Apr

21

An Effort to Save a City by Shrinking It

Posted In: General Real Estate News

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/business/22flint.html?_r=1&hp

Feb

18

Details from the Stim Plan

Posted In: First Time Home Buyers, General Real Estate News, Mortgage & Finance, Taxes

Just signed into effect…thanks go out to Chet Gohd, RPM Mortgage in Berkeley, for helping to navigate through the details.  Here is what matters to you: “There’s a nice windfall for some homebuyers in the economic stimulus bill awaiting President Obama’s signature on Tuesday. First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 – or 10% of the home’s value, whichever [...]

Jan

26

The Most Expensive Bay Area Homes of 2008

Posted In: For the Heck of It, General Real Estate News

This according to the MLS, of course.   When the market shifts the first markets to become affected are the top and the bottom, as well as condos.  So I thought it would be fun to see what the top of the market did in 2008.    I was suprised to learn that the most expensive home to sell was [...]

Jan

22

The Future Looks Grim, So Sayeth Carole Rodoni

Posted In: Economy, For Buyers, Foreclosures & Short Sales, General Real Estate News, Investing, Local Market Statistics

If you are looking for someone with a strong opinion about the economy and real estate, then look no further than Carole Rodoni.  Her leadership and statistical analysis of the economy and how it affects real estate makes her opinions extremely valuable.  Yesterday I spent nearly 2 hours in a room with 500 other curious minds to see what Carole had [...]

Jan

19

Honey, Can We Live In A Spaceship For The Weekend?

Posted In: For the Heck of It, Foreclosures & Short Sales, General Real Estate News, Places

Calling all Sci-Fi fans.  Last month the famed Spaceship House in Tennessee went up for auction, the second time in a year.  The round, concrete home sold at auction last March for $135,000 but the deal never went through.  This time it sold for $119,000.  The winning bidder intends to “greenovate” the interior, including upgrading the insulation, installing new appliances, and repaint [...]

Jan

16

Alameda & Contra Costa County Statistics, Oct. 2007 – Dec. 2008

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, Foreclosures & Short Sales, General Real Estate News, Investing, Local Market Statistics

The first graph is for single family homes in Alameda County, the second graph is Contra Costa County.  The blue bar shows “sold,” the green bar shows “for sale,” and the triangles show “pending.” First of all, let’s look at the obvious.  Both graphs show a similar pattern with January being the lowest in inventory.  In February inventory goes up, peaks in [...]

Jan

13

Rate Watch for the week of Jan. 12

Posted In: First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, General Real Estate News, Mortgage & Finance

Fixed rates, no points.  Adjustable rates, 1 point 30 Year Fixed Conforming: 5.125%/5.161%APR 30 Year Fixed Agency-Jumbo: 5.625%/5.650%APR 5 Year Fixed Conforming (1 Point): 5.375%/4.361%APR 5 Year Fixed Int. Only Conforming (1 Point): 5.000%/4.298%APR 5 Year Fixed Int. Only Jumbo (1 Point): 5.750%/4.618%APR

Jan

10

Contra Costa County Homeowner Repair Loans

Posted In: El Cerrito, General Real Estate News, Home Improvement, Home Maintenance, Kensington, Mortgage & Finance, Richmond

          Did you know that there are programs out there to help low-income homeowners fix up their homes?  In Contra Costa County there is a program called the Neighborhood Preservation Program which is operated by the CCC Building Inspection Department.  The program, created in 1975, makes loans to very-low and low-income homeowners to help fix up [...]

Jan

08

Real Estate Predictions for 2009

Posted In: Economy, General Real Estate News, Local Market Statistics

As promised I have put together my real estate predictions for 2009.  Ok, if I could really make predictions, I’d be rich.  Don’t get me wrong, I have my opinions, and I am certainly entitled to them.  But just keep in mind, these are just predictions and while they aren’t terribly optimistic, take them with a grain of salt… 1.  [...]

Dec

17

Fed Cuts Short-Term Rate to Nearly Zero

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, General Real Estate News, Mortgage & Finance

              Now that the world has admitted that we are in a recession the Fed thought they should step in and do their part.  Yesterday, in an attempt to fight the recession and the downword pressure on consumer prices, the Fed cut the key rate to the bone.  Huh?  This is the rate which affects how much [...]