Archive for the 'Livermore Real Estate' Category
Latest List of Bank Owned homes in Livermore
April 6th, 2008 Categories: Livermore Real Estate
Our new home search system now has the ability to search for Bank Owned homes. Just go to the Search for Homes tab and click on advanced search. From there go to the bottom of the selection choices to Disclosures and type in Bank Owned, add the rest of your selections- City, Price range etc. This may not be a complete list but it is the ones listed as bank owned on our mls.
This is what came up when I ran the search for Bank Owned Properties in Livermore
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Bank owned properties in Livermore
February 27th, 2008 Categories: Livermore Real Estate, Market Update
We are now seeing affordable homes in Livermore again.
Its been a long time since we have seen homes under $400,000 and now we are seeing some in the low $300,000 price range. See this 3 BR 2 Bath home on Sunset Dr. priced today at only $309,950 is now one of many bank owned properties in Livermore available on the market and they have priced this to sell fast. This property would have sold for well over $500,000 last year. One bank owned property around the corner (on Bannock) sold recently in just a few days priced at $334,950. With many first time buyer programs available you can still get 100% financing with 30 year fixed rate financing at reasonable rates (income restrictions apply). A credit score of 620 is needed so check with your lender and see if you qualify. Don’t have a lender, call us, as we work with the best lenders in the Bay Area who look out for your best interests with low rates and fee’s and in many cases we can get the bank to pay all of the closing costs.
Check these other Bank owned properties in Livermore under $500,000 .
Call us at 925-337-2370 or email us for a list of Bank owned properties in Livermore, Ca.
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Livermore Market Update
January 24th, 2008 Categories: Livermore Real Estate, Market Update, Uncategorized
The results are in as as expected and 2007 was a rather disappointing year in comparison to recent years. No surprise that total sales in 2007 for Livermore was down 26% from 2006. What is surprising is the strong downward movement in the median sales price from $660,000 in July 2007 to $545,000 in December 2007. Inventory levels are down considerably from the fall which is normal for this time of year. Good news is the absorbsion rate (pending sales under contract compared to active inventory) is down to 9 months from 14 months in September 2007. The next 4 weeks will give us a good clue on how these numbers will point the direction of the market this coming new year. Keep watch for future updates.
A little dated from October 2007 is the California Association of Realtors forecast for 2008 (pdf file of 114 pages) which does offer some fabulous statistical information on the Real Estate market during the 1980’s and 1990’s with comparisons of inventory levels (18 months in 1992) and median sales price (under $200,000 in 1997) through 2006. It does give a great perspective on where the market has been in the past and what we may expect in the future. We will digest some of this information in future updates. The good news for now is that this is a great time to buy your first home or move up to that dream home and that even with these lower price levels Sellers have come a long way in the last 10 years.
Livermore December 2007 Statistics
California Association of Realtors 2008 Forecast
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Bargain Buys in Livermore under $500,000
January 23rd, 2008 Categories: Livermore Real Estate, Market Update, Weekly Market Updates
We are starting the new year with some great homes available at prices that can only be labeled as bargain buys. Many of these homes are priced $100,000-$150,000 below prices from 18 months ago. I will be putting up a list weekly of what I consider some of the best buys from the local MLS-IDX of the MAXMLS system. We will start with under $500,000 (some are even under $400,000) and put up various price ranges so check back and see what the bargains are.
Bargain Buys in Livermore under $500,000
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Pin The Tail On The Bottom Of The Market
November 8th, 2007 Categories: Livermore Real Estate, Market Update
I Received this from Cary Cowper who is the Community Sales Manager at the Grove here in Livermore. Originally came from Ron Nelson at Sherman Advertising and Cary added the loan comparison. This is an excellent representation of what we are seeing in the market today. There are some excellent opportunities today to find homes well below prices from earlier this year and even last year.
We all have been working with would be home buyers here in Livermore. All of them feel that they should wait until the housing market is at the bottom before they buy a home. Let’s look at an interesting take on "the bottom of the market" and how it will effect your buying decision.
This is a graph that represents the Livermore housing market. The left side of the V represents the market going down, the right side represents the market going up, and of course the bottom of the V represents the bottom of the housing market.
If I asked you to plot on this
graph where you thought the housing
market was right now …
… would you pick this spot or something close?
So you think that the market is going towards the bottom. If the market isn’t at the bottom yet, how will you know when it does hit the bottom?
How will you know when the housing market hits the bottom?
Experience tells us you won’t know that the housing market has hit the bottom until prices start to go back up. It will be difficult to be sure that the market has hit bottom for a few months. It’s not a sudden shift, it’s a gradual shift. You’ll be able to tell that the market has turned when prices reach this point (green arrow).
What is the difference in housing prices between the red arrow and the green arrow?
Not much… but there is another difference and it is major.
If you buy a home on the left side of the graph, it is considered a buyers market. You would be more likely to get concessions from a seller including price reductions, repairs, upgrades, closing costs, maybe even personal property.
If you wait until the market turns and you buy on the upswing, you and every other buyer that has been waiting for the market to hit bottom will be bidding on the same house.
There really is no better time to buy a house than now for a few reasons:
1. There is a wonderful selection of homes to choose from right now.
2. Sellers are very willing to negotiate on price, terms and perks.
3. Interest rates are still at a historical low.
I am suggesting we take a good look at the above examples and decide what percentage the prices will have to drop before a buyer thinks housing prices have hit bottom and offer that price. For example, if you think that prices will go down another 5%, then submit an offer at 5% below the asking price. Sellers will either counter, accept or decline. Then look at a loan payment based on current low interest rates. On an $875,000 home with an accepted offer 5% below asking, you’d end up at $831,250. Putting 20% down ($166,250) your loan would be $665,000. At 6% payments would run $3,325. If interest rates were to go up only half a point to 6.5%, the same home with the same $166,250 down would have to sell for $797,000 to end up with a similar loan payment.
The message here is to take advantage of the market today! Opportunity is knocking now!
November and December are historically the best months to buy Real Estate. Rates are also low at this time due to low demands from the markets. The Real Estate market always increases after the holidays and rates start increasing as the demand turns back up.
If you would like to see what we see as the best bargains on the market today- Give us a call or e-mail and put our 30 years of experience in both up and down markets to work for you.
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New Listing *1132 Marlys Common* Open Sunday
October 21st, 2007 Categories: Livermore Real Estate, Market Update
Livermore Open House Sunday 1:30-4:00
1132 Marlys Common, Livermore, Ca. $510,000
Luxury Townhome in South Livermore. 3 Bedroom 2.5 Bath plus Loft which could be fourth Bedroom. Only 12 years old w/ large open rooms, cathedral ceiling in Master plus private patio and 2 car garage. Excellent Schools- Sunset Elementary and walking distance to Civic Center, Library, Downtown and near Biking/Walking Tails, Wineries and More.
Listing info 1132 Marlys Common
Virtual Tour www.1132Marlys.com
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Making the Most of the Maze of Real Estate News
October 4th, 2007 Categories: Livermore News, Livermore Real Estate, Pleasanton Real Estate, Weekly Market Updates
I received an email from Dr. Bill Fisher, a real estate writer with right Side Marketing that had some interesting things to say-
"Some of you are doubtless tiring of the incessant parade of bad housing market news in the financial media. It’s worth noticing that the source of much or most of the negative press is Wall Street economists who tend to look upon an investment in a personal residence precisely as they would look on an investment in a few hundred shares of stock. They forget, perhaps understandably but much to everyone’s detriment, that a home is far more than a piece of paper with a fluctuating value. It has more usefulness than nearly anything else in our lives. To say, for example, that the real estate market is in a free fall, for example, is terribly misleading. Real estate may be losing value in many cases, but it has automatic governors on how much value it can lose. The house still exists, as do its occupants and their lives."
I find that it is easy for the economists to present statistics in a negative way. Read this article from Southern California and you will see a different twist on market statistics.
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U.S. ECONOMY WILL AVOID RECESSION, UCLA FORECASTS
September 17th, 2007 Categories: Livermore News, Livermore Real Estate, Market Update
California’s economy will limp to the brink of recession this year, thanks to a decline in jobs and the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis, according to the latest quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast.
The forecast says that 2007 will see a peak in subprime mortgage resets but adds that mortgage defaults are expected to continue well into the first half of 2008. As a result, the housing market will continue to drag on the state’s economy until early 2009, with expected job growth of less than 1 percent through Sept. 2008 and unemployment topping out at 5.9 percent by the end of next year.
"California is in for at least another year of economic doldrums, with rising unemployment, weak job growth, and a slowdown in all broad indicators," said UCLA economist Ryan Ratcliff.
Nationally, the U.S. economy also will just barely avoid recession and begin making a slow move toward economic recovery in 2008. UCLA’s forecast calls for growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) of more than 1 percent for the fourth quarter of 2007 and first quarter of 2008, with a return to 3 percent in 2009, avoiding the traditional definition of a recession, which is two consecutive quarters of a GDP decline.
UCLA’s forecast also lowered predictions for U.S. housing starts for 2007 to more than 1.1 million units, but predicts a modest climb to 1.4 million units by the end of 2009.
Courtesy of California Association of Realtors
For more information see press release from Ucla Forecast
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**Open Sunday** Exquisite Home in Desirable South Livermore
September 6th, 2007 Categories: Livermore Real Estate
**OPEN HOUSE**
Sunday, September 9, 2007 1:30 - 4:00pm
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Open Saturday 9/8 1:30-4:00 Forest Glade Estates
September 6th, 2007 Categories: Livermore Real Estate
**JUST REDUCED**
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