February used to be my least favorite month. I don’t like cold weather and days with little sunlight. The holiday spirit was in the rearview mirror and warm weather was still weeks away or a plane flight away. Football season was over. Baseball season was still two months away. And it was really no fun if you’d prefer to have a Valentine but don’t. 
Then I met my future wife. Our anniversary is in late February. There are some real advantages to a late February anniversary. It gives me something to really look forward to during the month, and roses are discounted just before our anniversary.HaHa! 

My wife and I are from the Bay Area. Our first date was at a Japanese restaurant in Sausalito. We got married, coincidentally on the anniversary of our first date. So, every year, we celebrate our anniversary by going to a Japanese restaurant. 

We moved out to the El Dorado Hills (EDH) area 27 years ago. This area, while the same, was very different. Tokyo Sushi was one of the few Japanese restaurants in the area. Our kids were so young that we’d set them up on the table in their car seats. When we started going there, we didn’t have kids yet.  The staff knew us by name. Now there’s so many great Japanese restaurant choicesincluding Hisui Sushi, Mikuni and more. Yes, we still occasionally frequent Tokyo Sushi. 

There’s been lots of growth in change in El Dorado Hills and Folsom in those 27 years. Just in grocery stores alone, a lot has changed. As a new family in the area, we were excited when El Dorado Hills introduced a new Safeway and its shopping center off Green Valley Rd at Francisco, only to eventually add another at Bass Lake Rd at Serrano Parkway. 

At the time, the primary grocery option in El Dorado Hills was Raley’s at Park Dr at El Dorado Hills Blvd. Otherwise, it was down the hill on Blue Ravine and into Folsom. We’d go to where Ranch 99 is currently located. It was a Lucky’s and an Albertson’s grocery store. And Dick’s Sporting Goods was an Albertson’s and a Lucky’s grocery store. They switched! 

In Folsom, on Riley, near Walmart, there’s a 24 Hour Fitness gym. It used to be a grocery store. It was more of a warehouse-type grocery store that offered incredible discounts. I remember they’d offer themed discounts and everything had to fit into one bag. For example, a breakfast theme was eggs, bacon, orange juice and bread. All for something like $1.99. As a new young family in the area and on a budget, it was quite the talk of the town. There was no Next Door app to spread the word. 

The changes in this area keep coming. But what remains, is that this is the best place to live. I get excited to share about this community when I work with families that are thinking of moving to our area. It’s the best. 

Our move from the Bay Area to here was the best decision ever for our family. Our anniversaries keep coming and we plan to keep celebrating them here for years to come. 

My residential real estate career is shorter than the time that I have lived in this area. But since my real estate career started, I became much more aware of the details of the various neighborhoods and came to appreciate this area even more. I feel so blessed to be located here and have my real estate business here. While 2023 was a fantastic year, 2024 is already off to a very exciting and active start.

Both El Dorado Hills (EDH) and Folsom are off to a very good start in 2024 for residential real estate. Interestingly, new homes and homes under construction impact numbers in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). In EDH, at the time of this writing, there are 99 homes on the market, and just 43 homes pending (in contract between buyer and seller). As a result, there’s more than two homes on the market for every one home that is pending. But without the new construction, the ratio is lowered to almost 2:1. New construction is not selling in the same ratio as the existing home inventory. In Folsom, it’s different. Including new and under construction homes, there are more homes pending than there are on the market. In fact, new home and under construction homes are selling more quickly than the existing home inventory. Further into the numbers, another good sign in January 2024 compared to January 2023, there were more new listings that came on market in both communities. But comparing the same time period, average sold prices were down in EDH to well under $1,000,000, while average sold prices were up in Folsom to over $850,000. Numerous homeowners seem to be getting ready to go to market in the coming weeks while homebuyers are out looking. 

I love where I live. I’m excited to continue to help more families in 2024 with their real estate needs. With proper planning and a good Realtor (Luckily, I know a really good one….), you can smoothly get to your next stage in life. For more tips on how to successfully navigate the real estate purchase or sale, or suggestions on Folsom topics, please contact me at Coldwell Banker Realty, 916.812.4341, pquan@cbnorcal.com, www.PatQuan.com. CA DRE #01918240