Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Fresno shopping center sells for $8.05M

Source: The Business Journal

The Mission Village Shopping Center near Fashion Fair Mall in Fresno was sold to a Southern California investment company for $8.05 million. The 52,950 square-foot shopping center, located at the southwest corner of Shaw Avenue and Fresno Street, was purchased by MCS Guardian Properties LLC of Solana Beach, Calif at a sale price of $152 per square foot after 90 days on the market. The seller, who chose to remain private, was represented by Hanley Investment Group of Irvine, Calif. The 5.2-acre property is 83 percent occupied. "Mission Village is located at one of the busiest intersections in Fresno, drawing more than 75,000 car per day," said Eric P. Wohl, senior vice president of Hanley Investment Group, in a release. "The property benefits from close proximity to California State University, Fresno and the newly renovated Fashion Fair Mall, the largest mall in Fresno with over 950,000 square feet of retail space." Built in 1979, the Mission Village Shopping Center is anchored by a new CVS pharmacy. Other tenants in the shopping center include a Fotech Photo Imaging Lab, Samos Kitchen, Toledo's Mexican restaurant, the Korea Mart grocery store, a Curves fitness center and Life Uniform.

URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/real-estate/13571-fresno-shopping-center-sells-for-8-05m 

For further information on Fresno Real Estate check: http://www.londonproperties.com

Local bike shop named one of nation's best

Source: The Business Journal

Fresno's Sunnyside Bicycles has been named one of America's Best Bike Shops for 2014 by the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA). According to a press release, the award seeks to honor retailers that offer a great shopping experience, demonstrate exceptional customer support, and give back to their community. The NBDA also looks for stores that promote bicycle advocacy on both the local and national level, a feat Sunnyside Bicycles has achieved through its work with PeopleForBikes Retail Roundup. Sunnyside Bicycles launched the donation program in 2013 and has so far raised nearly $4,000 for the national advocacy organization. This is not the first time Sunnyside Bicycles has been honored by the NBDA, it previously won the award in 2013 and was given a Top 100 Retailer Award in 2012. Store owner Vanessa McCraken said she is still excited. "This award is a huge honor," she said in a statement. "We are extremely grateful to be recognized and thankful to have such a wonderful team who shares our vision and passion for bicycles." Sunnyside Bicycles opened in 2010 and is located in the Sunnyside Marketplace at Kings Canyon Road and Fowler Avenue.

URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/retail/13559-local-bike-shop-named-one-of-nation-s-best 

For further information on Fresno Real Estate please check: http://www.londonproperties.com

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Valley home sales fall in July

Source: The Business Journal

Home sales slipped throughout the Valley in July, even as housing inventory continued to grow. According to a new report from the California Association of Realtors, home sales in Fresno County declined 1.7 percent from June to July and 12.6 percent compared to July 2013. The price of a median home in Fresno County stood at $201,530 in July, up 0.2 percent from $201,080 the prior month and up 9.6 percent from $183,870 a year ago. Sales in Tulare County fell 0.7 percent during the month but increased 3.1 percent in the year-over-year comparison. The county's median home price fell 1 percent in July to $174,670 from June's price of $176,520. That's still up 11.2 percent from $157,140 a year ago. Kings County saw its home sales come down 12.7 percent from June, still up 1.5 percent from last year. The median price of a home in the county stood at $175,450 in the month, down 9.8 percent from $194,440 but up 1.2 percent from $173,330 a year ago. Home sales in Madera County were down 15.4 percent compared to June and 43.6 percent year-over-year. The county's median home price was up 2.4 percent in the month, going from $206,250 in June to $211,110 in July. That's also 20.1 percent higher than $175,710 last year. Home sales may have dropped in July but the available supply of houses was on the rise. Fresno County's unsold inventory index, or number of months to deplete the supply of homes at the current sales rate, stood at 4.8 months in July, up from 4.5 months in June and 3.5 months in July 2013. Tulare County's index was up to 4.1 months in July compared to 3.9 months in June and 3.5 months a year ago. Kings County's index stood at 3.8 months in July, up from 3.5 months in both the month and year before. Madera County's index increased to 4.8 months compared to 3.9 months in June and 2.2 months last year. Statewide, home sales totaled 398,940 units in July, up 1.2 percent from 394,250 in June but down 10 percent from 443,500 in July 2013. "It's encouraging that home sales have risen in the past two months, but low housing affordability and stringent underwriting standards are still holding back sales," said C.A.R. President Kevin Brown. "However, recent news of changes to how credit scores are determined should make it easier for first-time buyers who are on the cusp of qualifying and others who are having a difficult time getting a loan because their credit scores are less than satisfactory."

URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/news/real-estate/13474-valley-home-sales-fall-in-july 

For further information on Fresno Real Estate check: http://www.londonproperties.com

Friday, August 8, 2014

A Q&A on changes coming to FICO credit scores

Source: The Business Journal
Written by 
MARLEY JAY, AP Business Writer

 (AP) — There are changes coming to FICO, a broadly used credit score, that may mean higher credit scores for many consumers. Banks, credit card issuers, auto lenders and other businesses use those scores to decide whether to lend to consumers and how much interest to charge them. A higher score could get you better terms on loans for cars and homes.
WHAT ARE THE CHANGES? Fair Isaac Corp., the company behind FICO, says there are three significant changes to its metric, which it says is used in 90 percent of U.S. consumer lending decisions. — Debts that go to collections agencies and get repaid won't count against a consumer's FICO score. — Medical debts will have a smaller effect on the score. If your only major bad mark comes from unpaid medical debts, FICO says it expects your credit score to go up by 25 points. (Scores range from 300 to 850.) — A technique to analyze people's creditworthiness if they don't have much of a credit history. __

WHY ARE THE CHANGES HAPPENING? Regulators have focused on health care debts. In May the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government agency, said consumers may be penalized too harshly for medical debt. The CFPB said medical bills are different from some other types of debts because they can be more expensive, unpredictable and caused by disputes between medical providers and insurers instead of bills consumers simply didn't pay. The CFPB said that consumers who owe medical debt may have their credit scores underestimated by about 10 points. __

WHO WILL BE MOST AFFECTED? Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst for financial services company Bankrate, says the change will help many consumers, but it won't make a big difference if you already have bad credit or very good credit. For consumers with medical debt, this could be the difference between a decent score of around 675 and a good one around 700, or a good score and a great one around 725. According to a study by the Urban Institute, 35 percent of Americans have debts and unpaid bills reported to collection agencies. The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals says health care-related bills account for about 38 percent of the debt that gets collected. As for the new technique focused on those with little or no credit history, McBride says its effect remains to be seen. He says lenders want to get a better read on such consumers because they see them as potential customers and want to know which are likeliest to repay loans. The technique will help lenders evaluate people who don't have a bank account, mortgage or credit card — often those with lower incomes, including young people and retirees. __

WHEN DO THESE CHANGES GO INTO EFFECT? Fair Isaac hopes lenders will use the newest version of FICO, which will be available in the fall. But lenders don't have to buy the updated version.

URL to original article: http://www.thebusinessjournal.com/en/news/national/13356-a-q-a-on-changes-coming-to-fico-credit-scores 

 For further information on Fresno Real Estate check: http://www.londonproperties.com

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

CoreLogic: Year-over-year home prices still rising

Source: The Business Journal

CoreLogic, a global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its June CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) report showing that in Fresno and nationally, home prices continue to rise year over year. Month-over-month prices were up slightly from May to June. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 7.5 percent in June compared to June 2013. The change represents 28 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 1.0 percent in June compared to May. In Fresno, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 9.8 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 0.6 percent in June compared to May. Excluding distressed sales, Fresno’s year-over-year prices increased by 10.3 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, Fresno home prices increased by 1.2 percent in June compared to May.

Madera
In Madera, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 13.2 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 2.5 percent in June compared to May. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices in Madera increased by 9.8 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, the CoreLogic HPI shows Madera home prices increased by 3.6 percent in June compared to May.

Visalia-Porterville
 In Visalia-Porterville, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 13.2 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 0.6 percent in June compared to May. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices increased by 13.1 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, the Visalia-Porterville home prices increased by 1.9 percent in June compared to May.

 Hanford-Corcoran
 In Hanford-Corcoran, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 8.5 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 1.3 percent in June compared to May. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices increased by 16.6 percent in June compared to June 2013. On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, Hanford-Corcoran home prices increased by 1.3 percent in June compared to May.

URL to original article: http://thebusinessjournal.com/en/news/real-estate/13282-corelogic-year-over-year-home-prices-still-rising 

For further information on Fresno Real Estate check: http://www.londonproperties.com

Friday, August 1, 2014

De Young introduces new Mira Bella community in foothills

Source: The Fresno Bee

 De Young Properties will soon be building in the Sierra foothills. The Clovis builder will have a pre-grand opening event on Saturday for its De Young at Mira Bella neighborhood, a master-planned community with 41 homesites on Millerton Road, east of Friant Avenue. The houses, which start in the low $300,000s, will be built on large sites up to 43,000 square feet with views of Millerton Lake. The 1,890- to 3,899-square-foot floor plans will have enough garage space to park a boat, the builder said. The community already has tennis and basketball courts. A swimming pool and clubhouse are planned. The pre-grand opening will be held from noon to 6 p.m. at the Clovis Welcome Center on Armstrong Avenue, south of Gettysburg Avenue. For more information, visit De Young Properties or call (559) 323-6004 or (559) 434-2000.

 URL to original article: http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/07/24/4038563/de-young-introduces-new-mira-bella.html 

 For further information on Fresno Real Estate check: http://www.londonproperties.com