It seems like it’s impossible to check the local news (or read this blog) without hearing about how the Bay Area’s housing market is heating up. California’s economic growth is drawing workers back into the area in search of homes; growing families are making the transition from rooms and apartments to condos and houses. Perhaps more importantly, people are finally moving on plans that were put off for years (due to the recession). On the aggregate level, many Bay Area… read more →
In my previous article, I wrote that a number of Dublin Ranch houses were closing for less than asking price, but that this suggested that many homeowners were simply racing ahead of “economic equilibrium” when setting their prices. Considering you can’t look at the news without seeing how hot Bay Area housing has gotten lately, this is a perfectly understandable mistake to make. If we can assume that people want the most for their home, then a healthy market is… read more →
Every once in a while, a client will ask me about the timing of their home sale… “When is the best time to sell my home?” I know why they’re asking — they want a “leg up” on the market. They want that extra little advantage that a well-timed offering will make so the most people possible will be looking at the time they sell. But do these “special times” exist? And if they do, when are they? There are… read more →
If you’ve made an offer on a Bay Area home in the past month, there’s a good chance that you’ve found yourself shoulder-to-shoulder with several other eager buyers. This increased competition has been a blessing to home sellers, who have capitalized on the rise in demand by raising prices. The latest figures reflect this trend: In May, the average home sold for 17% more than a year ago (the highest in over a year), and closed for $25,000 above the… read more →
As we hinted about in the previous installment of this series, our client at 440 Meadowlark owned a property that had a value of around $360,000 if it were sold in its present, as-is condition. As you saw from Part One of the “Shabby to Showplace” series, the house was suffering from deferred maintenance, it needed a new roof, and seemed to be the victim of shoddy workmanship from “upgrades” previous owners had made through the years. Our seller was… read more →
A common question in real estate is, “when is the best time to sell my home?” If you’ve ever asked this, there’s a good chance you’ve gotten a variety of answers. For example, some experts suggest that spring is the best season to put your house on the market, since families will want to move during the summer (when school is out of session). Others believe that the winter months are better because there are fewer houses on the market,… read more →
Homebuyers are certainly still feeling the heat as they compete to purchase property in the Richmond Waterfront area — as of April, Richmond waterfront homes continue to sell at a remarkable speed, with condos and townhouses spending an average of only a week and a half on the market. In many cases, these homes receive multiple offers from competitive buyers and close for the price the homeowner wants (if not more). There’s a silver lining for homebuyers interested in Point… read more →
It’s that time of the year when we all get introspective about our lives, the year that has passed, and the year that is to come. It’s the time most of us make new commitments to things we want, and make “resolutions” to get them. I’m always struck by how many cars are in the parking lot at the gym right after the New Year. I laugh about it, but I also get frustrated by the limited access to equipment… read more →
It used to be that, if you were an underwater homeowner who had fallen on hard times, and who had to do a short sale, the forgiven debt would be counted as income on your tax return. Think about that — you have $400,000 in debt against your home and, after the downturn, it’s only worth $250,000 when you are forced to sell it or have your lender foreclose. Then, at the end of the year, you owe income taxes… read more →
When we think about marketing, most of us think about media (like commercials, print ads, social media, etc.) and branding. There’s another discipline of marketing, though, and that’s called Product Marketing. When it comes to marketing your home, enhancing your home’s appeal (taking it from, you guessed it, shabby to showplace) to its target audience can be a daunting task. In fact, most real estate sales agencies outsource that work to others because they don’t know how to do it.… read more →
Many of our friends and fans know Lifestyle Real Estate Services as a real estate marketing company, and think of the fantastic photography, brilliant brochures and precise online marketing we use to get our listings sold. But good marketing is just as much about the “product” as it is about the “media” used to represent it. Let’s face it – if your house is ugly, there’s only so much we’re going to be able to do to help you maximize… read more →
The Property Marketing People at Lifestyle Real Estate Services have done it again, successfully marketing and selling a home in the Dublin Ranch Terraces! We marketed the home on Lifestyle Real Estate Services, and our sellers accepted an offer only three days after putting it the home on the market. Our sellers enjoyed the highest sale price of that particular model so far this year. Condos in the Dublin Ranch Terraces that are similar to it have closed at an… read more →
Ask any homebuyer looking to purchase a Dublin Ranch home in the last few months and they will tell you – it’s been a tough time to buy. Every reasonably priced property gets multiple offers, and most sell above the asking price after only a few days being on the market. It’s difficult to avoid that sinking feeling of overpaying, and reports by out-of-touch appraisers often require homebuyers to come in with more cash than they had expected. But for… read more →
Those who own a condo or townhome in Dublin Ranch have a reason to smile: the market is coming back strongly in their favor! Property in Dublin Ranch is in high demand! In the last 12 months, the number of homes available to sell has plummeted. That’s created a situation where Dublin Ranch condos and townhomes are in high demand and the prices buyers are willing to pay for them is on the rise. For those who don’t follow this… read more →
If you thought it would never happen again, you were (happily) mistaken… It’s a Strong Sellers’ Market in Dublin Ranch again as inventory plummets in the area! Putting a home on the market with a reasonable asking price is inevitably causing a bidding war, driving selling prices above the asking price as home buyers clamor for homes that are seemingly few and far between. If you’ve been thinking of putting your home on the market — it’s time to do… read more →
One of the reasons Dublin Ranch homeowners are thinking seriously about short-selling their homes is because a Federal Tax benefit for underwater homes is expiring at the end of this year. The reason this is important is because, according to the IRS, if you are forgiven debt (through a short sale, or suffering a foreclosure) that’s considered income — and it’s taxable. So, picture this: you’re a family who has fallen on hard times in a bad recession. You get… read more →
An “offers due” strategy is often used on non-distressed properties that are being sold during a sellers market. There are four reasons for this strategy; two have to do with professional courtesy, one has to do with getting you the most money possible, and the last has to do with finding you a committed buyer. Let me go through them below… As a professional courtesy, we like to give agents an opportunity to show your home. It’s never unreasonable to… read more →
If you’re in the market for a Dublin Ranch condo or townhome, you have a couple of options: be aggressive in trying to get your offer accepted, or wait it out for the market to return to more favorable terms for buyers. The Months’ Supply of Inventory in Dublin Ranch for condos and townhomes has, since the beginning of the year, been on a steep decline. That’s good for sellers, but bad for buyers. When the market tips this strongly… read more →
Readers of our blog will know -‐ one of the ways we measure the “velocity” of the market for Dublin Ranch homes is by looking at the “Months’ Supply of Inventory” or “MSI.” It’s because it makes something complicated it an easy thing to understand. Think of it this way: if no more homes come on the market after today, how long would it take to sell through the current inventory at the rate that homes are selling? If the… read more →
Before the downturn, I worked with a lot of real estate investors and helped them do 1031 Exchanges. A lot of my investor clients wanted to buy properties outside the State of California, but all of the loan agents I worked with couldn’t accommodate them. In 2005 I saw an ad in a real estate newspaper for a guy with Bank of America, realized how big they are and thought, “I bet they can do loans out of state…” Sure… read more →
