In order to participate in the selling or buying of real estate in California, a real estate license must first be obtained. Upon qualifying and passing a written exam, a license for real estate application is submitted to the Department of Real Estate, which will then be reviewed for approval. The minimum age to obtain a license is eighteen, and proof of legal residence in the United States is required.

For those seeking a career in real estate in California, it is important to know the California real estate principles and involved applications of real estate law. Understanding the laws and the California real estate principles is vital to passing the California Real Estate Sales Exam. California real estate principles are largely rooted and centered on the complex and extensive set of code and regulations put forth by the California Department of Real Estate.

Some of the basic California real estate principles may include property ownership and regulations, financing procedures, market and value analysis, contracts, and the actual practice of real estate. These California real estate principles will also account for the majority of the content that is found in the licensing exam, making them crucial to be fully understood and learned for any person aspiring to practice real estate in California.

Sacramento is the capital city of the state of California and is the seventh largest city in California, with over 485,000 people. Sacramento is located in the northern region of the state and Sacramento property is currently available in high numbers. Sacramento, California real estate buyers have certainly declined in the past several years, and much of it has been attributed to the economic factors, particularly the revocation of the home buyer tax credit.

Currently, the average Sacramento property is listed at about $247,000, which is currently at about 4% decline from previous years. Furthermore, the asking price is rarely the amount for which the average Sacramento property is actually being sold at, which is less than $150,000. However, the median sales price is actually up nearly 5% from other previous times. 

Currently some of the more popular neighborhoods are East Sacramento, Land Park, and South Natomas. Listing prices for these neighborhoods reflect a growing trend where higher end and low end Sacramento property seems to be doing well in the Sacramento, California real estate market, while those in the middle price range are seeing an overall decline in average listing prices. 

However, the mean sales prices for Sacramento property remain at about $150,000. The current negative trends regarding Sacramento, California real estate prices and overall market may also be attributed to the fact that crime figures regarding both property and violent crime are both above the average when compared to the rest of the state of California.

The property taxes for Alameda County in California are assessed on two general criteria; the first being the actual improvement of the land or building and the actual location of the site. When assessing the value of personal property, the surrounding property is taken into consideration, as well as the cost of replacing the building or structure of the site. Furthermore, the value of the home itself will be taken into account, assessing how much it can be sold for in a particular time.

The type of property will also matter when levying the property tax in Alameda County. Firstly, the household income is about $70,000 per year, which is higher than the average of about $60,000 for the state of California. However, the Alameda County cost of living is considered to be very high, which the index shows to be at 162, with the national average being 100. This can be partly due to real estate in Alameda County being in the rise, which will also raise property taxes as well. 

The average cost of a property in Alameda County is about $600,000, which is above the expected average in other parts of the nation. However, Fairview Property and Oakland Property may be less than the average due to factors such as crime. However, in 2006, Alameda County managed to garner nearly $400 million in tax property alone, which may be the reason why there is a growing trend of residents moving to neighboring counties in California. 

Los Angeles County is the most highly populated county in the United States, having an estimated 10,393,185 residents. Los Angeles is the largest city in the county and is also the second largest city in the nation. There a total of 88 cities incorporated into Los Angeles County, making the prospective real estate market not only very large, but also one that will tend to fluctuate depending on the location of property.

Generally speaking, the median sale value for homes in Los Angeles County is just over $409,000, with an overall ownership rate of about 48%. However, Los Angeles County is also known for having the highest number of millionaires when compared to the rest of the country. A total of over 260,000 households are considered to be of millionaire status, which equals to about one in every 38 households being worth over one million dollars. 

Such a factor definitely is bound to drive up LA County property tax figures, for the discrepancy will be noted as the average income in the county is just over $40,000. This may be due to the fact that Hollywood is located in Los Angeles County, making it a viable place for many movie stars and entertainers to settle down and call Los Angeles County home. This may be why, as of 2006, the total LA property tax collected by the county was over $1.2 billion.

However, not all cities and towns in Los Angeles County will have the same median average in terms of home prices. For example Lancaster property is averaged at about $135,000 in home sales prices, while Norwal property is valued at about $279,000, both proving to be significantly below the average.

Glendale, California is considered to be a middle class city which located in Los Angeles County. Glendale is considered to be a suburb of the city of Los Angeles, with a total population of about 207,000. Therefore, considering its closeness to one of the largest cities in the country, Glendale real estate will prove to be very wanted, particularly for families or married couples seeking to start a family.

The average income is about $57,000, which is also considered to be the mean income for the entire county of Los Angeles. Such a figure can give inference as to what Glendale properties are to be like, which more likely to fall closer to the average for the county, which is upward the one million dollar mark. 

The average listing price for Glendale real estate is about $620,000, with the actual sales average being about $507,000. Given such amounts, it can be generalized that the majority of the population of Glendale will be in the middle class range.

Some of the more popular neighborhoods in Glendale will also provide for quite a range in terms of average listing prices of Glendale property. The lowest may be City Center, averaging at about $447,000, while some of the higher Glendale real estate prices are averaging near $900,000 for Glendale property home listings.

Fresno, California is the fifth city in the state, and ranks in at being thirty-fifth largest in the United States. Estimated population numbers for Fresno are about 505,000. Fresno is located in what can be considered the center of the state of California, right in the middle of San Joaquin Valley. Due Fresno largely being considered as the economical center of the Central California, it can be considered to be among the most popular areas when it comes to California real estate outside of Los Angeles County.

However, Fresno may prove to be below the expected average for the state when it comes to the average income of households and families. Currently, the household mean income is about $32,000, while the family average is only slightly higher, at about $35,000. Furthermore, over 26% of the population is considered to be below the poverty line. 

Such factors will show to have an impact on Fresno property values and real estate market. The average listing price for Fresno property is about $232,000, though the actual sales price of homes is slightly over $150,000. However, some of the more popular areas or neighborhoods in the area, such as Bullard and Woodward Park, have higher listing averages, ranging between $320,000 and $360,000. 

The discrepancy in Fresno property values may be due to the fact that some of the un-incorporated cities and towns outside of Fresno County are largely dependent on agrarian and rural resources, which is also bound to have an impact on the reported average annual incomes for the city as well.

Monterey is located in Monterey County in Central California, right along the Pacific coastline. The city is well known for its fishing industry, as well as being the home to many well-known artists in the nineteenth century. The population of Monterey was estimated to be in the 30,000 range, though it most likely has increased in recent years. 

Monterey may prove to be among the most popular cities when it comes to Central California real estate due to its coastal position and being removed from some of the larger metropolitan areas. It is well known for its natural environmental features, making it a very viable Central California real estate commodity.

The city of Monterey has a reported annual income of average of about $50,000, with the family income average nearing the $60,000 mark. However, Monterey property itself will not reflect similar figures, with the average listing price being over $1.2 million, which has actually seen a decline in recent times. However, the median sales price figures will prove to be substantially lower, hovering around the $550,000 mark. 

Monterey property has become quite a valuable real estate investment due to the fact that the area is well known for its tourism. Its location being right on the Pacific coastline allows for the city to become a popular vacationing location, particularly for inland cities such as Fresno and Madera.

The Sacramento California real estate market covers real estate in the area in and around Sacramento, which is the middle of the state, somewhat towards the north, in the upper part of the region sometimes referred to as the Central Valley region. Sacramento property is not likely to come cheaply, in particular because Sacramento is the capital of California. Sacramento property can vary greatly in value depending upon its exact location within the Sacramento area and on the additions and features which might be present in the Sacramento property, but ultimately Sacramento California real estate is generally expensive, though there are some exceptions. 

Those buildings which are exceptions are often relatively small affairs, with no more than 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, normally. The square footage of many of these pieces of Sacramento property is not particularly large, as well. Sacramento California real estate is generally desirable because of the pleasant climate which exists in the area, as with much of California. This climate is sometimes referred to as a Mediterranean climate, even though Sacramento property is, of course, nowhere near the Mediterranean. A Mediterranean climate is primarily used as a descriptor for an environment with summers that are hot and dry as opposed to humid, and winters that are cool and wet, as opposed to freezing and dry.

For any interested in Sacramento California real estate, there are a number of different resources available online which are dedicated to searching through houses that might be available in Sacramento. One should be able to find a piece of Sacramento property which best fits one’s own buying needs.