Why Not throw Your Hat in the Ring and See Where it Lands? April 24, 2008
What's New?
Welcome back from Spring Break. Whether you basked in the sun in Hawaii, skied in Tahoe, built houses in Mexico with Piedmont's high school students, or stayed close to home as I did, Piedmont is officially bursting with listing activity and the available home offerings keep on growing! That's great news for interested buyers. Piedmont now has 25 active listings with the average list price reported at $1,933,960 and average days on market (DOM) hovering at 47 days.
The DOM number may sound high, given past years' performances, but it doesn't represent the full picture. The home at 220 Scenic Avenue sold in eight days in this year's Spring Market, while 320 Sea View has clocked in more than 170 days and counting.
Why? The view home on Scenic Avenue finally found the price the market was willing to absorb, while the Mediterranean home on Sea View has not. In short, Scenic found its true value and the market responded quickly with multiple offers. I suspect that when the home on Sea View offers perceived value, the market will follow suit.
Price a home too high and you will be working against your own best outcome.
That's hard to hear and even harder to explain to eager sellers who really "want what they want" or really "want what they need."
TRUTH - The market doesn't care what you want or what you need.
Often when sellers hold out for more, they receive less. The longer a house sits on the market, the larger the discount the buyers will come to expect. Your first offer is often your most motivated buyer!
What's Coming?
Mindy Scott brings a lovely 5bdrm/4bth Traditional with expansive Bay Views to the market on Selborne Drive. Featuring large rumpus rooms, updated eat-in kitchen with adjoining family room and two-car garage with interior access, this great home is now available for private viewings and open to the public this Sunday 2-4:30!
Steve Michaelides offers an Enchanting English Tudor on Hubert Road that features 3bdrms/3bths, custom office, updated kitchen, elegant formal living and dining rooms, and gorgeous garden setting. With a prime Crocker Highlands location, this charming storybook home is very special. Open Sunday 2-4:30!
For more on both these homes, visit www.Grubbco.com.
Adorable best describes the new listing in Upper Lakeshore, featuring three sweet bedrooms, remodeled kitchen and bath, friendly floor plan, newly planted rear garden, fresh paint and loads of CHARM throughout. This darling 1923 Colonial complete with shuttered windows (I'm a sucker for shuttered windows) packs a big punch for the affordable price of $799,000. Interested? Please give me a call.
What's Pending?
As I mentioned above, 220 Scenic Avenue went pending in quick time (8 days) while 221Mountain Avenue took closer to 90 days to find its perfect buyers.
With many of you away over the last week or so, there was less corresponding "pending" activity than we might expect this far into Spring. This delayed response reinforces my last newsletter where I predicted a "late Spring Market." Stay tuned and stay close. Now that inventory is at its peak and interest rates are once again, close to historical lows, I would expect the pending home sales to increase dramatically over the next few weeks.
What's keeping you from making an offer?
Even a lower than expected offer can often start the negotiation process that may ultimately achieve your goal. Why not throw your hat in the ring and see where it lands? Savvy buyers in today's market are being rewarding by reaping great values!
What's Happening?
A client called me last week with genuine concern about the value of her home. She and her husband are refinancing the property they bought a few short years ago and their appraisal has come in for less than they anticipated.
Here's the news . . .
Any lender who is underwriting the loan traditionally orders the appraisal. Makes sense - they want to ensure their investment is "worthy." However, in this more conservative market, many lenders are requiring a 10% deduction off the top of the appraisal to offset the news of a "declining marketplace."
"Declining marketplaces" are determined by zip codes - not neighborhoods or communities (that would be illegal). As a result, homes get bundled regardless of where they actually sit. Your home may in fact, have retained its value and it would still be penalized for sharing a zip code with a neighborhood that may have lost value half a mile down the road. Banks are painting with a very broad brush!
Or, in fact, your home may have lost some of its equity. I understand your concern (I also bought at the TOP of the market) and I'd lay odds that I could probably buy my home for less today than I paid for it four years ago. On the other hand, I couldn't expect the significant profit in today's market that I made on the sale of my San Francisco home four years ago either. . . Profit is often relative.
What's my point?
We all make decisions in the context of the moment and we make them with the best information we have at the time and with good intentions. (How else does one explain 80's hair?) Looking back, it's easy to second guess ourselves, but it's important to honor our decisions and understand that hindsight is always 20/20.
Investments grow over T I M E. You and I may need to sit on our investments longer and let them recoup any loss they may have experienced. If history teaches us anything, it is that the real estate market goes UP over time and has historically outperformed the stock market over time as well! Sit tight.
What's Fun!
What isn't fun? We are rounding out April and coming into May where the fundraising season really goes into full swing. Whether you are attending the CSL Heart of the Home Tour this Friday and Saturday, shopping for designer handbags at The Cancer League's first Handbags for Hope auction on May 1, dancing the night away at Chase the Blues on May 3, www.chasetheblues.com, joining the parent body for the Tri-School Fundraiser, Moonstruck, on May 10, www.piedmontspringfling.org, or bidding on birdhouses at Paints Annual Birdhouse Gala and Auction on May 23, www.piedmontpaints.org, there is tons of fun to be had.
All of these worthy Piedmont events raise dollars for local East Bay charities. Pick one or all of them to attend and enjoy yourself. It's support for one another that makes our community so special!
Finally, Dining Out for Life is today - Thursday, April 24 . Proceeds support vital life services for those struggling and living with HIV/AIDS (a cause very near and dear to my own heart, having lost a sister several years ago to this disease). Dozens of local restaurants will be donating 25%-50% of their net proceeds to this extremely important cause.
Local favorites include Fentons, Italian Colors, Brown Sugar Cafe, Bay Wolf, Cesars, Citron, Crogans and Dopo.
A complete list can be found at: www.diningoutforlife.com.
This is a great excuse for taking a night off from cooking! (Not that you really needed one.) You deserve it!
The Piedmont Plug!
Earth Day was celebrated this week, and I am acknowledging this very important event by giving away reusable Farmer's Market/grocery/library bags to anyone who wants them. (I have plenty to go around) Let's all do our part to steer away from plastic bags that end up in our land fills.
Look for me and my son at the Farmer's Market on Grand on Saturday and in Montclair on Sunday, or shoot me back an email with your address and I'll drop one by. You get to do something nice for the planet and my younger son gets to earn a few bucks helping me deliver bags (and hopefully learning to take ownership of the Earth) and that's a win-win for all of us!
See you next week!
THANKS FOR READING!
For more information about any of the properties or events listed above, please call me at (510) 339-0400 x264, or simply respond to this email. I'd love to share my real estate tips and my experience in the Piedmont community with you!
Feel free to visit my website at JulieGardner.com for more information as well.
Welcome back from Spring Break. Whether you basked in the sun in Hawaii, skied in Tahoe, built houses in Mexico with Piedmont's high school students, or stayed close to home as I did, Piedmont is officially bursting with listing activity and the available home offerings keep on growing! That's great news for interested buyers. Piedmont now has 25 active listings with the average list price reported at $1,933,960 and average days on market (DOM) hovering at 47 days.
The DOM number may sound high, given past years' performances, but it doesn't represent the full picture. The home at 220 Scenic Avenue sold in eight days in this year's Spring Market, while 320 Sea View has clocked in more than 170 days and counting.
Why? The view home on Scenic Avenue finally found the price the market was willing to absorb, while the Mediterranean home on Sea View has not. In short, Scenic found its true value and the market responded quickly with multiple offers. I suspect that when the home on Sea View offers perceived value, the market will follow suit.
Price a home too high and you will be working against your own best outcome.
That's hard to hear and even harder to explain to eager sellers who really "want what they want" or really "want what they need."
TRUTH - The market doesn't care what you want or what you need.
Often when sellers hold out for more, they receive less. The longer a house sits on the market, the larger the discount the buyers will come to expect. Your first offer is often your most motivated buyer!
What's Coming?
Mindy Scott brings a lovely 5bdrm/4bth Traditional with expansive Bay Views to the market on Selborne Drive. Featuring large rumpus rooms, updated eat-in kitchen with adjoining family room and two-car garage with interior access, this great home is now available for private viewings and open to the public this Sunday 2-4:30!
Steve Michaelides offers an Enchanting English Tudor on Hubert Road that features 3bdrms/3bths, custom office, updated kitchen, elegant formal living and dining rooms, and gorgeous garden setting. With a prime Crocker Highlands location, this charming storybook home is very special. Open Sunday 2-4:30!
For more on both these homes, visit www.Grubbco.com.
Adorable best describes the new listing in Upper Lakeshore, featuring three sweet bedrooms, remodeled kitchen and bath, friendly floor plan, newly planted rear garden, fresh paint and loads of CHARM throughout. This darling 1923 Colonial complete with shuttered windows (I'm a sucker for shuttered windows) packs a big punch for the affordable price of $799,000. Interested? Please give me a call.
What's Pending?
As I mentioned above, 220 Scenic Avenue went pending in quick time (8 days) while 221Mountain Avenue took closer to 90 days to find its perfect buyers.
With many of you away over the last week or so, there was less corresponding "pending" activity than we might expect this far into Spring. This delayed response reinforces my last newsletter where I predicted a "late Spring Market." Stay tuned and stay close. Now that inventory is at its peak and interest rates are once again, close to historical lows, I would expect the pending home sales to increase dramatically over the next few weeks.
What's keeping you from making an offer?
Even a lower than expected offer can often start the negotiation process that may ultimately achieve your goal. Why not throw your hat in the ring and see where it lands? Savvy buyers in today's market are being rewarding by reaping great values!
What's Happening?
A client called me last week with genuine concern about the value of her home. She and her husband are refinancing the property they bought a few short years ago and their appraisal has come in for less than they anticipated.
Here's the news . . .
Any lender who is underwriting the loan traditionally orders the appraisal. Makes sense - they want to ensure their investment is "worthy." However, in this more conservative market, many lenders are requiring a 10% deduction off the top of the appraisal to offset the news of a "declining marketplace."
"Declining marketplaces" are determined by zip codes - not neighborhoods or communities (that would be illegal). As a result, homes get bundled regardless of where they actually sit. Your home may in fact, have retained its value and it would still be penalized for sharing a zip code with a neighborhood that may have lost value half a mile down the road. Banks are painting with a very broad brush!
Or, in fact, your home may have lost some of its equity. I understand your concern (I also bought at the TOP of the market) and I'd lay odds that I could probably buy my home for less today than I paid for it four years ago. On the other hand, I couldn't expect the significant profit in today's market that I made on the sale of my San Francisco home four years ago either. . . Profit is often relative.
What's my point?
We all make decisions in the context of the moment and we make them with the best information we have at the time and with good intentions. (How else does one explain 80's hair?) Looking back, it's easy to second guess ourselves, but it's important to honor our decisions and understand that hindsight is always 20/20.
Investments grow over T I M E. You and I may need to sit on our investments longer and let them recoup any loss they may have experienced. If history teaches us anything, it is that the real estate market goes UP over time and has historically outperformed the stock market over time as well! Sit tight.
What's Fun!
What isn't fun? We are rounding out April and coming into May where the fundraising season really goes into full swing. Whether you are attending the CSL Heart of the Home Tour this Friday and Saturday, shopping for designer handbags at The Cancer League's first Handbags for Hope auction on May 1, dancing the night away at Chase the Blues on May 3, www.chasetheblues.com, joining the parent body for the Tri-School Fundraiser, Moonstruck, on May 10, www.piedmontspringfling.org, or bidding on birdhouses at Paints Annual Birdhouse Gala and Auction on May 23, www.piedmontpaints.org, there is tons of fun to be had.
All of these worthy Piedmont events raise dollars for local East Bay charities. Pick one or all of them to attend and enjoy yourself. It's support for one another that makes our community so special!
Finally, Dining Out for Life is today - Thursday, April 24 . Proceeds support vital life services for those struggling and living with HIV/AIDS (a cause very near and dear to my own heart, having lost a sister several years ago to this disease). Dozens of local restaurants will be donating 25%-50% of their net proceeds to this extremely important cause.
Local favorites include Fentons, Italian Colors, Brown Sugar Cafe, Bay Wolf, Cesars, Citron, Crogans and Dopo.
A complete list can be found at: www.diningoutforlife.com.
This is a great excuse for taking a night off from cooking! (Not that you really needed one.) You deserve it!
The Piedmont Plug!
Earth Day was celebrated this week, and I am acknowledging this very important event by giving away reusable Farmer's Market/grocery/library bags to anyone who wants them. (I have plenty to go around) Let's all do our part to steer away from plastic bags that end up in our land fills.
Look for me and my son at the Farmer's Market on Grand on Saturday and in Montclair on Sunday, or shoot me back an email with your address and I'll drop one by. You get to do something nice for the planet and my younger son gets to earn a few bucks helping me deliver bags (and hopefully learning to take ownership of the Earth) and that's a win-win for all of us!
See you next week!
THANKS FOR READING!
For more information about any of the properties or events listed above, please call me at (510) 339-0400 x264, or simply respond to this email. I'd love to share my real estate tips and my experience in the Piedmont community with you!
Feel free to visit my website at JulieGardner.com for more information as well.
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10:18 AM
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