I can’t tell you how many times over the last couple of years I have talked to home owners in the East Bay that feel trapped in their home of 20 to 30 years.

These homeowners are getting ready to retire and the mortgage is low or paid in full. But, these California boomers felt trapped by high California real estate prices and their low property tax base. What I kept hearing was – We can’t afford to move.

Well – NO MORE – the situation has totally reversed! Working-class boomers can't afford to not move in this market. Now is the time to sell that home of 20 years in San Ramon, Dublin or Walnut Creek and look to Brentwood or some other hard hit community in Contra Costa County.

Property values in some California communities have fallen 50% and one Contra Costa neighborhood has seen property values drop back to 1998 levels.

Imagine selling your 1500 square foot home in San Ramon for $700K and buying a 2200 square foot home in Brentwood for $300K. Transfer your property tax base and that is a lot of left over cash for retirement living.

East Bay boomers looking to retire in the next five years MUST explore this option. This is not going to last. You are looking at a perfect scenario to stay in the East Bay area, buy a retirement dream home, keep your low tax base and walk away with a boatload of cash for retirement.

Even if you are going to wait several years to retire, prices are so low in the east county, you can lease your retirement home out for a few years until you are ready for it. Rents are still rising in the East Bay.

Knowledge is Power. Contact our team’s relocation expert – Ginny Mees at 925–699–3328 to explore how you can leverage today’s housing market to your advantage.

Affordable housing is seen as one of the key challenges in keeping the Bay Area economy competitive with other international business regions.

Bay Area residents must allocate a significantly higher portion of their income to housing than elsewhere in the United States (26 percent vs. 19 percent) and the multiple of home price to income (10:1) is twice as high as the national average (5:1) according to the biannual Bay Area Economic Profile.

The report also says that the education of schoolchildren from kindergarten through high school lags behind other international locations.

Another factor soon to impact the Bay Area economy and local housing is retiring boomers in the next 15 years. A significant percentage of the population will be retiring and if things don’t change with housing, many of these retirees won’t be able to downsize within the region due to tax consequences and the high price of new housing. Many residents feel trapped in their home of 30 years where the mortgage is paid off and property taxes so low they don’t require and extra income to afford them.

Affordable housing, which is already a concern for first-time buyers and people relocating from outside the Bay Area, is going to increase in political significance.

In Spite of these Concerns… East Bay Communities continue to thrive…

Fortune Small Business magazine says Danville is in the top 100 places to live and launch a small business. The town's "many small companies" and "wealthy and well-educated population" earned it the No. 69 spot on a first-time 100 Best Places list compiled by the magazine for its April issue.

The article also cited Danville's growing number of home-based businesses and its close proximity to Chevron and other large corporate offices in neighboring San Ramon.

And in the continuing saga of the government doing too little too late…

The Housing Relief Bill passed the Senate today, but hold your applause. It appears that the final draft has economists in agreement that it does too little for the homeowners in trouble and are skeptical that it do much to ease the wrenching crisis in the housing market and the wave of foreclosures spreading across the country.

While supporters said the measure would boost demand for housing, help people refinance adjustable-rate mortgages and help communities beset with abandoned homes, many economists cautioned that the measure's benefits would be modest — and would help banks and homebuilders while doing hardly anything for people facing foreclosure.

"Basically, you're giving money to builders that overbuilt and banks that issued bad loans," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "It's giving money to the villains in this story."

It looks like many baby boomers are heading into the Golden Years with less gold in their future and more time in the Salt Mines.

Washington Post (04/27/07) In a trend blamed in some measure on escalating mortgage debt and medical costs, U.S. seniorspersonal bankruptcy at a faster pace than any other age group. A study from researchers at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts found that even though the number of Americans aged 55 and up expanded to 30.1 percent of the national population in 2002 from 29.2 percent in 1994, the share of seniors seeking bankruptcy protection swelled 45.8 percent to 14 percent are filing for from 9.6 percent over that same time frame. The study results are being brought to light at a time when other research is documenting how more older consumers are leaning on home-equity loans and credit cards to foot their medical bills.

In talking to a few of the lenders we use, there are options available for these boomers to still turn things around and not have to face a future of working with one foot in the grave. If you feel you are approaching such a situation – act now – before your options erode even further. Lending guidelines are changing everyday and becoming more restrictive – delay of game – may cost you retirement or worse.

Knowledge is Power!!

According to the media, the demographers, and my mother - I'm a boomer. Born in 1950, I didn't start out intending to be a boomer, I just wanted a cozy place to rest and a warm bottle.

The other day I was holding Jonah Beck of Walnut Creek - age 10 weeks. Jonah was all eyes and grabby little fingers. It's a miraculous vision to see those little fingers wrapped around my index finger. BTW - today is Jonah's brother's, Talin, birthday. Happy Birthday #4 Talin!

Yesterday, I was up at the San Ramon Regional Medical Facility for a stress test. A couple of weeks ago, I was up in Walnut Creek at the John Muir Emergency Room having my chest poked and prodded. Everything is fine except for blood pressure anamoly that needs further investigation.

What, you may ask, has me rambling on and on? Well, it's that brother of mine - Craig. He sent me this photograph. Do you recognize these three guys? If you're younger than forty, don't bother unless you're addicted to reruns. From the left - Eddie Haskil - The Beave - Wally

I didn't intend to wind up in San Ramon, CA, nor do I intend to wind up looking like these three guys, but time marches on Boom to Bust or Birth to Dust. 

Speaking of birthdays - tonight is the big shindig for Ann Marie Nugent at Piati's the big 50! Of course, Ann Marie's husband, Jim Walberg just clicked up another notch, but he is so far beyond the 50 that he's ahead of me by a few months. I would like to think we are all getting wiser and kinder.