East Bay Real Estate Sellers

2010 East Bay Real Estate Update: Challenges Facing $1 Million+ Buyer/Sellers

As you have discovered over the years, Jim Walberg is one of the most positive people around.  So, this report is not about positive or negative, it is about reality.  There are still some significant hurdles for Buyers and Sellers to climb over in 2010 in the East Bay real estate markets.  The past two years the biggest price corrections have been focused on the under $1 million price ranges.  The “sweet spot” of our real estate micro-markets has been in the $500,000 to $700,000 price range.  Mortgage companies and the Federal government have designed most of their home loans to motivate sales below $700,000 – at least until the end of April.  At that time the focus will then be under $600,000.  The biggest challenge for Sellers and Buyers of East Bay real estate is still in the price point above $1 million. Read more

East Bay Real Estate Sellers

East Bay Real Estate Tips For Selling Your Home – TODAY!

In today’s crazy Buyer’s market, help is on it’s way for Sellers!

Remember in my recent posting that Sellers need to become Buyers immediately!  Well, here are some tips to help Sellers get their quicker.  Some of these seven tips are no-brainers, but several of them need to be reviewed again.  Here we go…

1. Real Estate is always a local. Know your market!  Many of the communities in the East Bay real estate markets are in great shape price wise.  Some are a real disaster. As a Seller you MUST know your local markets in order to price your home appropriately, or you won’t even get a nibble.  In addition, even the price ranges in each of the local markets make a difference as to which homes are more likely to sell quicker.  In the Pleasanton to Orinda corridor, the price range of $1,500,000 and up is not being effected much at all.  However, if you are looking the East counties, as a Seller your home is in the midst of a thousand or more for sale in the $500,000 range or less.  It is a challenge to data that is much past three months old because to the changing prices that are happening everyday.  Make sure you have hired a Realtor who specializes in your local region.
2. Check out who is buying in your market area.  Who are the Buyers and why are they buying?  Some of the factors besides the mortgage meltdown that is effecting pricing are;  new home developments in your area; is there a healthy employment base in your region; what is the relocation market like for transferees to your community; what price points seem to be closing escrow more than others?  Again, you need to work with a professional Realtor who can assist with providing you this critical information.
3. Interview a professional Realtor!  When you are interviewing a Realtor to represent you, ask them about market conditions, and their experience as to the realities of your local markets. Ask them about how many days on the market are the typical listings taking to sell.  Ask them about the months of inventory currently on the market.  For example, East Bay real estate markets have from 10 months to 28 months of inventory.  It is critical for you to know what this number is for your local community.  The pricing of your home will be greatly impacted by the months of inventory. Finally, ask them about the last two month trends regarding the absorption rate of homes declining or rising – another key factor to consider when pricing your home.
4. What will your house actually sell for?  It doesn’t matter what your home is listed for, it matters what it actually sells for. Because of the volatility of our current real estate markets you may even want to hire a licensed appraiser to prepare a price report for your home.  You will need to have an appraisal report as part of the sale of your home anyway. So, you may want to get it now as a part of your pricing decision.
5. Consider getting “in front of the market” with your listed price.  If your specific local market is still declining – like the East counties, and you and your professional Realtor can determine the actual downward pricing trend,  price your home as to where you think the price will be in three months from now!  If you are willing to use this strategy you will have the competitive edge over all the competition of similar listings that are chasing the market with price reductions each month.  The challenge is predicting the bottom of the real estate market in your local area is tough, even for your Realtor.  The caution on this strategy is that it is almost impossible to raise the price of your home when the market turns upwards!
6. Do you really have to sell your home now?  If you need to get a higher price than what the current market will bare, then the BIG question is, “Can I wait to sell my home when the market reverses it’s downward trend?”  If your answer is YES, then take it off the market, continue to do the fix-ups that will allow it to be in the best condition possible when you put it back on the market at a later time.  If the answer is NO, then Sellers need to get to “what is” regarding the fact they may not get their home sold for the price they hoped for.
7. Do your homework on the market where you want to BUY.  If the market where you are buying your next home is in a similar condition of your real estate market, then figure out how to become a Buyer as soon as possible!  It will not serve your long term plans to hang out being a Seller when you will be able to purchase your next home in similar market conditions. 

Can you tell I have an opinion as to what Sellers need to do TODAY in order to become Buyers?  I welcome your thoughts…Until next time!

East Bay Real Estate Sellers

Buyers Are Still Trying To Time The Bottom In East Bay Real Estate!

The Sellers need to price accordingly and calculate holding costs.
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The East Bay real estate buyers may be playing a dangerous game in their attempt to time the bottom of the real estate market. From the statistics of 2007 the East Bay real estate market above $1 million has not had much of a decline in pricing. From a Sellers point of view of this price point, the Buyers are not as much in the driver’s seat as they may think. This is the biggest market opportunity for Sellers getting close to their price in 2008.
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When you are talking about the $600,000+ price point in East Bay real estate, it is a completely different story. WOW! What a mess for the Buyers who leveraged their mortgages with 100% or 95% mortgages. The market has corrected in this price point, big time. All you need to do is take a look at East Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The price corrections are causing Sellers to stop making payments on their mortgages because there is no reason for them to throw good money away at a selling price that will not payoff their mortgages.
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If a Seller in the $600,000 price range who is in trouble with their mortgage wants to sell their home FAST, they need to look at the lowest third of the price points in their slice of the market and get their homes priced there immediately! They will not get a sales contract on their home if they are not willing to take the PLUNGE. If you are speaking with any of these Buyers, just blame me for the suggestion I just made.
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Another very effective strategy for Sellers in this market is to offer a “buy down” of the interest rate for the Buyer. What his means is that the Seller would be willing to pay a 1% fee of the loan amount that the Buyer qualifies for in order to lower the Buyer’s interest rate. For example, if the loan amount was $600,000, the Seller would credit $6,000 towards the buy down of the interest rate. This has a dramatic effect on the amount of the Buyer’s monthly payment. This may end up being the key feature of the sale of the home that allows the Buyer to afford to actually buy it.
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We must get our creative juices flowing with “out of the box” ideas in order to stimulate the sale of homes instead of just having over priced homes sit on the market for months. It doesn’t serve the Sellers or the Buyers if creative solutions are not created for our East Bay real estate customers. Contact me if you want to discuss any of these ideas further. Until next time….