Dave Thurman's Real Estate Blog

Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 183 into law, reinstating the California Homebuyer Tax Credit.

AB 183 will allocate $200 million for homebuyer tax credits, providing $100 million for qualified first-time homebuyers of existing homes and $100 million for purchasers of new or previously unoccupied homes. Eligible taxpayers who purchase a qualified principal residence between May 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 or who purchase a qualified principal residence between December 31, 2010 and August 1, 2011 with an enforceable contract executed on or before December 31, 2010 may take the allowed tax credit. The credit is the lesser of 5% of the purchase price of the home or $10,000, in equal installments over three consecutive years.

The Franchise Tax Board will accept applications by fax only beginning May1, 2010. Buyers will need to submit the application via fax along with the final settlement statement provided at the close of the transaction within 14 calender days of the close of escrow.

For information, contact the Franchise Tax Board at 888.792.4900.  Applications and more information may be obtained at www.ftb.ca.gov

 Above information is compliments of:  Sara Larson and Erick Lacy at Placer Title Company, Stockton CA

Wow! Good news for Stockton, California. This article appeared today in our local newspaper, “The Record” and also is online at recordnet.com

STOCKTON – Crime fell in Stockton last year, even as the Police Department was whittled down to accommodate a shrinking budget and crime-fighting programs seen as successful were canceled to maintain patrol staffing.

The overall decline in Stockton – although murders increased – exceeded a nationwide decline in crime, according to a preliminary report the FBI released Monday.

The number of violent crimes reported in Stockton fell from 4,322 in 2008 to 3,703 in 2009, a 14.3 percent decline. Nationally, violent crime declined by 5.5 percent.

Based on the FBI’s population estimate, that decline represents a drop in Stockton’s violent crime rate from 14.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents to 12.7.  Read more

One of my favorite golf tournaments; The U.S. Open comes to Pebble Beach next month June 17-20, 2010. The famous golf course has been lengthened to 7040 yards, the graduated rough will be grown taller on the shorter holes and the speed of the tiny greens will be increased for the tournament.

Also, Tiger Woods is scheduled to play and most likely be the favorite to add another major tournament to his list of wins. Tiger won at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes in 2000. Tiger recently signed up for the British Open at St. Andrews, another course which Tiger is very familiar.

Pebble Beach Golf Links is approximately a 3 hour drive from Stockton, California and the 17 mile drive of the Monterey Peninsula is wonderful.

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Hey hey awesome Ports fans! Be sure to come out and see the Ports this season at Banner Island Ballpark!

The Stockton Ports are a baseball team in Stockton, California, USA. The Ports play in the Northern Division of the Class A Advanced California League and are a Minor League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Their home field is Banner Island Ballpark which seats over 5,000 people and opened in 2005.

Although baseball has been played in Stockton for over 100 years, the Stockton Ports didn’t come into play until 1941 as the Ports were one of the founding members of the California League. The Ports gained their unique name from the cities own rich history and strong resource as the states only inland Port.

In 1946, after the war, the league re-established itself with teams in Stockton, Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Santa Barbara and Visalia. The California League would then add another two teams for the 1947 season in San Jose and Ventura. Today, the Ports are a part of a ten team league with teams in Modesto, San Jose, Visalia, Bakersfield, High Desert, Inland Empire, Lancaster, Lake Elsinore and Rancho Cucamonga.

Over the course of the Ports 60 years as a member of the California League, they have won 11 titles (most by any active team, Reno franchise has 11) and have posted an overall 4,400-3,952 record.

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Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

April 2009 there were 1370 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to April 2010 where there was a decrease to 884 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in April 2009 was 643 and in April 2010 the number of homes sold decreased to 421. In April 2009 there were 726 pending sales which increased to 783 in April 2010.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and TrendVision Reports