SACRAMENTO, CA –OBSNews.com- April 8, 2008 - People looking to buy or sell real estate in Sacramento, California and across the nation are looking for deals and banks and other lenders are often the place to look. Bank owned homes, also known as REOs are coming on the market in record numbers and prospective homebuyers are sometimes having to bid higher on properties just to buy a house. This is reminiscent of the housing market in California’s Central Valley years ago.

Real estate investors are buying houses again in the Sacramento Valley because prices have fallen significantly from their peak in 2006. While many prospective homebuyers are having trouble qualifying for loans there is still an increase in home sales in many parts of the region.

“One of the greatest things about our company is that we’re a nationwide network of real estate investors who still say, “we buy houses” but we’re also a resource for home buyers who want great deals on foreclosure houses either from investors directly or from banks,” said Patrick McGilvray, president of Sacramento real estate solutions company, www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com. Our investors across the nation report that in many areas they feel prices have hit bottom and they are actively buying to hold or to resell to first time homebuyers.

The housing market may, as a whole, have somewhat further to fall in terms of average house prices, but there is considerable good news for buyers who want to find discounted houses to buy for the long term. The key in this market, say real estate experts like McGilvray, is to get prequalified for a loan, preferably a government FHA loan or other type loan that has a fixed interest rate. Once that step has been taken there are plenty of deals for the savvy buyer.

Self-Funded Startup Seeks Outside Investment Capital to Propel Growth Plans

SACRAMENTO, Calif.–OBSNews.com–TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, a start-up online real estate brokerage, announced it has decided to seek outside investors to provide the company with additional access to growth capital. Analysts estimate that in 2007 more than $50 million was invested in real estate related businesses on the internet by angel investors, private equity companies and venture capitalists.

Citing this record growth in funding for online real estate businesses such as Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin Patrick McGilvray, J.D., president of www.TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, said of his company’s vision: “We’re not just seeing this market cycle in real estate now. We’re looking 5 years down the road and are looking for the right partners to join us to provide growth capital and mentorship. We’re looking to grow our team and make up for things we lack in our company’s structure.”

TheHomeBuyingCenter.com, founded in 2006, is on the verge of entering into an exclusive referral relationship agreement with an undisclosed national real estate franchise brokerage company. The company distributes home seller listing leads that do not fit an investor’s criteria and leads of home buyers seeking to buy foreclosure properties and bank owned or REO (real estate owned) properties in exchange for a commission split upon closing.

According to the National Association of Realtors 80% of people who buy or sell a house in the US use the internet to obtain information about their house buying or selling needs. The NAR also reports that 23% of web surfers eventually work with an agent they found on the internet.

McGilvray indicated that the company, which started as a referral source for real estate investors, now focuses the bulk of its operations on referring home sellers and prospective home buyers to work with top real estate agents across the United States.