’re talking about entry level homes priced below $250,000.
Inventory of available homes on the Shasta Multiple listing service is 1552 today, up from early January’s low of 1301. Pending home sales sit at 467 today, down from the peak of 529 the first week of May. This is likely due to the rush to buy before federal tax credits expired at the end of April. Closed sales for residential properties in 2010 total 824 units thus far.
Nearly 200 homes listed for sale are bank-owned homes, an all-time high for this market cycle. Another 248 homeowners are short sales or pre-foreclosure homes. 141 bank-owned properties are in escrow. 137 short sale listings are also in escrow. These two categories of distress sales represent 60% of the pending sales activity but less than 30% of the active listings.
Shasta County is still experiencing a high number of properties working their way through the foreclosure process. Unemployment is dropping slightly but remains nearly double the national average. Mortgage rates dropped unexpectedly due to European financial turmoil causing investors to move money into US securities. The 30-year fixed rate is around 4.75%!
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL LIVING REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
CORNER OF COURT AND PLACER IN REDDING
MORE THAN 25 YEARS LOCAL SALES EXPERIENCE
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