Signs of a Real Estate Rebound
I am not one of profound wisdom, but I am hearing some positive signs of real estate making a turn around, a turn around for the better! Basically, the thinking goes like this, “Hmmm, real estate values are down, not only do I still have my job but I have some cash sitting around, and rates are very low – and may not go lower. So maybe I will stop renting and buy a place (or pick up that non-owner occupied property, or that vacation home), or at least see what is out there.” The market will tell you that at some price, there is a buyer for everything.
San Francisco, the San Mateo Peninsula, East Bay and South Bay are experiencing a surge in homebuyers who are jumping off the fence to try and get their hands on property that they could have only wished they could afford a few years ago. Check out the link below to see what I’m talking about!
http://cbs5.com/business/real.estate.sales.2.956968.html

Here’s another example:
San Bruno 2 bedroom/ 1 bath
Listed at $344,900 just went pending with approximately 20 offers!!
Are Things Looking Up?
“Jean, a conference room is available for you upstairs…Jean, a conference room is available.” Such went a page by my trusty colleague Shokoofeh about a week ago. I was meeting a client in order to submit an offer on a condo, but to my dismay (and some delight too) ALL of our conference rooms were full. Shokoofeh had just finished meeting with her clients, so she was able to vacate one conference room just in time for me and my client. At our company meeting last Friday, one of the brokers mentioned how pleased he was to hear this page and that he was hoping it was a sign that things were going in a positive direction. I couldn’t help but agree. Read more
SSF Real Estate becoming a competitive sport…
Get on your boxing gloves and jump in the ring, but don’t wait for the bell to ring or you’ll be knocked out of the competition. In the past few weeks homes in SSF have been flying off the market. I have been working with first time home buyers for about a month now that desperately want to purchase a home in SSF. They are solid buyers that have excellent credit and a good down payment, however they keep getting beat out on properties by all cash offers. The two most recent homes they bid on had a tremendous amount of activity. One had 18 offers and the other had multiple offers within a few Read more
The New Real Estate Connection- Online Social Networking
Michael has invited special guest Jonathan Shaw to comment on new Real Estate trends. Jonathan shares with us a re-post of a very good article by Peyman Aleagha for RISmedia
http://rismedia.com/2009-02-23/social-networking-and-the-new-real-estate-sphere-of-influence/

Social Networking and The New Real Estate Sphere of Influence
Actually, we’re not just talking about “social networks,” but business networking as well. The Internet has made dramatic changes in the way the world shops, locates information, and in how they communicate with each other. Of course, e-mail is the elephant in the room. But, as we become ever more mobile and in a hurry, networking will become a many-faceted activity.
So, what do we mean by online or social networking? It’s all about sending messages to one another in real time, and getting back responses quickly. But, it’s also about introductions. Read more
The Real Estate Therapist is “IN”!
Real estate therapy for the home buyer, home seller and home owner is a pretty common request these days. Some of the most frequently asked questions start from what the current value of a home is in order to make a decent offer or sale to how one could lower their property taxes. It’s a different market out there in real estate but there are some interesting things going on! Read more
Neither Snow nor Rain nor Heat of Day….
It is about 3:30 p.m. and I’m doing an open house in a lovely, although freezing, townhome in Pacifica. The rain is pouring down in sheets. The door is open, hoping to encourage someone to come in. I’m bundled up, including wearing long johns under my slacks, and am suddenly reminded of the postal service motto: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat of day nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” It occurs to me that, to a great degree, professional Realtors follow the same creed. An example of this would be my day today. Read more
Sellers looking at Contract Terms
Buyers and their agents need to be very careful about not only the offer price, but also the terms of the contract. Sellers do not always just accept the highest offer, as one might think.They want to SELL the property and the only way that would happen is Read more
Millbrae Community Workshop
Last evening I attended a Millbrae NOW Community workshop. The meeting was open to the public and hosted by our city staff. The purpose of the workshop was to inform the community of its economic status, and what methods can be used to raise revenue for Millbrae’s’ vital services.
After hearing all the presentations, the conclusion was that the city does not have enough revenue to maintain its current services and is not building a surplus in our infrastructure which could be a huge liability if there was an emergency.
They were able to illustrate what cuts have been made by providing data on the sources of revenues and how it is distributed. It was demonstrated how the city was able to cut costs by sharing services, staff, and program budgets, such as fire and police with other cities, without impacting public safety. Read more

