BEST VALUE ON THE COAST
OUR LISTING AT 441 AVENUE DEL ORO, EL GRANADA
Check out our 4 minute video below

Escape to this unique Highlands property located in El Granada. This fully updated home features 4 well sized bedrooms with newer carpets and double paned windows plus 3 bathrooms, all recently remodeled with decorator tiling and appointments.

Located on the first level is one of two master suites with access to the backyard, large laundry room, 2 car garage, separate dog-run and a versatile utility room, playroom, office, or whatever the heart desires. The spacious backyard is astonishing and perfect for entertaining or playing, fully landscaped with fruit trees and many small plants, all accented with a large flagstone patio and access to the top floor. Upstairs living room with access to deck, spacious dining area, and bright kitchen with granite counters.

The top floor also includes a private master suite with a full bathroom and two additional bedrooms with a guest bathroom off the hallway. Also located just a short distance from the world famous surf break.

Holy Smokes! 18 Open House Signs For One Home?

This weekend was my first weekend not participating in an open house for awhile. On my way home their were 18 Open House Signs on the coast, by the same brokerage, all pointing to just ONE house for sale in Montara. There were 5 in Pacifica and 13 from the 92 up to Montara.

Most people do not know this but there actually is a sign ordinance. We are actually limited to only 1 sign on the property but there has never really been a crackdown on the sign issue. I am all for exposure, but 18 signs? This act could potentially ruin it for everyone, including other listings.

Wow!

P.S. Stay Tuned for a series of posts "Neighborhood Spotlight" The first of many will be Ocean Colony. I hope you enjoy.

WHY BUY NOW
11-12-07 - Posted by our good friend at Lawson & Associates, Gabe Bodner - Mortgage Planner

Many people ask the question, “Is now a good time to buy or should I wait?” The market in Northern California’s Bay Area is a market of opportunity. If you know what you are looking for and you have a good Realtor and Mortgage Planner working for you, there are many wonderful opportunities to buy a new home in today’s real estate market.

So you may ask why now? First, the geographic restrictions of Northern California proves there is a very limited amount of open space to build new homes. Developers simply cannot buy vacant land and continue to build new homes just anywhere. If someone wants to build a new home, they need to buy an existing home, tear it down and build a new house on the existing lot. There is a large premium associated with this process because the costs to buy an existing home, demolishing the house, and the costs to build new. In the end, the new house that is built then increases the value of the other homes in the neighborhood and adds a premium to the land value. It is this cycle that continues to push house prices higher in the bay area.

Second, there are more homes on the market than normal for this time of year. This is causing a softening in home prices. Sellers are motivated to sell and there are fewer buyers in the market. Since the media has sent so many mixed signals people have been more scared to buy. This has created a buyer’s market and a buyer’s market creates a competitive situation for sellers. In some cases, sellers are willing to reduce the sales price or give a credit to the buyer for closing costs just to attract buyers to their property.

Third, the job market. Companies are hiring and growing at a super accelerated pace. Companies like Google, HP, Apple, Adobe, and Oracle are growing and hiring locally. As they continue to hire, this creates job opportunities and a need for more people to buy houses. As employees continue to build wealth, they are investing in real estate.

Fourth, is household growth. What does this really mean? Due to the life cycle of families having babies and growing their families, we have an annual population growth between 220,000 to 250,000 people in California per year. However, we are building less than 150,000 (on average) new homes in California each year. Therefore, we have a net shortage upwards of 150,000 homes in California, every single year. This creates a continued demand for homes both for people who will own and people who will rent.

Fifth, interest rates. Mortgage rates are still very low. Rates are still between 6% and 7% on most home loans. These rates are historically very, very low. People typically do not buy homes solely on mortgage rates because they can refinance if rates drop. However, we are already at very low rates which makes the affordability of buying much easier.

The last reason why now is because in the spring there are always more buyers and less homes on the market. This in turn creates a sellers market and buyers are then competing with other buyers forcing home prices to go up because of the limited supply and the increased demand by buyers.

Today is a wonderful time to invest especially if you plan to hold onto the house for at least five years. If you have any questions regarding the above information, you can contact me directly at Gabe@BayAreaHomeFinancing.com or 650-492-4071.

A Good Time to Buy? Or Not.
by Ron Gable - Our VP/Manager in the HMB REVIEW 11/1/07

I always marvel at how the economics of our industry swings as the exterior influences affect the economy. Last year, the media was still talking about multiple offers and crazy things buyers were willing to do just to get sellers to accept their offers. The word overbid became commonplace in our real estate jargon and several slang words for overbidding were part of our normal dialogue.

People would talk about the number of offers on the properties they were selling, or buying. Neighbors would talk about houses down the street. “They got 6 offers…we got 8 offers…it sold for $100,000 over…we were able to get it for only 5% over the asking”.

Now in some markets particularly in parts of San Mateo County, some of those scenarios still exist. We are not seeing it in the degree we did at the height of the frenzy but are seeing some of it nonetheless. Because of the turmoil in the sub-prime market, the market dealing with high ratio loan to values particularly in the lower or starter price ranges has slowed quite a bit. Many of these “sub-prime” loans were made to borrowers who could not verify their income, had less than stellar credit and minimal or no down payment. Although there are still loans available for buyers that have moderate credit and can’t document their income, they do need a small down payment. What surprises me about this is that with some buyers not able to buy, many that are seem to be sitting on the sidelines. What I am sensing is that the feeling is “It’s not a good time to buy”. Because there are fewer buyers in the market, there are more available properties which means that some homeowners would be willing to accept less or offer more favorable terms than they would just a short time ago. And yet with all the negativity in the media, some buyers would rather sit it out. “It’s probably better to wait until the market and the other buyer’s situation improves. It will be more fashionable to buy then and I can feel good about beating