A Quick Snap Shot Of Daly City

May 11, 2010 · Adam Chinn · 2 Comments

I took a quick look at some of the Real Estate Trends in Daly City and found the statistics to be quite encouraging. These statistics are comparing April of 2010 to April of 2009.

Median Price Of Properties Sold: +6%
Properties Under Contract: +69%
Properties For Sale: -16%
Average Days On Market: -7%
Average Monthly Supply Of Inventory: -63%

The numbers are very encouraging, it appears, while prices are slightly up, so is interest in them. Inventory has decreased and so has the amount of time properties are staying on the market. Simple supply and demand, demand is up while supply is down, means the prices properties are selling for have risen.

It is still a great time to buy or sell in the current market, much of it depends on your own personal needs.

Adam Chinn: Visit my website at http://adamchinn.com

FHA? Ready..Go!

April 20, 2010 · Shokoofeh Nowbakht · 4 Comments

My client, James is in contract for a really nice townhouse in Hayward. He is using FHA financing. Townhouse complexes, unlike Condo complexes, apparently, don’t need to be FHA approved. The pest inspection was few days ago and the inspector said it was free of section 1 items! Great! What’s the problem, then?

There may be no problems at all. But, I wanted to make sure there will be no issues from the FHA appraiser. I know “Peeling Paint” is a safety item and has to be fixed before the FHA approval. So, with the sellers permission, my client and I decided to get ready for the appraisal and bought some spackle and paint and spend a couple of hours working on the property. I pulled out the nails and screws off the wall, James filled in the holes with spackle and then painted over them. Oh, we also cleaned the tub and the shower, so there will be no dirty spots that may be mistaken for mold.

Everything looks good, or at least looks good to us. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for the FHA approval!

Shokoofeh
www.shokoo.com

To Rebate or Not to Rebate? That is the question…

April 10, 2010 · Kathy Wall · 9 Comments

Over the last month, I have had 3 different situations with buyers where they have said they will only use me if I give them a ”rebate” at the end of the transaction. Most common, has been the request to credit them a percentage of my commission.

I realize that a lot of this is happening because so many of our clients (even the very loyal ones,) are spending a great deal of time on the websites of our cut rate competitors, but I need to find a solution.

I try to counter their requests with the very valid logic that you get what you pay for in this world, and that my many years of experience, negotiating skills and industry knowledge are well worth paying full price, but this is less and less successful. Nor, do they care that I need to share my commission with the company. Read more

Bay Area Prices up 20%????

April 7, 2010 · Lee Ginsburg · 1 Comment

The headline reads Prices Up 20%.

What do these numbers mean? I am sorry to tell you, your home did not increase 20%. Buyers don’t get scared off and sellers don’t put your home on the market for 20% more than you paid last year.

These numbers are totally misleading. Prices are increasing in some areas and in some price points but not by 20%. Possibly 3-5%.

You can make numbers do whatever you want. First you need to know if the numbers are for Single Family homes or Condominiums or both. Then are they comparing it to the same month in a previous year or just the previous month. Are they talking about median price or average price. The Median price is the price that is in the middle; there are an equal number of transactions above and below. These numbers are very general. It is interesting and might give a slight indication as to the market in the country, in your state, in your city but Real Estate is very localized down to the neighborhood in the city. If you want to know the value of your home call your Real Estate consultant. Read more

Good News! Good Bay Area Real Estate News!!!

March 31, 2010 · Lee Ginsburg · 4 Comments

A lot of positive bills, thoughts and activities have been happening on the Bay Area Real Estate Front. I have been trying to write this for a while. Each time I sit down to write there is more I have to add to it. That is a good problem. So exciting! Enjoy the Good News.

Home Buyer’s Delight
You can still get the federal Home Buyer Credit of $8000 for the first time buyer or $6500 for the move up buyer. You must be in contract by the end of April and close by the end of June.
For additional information: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

Because California Home Buyers are special Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law a State credit for home buyers. I personally think this program is great. It helps many people purchase their first home and it puts people to work. A Win-Win!!!
Under the provisions, the bill: Read more

“Sorry, I Don’t Do Short Sales…”

March 29, 2010 · Jean Joh · 2 Comments

Recently, one of my newer clients asked me, “Do you work with short sales?” Her reason for asking was that one of the other agents she interviewed told her that he did not work with short sales. I was somewhat surprised that there are still agents out there who will not work with a short sale.
Of course, if you asked me a couple years ago before “short sale” became a common household word, I would have said that I’d stay away from them if I could help it. But as an agent, I have a responsibility to my clients to work in their best interests. Read more

Another Tax Credit for First Time Buyers in California?

March 24, 2010 · Jean Joh · 6 Comments

Yes, the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit will end on April 30, 2010, but there may be some good news on the horizon for first time buyers in California. Bill AB-183 has been passed by both houses of the California legislature by near unanimous votes, and is expected to be signed by Governor Schwarzenegger very soon. This allows for up to $10,000 in tax credits for first time buyers, and the big difference between this and the previous California tax credit is that you can actually use it for the purchase of an existing home (not only for new homes). According to this bill, $100 million will be set aside for sales of existing homes, while another $100 million will be for sales of new homes. It will take effect from May 1st to the end of this year, but as there is a limited amount of funds, it probably wouldn’t be good to wait until November or December. More details will be forthcoming once the bill is signed and confirmed, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to help those who are stressing out over buying a home before the April 30th deadline. Unfortunately, this is only for first-time buyers, so those who are thinking to “move up” (sell their existing home and purchase a bigger and better one) still need to get moving (no pun intended).

Here’s the link to one article about Bill AB-183: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/24/2629239/schwarzenegger-expected-to-sign.html

Jean Joh: Visit my website at www.jeanjoh.com or follow me on twitter as jeanjoh.

Mondays… We all Love Them

March 21, 2010 · Rommel Yema · 5 Comments

Mondays…we all love them. For us Realtors, it is the day after holding an Open House. For myself, Mondays are the day my lockbox key is to be updated. On this particular Monday, I was in Berkeley showing single family homes to my client. I’m usually consistent in making sure my key is updated every Monday morning before doing anything else. That afternoon was the rare exception. As soon as I parked my car to walk over to the clients in front of the property, it dawned that we were not immediately going to be able to enter the home. I sincerely explained to them what happened and managed to make another appointment to meet with them in another hour and half. Driving back to the San Bruno office and then back to Berkeley was not exactly an appealing idea.

Quickly, I thought there must be another way where I could at least stay in Berkeley to update my key and prevent wasting precious gas. Several Prudential California Realty office locations came up on my Blackberry. After a few calls, I finally spoke to a helpful sounding agent who invited me to stop by and use their key updating station at her office. Although it was located on the other side of where I was in Berkeley, I certainly didn’t mind driving there considering how much time and money I was saving. Read more