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Archive for September, 2008
Surprise! Solano The Only County In The State With Positive Building News
September 29th, 2008 categories: Market Update, Solano
With the entire nation mired in this period of
economic uncertainty, one industry that’s taken an incredibly hard hit, as you might imagine, is the home building industry. And in a report just released by the California Building Industry Association, the builder’s trade group announced that all but one county in the golden state saw declines in new building activity.
That one lone exception? Solano County. Statewide in August, building permit activity was down 58 percent to August, 2007. Yet, in Solano, there were actually 3.3% more permits issued this year than a year ago. By comparison, Yuba-Sutter Counties saw a 93 percent drop in new construction during the same period.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that here in Solano we’re exempt from the impacts of all that’s ailing the U.S.’s financial and real estate markets. But amid all the bad news and doom and gloom, it’s nice to see something positive for a change.
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If You Missed Out On Benicia’s ‘A Taste Of First’ Earlier This Year, You Have A Second Chance Later This Month
September 15th, 2008 categories: Benicia, Local Stuff
If you’re like me and missed out on the Benicia Main Street program’s “A Taste of First” event earlier this year, you have a second chance, for the sold-out event is returning the night of Wed. Sept. 24th.
It’s an opportunity to sample the tastes and flavors of many of Benicia’s popular downtown restaurants in a progressive dinner, small-tastes environment. With your ticket, you’re entitled to visit the various participating restaurants and enjoy various pre-selected menu items. When you’re done with one, you move onto the next restaurant and enjoy something different. Read the rest of this entry »
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Buyers Who Thought They’d Missed Their Opportunity To Buy With No Down Payment May Get A Second Chance After All
September 15th, 2008 categories: Buying
Several months ago, when the historic Housing Bill was passed, one of its provisions was to eliminate the use of down payment assistance (DPA) programs on FHA loans. So far this year, the popular Nehemiah DPA program has enabled a huge number of qualified home buyers to get into their first homes. 
Without it, many of those buyers wouldn’t have been able to buy, which would have made the current housing slowdown even deeper.
The government’s reasoning in eliminating these DPA programs was that those who weren’t putting any money down posed a much risk of going into foreclosure down the road. And they had the numbers to back it up, showing how those with 100% down, DPA-assisted loans went into foreclosure far more often than those using a traditional FHA loan with an almost-3-percent down payment. Read the rest of this entry »
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Where To Find The Most Motivated Sellers In Solano-Contra Costa
September 15th, 2008 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales
If you’re a home buyer looking for a deal and want to know where to find the most bank-owned or distressed properties, my advice? Go East.
It should come as no surprise, but according to the latest figures I downloaded off the two MLS systems that cover our market area, areas like Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood, Oakley, Fairfield, and Vallejo are where you’re going to find the lion’s share of properties with the most highly motivated sellers.
That those communities head the list should come as no surprise. But just how many foreclosed or other distress-sale listings are now on the market in these communities may nevertheless surprise you.
Click Here For The Full Report
The two cities with the most foreclosures are Vallejo and Antioch. Between them, there are 996 bank-owned listings – which represents 42% of the TOTAL bank-owned listings throughout the 19 cities that make up our market area. Read the rest of this entry »
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Benicia’s 35th Annual Craft Fair Coming This Saturday
September 15th, 2008 categories: Local Stuff
Benicia’s always popular Fine Arts and Craft Fair is just around the corner. The 35th annual edition returns this Saturday (Sept. 20), beginning at 10 a.m. Next to the Peddler’s Fair in August, it’s the largest street fair in Benicia, and provides shoppers an opportunity to get a head start on all their holiday shopping.
Benicia’s Handicraft Fair
The fair takes place on First Street in Benicia. The street is closed to traffic starting at the corner of First & G Streets. Every year, the fair draws thousands of visitors from all over the Bay Area and Northern California. Read the rest of this entry »
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Why Some Sellers Are Throwing Away More Than $300/Day In This Market & How To Avoid Making Their Same Mistakes
September 5th, 2008 categories: Market Update, Selling
It usually goes something like this: A real estate meets with a seller and explains that in order to sell in a market like we’re 
in right now, they’ll need to be realistic. And the seller says “oh, don’t worry about that…we know what’s been happening out there. We’ve read the paper and know that we need to be priced competitively. We don’t want to be one of those who has their home on the market for four or five months.”
But then a strange thing happens. They look at the comps and see that the number they’d resigned themselves to pricing their home at before the agent arrived is actually still $50,000-$100,000 above the home’s current value.
Suddenly, their mood changes. “Well, we know our home is worth more than that. Plus, we have RV parking. And some of those ‘other’ sales were bank-owned. Besides, we just painted the entire interior four years ago. And our roof is only six years old.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Why Savvy Real Estate Investors Are Now Licking Their Chops…Especially In Places Like Antioch, Fairfield and Vallejo
September 5th, 2008 categories: Buying, Contra Costa, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Investors, Market Update, Solano, Vallejo
Four or five years ago, when prices were skyrocketing month after month, buyers often lamented about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
These Antioch homes are all more than 2,200 sq. ft. and below $300,000
I’d pull up a property’s history and when they saw that the home they were about to pay $600,000 for had been purchased a dozen years earlier for $210,000, they’d say “if I’d only bought several homes back then when I had the chance.”
The ‘good ‘ol days, were long gone, with prices outpacing rents by such a long shot that any savvy real estate investor didn’t even have to crunch the numbers. Unless they were in it for a quick flip, they knew that the numbers didn’t come close to penciling out when a $550,000 home would only rent for $1,500/month. Read the rest of this entry »
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Waiting For The Market To Rebound? If You’re A Move-Up Buyer, That Could Be The WORST Strategy
September 5th, 2008 categories: Benicia, Buying
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a zillion times: “I’d love to buy right now, but my home has lost so much value…I need to wait until the market picks up.”
That strategy may seem to make sense on the surface, but if you dig a little deeper, you may be surprised to realize that if you’re planning on moving up into a bigger or more expensive home, that’s absolutely the WORST strategy of all.
If you’re a move-up buyer, there’s no time like the present. For, selling your smaller, lower-priced home today will net you Instant Equity and lower overall payments than if you wait to the make the exact same move until after prices climb. Read the rest of this entry »
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