“The Tassaraja Land Grab” was a major point of discussion and clarification by Mayor H. Abram Wilson of San Ramon yesterday at the weekly Realtors Marketing Association in San Ramon, CA.

Mayor Wilson explained that San Ramon does not want to find itself in the position it was in when Dougherty Valley was developed and ran amok. “The City of San Ramon is not looking to develop the area and has no plans to,” said Mayor Wilson. “BUT, IF the area is developed, we want it to be planned growth that is consistent with the long term well being of the community as a whole in mind.” 

Other points that were made by Mayor Wilson:

• San Ramon’s yearly budget is $93.8 million
• San Ramon has a 50% reserve
• Safety in the Schools is his #1 priority
• 830 homes are planned for behind Home Depot

Mayor Wilson emphasized that San Ramon is proactive with crime prevention.

The Dublin, CA real estate market continues to heat up more than the surrounding communities. Dublin has a lot of condo inventory and new home inventory that developers and builders are motivated to discount. Is this continued pressure on home values along with the rising foreclosure rate affecting the resale market? It must be one of major factors in the rising activity in the Dublin market.

The blue line indicates Active Listings and the green line Pending Sales according to the local MLS. Dublin CA is the only community in the TriValley area where we see this continued trend of the gap closing. The closer the lines get, the more the local market moves toward a buyer's market. You can see some of the other MLS trends here.

San Ramon, CA is the only other market where we see continued significant improvement in this gap. The rise in active real estate listings in surrounding communities continues to out pace the rise in pending sales.

RealtyTrac is showing 151 properties in Pre-Foreclosure, 44 homes at Auction and 92 real estate owned properties (bank owned).

It's a great time to buy Dublin CA real estate. There are many great deals on the market. If you are interested in  new home construction contact Tracey (925) 984-1890. She has over 8 years of new home sales experience working for Standard Pacific Homes as a sales manager. She knows how to get you the best bang for your buck in new home sales. 

If you are interested in foreclosures, bank owned, or distressed properties contact Craig (925) 984-4910, our specialist in that area. 

Google Maps has added some new features and I am wondering how we can use the features in our real estate business. The map generates an assortment of pictures of the targeted area and also incorporates Wikipedia information on the target area, in this case - Danville California.

I'm sure if you were using this feature for San Francisco, you have many more photos than Danville does. One idea that jumps to mind is sending a map like this to clients from out of the area that are relocating to Danville.

I thought I would post an article on this feature to see how the map embedding turns out. So without further ado, I give you Danville, CA.

View Larger Map

RealtyTrac today registers 358 properties in Pre-Foreclosure, 104 properties in Auction and 188 properties as Bank Owned (REO) in San Ramon zip code 94582.

In San Ramon zip code 94583 we find 392 properties in Pre-Foreclosure, 108 in Auction and 204 as Bank Owned Properties.

The big news on Friday from the National Association of Realtors was the inventory of unsold homes on the market climbed by 10.5% in April. The NAR also reposted an 8% drop in the medium home price and a 1% drop in sales.

Today, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that home sales are rising in some communities as lenders slash prices to move the rising inventory of bank owned properties on the market. The WSJ shows the medium price of a Contra Costa County home down 34% from a year ago and sales up 1.5% from April last year.

The WSJ is also reporting that almost one in five, or 18%, Realtors surveyed by the National Association of Realtors last year said they sold homes to international clients between April 2006 and April 2007.

For many foreign buyers, property in the U.S. is cheap. Foreign buyers also seem more optimistic about the long-term health of the U.S. market, says David Michonski, a certified international property specialist and chief executive of Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York. "The foreign buyer has an unbridled confidence in the U.S. market that is lacking in the domestic purchaser today," he notes. "They view this as the bargain of a lifetime and are terribly excited about it."

We’ve been singing this tune for months now. The deals of a lifetime are out there right now for savvy buyers and investors.

If you are interested in foreclosures or bank owned properties, contact Craig (925) 984–4910. He heads up our efforts with foreclosures and distressed properties.

Investors should contact Paul (925) 963–4246. Being from The Netherlands, Paul offers foreing investors a great perspective on the value of investing in Bay Area real estate.

I could just as easily write the opposite – What Realtors Can Learn from Small Business Owners – as successful business people share the same basic habits.

BUT, the real estate industry has been under tremndous pressures the last couple of years and the Realtors that are surviving and thriving have learned a thing or two that other busiess owners can profit from.

The media has done a good job bombarding the airwaves with the negative side of the downturn in the real estate and lending industries, but you find successful Realtors spending more and more time helping to educate the public on what is happening locally in their markets.

Through the use of blogs and other social media, successful real estate agents are increasing their presence and branding on the Internet. Realtors, like many business people, receive more than 50% of their business from referrals. Word-of-Mouth marketing has long been recognized as the most powerful form of advertising.

The Internet has had a powrful effect on word of mouth marketing. Social and business networks, blogs, podcasts, vlogs, YouTube and many other venues allow for exponetial word of mouth marketing.

Savvy Realtors and real estate agents are leveraging the tools of Web 2.0 to increase lead generation. The beauty of the Internet is that you can increase exposure and traffic while allowing yout site to sift and qualify leads.

Small business owners need go no further than Todd Fitch of Hanson & Fitch to find out what leveraging the Internet can do for a small business in the East Bay.