May 2016 RSS Feed

Looks like it's going to be another successful Sacramento Music Festival this Memorial Day long weekend.

With artists like Big Bad Voodoo, Lee Rocker from the Stray Cats and Pablo Cruise, advance ticket sales are up 4% from last year's event.

Last year's event in Old Sacramento drew some 22,000 music fans, which was up a bit from 2014, so organizers are hoping to see more than 23,000 fans this year, which is still a far cry from the festival's glory days of the 1990s, when it drew more than 100,000 people for what was then the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

This year's event promises 100 unique performances, street dancing, animated parades, instruments booming, and great food and drink in an energetic atmosphere that will carry over four days (Friday,…

Real estate in Sacramento continues to steadily sell, with April housing statistics showing overall sales increased 7.9% from the month of March, with 1,554 residences sold - compared to 1,440 in March.

Interestingly, the active listing inventory went up by 6.5% from March, however the months of inventory remained static at 1.4 months. And, when compared with April last year, the overall inventory is down by 17.4%.

In terms of home prices in the Sacramento area, the median price went up by 1% from $307,000 in March to $310,000 last month. In April, 2015 the median price was at $281,000. By way of comparison, homes back in August of 2005 (the peak median home price in Sacramento) were quite a bit more expensive at $392,750.

The lowest median sales…

With summer just around the corner, here are some tips to help conserve water in Sacramento, while maintaining a beautiful lawn and garden.

Keep in mind that in Sacramento, lawns can only get watered twice a week during daylight savings time (March 13-November 6, 2016), and only before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Odd numbered homes water on Tuesday and/or Saturday, while even numbered homes are scheduled for Wednesday and/or Sunday.

Now when it comes to keeping your lawn lush and green, you don't need that much water. In fact, turf grasses need only about 3/4" - 1" of water a week to stay green and keep growing. An inch of water will soak down through about 6 inches of soil. In terms of how long to keep the sprinkler or irrigation turned on, get tuna…

Looks like rental rates for housing continue to climb in Sacramento, which means it's a good time for real estate investors.

According to Zumper, which is an apartment rental site, the monthly rate for a one-bedroom apartment in Sacramento is $960, which is a 10.3% increase from a year ago, and puts Sacramento's rents among the 25 highest in the United States.

In fact, Sacramento came in at No. 23 for cities tracked by Zumper.

Experts say the reasons for the rental increases include more people moving out of the suburbs and into more dense urban areas with condos and apartments. Additionally it looks like people are choosing to rent for longer periods of time than they were before.

Additionally in Sacramento, a lag in construction to keep pace…