Real Estate News & Market Trends

Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon - CA.

The Alameda & Contra Costa County MLS weekly data for Dublin, San Ramon & Pleasanton. (blue = Active; green = Pending; purple = closed)

With listings returning to the market after the holidays, we see Pleasanton and Dublin active listings have started to trend up. San Ramon continues to decline in active real estate listings.

Pending sales in Dublin and Pleasanton dropped slightly while San Ramon showed a slight increase.

Our office stats show the following for months of inventory on hand:

• Alamo 3.73
• Danville 5.45
• San Ramon 5.73
• Dublin 4.80
• Pleasanton 5.00

The closer the blue and green graph lines come together, the more active the market.

It's impossible to get an accurate figure of Days on Market (DOM) as it is a fairly common practice in the real estate industry to "freshen" (remove from the MLS and re-list) listings if they sit on the market too long. 

We attended both the San Ramon Realtors Marketing Association meeting and the TriValley Marketing Association meeting this week. Both meetings were well attended with many listings being presented.

The general consensus is that the market is becoming more active as buyers move to take advantage of interest rates. Most agents feel that 2007 will be slightly up from 2006.

Real Estate News

Here is my (Brad Inman) summary of takeaways from Real Estate Connect NYC:

1. The trend of declining real estate commissions will reverse this year because there are more listings and fewer Realtors and because the discounters are in trouble as consumers go back to old reliable.
2. Wall St. will introduce new mortgage instruments in an attempt to keep the housing market alive.
3. Woes in the sub-prime mortgage market will hurt liquidity for EZ home loans and will create a minor real estate scandal mid-year.

Countrywide Financial Corp. reported its December and the good news for those looking for evidence that the housing market is picking up was that loan applications were up 11 percent from the same month a year ago.

After bottoming in the fourth quarter of 2006, existing-home sales are forecast to gradually rise through 2007 and into 2008, while new-home sales should turnaround by summer, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors.

Rates on 30-year mortgages rose this week to the highest level since mid-November after a better-than-expected employment report renewed inflation worries in financial markets.

The Harper Team monitors over 50 Real Estate and News Feeds daily to bring you information pertinent to the San Ramon Valley & TriValley real estate market including the communities of Danville, San Ramon, Dublin and Pleasanton. We welcome suggestions.

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San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton CA - 2007 - Day 1 

Start the Year with Consideration

Is CONSIDERATION dying? Everywhere I turn, it seems that lack of consideration is becoming the norm. Here are just a few examples that seem to be irking me lately.

Cell-Phone "Inconsiderates" (the list is infinite)

• need to shout into cell phones
• can’t live without answering a call
• answer the phone in a restaurant
• share the blue-glow with everyone in the movie
• on the phone while dealing with a sales clerk

RMA – San Ramon Realtors® Marketing Association

I find it interesting how many people are holding conversations while their fellow agents are presenting listings or events. A definite lack of consideration. I wonder how many of the talkers would like some consideration when they are presenting.

No Shows

I wonder why people can’t make a simple call to cancel or reschedule an appointment

A note for the inconsiderate - Who You Are Speaks Louder than Words!

Two Ways to Increase your Business

1. Actively seek out the problems and difficulties. Your clients will start singing your praises when they see that you’re the type of person that reduces their hassle factor.
2. Encourage people to come to you for free advice. Give it away for free – really. Use your website, blog, and newsletter to position yourself as the “go to” source.

Real Estate Investors – here’s a great post for you:
Boom Over, Investors Focus On Fundamentals, New Areas

By Ruth Simon  From The Wall Street Journal Online

Despite the end of the speculative craze, a number of markets in the fragmented real-estate world continue to lure investors willing to adjust their expectations. One key move: As rents take off, buyers increasingly focus on multiunit rental properties instead of the single-family condos and homes that were popular during the housing boom.

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