Jan

31

Prices Drop Nationwide, Not Necessarily the Case in Berkeley and the Surrounding Areas

Posted In: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, General Real Estate News, Local Market Statistics

Case-Shiller Records 3.7% Annual Drop in Home Prices Data released this morning by Standard & Poor’s showed an annual decline of 3.7 percent in November for the 20-city composite reading of its S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. Analysts were expecting a year-over-year drop in the range of 3.2 to 3.4 percent. Eighteen cities were in negative territory. Detroit and Washington, D.C. [...]

Jan

05

East Bay Real Estate Predictions for 2012

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, Foreclosures & Short Sales, General Real Estate News

During tour today my colleagues and I were discussing what we thought the market would do in 2012.  One said she felt that the Berkeley market, specifically, would see an increase in appreciation of 2% – 3% due to a lack of inventory.  “There are so many buyers looking for homes and without inventory, we will see a lot of [...]

Oct

24

Cash Buyers

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

Dang, 33% of all home sales in California in 2010 were cash.  Cash purchases continue to rise in California, and might exceed last years high. Yes, cash! I just had a listing in Berkeley that received 6 offers, 2 were all cash. My 2-bed El Cerrito listing received 4 offers, 1 was all cash. Another listing of mine in El [...]

Oct

21

Great news! Jumbo Conforming Loan Limits to be Restored!

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

JUMBO Great news!  Jumbo Conforming Loan Limits to be Restored!  Inman News just reported that in a 60-38 vote Thursday, the Senate approved an amendment to a spending bill that would restore the $729,750 ceiling that was first put in place in 2008 to allow Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration to back what were previously considered [...]

Oct

05

Berkeley Hills Realty

Posted In: Berkeley, For Buyers, For Sellers, General Real Estate News, Places

This has been a year of moves for me!  First I moved my family to Albany in July, then I put my El Cerrito house on the market in September, and this month I moved brokerages!  Needless to say it has been a busy summer.  I am so thrilled to be with Berkeley Hills Realty.  With small-compay ethics and big-world [...]

Oct

03

Is it Possible to Boost the East Bay’s Sustainable and Affordable Housing Stock?

Posted In: Alameda County, Albany, Berkeley, Contra Costa County, El Cerrito, First Time Home Buyers, General Real Estate News, Oakland

Here is an interesting article from the UC Berkeley News Center that came out a couple of weeks ago that talks about how in-law/secondary units could be a great way to help accommodate the projected population growth via dealing with infill development in communities throughout the region.  They are currently looking into regulatory challenges, such as parking restrictions, but are hoping that this [...]

Jun

01

Why Buy Now?

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

Aha, the magic question.  Why should you buy now?  I know this may seem a little biased considering my profession, but let me show you a few things that are happening, and are about to happen, in the lending world. 1) 30 Year Mortgage. You can get a 30 year mortgage today with as little as 3% down. 2) Appreciation. [...]

May

09

Mortgage Monday: Hot off the Presses

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

Hot off the mortgage press: 1) Just heard that rates are at their lowest for the year 2) Just heard that you can now obtain a conventional loan with as little as 3% down (will include mortgage insurance). 3) #2 applies to condos! 4) Just heard that transactions are closing in as little as 20 days! 5) Just heard that [...]

Apr

06

Better Homes and Gardens iPhone App

Posted In: For Buyers, General Real Estate News, Web/Tech

Taking the world by storm is BHG’s super cool iPhone app.  We are a pretty lifestyle-rich vibey company (ok, soooo not a word, but hey, I like the sound of it!) so it is only appropriate that we have an app to go with it. The app is really about organizing the buyer.  While looking at houses, users can take [...]

Mar

29

New Addition to the Team

Posted In: General Real Estate News

Whenever I visit a blog I want to see how active it is.  Well, those who visit my site will see a big gap- I was a pretty dedicated blogger until my last post, which was in November.  Well, I am excited to announce that back in November I added someone new to my team.  She comes to the table [...]