So, contingencies, yes--well as agents, we love them because they help insulate us from future lawsuits. But as a buyer, they can cost you money and they will most certainly cost you a home or two in a competitive market. Here's why. Faced with a multiple offer situation on a property, buyers will often try and make their offer stand out above their competition. And there are two ways to do that--the terms they offer and the price they pay. In a multiple offer situation, buyers often exceed the asking price … (1 comments)
belmont real estate: Belmont Home Values-Post January 2011
- 02/16/13 05:35 AM
Belmont Home Prices Decline Further We’re only one month into 2011 and already things are interesting. Belmont home sales in January 2011 remained brisk. There were twelve homes which closed escrow in January, one more than last year but eight more than in 2009. It appears a small trend has developed indicating January 2009, as suspected, was the low point for real estate.
But we aren’t out of the woods yet. Depending on who’s talking to you—a glass half full or half empty person—we’re either headed into a slow recovery or its lull in the action before a double dip. … (0 comments)
The media helps keep us informed about the world we live in. They tell us what is going on globally, what our government is up to and on a local level what the weather might be like (even though they bat just over 500 on that one), and they can even tell us the best route home when there’s traffic. We trust the media to give us accurate information and they have a duty to ensure that it is. But what about the stories they just choose not to report? Let’s face it. Bad news sells and … (1 comments)
belmont real estate: Belmont Home Sales for May 2011
- 07/07/11 12:42 PM
Belmont Home Sales for May 2011 Belmont home prices slipped back a bit in the month of May 2011 while sales continued to be less than impressive. Home sales in Belmont were down considerably from May of 2010 and for good reason—home sales last May were buoyed by the last minute deadline for the $8,000 tax credit which lifted sales across the nation. Our sales analysis for May of 2010 addressed the temporary nature of the uptick in homes sales for the month of May 2010. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter" /> <v:formulas> <v:f … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Belmont Home Values on the Rise - April 2011 Home Sales Report
- 07/07/11 12:40 PM
The sale of single family homes in Belmont increased this April to 16 over last April’s 10—a 60% increase in home sales. This is important to note since last year in April homebuyers enjoyed the $8,000 tax incentive program (and also because we went out on a limb and predicted this might happen). During the same time the average days it took to sell a home dropped from 76 days to 50. • Last April four homes took price reductions of on average $48,000 in order to attract a buyer. This April five sellers had to reduce their prices by … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Belmont Housing Review - February 2011
- 07/07/11 12:39 PM
Belmont Housing Review - February 2011 Once again if we are lulled into believing the raw numbers Belmont’s median home price shot up 14.7% over last February and an unbelievable 23% since just last month—unbelievable being the operative word. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter" /> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0" /> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0" /> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1" /> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2" /> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth" /> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight" /> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1" /> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Can San Mateo Survive a Tidal Wave? POSY FEBRUARY 2011
- 07/07/11 12:36 PM
San Mateo County Market Snapshot--Are We Treading Water? Those of you who follow our market updates know we put our hometown, Belmont, under a market microscope every month to get a glimpse as to where the market appears to be headed. Of course that really is living in a Petri dish when it comes to the real estate market as a whole. Real estate is very local—what goes on in even one part of a city could be entirely different from another. That said eventually positive market trends trickle down and negative ones up. As evidence of this phenomenon one can go … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Case-Shiller Report for November 2011 Shows Little Sign of Recovery
- 01/25/11 12:11 PM
The Case-Shiller index reported today for November 2010 showed a decline in 17 of the 20 MSA reported. Several areas including San Francisco showed a slight decrease over October but are still higher than levels in 2009. Will a double dip occur where levels hit an all time new low? You can see our data as reported by Case-Shiller here...
… (0 comments)
belmont real estate: What if I hate my neighbors?
- 08/02/10 08:18 AM
Finding a home with great neighbors can be the luck of the draw. When buyers we help find a home are concerned about who their new neighbors might be, I'm reminded of my childhood experiences trying to lay claim to the perfect campsite. When I was a young, like so many of our generation, our parents took us on summer camping trips as a frugal way to enjoy a vacation. As we entered the campground, finding the perfect campsite was always a moment of great anticipation. Competition was fierce for the great sites; as with most people who want to get … (1 comments)
belmont real estate: Housing Reform 2009--Panacea or Panic?
- 03/15/09 05:15 AM
The news is full of housing reform stores but the shelf life for reform legislation seems shorter than that of freshly baked bread—what made the news just yesterday is often obsolete by today. We expect 2009 to be a turbulent time in real estate. Knowing how to weather the storm is paramount to the survival of homeownership. Key Elements President Obama signed a $787 billion stimulus bill which includes many features to protect homeownership. These are a few of the incentives targeted to help 4-5 million responsible homeowners stay in their homes: \\· Provide access to low cost refinancing where … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Bait & Swtich--Alive and well in the media
- 11/17/08 09:30 AM
This article featured in the October 12th Sunday edition of the San Francisco Chronicle Real Estate section (K20) is emblematic of sensationalism rampant in the media. I don't care how many times I hear the media defend itself with a thinly veiled excuse for this sort of distortion by saying we're just reporting the facts, their headlines reveal a different motive-to sell papers. The article actually tells an entirely different story than the headline insinuates. A more appropriate title would have been "Many Mortgages are still available..."not "Some". In fact, most mortgages are still available despite what the media's headline would … (8 comments)
belmont real estate: Belmont--Week in Review, November 1, 2008
- 11/01/08 02:03 PM
This is an abbreviated version of our recap for the last week's activity in Belmont because it's been a busy week and I'm beat. That and not much transpired in Belmont real estate. 30 year mortgage rates on jumbo loans underwent a huge increase as money previously available to Fanny and Freddie Mac became more expensive. And if you're shopping for a home right now don't forget, lender are not taking applications for loans qualifying for the $729,750 conforming rate cap after December 1, 2008 of THIS year. Better lock down a home if you want favorable rates before then. … (0 comments)
Four Bedrooms Three updated baths Kitchen with Birdseye maple cabinetry, new appliances, Corian counters, hardwood floors, recessed Halogen lighting and canyon views Family room, kitchen and dinette combination offers access to the rear yard Lower bedroom with full bath Large dining and living room with wooden dual paned bow windows Designer color paint treatments Level rear yard with open space canyon views Approximately 2430 Sq. Ft. 7,000+ Sq. Ft. lot Excellent Schools $1,298,990 Email this listing to a friend: <form name="eMailer"> </form> <form name="form1" action="/cgi-bin/formmail" method="post"> Name e-mail Phone (Optional) I'd like … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Housing Reform Ramifications--Did you know...
- 08/14/08 10:13 AM
Housing reform and what it could mean for you. In our three part series on the housing reform bill we discuss three major changes that could impact your decision to buy, sell or refinance your home. Part 1 Listen to this short introduction in the player or subscribe to the full Podcast Download housing_reform.mp3
If you can imagine a ball of Silly Putty rolling down the aisles of the senate floor and how much unwanted stuff would stick to it, you can imagine what happened to the housing reform bill as it made its way through congress. Some … (2 comments)
belmont real estate: Wild Swings in Belmont's Median Home Prices Explained
- 08/04/08 02:01 PM
Anyone trying to understand the wild fluctuations in Belmont's median home price need look no further than this chart. We've tracked the median home price in Belmont over the last year-ever since the mortgage crises. What we were looking for was the impact it would have on home values. We sure were stunned to see a $200,000 median price increase last December, which lead us to go back and track the median size home selling too; this way, we could adjust for larger or smaller homes selling in a particular month. Now that we've plotted the data, it's easy to see … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: As the Cookie Crumbles, or not...
- 08/04/08 11:03 AM
Since the mortgage catastrophe one year ago came to light the media has been reporting month over month data revealing falling prices and sales. Seasonal adjustments were impossible since that would necessitate comparing data to the same period a year prior—hardly comparing apples to apples since July of 2007 we’ve been in a downward housing cycle. Obviously the housing market for sellers is not as good as it was before the housing woes were revealed in July of 2007, but what since then? How far has the market dropped?
Finally we can compare this July’s housing performance … (0 comments)
belmont real estate: Foreclosures have pitfalls for buyers
- 06/28/08 01:54 AM
Ever since we launched our foreclosure portal on our web site we've been inundated with inquires requesting information on how to purchase one of the many homes going to auction. What we did not anticipate was the general misunderstanding of the process. First, the opening bid is inappropriately referred to as the "sale price" when in fact it is more accurately the opening bid price. This sale price is what seems to attract the throngs of interested parties since it sounds too good to be true, and in fact, it is. Buyers are asking us, "How can I purchase that home?" … (4 comments)
belmont real estate: And just one more reason real estate sales are down…
- 05/04/08 07:52 AM
After reading Kenneth Harney's article titled "Tight credit hitting specialized areas of mortgage market" in the May 3, 2008 Real Estate section of the San Francisco Chronicle, it struck me how far we have to go to return to a more normal housing market. Mr. Harney discusses the multitude of new restrictions on home mortgages which all have one glaring similarity-they make it harder for borrowers to get a loan. Some of the new loan restrictions affecting home buyers are: •· No more zero down financing •· No more stated income for non self- employed people •· No refinancing a property that had a … (2 comments)
belmont real estate: Bad News for Renters as Prices Climb
- 04/21/08 02:05 PM
You've got to admit, renters have had a hard time. After being squeezed out of the homeownership market for years they now face getting squeezed out of the rental market as well. But more to my point...ever notice that plane crashes come in three's? Do they, or does the media just report them that way? Ever notice after a plane does crash you hear nothing but planes crashing all day. Are planes suddenly dropping out of the sky in some fit of protest? Hardly. I've also noticed a distinct pattern to the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday Real Estate section. Each week they organize … (0 comments)
To Have or Forgo Contingencies When Buying a Home
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