18 Month $52M Train Trellis Project on Magnolia to Help Traffic Flow

The final design to lower Magnolia Avenue under the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) tracks in Magnolia Center is nearing completion. This project will shift the alignment of Magnolia Avenue approximately 50 feet to the west, and construct a two-track railroad bridge. Beatty Drive will be widened between Brockton and De Anza Avenues, and traffic signals will be installed at the intersections of Beatty Drive with Brockton, Magnolia and De Anza Avenues. Additionally, Merrill Avenue on the east and west side of Magnolia will be converted to a right turn in/out at Magnolia Avenue to facilitate traffic flow. The project requires relocation of water and electric facilities by Riverside Public Utilities, AT&T and Charter communication lines, gas lines, and relocation of over 6300 feet of sewer line to redirect sewer flows around the grade separation. Also, a storm water pumping station will be constructed. A temporary two-lane detour road on the east side of Magnolia Avenue will accommodate traffic while the railroad bridge is under construction. Construction is expected to start in fall 2009 and take approximately 18 months to complete.


(Courtesy of www.Riversiderenaissance.org)

Lake Hills Community Slide Show Courtesy of Animoto

Great New Facebook Fan Page Published for Lake Hills Homeowners and Future Homeowners

Lake Hills Community

It's finally up and running. Many of our local friends and clients had requested we create a Lake Hills Community Facebook page. You'll find it stuffed full of very useful community information, market trends and updates, open house announcements, price adjustment announcements, locally-oriented articles, and much, much more. Simply click the icon right above to sign in and become a fan.

There's also links back to this blog, our main website, and Twitter profiles. So, as you can see, there are plenty of resources for the Lake Hills homeowner or for the future Lake Hills homeowner. This blog is still the main source of real estate information and community topics for the city of Riverside.

Please contact the Baird Team at Keller Williams Realty for any additional help and guidance you may need with the sale of your home or the purchase of a new home in Riverside.

Riverside Hotel Tax To Fund Convention Center Expansion to be Considered

(From the Press Enterprise, dated February 21, 2010)

Riverside city leaders may ask voters to increase hotel taxes to pay for an expanded downtown convention center.

Officials are considering a 2 percent increase to the city's hotel bed tax, which is now 11 percent. The council plans to discuss the issue in March with the goal of putting a measure on the June 8 ballot.

Now that downtown amenities such as the Fox theater and Main Street mall have been upgraded, business leaders and council members have begun talking about how to draw more convention business.

City Manager Brad Hudson is expected to explain options and costs to improve the...............

(For full story click here)

New Lake Hills Community Fan Page Created

A new and exciting Facebook Fan page for the Lake Hills community of homes in Riverside has been created to give homeowners the kind of precise real estate information, statistics, and a variety of other community event information that they need to know about their community.

Created by The Baird Team at Keller Williams Realty of Riverside, customer service specialists dedicated to the Lake Hills community of homes, the new fan page is well laid out with up to date information on homes for sale, open houses in the community, up to date real estate stats that concern the community, and.............well...just take a look for yourself.

Zillow Shows Just How Inaccurate They Are

Here's a very enlightening accuracy chart(inaccuracy is maybe a better desciption) put out by Zillow on their own website. Keep in mind, these are figures tabulated by Zillow themselves for all to see. Take a look at how inaccurate they are for Riverside and their margin of error. They hide the link to this chart at... the bottom footer of their site.

What Zillow fails to provide, and is ultimately their failure in providing an accurate service to its viewers, is it's lack of knowledge that real estate agents and home viewers have regarding any particular home for sale. Zillow cannot see the interior of the home. Zillow is not familiar with neighborhood influences in pricing, for example the proximity to a better school or a substandard school. Zillow is not aware of one home's stellar lake view versus another homes only peekaboo view. Zillow is very flawed, although convenient for homeowners to rely on.....so they think.

Thank you Zillow for making our jobs as neighborhood real estate specialists easier when it comes to pricing a home and proving your service as just a convenience, not a standard.

If you are considering selling or purchasing a home in Riverside, please contact The Baird Team at Keller Williams Realty of Riverside for more accurate and reliable pricing analysis.

City of Riverside Neighborhood Map

You'll often hear Riverside residents talking about the area or neighborhood of the city that they live in. Well...here is a handy map showing you all of the neighborhoods within the city proper boundaries. You won't see sections like Lake Hills or Victoria Grove on this map because they fall under county jurisdiction. Lake Hills and Victoria Grove, had they been shown on this map, would be at the bottom edge just under La Sierra South and Arlington Heights.

January 2010 Average Sales Price for 92503 Zip code

These are pretty enlightening trends. It's to be expected that the average sales price on standard listings would be all over the place, and in turn that the average foreclosure sales price would hover around the $200,000 range.....a price point indicative for first-time buyers who during the peak of the market a few years back purchased for around $350,000 to $400,000. This is a great time to buy a home. Rates are still outrageously low, FHA guidelines are still pretty reasonable, and some time during 2010, we will see prices start to creep back up.

Price Reduced on Lake Hills View Home to $210,000 to $220,000

Riverside Real Estate Prices and Inventory Dip Slightly

After a week after week rise in the supply of homes for sale in Riverside, we are seeing a slight dip in the supply along with a drop in the average price by about $5000. For help and guidance in finding your new home in Riverside, Corona, or one of many wonderful communities, contact The Baird Team with your questions and our answers.

Riverside Real Estate Prices Up and Inventory Soaring

Take a minute to view the chart at the bottom of this page. It is a week by week update of theaverage home price in the greater city of Riverside, and the number of active home listings. As you can see, the average price has crept up a little to around $305K, but the number of homes listed has more than doubled.

For more detailed updates on the specific Riverside community you are considering purchasing or selling in, please contact The Baird Team for the proper guidance and help.
www.bairdteamrealty.com

Open House in Victoria Grove Today from 11:00 to 3:00

Wonderful Bank-Owned Opportunity in Lake Hills

Here's a brand new bank-owned listing just listed for sale in Lake Hills West. Great starter home with new carpet, new paint, with a price of $229,000. Please contact The Baird Team at Keller Williams for a private viewing. This one won't last long. Finding a bank-owned property in this condition is rare.

Corona's Fender City Music Lessons

In nearby Corona, on Main Street, resides the Fender Center Museum. Click here to see a great video of the legendary Steve Miller performing on stage with one of the 10,000 kids who have been able to get free music lessons at the center over a 10 year period because their parents were kind enough to volunteer their time at the center. Every local guitarist should make a point to visit the center if they haven't already done so.

http://inlandempire.kijiji.com/homes-for-sale/riverside/victoria-grove-view-home-just-reduced-seller-to-entertain-all-offers/?ad=1824555

http://inlandempire.kijiji.com/homes-for-sale/riverside/victoria-grove-view-home-just-reduced-seller-to-entertain-all-offers/?ad=1824555

Super Bowl Open House in Victoria Grove a Success

It was pointed out by many visitors to our open house today in Victoria Grove, that we appeared to be the only agents holding an open house in the entire communities of Lake Hills and Victoria Grove. My thanks to our team members who put aside time before the Super Bowl to put our clients first, and indeed make it a success.

Although foot traffic at open houses on Super Bowl Sunday is expectantly lower, our focus on providing our clients a 10+ customer service commitment is something we guarantee and don't cut corners on. Therefore, we have always made it a standard practice to take advantage of special days like today's Super Bowl celebration to promote the sale of our clients' homes with little if any competition around us.

Please contact The Baird Team for answers to your questions, and the kind of guidance and help you must have in today's real estate market. Whether selling your home in the City of Riverside, or looking to purchase a home in any of our nearby communities, our knowledge of Riverside real estate is at your service.

Victoria Grove View Home Open House Sunday 2/07/10 From 10 to 2:00

No One is Allowed to charge up front for loan mod

Click the link above for the interpretation of California Senate Bill 94 which prohibits anyone from collecting up front fees for loan modification services, regardless if an attorney or not. Anyone soliciting these up front fees should be reported for these predatory practices

Lake Hills a Vision Like the Emerald Isles

This time of year brings the deepest of green hues to the over 500 acres of open space that are that remind local Lake Hills and Lake Hills Reserve homeowners, and visitors alike that they are in one of the city of Riverside's treasured communities.

Three Cheers for a Traffic Light Between Stater Bros and Ralphs

It only takes one crossing from the Ralphs Market parking lot at Indiana and La Sierra to the Stater Brothers lot just on the other side of Indiana, to experience the challenge and treachery that comes with risking your life trying to make the crossing. One only has to observe the panicked looks from drivers who have no other choice than to floor their gas pedal when making the crossing. We've seen several serious accidents in the last year, with one fatal. The intersection at la Sierra and Indiana Avenue has become a busy one during peak hours. Not only that, the line of cars waiting to exit the Stater Brothers lot to turn left towards La Sierra can get extremely long as each driver makes a decision to either gingerly make the crossing or take their chances by gunning it. City officials need to seriously review traffic risks at this junction, the same way they would at other more traditionally scrutinized locations.

Lake Hills Popularity Soars From Two New Schools in 4 years

Interest in available homes for sale in the Lake Hills Community of Riverside, and its more upscale sister community up the hill know as the Lake Hills Reserve, is as strong as ever. Although the supply of homes for sale has been low up till recently, an increased supply of available standard listings and short sale listings has anxious home buyers looking to take advantage of historically low interest rates and low prices excited and expecting to find their new home in the hills.

Please contact The Baird Team at Keller Williams Realty of Riverside for more details, and help and guidance in finding your new home.

UC Riverside on Track to Open New Medical School

Scheduled for completion by the fall of 2012, this will be the first such facility in 4 decades. In 2013, Riverside Community Hospital will complete a $400 million expansion to include a nine story tower and parking facility. Finally, Riverside City College is adding a two story nursing school.

The medical industry is huge in Riverside, and only getting larger.

Have a medical industry job lined up, but need to find a home? Contact the Baird Team for help and guidance in finding that home.

17th Annual Riverside Dickens Festival

This upcoming weekend of February 6 and 7, the city of Riverside will be hosting its annual feast to everything Dickens, with street entertainment, concerts, Victorian era reenactments, and much more. Downtown Riverside will be active with festival fare beginning Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.. Click the link above for ticket information and details.