Lisa Jonsson – East Bay Real Estate – Contra Costa and Solano Counties
Latest Market Update from California Association of Realtors
Posted by admin in Market Updates on May 8, 2012
Bay Area Housing Market off to Strong Start for Spring
Posted by admin in Buyer Blog, Seller Blog on April 30, 2012
The numbers are in for March and no matter how you look at it, it’s obvious that sales are strong. There are more buyers on the market than sellers, and this has caused a small jump in housing prices in many bay area neighborhoods. One example,: the median price of a single-family home in Concord rose 2.8 percent from a year ago to $285,000. Hopefully sellers will catch wind of the multiple offers most homes are getting in this strengthening market. Once that happens, it may help encourage homeowners to sell, which will help with the limited inventory issue we have been seeing.
Write a Compelling Home Seller Love Letter
Posted by admin in Seller Blog, Short Sale Blog on April 10, 2012
I’ve been in thousands of homes in the past few years, and there seems to be one marketing element missing in the vast majority of them; and it’s one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.
Before I get into the home seller love letter, I want to acknowledge that it is true that personally, or professionally, staging your home is a good idea. Besides de-cluttering, it also depersonalizes the home, which helps the prospective buyers walking through to visualize it as their own. Nonetheless, the home seller love letter also helps to give the buyers a fuzzy feeling about the home. Even though it is doing the opposite, by personalizing it, it helps them to feel the good ju ju of the house.
So what is a home seller love letter? When allowing buyers in for a home viewing, or doing an open house, it’s not a bad idea to leave a letter near your other marketing materials. This letter is a note, personally written or typed up by the home’s seller. Among other things, it expresses the love the seller’s family has had for the home, and explains the facts and events underlying that sentiment.
If the power of staging lies in depersonalizing the property so buyers can picture their own family living out their own lives in the home, the power of a seller love letter is that it leaves buyers with a warm feeling that the home has a positive energy and history, which is especially desirable on today’s distressed property-riddled market.
Vallejo Short Sale Agent, Martinez Short Sale Agent, Vacaville Short Sale Agent, Concord Short Sale Agent
Making Offers that Stick
Posted by admin in Buyer Blog on April 7, 2012
Oh East Bay real estate… let every eye negotiate for itself. That’s a line from Shakespeare in case you’re unfamiliar, and it’s apropos for what I’m seeing in the market today. How many times have I showed homes, only for the buyer to make an offer, only to find out the competition is as fierce as lion (or a San Francisco Realtor seeking their next commission check) . So buyer beware, I know I’ve said it a million times in my past few posts, but there is going to be a lot of competition for the home you want from a lot of different buyers out there, who may have a whole lot of cash. Especially if you’re a VA or FHA buyer. Most sellers are looking for the coveted buyer who so proudly shows off their pre-qualification for a conventional loan, or even (gasp) a cash buyer, and they are often finding what they’re looking for. It’s often difficult to tell a buyer this… they just need to make offers and see the results for themselves.
So where does that leave you, the buyer with your pre-qual in hand, now feeling bad that you’re putting 3.5% down on your FHA loan? Don’t worry, this is typical for first-time home buyers or those left selling their last property without any equity (not uncommon these days)! My advice is to make offers, offers, offers. Throw out any offer you possibly can and see what sticks like spaghetti. Keep an open mind when you’re searching for a home. If you want to buy a home now… while interests rates are as crazy as a professional magician and home prices are low low low, it’s time to move!
Short Sales and the As-Is Problem
Posted by admin in Buyer Blog on April 4, 2012
As a seller, getting a short sale approved, and a as a buyer, purchasing a short sale, is not a normal business transaction. Also, it is not guaranteed that the bank must approve your short sale, even if it seems to make sense. In addition to that, short sales are always sold as-is. This brings me to the point of this post.
If during the escrow process, inspections are done on a home and needed repairs are found… well the buyer is going to have to be responsible to fix them. In a short sale, the seller’s lender nor the seller are going to make repairs. Remember, the seller is not making any profit off of a short sale, and so there is only so much incentive over a foreclosure. If the buyer finds repairs that need to be done either for their own peace-of-mind or for the sake of securing the loan, they only have three options. They can fix it themselves, live with it (if lender allows) or cancel. Short sales are not REOs (bank owned) and there is little reason for a seller to make repairs. They would rather find the next buyer, especially in this market where there are way more buyers than sellers. But even with REOs repairs are not in any way guaranteed.
Even if a home has a major malfunction (yes, a quote from Full Metal Jacket) or is missing a water heater, believe me, in these times there will be another buyer knocking on the door within the hour. It’s a tough market out there!
Call me if you have any questions on Vallejo Short Sales, Martinez Short Sales, Concord Short Sales, Vacaville Short Sales, Rodeo Short Sales, Crockett Short Sales, Pinole Short Sales.
Warren Buffet Says – Buy Real Estate Now!
Posted by admin in Buyer Blog, Market Updates on February 29, 2012
I have more to say than I think I should fit into one blog post; but here goes…
I want to write a little something about Bay Area real estate and why I feel so strongly that now is the time to buy a home. If you’re not willing to listen to little ol’ me, then please, at least listen to Warren Buffet’s opinion on buying real estate now. This comes from the “stocks” man, who typically doesn’t recommend real estate, but now all of a sudden Warren Buffet is dead set that now is the time to buy a home.
Even if you want to ignore Warren Buffet, here are a few other reasons for you. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that they plan on keeping interest rates low through 2014. However, he also disclosed that the Federal Reserve reserves the right to change that time frame at any given time. Many are predicting that time would come in 2013 as the economy is already picking up, and the desire is to stop inflation during recovery. The stock market recently had a huge jump – just one sign of our rising economy, and the U.S. economy seems to be recovering faster than the European economy. This may be in part due to the fact that we have a little more autonomy (no European Union) and can decide more easily decide what steps to take next on inflation – print money or not. In Europe, your opinion on that could vary depending if you’re in Greece or Germany (for example).
Right now in the US, people are accumulating money (some are accumulating lots – look at anybody who works at Facebook and other tech companies that are going public very soon). About 2,000 new millionaires about to be made right here in the Bay Area alone. The tech industry is about to take off yet again (check out Silicon Valley), and banks are beginning to do much better. So don’t automatically assume that interest rates will stay low for long.
When you invest in stocks, there are two things to consider. The 3.8% possible tax due to the health care bill, and in addition, the capital gains taxes. When you make money in stocks, you pay money in taxes. However, real estate gives you tax breaks, not bills. You can earn up to $250,000 as a single person, and $500,000 as a married couple without paying capital gains taxes on real estate! Well, right there, that means it makes a lot more sense to put your money into real estate than stocks.
Just a few years ago, for example, interest rates were at 6 or 7%. At that time, for each mortgage payment you made, only about 9% went toward your principle and the rest toward your interest. Now, with interest rates so low, that percentage is quite different. That means that even if your home doesn’t appreciate, with every payment you make, you’re building wealth, and you personally own a greater share of your property. With the higher interest rates, you also need more income in order to qualify for a home. So if you wait… you may not be able to get into the price range you care to qualify for.
Right now there is limited inventory. Most homes are getting multiple offers. If you are looking to purchase Bay Area real estate, now is the time.
Complete Your Short Sale Before the Year End
Posted by admin in Short Sale Blog on February 7, 2012
As if those who are underwater on their mortgage don’t have enough to worry about, deadlines will be quickly approaching if you don’t begin the process of your short sale as soon as possible. Keep in mind short sales can take anywhere from 3-7 months, in general, to complete. When a bank writes off a debt due to a short sale, well that is a taxable income for the seller of the home, and the seller will receive a 1099-C for cancellation of debt income.
Through the end of December 2012, the IRS is forgiving this amount. Sure it is possible that it will be extended past 2012, but remember the first-time homebuyer tax credit? It has been evidenced by that example that the government does not always extend these programs, just because many believe they will.
If you are considering a short sale, now is the time to begin your research. By the time the home is listed, in contract, given short sale approval, and gone through the escrow process, several months will have passed.
Chief Economist of California Association of Realtors – December Update
Posted by admin in Market Updates on January 26, 2012
Buyers are Getting the Squeeze
Posted by admin in Buyer Blog on January 16, 2012
We’re seeing it more and more, and it’s starting to hit almost every neighborhood – the downturn in inventory. There simply are not as many homes for sale in theEast Bay as there were a few months ago; however the number of buyers isn’t dwindling. This means that a lot of the available homes out there are getting multiple offers. It’s a heck of a ride for buyers out there these days. Everyone is expecting a buyer’s market, but the truth is, it is not uncommon for offers to be competing with one, two, or three other offers. I recently had a buyer interested in a house that had been on the market for 3 days and had 6 offers submitted already.
Homes that are in move-in condition are particularly likely to have multiple offers. However, it’s not just move-in ready homes. Many fixer- uppers are also getting multiple offers, and quickly. With the decreasing inventory, there are fewer homes for buyers to make offers on, and that means buyers are really getting the squeeze these days to make offers above asking price.
