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Valley Marketing Association
Pleasanton / Dublin, CA

The Groundhog Day meeting of the Valley Marketing Meeting in Pleasanton, CA kicked off as usual with friendly greetings at the door of Tommy T's from this old gent and the youngster next to him.

Wendy Wilson, Channel Sales Manager, from Northpoint Real Estate Investment Services gave a short presentation of what Northpoint has to offer the real estate professionals in the room. Northpoint is one of this month's room sponsors - Thank You Very Much.

Wendy was accompanied by several other representatives of Northpoint, but I only got the chance to talk to Rob Borghese. Rob and I took a moment to discuss group dynamics and the importance of attending meetings such as the Valley Marketing Association for building solid business relationships.

Dean Guadagni of TransparentRE introduced me to several people interested in our upcoming blogging class on Feb. 27. The class is being hosted by Stacy Kennedy of Pacific Auction Exchange (PAX) fame. Leslee Barnhill and her team from Financial Title Company are planning to attend.

Toni Wilson from the BayEast Association of Realtors gave a presentation on wht she and her group are doing for Realtors and the real estate industry in the Bay Area including a TV show on Channel 30 and a long list of educational seminars.

Local Market Trends 

Roy Dronkers gave a great overview on what is happeing in the local Pleasanton and Dublin real estate markets. Pleasanton has seen a decrease in inventory. A very interesting piece of information was the results of a poll Roy conducted. Fifteen of about 42 people responded to his questions of multiple offers on closed sales. Of the fifteen, nine had had multiple offers and the closing price on all was right at the asking price - one went for a bit more.

The consensus in the room is that this does not signal a change in the market, but more accurately reflects that the market is stabilizing and heading toward a more normal Spring home sales market.  

New Home Listings 

• New home listings included:
• 1462 Whispering Oak Way, Pleasanton
• 6869 Massey Court, Pleasanton
• 5943 Annadale Way, Dublin
• 3866 Santa Clara Way, Livermore
• 7405 Oxford Way, Dublin
• 3537 Gulfstream Street, Pleasanton
• 2088 West Lagoon Road, Pleasanton
• 6832 Tiffany Common, Livermore
• 2229 Shire Court, Livermore
• 1119 Burghley Lane, Brentwoood

The Harper Team can assist you in the purchase of any of these new listings or any other properties for sale in the East Bay area. Give us a try - we guarantee our services in writing and aways provide our clients with a cancellation guarantee.

Help Fight AIDS - Hands Across the Water 

Roy spent some more time with Otto Catrina on stage talking about Otto's upcoming trip to Africa with his "Hands Across the Water" team who will be doing what they can to help address the AIDS epedemic is South Africa. Otto expressed his thanks for all of the donations received since last weeks meeting and presentation. Contact Otto via his website link above to contribute.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Stacy and Rodney Kennedy of Pacific Auction Exchange (PAX) in Pleasanton, CA. I know Stacy from the Realtors Marketing Association and the Valley Marketing Association meetings.

Stacy is another blogging convert. That Pat Kitano is a blogging evangelist!

It took about 4 minutes of listening to Rodney and Stacy to realize that I had a total misconception of what the PAX business model was. I had assumed that Pacific Auction Exchange dealt with clients who needed to auction their properety under financial duress.

As it turns out, PAX auctions all kinds of property in all kinds of situations. They have had some terrific results auctioning properties that were sitting on the market and seeing no action for more money than the original asking price. 

PAX made the front page of the Contra Costa Times on Nov. 14, 2006 when they succesfully auctioned a Discovery Bay home. The auction took 4 minutes and, according to the article, left the sellers happy with the price and PAX.

Stacy and Rodney are great people.

Attendance at the weekly Realtors Marketing Association meeting in San Ramon was light today. There were only a handful of new listings presented including:

• 498 Montcrest Place, Danville
• 3098 Deer Meadow Drive, Blackhawk
• 1941 Hollyview Drive, San Ramon

Representatives from Toll Brothers' Sorrento development at Dublin Ranch advised that their houses are ready for buyers. We, The Harper Team, can help you negotiate favorable terms on all of the properties presented today. See our buyer's guarantee.

Stacy Kennedy from Pacific Auction Exchange has an auction coming up on Feb 23. 

A highlight of the meeting was Kurt Beale's presentation on emergency gas shut off valves. Contra Costa County now requires that any home being sold has automatic gas shut off valves installed at the meter and at each gas appliance in the residence. 

Kurt's company Gas Lock, Inc. is at the forefront of this business. He has established close relationships with Contra Costa County to help expedite the permits required and assure that all of the documentation is quickly processed. Gas Lock, Inc. has close relationships with all of the predominate valve manufacturers in the industry. The automatic shut-off valves (excess flow valves and seismic valves) are installed to protect families in the event of accidental rupture of gas lines or breakage caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes and earth slides.

It looks like the valves Kurt recommends are by BrassCraft - Safety+Plus Meter Excess Flow Valve.

Linda Kralik, President of the Realtors Marketing Association, voiced her opinion that the County seems to be making the local Realtors the gas valve policemen as it is your Realtor that must ensure that the valves are installed prior to the close of escrow.

Many home sellers will not be looking forward to the added expense for selling their homes. Check with your real estate professional for more details on the requirements.