Happy New Year! And welcome 2010!

The New Year is here and probably a welcome sight for many in the real estate business.
This year was filled with many ups and downs for those looking to buy or sell a home.
For those who were buying the tax credit combined with declining prices were probably good news.
For those looking to sell a home declining prices were the opposite.  In Alameda we suffered from a low inventory.  Which made the good homes on the market even more competitive.



I worked with many first time home buyers this year. Many were excited to be bidding on homes they might have been priced out of even a year ago. Despite whatever was going on in the media I still found myself in competetive bidding situations with almost all my buyers.  The national news stories about the real estate market give you very basic and general information about what is going on.  Particular area's in Alameda remained strong but more specifically particular homes were the hot ticket... or not.  Great presentation combined with a competitive price brought in multiple offers.  Even lousy presentation but a great starting price on a bungalow brought in multiple offers.  I see prices stabilizing and can expect the same to continue through the beginning of the year.  This spring and summer will be a litmus test to see if we have really turned a corner and are on our way back to a "healthy" housing market.

Winter colors

This time or year the Ginko trees in my neighborhood turn a beautiful deep yellow.  They also drop these same brightly colored leaves all over the street.  This is a little bit annoying because I sweep up alot during this period, but hey it's mother nature and I appreciate the color when it is so grey out.


Local historian Eric Kos and Dennis Evanovsky will be presenting a series of talks on local Alameda history at our main Library.

Home sales still happen after thanksgiving.

Home sales still happen! Those who were searching over the summer and didn't find something are still out looking.  The latest listing from Bayside at 1445 Fourth St. has had great interest from buyers.  This is just a good example of the right combination of factors.  Great home, great presentation and priced right.  These are the homes that have been receiving multiple offers and selling quickly, even this time of year.  I feel very fortunate to have gotten several first time homebuyer into homes that were all competitive situations this year.  If you are in the market for a home and see something you really like, it's probably no surprise that someone else does as well.  Knowing how to structure a strong offer is not luck.  I work very hard to find out as much information as possible to give my buyers the advantages to have well received offer.  Interested in purchasing a home in Alameda... lets talk.

Supply and demand

As we near the end of the selling season here in Alameda it would normally be a time of slowing down.  However we went through most of the season with a low inventory of homes on the market.  Many desirable homes had multiple offers.  There are those that are still languishing on the market.  The only remedy for these are price reductions.  Anything will sell at the right price.  There are certainly those who feel their property should be valued differently than how the market values it.  The fact of the matter is those homes that have not sold have not established a value yet.  Our market does not have a large percentage of short sales or foreclosures right now.  Currently out of 92 acitve homes on the market 17 are possible short sales and 7 are foreclosures.  That calculates to 17% of the homes are possible short sales and  8% are foreclosures.  Most people understand what a foreclosure is.  A short sale is where the homeowner is trying to get the lender to accept a sale for less than what is owed.  Currently we still have homes coming on the market and on my most recent brokers tour I would have to say 3 very desirable ones.  We will find out soon enough how desirable.

Foreclosures in Philadelphia not the same old story

I read an article in the New York times that gave me a little bit of hope for what is one of the more troubling aspects of the foreclosure process.  As someone who is in the business of placing people in homes, it has been a sad last few years watching the foreclosure crisis push people out.  Regardless of who was more at fault many homeowners are suffering through very tough times trying desperately to remain in their homes.  Philadelphia has adopted a model that forces the homeowner and an agent for the lender to meet face to face for a mediation or the court system will not allow the Sherriff to evict the homeowner.  As one lawyer says in the article “It’s arbitrary and unpredictable,” he said, “but it’s better than what anybody else is doing.”  While this system is not perfect at least they are trying to do something different.

Read full NY Times article. CLICK HERE

Foreclosures are more profitable than loan modification.

This was kind of a sad story to read but unfortunately I had read something like this before and had a feeling this might be the case.  Apparently because of the way our laws are written and the way loan servicing works foreclosing on a property becomes more profitable than actually modifying the loan.
Short sales and foreclosures are all around us.  In Alameda the combination of Short Sales and Foreclosures make up about 18% of the total market.  For those who were looking to do a loan modification before they ever got to a short sale it may appear the odds are stacked against them.
Reading this made me mad, I am not sure exactly what to do about it but it doesn't really help the market to have so many short sales and foreclosures.  Unfortunately if those people who would like to stay in their homes can't modify their loans the only other option is to try and do a short sale or let it go to foreclosure.  Sad but true.
Read the original article here.

Federal Tax credit for first time homebuyers extended

Some good news for both buyers and sellers. Congress has passed to extend the first time home buyer tax credit until April 30 2010.  What is good for buyers is good for sellers.  I personally had many buyers this year who were very keen to take advantage of this tax credit.  Although they were not going to buy a home based on the tax credit they were certainly more motivated to make it happen before the deadline expired Dec 1st.  There is also a provision to extend a $6,500 tax credit to those who are purchasing a move up home.  Many in the industry felt this was helping the housing market.  With the economy and housing market going through major changes this past year it was in their best interest to keep people motivated to buy a home.  Want more information contact me.

Read more information CLICK HERE