What’s Really Going On?

I think it’s time we had a chat.  A serious chat.  This market is messed up, yo.

So…. what are we seeing out there today?  Good homes that should have sold that didn’t?  Yes.  What?  But aren’t more people moving here?  Aren’t rates still good?  Aren’t buyers still out there?  Yes, to all of those questions but the market got strange.  It’s like we went to sleep on Christmas Eve and woke to a different real estate world here.  Explain that?  Oh, I will.

Let’s start with the article from the SF Gate from Friday, March 25 that stated the Bay Area has grown by 90,000 people from 2014 – 2015.  It’s not as great as the 106,000 that moved here in 2013 but that’s still a lot of people.  I’m sure you’ve noticed it on the road, in Whole Foods, trying to get a table at State Bird Provisions.  It’s crazy how we’re growing so much that when you see the mega structures popping up along 101, it makes sense.  We’re going to have housing for these people but our infrastructure isn’t making accommodations when you look at our roads which is pretty frustrating.  Our schools are also way impacted but that’s another tangent.  However, they’re only building luxury apartments assuming that the influx continues and they can afford it.  Can they?  That’s a scary proposition if you consider what would happen if there were mass layoffs – all these projects will stop or sit empty.  Yahoo has already started tightening their pants, will other companies follow in the next few years?  How will that affect these Chinese giants that will own these mega-structures?

So is it a bubble?

According to the CEO of KB Homes (a local builder), we ARE NOT in a bubble.  Oh, that magic word that’s so cute when you’re 4 and terrifying when you’re 40.  Jeff Mezger doesn’t want you to worry your pretty little head about it because, “$1.5 million is affordable in the Bay Area right now.”  It’s great for his business to tell us we’re not in a bubble, everything is fine.  I’m kind of curious why the SF Gate would go to a home builder to ask this question.  It seems like a publicity stunt.  Here’s what I see – $1.5 million as a median home price is unreasonable.  It’s superb to have dual tech or bio-med incomes but that’s the only sector that can afford that right now.  How will our nurses, firemen, teachers, paramedics afford to live here?  It’s unfair to degrade their quality of life with two hour (each way) commutes to the valley.  I think this will be our first mass exodus if you don’t count the natives moving to Portland in droves because they’re already priced out.  With minimum wage not set to reach $15 until 2022, I think businesses will struggle to find the employees who are needed for services here (so expect service quality to go down because only teenagers living with their parents can afford to work for $9 an hour); unless we build affordable apartments, it’s not sustainable.  We can’t have a society of only rich people because we like luxuries like grocery shopping and someone to bandage your kid up when he falls at school.

That brings me to another really interesting article I read on Thursday, also on SF Gate – Palo Alto considers subsidized housing for families making under $250k (per year).  Let that sink in for a bit.  A quarter million in earnings per year is now the middle-class poverty line in Palo Alto.  That’s considered very well off anywhere else in this country.  Palo Alto is doing this specifically to keep their teachers, firefighters, police officers, and government workers where they work.  If they see it and we’re seeing it…. why are other cities not following suit?  Affordable housing isn’t a negative word and it’s going to be necessary.

Here’s another reality check – it’s getting harder to get a loan.  What?  But Sterling Bank is now doing undocumented loans!  (If you sign up for one of these or you sell your home to a buyer with one of these loans…. well, I’m going to guess you weren’t paying attention a few years ago).  Lending has gotten harder to obtain in the last 4 months since TRID started and lenders will tell you it hasn’t changed anything but waiting times but I don’t believe them.  My clients have good jobs.  They’ve worked hard, achieved stellar credit, and now have a down payment saved up.  We send them to a bank that has always performed and…. we’re closing late.  Things are and aren’t happening.  Underwriters are tightening their belts and not making exceptions.  Relatively low risk loan applicants are being put through the ringer.  Not only did I have a client with solid employment (10 years at one company!), astounding credit, and large reserves – he also answered the lenders emails and got him what he needed within very short time frames and he still had problems.  I’m thinking this speaks way louder than the CEO of a building company saying everything is great!  This scares me.  This is why homes are sitting on the market and falling out of escrow.  This is why having an agent who vets the buyers is super important but it doesn’t always mean you won’t be effected.

I think we’ll see an interesting Spring but by the end of the year and going into 2017, it’s going to level out.  Buyers are either waiting to see what happens or they’ll jump in and it will be like years before this where prices will climb until Summer hits.  It’s really hard to predict right now but I think the lower price ranges will be fine.  It’s that $1 million + that will be affected by buyers cold feet.  And let’s not forget it’s an election year.  Those always throw the market off!  Add to this the fact that we’re even mentioning the word “Bubble” and many buyers will cool their heels hoping to wait it out and get a deal in the future.  But that’s a big gamble because if we fall in 2017 or 2018, will it be to 2012 prices or Spring 2016 prices?  You just don’t know….

However, if your investment is for 10 years or more, real estate is still safer than stocks!

We’re those DIY people you’ve been warned about

Over this past year of home ownership, I (Sara) have discovered I have a special talent – I can find anything at Home Depot.  Anything.  That little dohickey that Dave can picture in his head but has trouble translating into words?  Found it.  Found it in an aisle three aisles away from where he was looking.  Who knew I’d be so handy?  It’s like I hold a PHD in shopping, luckily Dave is super talented at putting the parts together.  We make a good team.

On our latest project, we decided to tackle the tiny bathroom attached to our master bedroom.  We started talking about this bathroom years ago while staying in a suite at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas where I was enamored with the tub and the stunning aqua tiles.  I stayed up late using the little notepad drawing up ideas to layout the room and bathroom.  It morphed as we dreamed of a door leading out to a deck with a hot tub, possibly a wet bar so we could have coffee in bed, big picture windows looking out into the woods surrounding the tub, handmade blue lantern and penny tiles from Morocco – we dream big.

But here’s the reality.  I called it the creepy bathroom because there was almost always some creepy crawly thing hiding in there waiting to kill me.  I could tell you a comical story about the time there was a spider on my leg and I couldn’t get away from it because I was putting Vick’s vapor rub on my feet for a cough but we don’t have time for that.  I wouldn’t use the medicine cabinet because I didn’t know what was hiding in it and there was evidence something was hiding in it.  So one night, Dave cleaned the medicine cabinet – a really good deep clean and he decided he would caulk the separated seams to keep the crawlies out.  But he couldn’t live with the faucet because he likes a single handle, not two.  So we shopped for a faucet and stocked up on caulk.  But do you put a fancy faucet in a bathroom you don’t love?  Or buy cheap?  Do the cheap ones hold up?  None of these cheap faucets have the drain stopper we need.  Oy vey!

While standing in the bathroom discussing faucet heights, I noticed something on top of the window molding.  And there he was.  The offensive creepy crawly leaving gifts in the medicine cabinet.  A gigantic millipede.  Ewwwww!  Obviously I stepped out of the very small bathroom now inhabited by my husband and this giant bug he’s trying wrangle and scream again because there’s something living on the molding above the bathroom door!  Relax, it’s just the key.  We’re replacing the medicine cabinet now!

So we’re going to have an expensive faucet and a nice medicine cabinet over this vanity we don’t really love that has super limited counter space?  Let’s replace that, too!  And this is the story of how we went from “Let’s move this wall and expand under the house and put in french doors!”  To the reality of this:

I think only 24 hours had passed between “Maybe a new vanity….?” and Dave tearing the old one out.

It’s not my dream bathroom but it’s functional and less creepy and I love that.  That wall to the right?  It was supposed to go but we opted to make the bathroom usable now and not wait 10 years while we “figure it out.”

We found a cheaper version of the Kohler vanity we used upstairs, it’s all aluminum and since it’s recessed into an exterior wall, Dave caulked the outside to keep moisture and bugs out.  We found the cabinet at our place in the city where we also purchased all of our kitchen and upstairs bathroom cabinets.  We opted for white to give the room a light, clean, modern feel.  We went with a banjo counter so we’d have extra space to charge our toothbrushes and try to keep the area around the sink less cluttered.  I spent an extra $50 to have tile back splash instead of the short quartz pieces that come with the counter top.  I think this gave it a nice feel, will be easy to keep clean, and gives our tiny room a touch of character.  In reality it also meant we didn’t have to re-texture and paint where the old vanity which was 2 inches taller and its back splash were attached.  It was pure kismet that we found tile the exact height we needed between the mirror and counter.  We added those sockets to the left because the socket on the right is so close to the cabinet you have to choose between plugging something in and using the cabinet.  This is where having a brother in law who’s an electrician comes in handy!  The socket heights don’t match because we were working with an exterior wall with lots of studs and window framing but that’s ok because function is key.  We went with the same Hansgrohe faucet we have upstairs in a different finish because we really love it.

Obviously, it’s not done but after a week  of my husband disappearing at every opportunity (read: times when I did need him) to get this thing done, I’m pretty darn proud.  It wasn’t easy, he worked his butt off and there was that call while I was getting my haircut about how the counter top might need to go back because it wasn’t sitting right and losing two hours driving to SF to talk to the quartz guys… but there is no reward without a bit of stress, right?

Next, we’ll straighten the drawers, get some receptacle covers, add our sleek black handles (that I’ve been carrying around in my purse), paint the doors to the built in storage (white to match or pale gray), and try our hand at some linoleum tiles.

Dave showing it off to me now that we can really see the finish line!  And as Dave says, “You can finally wash your face in here now!”

Big Changes Coming for CA Schools

As things progress, we realize our systems need to progress with them.  We hope for wider roads as traffic increases, stable jobs as we buy homes dramatically increasing in value, housing to accommodate our growing population, and one of those infrastructures that is so essential – good schools.

Schools are such a scrutinized necessity.  We want to make sure our kids are getting a good education and it’s hard to understand how a teacher balances keeping the some kids challenged without letting others fall behind.  We place our critical basis on statistics.  Show me the test scores.  Show me a “grade.”  If that school isn’t a “10” it can’t possibly be good enough for my kids.  But what makes a school a 10 versus a 7?  Is it because that school didn’t hire the right teachers?  The parents aren’t involved enough?  The district is underfunded?  Or is it because their test scores suffered from being the only school in the district to have a special education program or an English as a second language program?  How many parents are aware that a school’s special education program’s scores are calculated with all the other scores?

How we measure these scores can make or break a school.  It hurts a school’s reputation or makes it so high in demand parents line up days in advance, camped out on sidewalks, to register their kids.  A good score can drive home prices up and demand through the roof – pushing well qualified buyers into condos just to get into an educational system over what?  10 points?  50 points?

Yes, we have Great Schools which is like the Yelp for schools but that’s flawed in it’s own way.  Some parents won’t even read the school’s reviews unless it has a score of 10.  Regardless of if those reviews say things like, “I love the smaller class sizes because my kid gets more one on one attention.” or “This is the only school in the district with a music program.”

As an agent, I need to promote the facts but I advise my parents to call a school and talk to the parents with kids there.  Do your own research before ruling out a school based on such limited information.

It seems like the state is finally taking a step back.  Test scores are such a small part of performance and it surely should not be the highest priority in your kids short childhood.  The School Quality Improvement Index, recently adopted by six districts statewide, is about taking those test scores further and looking at attendance, how quickly ESL students learn, suspension rates, culture, and more.

From their site:

CORE Districts was approved for a district-consortium request for a federal NCLB waiver on August 6th, 2013. The waiver plan, called the School Quality Improvement System, calls for a reorientation of districts’ work towards a collective effort to prepare all students for college and career, with districts assuming unprecedented accountability to eliminate disparity and disproportionality in all subjects and across the academic, social/emotional, and culture/climate domains.

I think this is going to be dynamic.  It’s going to alleviate stress on teachers regarding a single multiple question exam and reward them for making kids want to show up and learn.  How awesome is that?  It’s working in SF and Oakland, now I only wonder how long it will take to make it to spread to the rest of the Bay Area.

5 Remodeling Realities No One Talks About

Dave and I are at the tail end of our remodel and the painful beginning of the actual moving process.  I thought I would do a series of posts that highlight what we’ve learned, how we did little things to make our home “ours,” and general tips.  We are real estate agents but we’re also human, I hope you’ll find our chronicle of our adventure funny and useful.  I’ve decided to make these posts a bit raw, we’re not always polished and professional – this is a slice of our reality; we’re just like our clients, we’re like you, and we’re doing the best we can.  Don’t worry, I will get back to the serious things like the economy and our rising market, new lending laws, etc.; but for now, I’m pretending I’m just like Nicole Curtis only my hair isn’t always fantastically, perfectly mussed and I don’t hang out with LeBron James.  (I’d prefer Steph Curry anyways.  Go Warriors!)

So to kick things off, here are the remodel/moving realities that no one tells you about.  Unless it’s your best friend over a glass of wine but even then…. there are those moments you don’t admit to where you tell yourself that life will be back to normal soon just to keep your sanity.

1. You will make friends at Home Depot.  You will see those friends more often than you see your family.  You may have a day where you spend more time with those friends than your spouse.  Home Depot will be your home away from home (or Lowes or Menards, depending on what’s closest).  You will know the store better than some of the employees.  You will *hopefully* learn that Michelle’s son says the cutest things, Ruby will always go out of her way to ask how your day is going, and David who resembles Thor will be super polite when your husband yells, “Ragnar!” at him even though he’s told you he hasn’t seen Vikings.  You will also have a preferred paint guy; you’ll be bummed when Glenn isn’t there and you need a gallon of Bit of Sugar.  If you don’t have this experience, then I feel sorry for you.  It takes no time to give someone a smile and ask how their day is, it takes very little effort to make friends because not only will they go out of their way to help you, but they’ll also put a smile on your face when you’re absolutely sick of hanging out in the plumbing aisle because you bought the wrong fittings.  Again.

2. You will wear the same clothes for a week straight and not care.  And your spouse won’t either.  Because he’ll be doing the same damn thing because laundry is the last thing on your mind after a 16 hour work day.  Once you get paint on your favorite yoga pants, there’s no point in potentially wrecking another pair while you’re still painting, am I right?  Same with your sweatshirt.  Actually, you’ll pretty much make it your entire remodel uniform to save your other clothes which is brilliant.  It will seem like an even more brilliant idea when you decide to wear a different pair of pants to clean your stove because the painting is done and you tear them.  In two places.  I’m not sure if my friends at Home Depot will even recognize me if I wear something else at this point.

3. The girl who works the drive through at Carl’s Jr. will know that you like BBQ sauce with your onion rings and extra salsa with your street tacos.  And she’ll automatically give it to you.  And you may not catch on right away but when you do, you’ll be a bit embarrassed.  If you’re anything like me, you’ll start by packing your most prized possessions which include your pots and pans.  Your husband may sarcastically ask if you also packed the silverware; which you didn’t because you’re smart like that.  No, seriously.  I packed my pans on Day 1 but I still have my plates and forks.  And Dave had to unpack the coffee.  I think that’s called priorities.  Or getting it wrong.  Take your pick.

4. You may become insane enough to consider jumping out a window.  Doing renovations will cost you money and potentially your sanity.  We’ve had to cut holes in our bedroom ceiling at least twice, the first time was to move some gas lines for our heater and stove because our floor plan is inverted (meaning our living space is on the top floor above our bedroom) the second time was to fix gas leaks in those new lines.  Finding those leaks and dealing with them was beyond frustrating.  So, Dave was re-texturing our bedroom ceiling, a messy and difficult task, and he started joking about how I was “locked in” to helping him because he had taped the door closed.  Then he realized that the texture was on the other side of that door.  I noticed he gave a longing glance at the window to avoid having to re-tape the door and he likely would have used it as an exit but it wouldn’t have been so easy to come back in with the 5 gallon buck of mud.  It’s days like these when you need to keep your sense of humor (because your wife will laugh at you if she’s not laughing with you).

5. You will realize more than ever what it’s like to be a team.  If you’re remodeling with a spouse, those vows for better or worse may reverberate in your head during your journey.  Dave and I work as a “team,” we are teammates in life but after this experience, that meaning has evolved for us.  As a working team, we spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week together.  We’re rarely apart and sometimes we even cook dinner together.  Most think we’re nuts but it’s our dynamic, it’s what we’re used to.  We started working together about 6 months into our relationship and a decade later, we still make it work.  We’re not perfect but we balance each other.  Where he is weak, I am strong and where I lack certain talents, he has them in spades; we’ve used this to our advantage professionally whether it’s picking the right person to negotiate with the other side or assisting our clients.  So when it came to our remodel, I expected to approach it as a team.  We’re on the same side, it’s not my tile versus his tile, it’s finding “our” tile but that’s a challenge in itself when you have very differing opinions about how you want your home to look and feel.  This doesn’t mean we haven’t had disagreements or moments where we needed to be alone to collect our thoughts.  Being a team is solving the problem through compromise and trust.  At one point, we were at an absolute deadlock on paint colors.  I bought 13 samples for 1 accent wall.  We just couldn’t agree on anything and it was frustrating, unsettling, and very very real – this is that nightmare couples dread when remodeling.  This is our home and we both have to live there and like it.  I can honestly tell you that Dave gave up his fight for the color he loved; he wanted to move on.  I picked a color (and it wasn’t the purple I wanted!) and it was a risk.  Now, we both love it and neither of us would change it for the world.  We may want those hours hemming and hawing back but we learned some lesson.  I am too tired to recognize what it was but I’m sure it was there.  It’s not all going to go perfectly but you you keep moving forward and at the end of the day, when you look at that person you vowed to spend your life with and you realize you couldn’t do this without them – that’s what it’s all about.  Until it’s time to pick drawer pulls…

So, I did not intend to end on a sappy note but if you’ve stuck with me reading this, then I’d like to thank you.  I appreciate you joining us on this new adventure.  I can’t wait to share more useful tips with you and pictures of our work in progress.

Let’s talk about… Protection

I’ve got my mind on my money and my money on my mind…

Protection is something that’s rarely discussed in our industry but it’s so important.  Many agents love to blog about the market, how many lovely homes they’ve sold, how to look past a dated kitchen or a lack of curb appeal.  Don’t get me wrong, I love all that fluffy stuff, too.  What’s not openly talked about is one of the key factors you should be hiring an agent for.  With the birth of the internet and sites like Redfin, Trulia, and Zillow, you as a buyer or seller have access to the listings and the ability to do market research yourself.  You can identify your perfect home on your own, so why even hire an agent?  You hire an agent because whether you realize it or not, this is going to be one of the biggest investments in your life and you want to make sure your hard earned money is protected.

You may also want to protect your heart.  Sound silly? Maybe it’s not.  You’ve walked into this home and you’re already picturing your son’s first steps in the living room, your daughter walking down that staircase in her prom dress, or late nights snuggled on the porch with a glass of wine.  This home is going to become an extended member of your family, you’re emotionally invested.  Then you’ve spent the time trying to decipher the reports which are written in another language (“serviceable” means what?)  and you’ve decided that you can live with or fix the flaws because every home has flaws but not every home has what makes this one feel right.  You’ve also sacrificed, choosing to forgo fancy meals or vacations to build up that down payment.  But now comes the stressful part.  Will the sellers like my offer?  Will they like me?  Did I choose the right amount to offer?  Should I have gone a thousand dollars higher?  What if the others offers are all cash?  What if the other buyers have more money in the bank?  What if we don’t get it?  Will I ever find another home I love this much?

Let’s face it, you sign on the dotted line and you’re all in.  It’s a legally binding document.

Now let’s take a step back… You just signed a legally binding document with someone licensed by the state to write legally binding documents.  In California, agents are the only other entity beyond lawyers who can write such binding contracts and your savings (and heart) are on the line.  Did your agent explain this contract to you?  Are you aware of all the terms you’ve just agreed to?

How did you choose your agent?  Was it because they were nice and made you feel comfortable?  Are they a family member who maybe took a few online classes and thought, “Hey, I can sell houses now?”  Or did you pick the professional who successfully does this for a living, who studies the market and the paperwork as though it were a craft that can be honed but due to consistent changes in the law can never be mastered?

A few days ago, we were invited to be part of a small, exclusive forum made up of the top agents from our brokerage to discuss the two contracts commonly used in our area.  We challenged each other and used our real world experiences to pick apart each contract to point out the positives and negatives of each one because neither one is perfect for all situations.  Most buyers have no idea that there are two standard contracts in our area and even worse, most agents are only comfortable working with one.  However, it’s important to know that each purchase contract protects the buyer and seller in different ways.  While the contracts can be modified a bit through the buyer’s choice of terms and terms can be negotiated later, the main fact is the contracts are very very different and the contract your agent chooses for your offer may be the difference between opening the door to negotiations and a hard no.  For example, one contract obligates the seller to make repairs while the other one doesn’t… which contract do you think the seller is more likely to accept if he/she’s got one of each sitting in front of him/her?

This all comes back to working with a real professional.  You can find the house but we are the ones who help you leap off that cliff and (hopefully) dive into homeownership.  The quality of the contract your agent writes, the importance of knowing which contract the seller or their agent would prefer, the knowledge base your agent brings to the table in knowing how to give the seller what they want while still protecting your rights as a buyer – these are all the factors that can stand between you and the realization of a dream.  Your agent can make or break it; they truly can be the difference between you writing an offer and buying a home.  As a seller, an agent who understands all the purchase contracts coming in will protect your rights, too.

(Sara’s Notes:  This advice may not apply to you as many states in the US require a lawyer to write up the contracts.  If you do live in a state where the contract is not written by the agent, I’d still advise you to pick an agent who fully understands the process and can ensure the entity writing the contract executes it with your terms and conditions in tact.  Contract writing is often the first step in the negotiation process so it is key to make sure that you have a strong negotiator with your best interests at heart.  Once it’s in writing, it’s very hard to redefine your needs.)

Victory in DC

As Realtors sometimes we get political.  We don’t always want to but most often the powers that be don’t understand what we do and why it is done the way it is done.  Sometimes they make decisions that don’t benefit the general public – that’s you, the people we represent and care about.  Parties don’t matter to us, it’s the decisions that affect you directly that matter to us.

So it is with great pride that I get to announce that the National Association of Realtors finally won a 10-year battle with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that eliminates prepayment penalties on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) which makes up a good percentage of loans nationwide.  This policy change will prohibit the FHA from charging borrowers interest on their home mortgages after the mortgage is paid off on FHA-insured single family mortgages.

NAR made it clear that the prepayment penalty placed an unreasonable burden on consumers who are already facing high housing costs.  Programs like the FHA and Ginnie Mae are there to help our citizens realize the dream of home ownership.  Currently conventional loans, Veteran’s loans, and the USDA’s Rural Housing Service do not have post-payment interest charges.

This rule will go into effect January 21, 2015.

RE/MAX National Housing Report – July 2014

Curious how this recovery is effecting our country as a whole?  Overall Days on Market are down (excellent!), prices in metropolitan areas of the Mid-West are up, and an increase in inventory is having a positive impact on the nation’s real estate outlook.  Our market here in the SF Bay Area recovered faster than any other market and has settled into something that resembles a stable market (as depressing as that may seem to some who thought the Spring frenzy would last); now it’s the rest of the country’s turn to start seeing some positive numbers so those who wish to make a move can.

If you’re thinking about a change in the SF Bay Area, we’d love to help you!  If you are thinking about a change anywhere else in the world, don’t hesitate to contact us.  Through our vast network, we can help you find the right professional in your area to get you the best results!

REMAX_National_Housing_Report_July_2014

Are you thinking global?

If you’ve been thinking about selling your home, you may not have put a ton of thought into where your buyers are coming from. Or hopefully you have. Most sellers know they want to sell, hoping to get as much money as they can and move on with their lives and they trust their agent will expose them to the buyers. Or they blindly trust the internet will propagate their home’s listing to the sites the buyers are looking at. Every seller has one top priority whether they know it or not – to have their property exposed to the most qualified buyers. See that word I snuck in there? Qualified.  Sure the tire kickers will show up but you want solid offers.

A good listing agent knows where the qualified buyers are coming from and how they’re searching for their next purchase. If they’re looking locally, the listing agent will know the importance of being represented on a certain site, not just represented but they’ll make sure the listing is at the top because very few buyers will stick around to see what’s on page 5. In our area, the key is being on the front page of Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia (and yes, being a showcase listing is something we pay for out of our commission because we know how important it is to our clients, don’t assume every Realtor does this).

What if a large percentage of your buyers aren’t local? What if they’re looking at homes in your area from the comfort of their couch in China or Canada? They’re qualified, competitive, and making up a significant percentage of the buyers. Are they seeing your home?

We’ve heard sellers express that they don’t see the importance of working with a global agent, they don’t care if the company representing them has a global presence. I’m encouraging you to think globally because your buyers are.

RE/MAX has a presence in over 85 countries (I believe the total is 91 as I’m writing this) and is one of the most trusted real estate brands in the world. Our clients get the benefit of having their homes showcased on one of the most searched sites in the world for real estate and those buyers are put in touch with me directly because no one knows your home better than me, your listing agent. We have the benefit of having it all in one place so buyers in China can see my listing in Belmont and my Belmont retirees who dream of paradise can use the same site to look for homes in Playa Coco, Costa Rica.

Let’s look at the numbers from the National Association of Realtors (see slides below):

• 17% of the international buyers shopping for a home or investment in the US are shopping in California; second to Florida which has 23%
• Over 50% of the international buyers who bought a home in California last year were from Asia
• In the US, most of the International buyers made a majority of their purchases between May and August
• 39% of International buyers viewed the US as a desirable location
• 22% viewed US property ownership as a secure investment; this is even more important when considering the number of buyers in the Bay Area markets that didn’t see a huge price loss during the crash
• 31% not only said was a secure investment but a profitable one; we remain one of the very few markets that has not only recovered from the crash but a majority of our homes are worth well over their value at the height of 2008
• 42% of the International buyers searching for homes for sale on RE/MAX’s global site were looking in the US – far more than any other country in the world
• 4,542 is the number of unique page views global.remax.com saw in January 2014

And lastly…. 1

There is one office that has exclusive partnerships with remax.cn. We have a wonderful arrangement that allows us to showcase select listings on China’s national RE/MAX site giving our sellers exposure above and beyond the global site. Wouldn’t you like your home to have double the exposure to the fastest growing real estate buying sector in the world? The Hurun Global Rich List 2014 shows that China is home to 358 billionaires, second only to the US. Many studies have shown that no matter what your net worth, you want what most of us want – to have our hard earned money in a safe investment, to house our family in a safe neighborhood, good schools, steady employment, and a great location. All of which can be achieved by investing in the SF Bay Area.

Don’t take your chances and simply hope your home will be found by the right buyer. Make sure you list with the agents who will put your home in front of the best buyers to get you moving in the right direction.

We’re happy to help you with an evaluation, the advice is always free.  

Sara & Dave 650.200.7420

 

Tuesday Musings

Today Movoto posted their Top Ten Snobbiest Cities in America and *surprise* (which doesn’t seem like a surprise at all) Palo Alto was labeled number 1. How did they come to this conclusion? Well obviously factors like number of Apple stores, home prices, and income came into play along with completed higher education, performing arts centers, and access to private schools (not that you even need those in Palo Alto, those schools are attended by the Atherton kids). Movoto suggests that if you know the difference between a Cabernet [Sauvignon] and Merlot, these cities might be at the top of your list when looking for a home. However, “snobby” or rather “snobbery” is defined as the behavior or attitude of people who think they are better than other people. Not sure those are the neighbors I would be seeking out myself but to each his own.

Heading out on Realtor tour today was a bit underwhelming as we still have record low inventory, yet it’s not the frenzied market of Spring as there are noted price reductions, too. So, while the buyers are out there, they’re being a bit more discerning about which homes they bid on. The positive is this: there are good homes at good prices and there are deals to be had if you know where to look and when to strike. The other take away: your listing agent still matters! Can you hear me sellers? You may think a monkey can sell your home in a market like this but you still only get one chance to make a first impression. Hiring a professional is the only way to guarantee you’re not leaving money on the table.

Our favorite home today was 1906 Bayview in Belmont. Priced at $945k (and very likely to over that asking price), is a move-in ready home with an open floor plan in the Belmont hills – close to good schools, great food, a year round farmer’s market, transportation, and so much more. This 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom home won’t last long!