There have been three reports of mountain lion sightings around Danville, Ca. Residents and hikers ar being advised to be aware of the situation. Don’t hike alone and do not approach a wild animal should you happen upon one.

Police are asking residents to be cautious after three mountain lion sightings were reported in the last two weeks. "This is just to educate the public," Sgt. Troy Francis said. "We don't want to scare anyone. They're just sightings."

The recent unconfirmed sightings were in unpopulated parts of the city. If a mountain lion poses immediate danger to people, pets or property, call 911, Francis said.

I remember a story in the LA Times years ago about a homeowner whose house backed up to the San Beradino mountains. He stepped out one night to call in his german shepard just in time to see a mountain lion jump a 6 foot wall with the 90 pound dead dog in its jaws. Lesson – these are very powerful animals.

San Ramon homeowners are wasting thousands of dollars in an attempt to sell their homes. It’s a matter of lag time – a new trend is displacing an effective established way of doing business, but not everyone has gotten the message yet.

We’ve all read similar stories over the years, but it’s become more of an issue in our high tech rapidly changing world. I read this great post over on 3Oceans Blog and just had to say a thing or two about it.

The average homeowner still thinks that an agent should be running big print ads to sell their house, but the fact is those ads don’t sell houses. What those ads do is help an agent brand themselves in a community. In effect, the seller is really paying the freight on ads to promote the real estate agent’s business.

Some agents will rush to tell you that the more well-known they are, the more it helps them sell your house. But that too, is a load of fresh compost starter. Because – most real estate agents brand themselves to get listings not to attract buyers!

I’ve read many similar articles this past year that show results just like Chris’. San Ramon home sellers should look for Internet savvy real estate agents that have an effective online marketing strategy to expose their property to the hundreds and thousands of home buyers that are out there searching the Internet for real estate - and I don't consider realtor.com to be a big part of that strategy (but that's another story).

3Oceans is a group of Internet savvy agents you can rely on. They’re on the leading edge on what is happening in real estate. They prove it every day on their blog.

We never stop preaching about the need to know local real estate trends. The Harper Team specializes in residential real estate  in the East Bay are of California. It’s a big area with many communities and “microclimates.” The microclimates extend into the real estate market. We are primarily focused in the I-680 corridor from Concord, CA down to Pleasanton, Ca. This includes the communities of Concord, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton.

You need look no further than the recently released housing stats for these communities to see why it is important that you and especially your real estate agent know the market trends for you local community. Study the figures below and notice how the trends are different for the communities and even vary for zip codes within communities.

April Housing Stats

Dublin
94568 - Sales down -20.8% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -7.6% from April 2006

Pleasanton
94566 - Sales up 6.3% from April 2006  Median Home Price up 10.6% from April 2006
94588 - Sales up 19.4% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -2.8% from April 2006

Concord
94518 - Sales down -21.9% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -3.1% from April 2006
94519 - Sales up 20.8% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -1.8% from April 2006
94520 - Sales down -44.2% from April 2006  Median Home Price up 21.3% from April 2006
94521 - Sales down -1.8% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -14.9% from April 2006

Danville
94506 - Sales up 14.0% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -24.1% from April 2006
94526 - Sales up 8.5% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -4.7% from April 2006

San Ramon
94582 - Sales down -2.1% from April 2006  Median Home Price n/a
94583 - Sales up 14.6% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -4.3% from April 2006

Walnut Creek
94595 - Sales up 9.1% from April 2006  Median Home Price up 9.5% from April 2006
94596 - Sales no change 0% from April 2006  Median Home Price up 54.5% from April 2006
94597 - Sales down -35.7% from April 2006  Median Home Price n/a
94598 - Sales up 32.1% from April 2006  Median Home Price down -11.5% from April 2006

Can you see why we keep preaching – know your local real estate market? Real estate market trends can vary significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood. It’s why we invest so much time in studying and gathering market information and making it available on our site. Follow the links on the home page.

Do you like the image? Can you relate?

We couldn’t have said it better than this:

Mortgage Rates and Why I Don't Post Them: Why don't I post rates? Because I don't like to lie to people. I can no more predict what your rate will be without having any information than untrained monkeys can drive semi trucks. Your rate depends on your credit score, the loan to value on the property, your loan intent (purchase, refinance, cash out refinance) and how much risk you're willing to tolerate. So I've learned not to even discuss rates or payments until I know those facts.

Here is a well written article for those thinking of selling their home:

Preparing to Sell: Part I: Just a couple of years ago when the market was red hot, a seller could put a dog house on a 10 square foot lot on the market and it would attract multiple contracts in a matter of hours. Not so today. Buyers simply have too much to chose from. If your home is not in tip-top shape, ready for a buyer move in, you simply will not sell. Unless, of course, you make it a bargain. Even then, many buyers just don't want the headache of having to do spruce up work themselves. Here's what I see in many homes we examine before taking a listing:

These next two are for those of us that avoid the fine print

Protecting your credit and privacy – I wanted to shed a little insight on what I think are some very disturbing practices that credit providers are engaging in to make additional money at your expense. 

Two offers to refi in one day…just how lucky can a gal be? – In our mail today, we received two very attractive offers to refinance our current mortgage.   Wow, how exciting!  Here are the details:

Do you ever have the feeling that you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a real estate agent? Here’s why:

1 in 50 Now an Licensed Agent In California, Will the Madness Never End? – An interesting phenomemon is occuring in California. With sales slowing and the market soft, you would expect the numbers to start to shrink. From roughly 495,000 licensees (brokers and agents), or 1 in 52 adults in the state, the number is now exclipsing 532,000.

World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam – my father has been there, done that. I’ve sat around during family reunions and listened to the stories my father and uncles recount – some funny, some sad, some horrible.

You can debate the politics, you can debate the morality, you can debate the debate.

I remember, in the aftermath of 9/11, waking one morning and realizing I had never thanked my father for his service to this country and to me personally as his son and a citizen of this country. What I thought would be a simple thank you turned into one of the most difficult efforts at verbalization I have ever experienced. The upwelling of emotion left me sobbing.

I was aware that what I was feeling for my dad, I was feeling toward those firefighters, policemen and everyday Joes that sacrifice themselves to rescue and protect others from events and situations none of us really want to find ourselves in.

I think the word hero is overused in the media, but not in the hearts of those near and dear.

When I think of the word hero, I recall a story in USA Today – A woman recounted how she was fleeing the first collapsing Twin Tower, she was in danger of being injured by falling debris. A fireman threw her into a alcove and covered her with his body for protection. She could feel his heartbeat. When the immediate danger to her passed, he was gone – into the maelstrom, into the danger. She never saw his face, never was able to say thank you, doesn’t know if he lived through it all.

My father is a hero to this child – he went back and back and back. Some of his friends didn’t come back. Some of my high school friends didn’t either.

I’m just sitting here writing this, thinking about all of it and all of them. No glamor, no Hollywood – a lot of appreciation and still wishing that people could get along and none of us would ever have to pick up a gun.

Thanks Dad – and thank you to all who serve and those who have fallen.