In the news...

Northern San Joaquin Valley real estate firms make top brokers list

Several Northern San Joaquin Valley real estate companies are listed among the largest brokerage firms in America in the recently released 2010 Real Trends 500. Modesto-based PMZ Real Estate ranked 27th in the nation for the number of properties it sold in 2009 and 54th for the value of those sales. ...

Broker sees sales jump 167% in year

Real estate values may have tanked last year, but business boomed for PMZ Real Estate. The Modesto-based company increased its sales a staggering 167 percent in 2008 compared with 2007, by far the biggest gain among America's top 100 real estate companies. ...

Stockton firm homes in on iPhone tech

PMZ Real Estate, with offices covering San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, has created a free iPhone application that lets people check on houses for sale as well as rentals as they drive around the area. ...

Quotables...

Home prices up, sales down

"Things have softened, and the tax credit may have had a bigger impact than we first thought," said Ben Balsbaugh, manager of PMZ Real Estate in Stockton. ...

Business leaders address 1,000-plus at Gallo Center

People should focus on goals for their relationships, health, finances and work, he said, that will remind us what's important in life and help reframe your day. ...

Competition for foreclosures makes buying tough

The main frustration in the market right now is a lack of inventory, PMZ Real Estate manager Ben Balsbaugh said.  Buying a home is ultra-competitive. ...

New California foreclosure law in effect

"And it's that problem that needs to be resolved in order to stabilize the housing market," said PMZ Real Estate president Michael Zagaris. ...

S.J. home prices head up

"The numbers are a direct reflection of the inventory level," PMZ Real Estate manager Ben Balsbaugh said.  "We have plenty of buyers; we just need homes to ...

Business titans offer tips

"This is the greatest single moment of opportunity in any of our lifetimes," said Mike Zagaris, president of PMZ Real Estate.  "The smart money is moving in ...