Home Sales Figures for Alameda and Contra Costa August 2008

Brentwood, Antioch & Pittsburg continue to see buyers and investors gobbling foreclosures. Concord, California is seeing a lot of downward pressure on condos as the price of single family homes has dropped to the level of what condos used to cost.

Danville, Lafayette and Walnut Creek are showing the slowest declines in median home prices for the month of August.

Michael Arirngton over at TechCruch has a great article today reviewing who is responsible for the current collapse of the US economy. How The U.S. Government Engineered The Current Economic Crisis The graph is worth the click.

How do you spell BILL Clinton?

Well, maybe not totally, he had a lot of help.

Well Tomorrow is finally here and a lot of us can’t stop thinking about it.

I guess Clinton was right – It’s the Economy Stupid – at least it was when we had one.

Peter Wallison has certainly earned the right to point the finger. Many others are pointing the finger, too - not the index.

This is not intended as a commentary on the upcoming election or party politics, there are lots of individuals to hold accountable - including ourselves.

East Bay Real Estate Market in 3 Easy Pictures

For those more visually oriented, we offer this quick assessment of the real estate market in California's East Bay.

It's a great time to buy real estate in the East Bay! Contact Craig (925) 984-4910

Thanks to Transparent Real Estate for the inspiration.

2671 Minert Road, Concord CA 94518

Offered at $499,000

This charming well maintained Concord home offers a spacious floor plan in 1432 square feet of living space and a huge 8,250 square foot lot with a backyard that is made to order for kids, pets and an entertainer’s paradise. Perfect for outdoor barbecues with two patios and a huge lawn area.

The stylish updated kitchen is light & bright with large windows overlooking the yard that features a variety of fruit trees. The kitchen includes stainless appliances, granite countertop and flows into a spacious dining area and living room.

This Concord CA home also features dual pane windows, updated bathrooms, huge master bedroom with two closets (one walk-in), second bedroom also with walk-in closet, and third bedroom with two closets…loads of storage space!

The backyard features a custom made redwood arbor with mature grape vines, fruit tress, (apple, peach, apricot, cherry, fig) and two patios one of which could be converted for 14RV parking. The home is located near a community pool and close to Concord shopping, restaurants (Costco, Safeway, Trader Joes, Starbucks…) and the Pleasant Hill Bart Station.

24-hour recorded Info: 800-816-4974 x 3049

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“Welcome Aboard. I’m Captain Mike. Both myself, and my co-pilot, Captain Hook, are first-time pilots. BUT, not to worry, we’ve read the books and passed our tests.”

Now that’s a flight I want to be on!

Would you trust your life to inexperienced pilots? Why would you entrust the sale of your most significant financial asset to someone who just read a book and passed a test?

I’ve noticed a scarcity of homes for sale by owners these days. In fact, I haven’t seen a FSBO sign in a yard for several months. I’m sure there are some out there.

At today’s local Realtors Marketing Association meeting in San Ramon, our usual market-in-a-minute update turned into market in 15 minutes or Market Update of 1000 Questions.

If you’re just arriving back on planet earth from the Mars expedition – the housing industry and the mortgage/lending industry are in total upheaval. Veteran Realtors and rookie real estate agents are all being challenged by the daily chaos to get deals closed.

I can’t imagine a home seller trying to go it alone in this market, unless they have a relative with cash that wants to buy.

If you’re thinking of going the “For Sale by Owner” route, you may want to pick up a copy of this book.

It covers the basics of what you need to do to sell your home with out an agent. Of course, the advice given is for a normal market and today’s market is anything but normal.

In fact, there has never been a real estate market like the current one.

This isn’t just a down market or an adjusting market. This is a never-been-seen before market that is being impacted by the consequences of banks and brokerage houses treating their customers like prey.

As the subprime meltdown has evolved into a total financial sector meltdown, home owners who need to sell are getting squeezed into financial jeopardy.

In this real estate market, the logical choice is to work with an experienced Realtor (or team of experienced agents).

For those wanting to go it alone, the book above is on the shelf right next to this one!