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I had an experience recently, which may explain why Google seems to be giving less value, in the last 6 months, to links from Articles distributed on article sites.

I have written about a 12 articles in the last three years and posted them to the major article sites. I'm a small time player compared to the prolific article-posters that are out there.

In September, I posted an article to ArticleBiz.com for the first time. Last week, I go back to check the article and all is well. But ArticleBiz also recommends some similar articles about real estate that I might be interested in reading.  There on the list of recommended articles is one with the same title as another article I had previously posted to GoArticles.com back in…

* note - My webmaster and husband Tom is the guest writer of this post today...

How many of us have had this experience ….

You travel overseas for a few days. When it comes time to catch a flight home to the US, you rush to check your bags, get through security and find your gate. When you finally get home, you empty your pockets placing the contents on top of the Dresser. It’s then that you realize that you forgot to exchange the foreign currency in your pocket back into good old American dollars. (“D’oh!”)

Those colorful bills and aluminum coins will now reside forever in the bottom of a desk or dresser drawer. If you have kids, you give it to them (“look what I got for you on my business…

After dropping to 36 homes sold in July, with the Average price per square foot falling below $300, sales of single family homes in Davis, California rebounded slightly in August.

As you can see, the number of homes sold steadily increased each month to a peak of 65 in June, then fell off to 36 in July. It has now rebounded to 46 in August.  Meanwhile, the average price per square foot has remained in the $300 to $335 range all year.

There are currently 112 single family homes and 20 condos listed in the MLS for Davis. 

Average days on the market remains at 57, just about where it was a year ago.

The accompanying chart tells the story:

According to the June real estate reports from the Sacramento Bee , Home prices in Sacramento and Yolo County have dropped by 27% to 30% from a year ago, and this price drop has spurred a buying frenzy which has shot homes sales volume up 30% to 60% over the June 2007 activity.

But the little town of Davis, just 12 miles west of Sacramento and sitting in the heart of Yolo County, is bucking this trend. For Davis, the median price has dropped just 6% from a year ago, and maybe because of that, the volume increase seen in other areas has not hit Davis, with sales for 2008 YTD actually down 33% from the same period in 2007.

There are some circumstances that might contribute to this anomaly, so let's take a moment to talk about them;

The rest of Yolo County…

On Tomorrows "Today" show on NBC (Wednesday, May 28th), Davis, California will be featured as one of the five friendliest cities in the United Sates.  It was so named in a recent book by NBC contributor Barbara Cook entitled "Nextville: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life".

Davis has been known as a bicycle friendly town and has received national, and international attention for its progressive housing developments. In the late 1970's and early 80's, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Prince Charles and French President Francois Mitterrand visited the Village Homes development in west Davis. President Carter later mentioned the environmental strides of Davis in an Oval Office speech.

I review the other unique qualities about Davis in my list The Top…

I have been sensing an increase in activity in the Davis real estate market , as well as the rest of Yolo County, for the past 6 to 8 weeks. As my previous posts revealed, the buyers came out with the spring weather in northern California.

The numbers year-to-date bear this out for existing homes sales, as the number of homes sold increased again in April, after an up-tick in March.  Asking prices had to come down to spur the volume of home sales, thus the median price was going lower in April and down significantly from April of last year.

The existing home sales are being driven largely by first time buyers and investors who are snapping up the condos, entry level homes, bank owned & short-sales. They are driving the volume increase as the same market …

The Davis market has definitely heated up in the past 60 days. My buyer business has exploded and other agents I speak with say that their business is up also.  Even the Home Inspection team I usually use tells me his company is fully booked and has been for a few weeks.

The biggest increase in business seems to come from out of town buyers, specifically the parents of students attending the University of California at Davis. Many more parents these days are savvy about the financial advantages of buying a home in Davis for their son or daughter to live in while attending college. 

Each spring the University has it's annual Picnic Day (one of the Top Ten Reasons to Live in Davis). It is a giant open house at the University with festivities and a parade.…

Speaking of  the greater Sacramento Region, it seems as if $200,000 is the level at which demand steps up to meet the supply.  Reports are that homes at $200,000 and below are experiencing multiple offers as of late.

My previous post points out however that precious few of these low priced homes are available in Davis and Winters. Woodland and Sacramento seem to have more supply.

As mortgage requirements get tighter, it is investors filling the void. First time buyers struggle against current eceonomic conditions to save a down payment and qualify, while experienced investors with cash and financing snap up the bargains.

There is no doubt that housing in Yolo County and Sacramento County is becoming more affordable. In my next post, I will provide some…