Looks like the quaint country town of Ione Cal. will remain its down home self. The new general plan indicates keeping the historic shops with apts. over the top, just like it always has been. This small town is a welcome site as you travel from hwy.E16 to Hwy 88, either towards Jackson or down to Galt or Stockton. The town folks can walk to stores, shops, schools and churches from their homes. Evenings promote  walking down quiet neighborhood streets. The new plan does have room for expansion and growth, but the small town integrity is still in tack. For more information about real estate in Ione visit www.PremierValleyRealEstate.com

I am happy to Announce that I have started a new web site that will contain real estate listings in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley areas of Wilton,Acampo,Herold,Galt, Ione,Clements,Lockford and Rancho Murietta Calif. The new domain is —-PremierValleyRealEstate.com. There are some great ranches and homes for sale in this area and many of my clients want more information. PLease visit my new site and help me with suggestions to make it the best site for these areas. We also have a new office open in the area at 121 S. Sacramento in Ione. This is the new Premier Valley Real Estate Office and Andy Hall ,my partner ,is the broker. Stop by and visit.

One of my favorite websites, www.ted.com, contains a library of amazing
talks from some of the world’s greatest thinkers and doers.  I watch these
talks all the time.  On Saturday, May 10th, they’re sponsoring “Pangea
Day” – a global film festival and I encourage you to check it out.  The
day was born out of a wish to unite the world through film and you can
read all about it here:  http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/175

 Sales of existing homes fell in March

The national housing downturn continued in March as single-family home sales fell 2 percent in March – the seventh decline in the past eight months, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS® (NAR) reported Tuesday.  The NAR said the median price of a home fell from $217,400 a year ago to $200,700 this March, a 7.7 percent decline.  The inventory of homes for sale increased by 40,000 units to 4.06 million homes.  At the March rate of sales, it would take 9.9 months to deplete the inventory, up from 9.6 months in February.

Bargain hunters boost home sales in some markets

With prices falling in many parts of the country and the number of foreclosures rising, a small yet growing number of bargain-hunting buyers are seeing an upside to the real estate market—I am actually seeing multiple offers on bank owned homes—first time home buyers with good credit can buy a home and have a payment equal to monthly rents.

The key is keeping your credit good—all parents should educate their children as young adults the value of good credit. First time buyers have a great opportunity to purchase a home now and start a solid real estate future.

Happy spring, Culinary and Wine Enthusiasts!

I am very happy to announce:

The Grand opening of a new restaurant in Fair Play!  Below are some of the details:

‘Bocconato Trattoria’

(Bocconato is Italian for a ‘big mouthful’)

Serving Northern Italian Cuisine in a Casual Setting

Opening Date April 18th, 2008

For reservations:  Call 530.620.2493 or bocconato@earthlink.net

 Located at the old Fair Play Bistro, on the corner of Fair Play Rd and Perry Creek Rd in the heart of Fair Play

Our operating hours will be:

Thursday 5-9pm

Friday-Sunday 11 am -9pm

Monday 5 -9pm

Gaudio Culinary is looking forward to seeing familiar faces at the restaurant—their tradition continues as they share their passion on a larger scale

Enjoy– la dolce vita,

Hello All,

Just wanted to let you know I created a new search link for properties called –SHORT SALE?BANK REPO—I just e-mailed everybody new bank repo’s in the high and low end.To find these properties, click on link above, or go to my web site—www.RanchandVines.com,  click on button on front page left column titled Featured Properties, then look on the search bar for types, scroll down to bank repo’s and click search—this will open a page to all the bank owned homes.  These homes are selling fast –so if you are interested you must be prepared with a bank qualification letter and a deposit check—the bank is unemotional and has many sales to deal with—they generally do not counter offer but except the best offer. There is some fabulous deals out there and the investors are buying them up. I recently sent out a notice that the FHA loans have increased their limits—so with a relatively low down you can own a new home. Call me if you have questions—530-295-8440

Happy Trails

Diane Hall

Just a note—The Worm is Turning—contrary to news media –the lower priced homes and bank owned homes have sparked buyer’s attention and last count, 7, of my last clients who finally decided to pull the trigger found out an offer was placed just before them. This includes high end homes that are reduced also. The market is starting to move –the prices are great–the interest rates are great–and if you wait until the news media tells you to start buying, it is too late for the good stuff–remember the news media reports national averages. No, the prices are not coming back up and may even continue to bottom for a while in some areas, but some homes previously being sold as short sales are now being sold as a regular sales because their area has picked up. Come on out and take a look at what real estate has to offer.