Mondays… We all Love Them
March 21, 2010 · · 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

Adam Chinn

Market Trends
October 2, 2009 · · 4 Comments

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I have done research and compared the market last year in September 2008 to this year in September 2009.  These numbers are for single family homes.  Here are some of the results:

 

 

Daly City:

Inventory down 49%
Properties under contract up 12%
Months supply of inventory down 79%

South San Francisco:

Inventory down 60%
Properties under contract up 90%
Months supply of  inventory down 88%

San Bruno:

Inventory down 60%
Properties under contract up 9%
Months supply of inventory down 66%

Millbrae:

Inventory down 34%
Properties under contract up 67%
Months supply of inventory down 69%

In all four cities the inventory is down while properties in contract are up.  Meaning supply is low and demand is high.  Competition for homes in these cities is high, but it is still a great time to buy.  This also means that home owners considering selling their home may want to contact a Realtor to see what their home is worth and think about weather it makes sense for them to sell or move at this time.  The market has definitely changed for the better and this is a great sign for things to come not only for the housing market, but for our economy as a whole.

This Real Estate Blog is by Adam Chinn

Nicole Machado

Is history repeating itself?
August 3, 2009 · · 8 Comments

In recent months the entry level Real Estate market has shifted and become for some people, a competitive sport. If priced correctly homes aren’t lasting past the first week’s open house as buyers are frantically racing to submit offers. Supply is low and demand is high and we all know with that combination multiple offers arise. What’s good for the goose isn’t necassarily good for the gander.. is history repeating itself? Is what is occuring now exactly what we saw a few years ago when home prices soared and multiple offers were just expected? There are many factors that come into play, some may argue this market is nothing like the one we saw a few years ago. We can say for sure banks have tightened up their guidelines to put it gently. Unless you can prove you qualify, you don’t get approved.   Interest rates are lower and home prices have dropped so buyers in today’s market essentially have more buying power.  Appraisals have been tightened and often times more then one is necessary to get approved by the lender.  With that said, is it really all that different?  Are consumers so eager to purchase a home for fear they will “miss the boat” that they are over extending themselves to make it happen. Hopefully with the tightened lender guidelines, history won’t repeat itself. What are your thoughts as I would love to hear them…

Nicole Machado           www.mve2day.com