Random Thoughts in the World of Lamorinda Real Estate…

16 02 2012

Ah… what to write?  Do you really want to hear that economists at the International Builders Show are predicting a 16% improvement in new home sales for 2012, or that they think that the market “bottom” (in the non-existent “national market”, of course), will finally be reached in a year or so?  Does anyone really care, or hold them accountable for their predictions?  Personally, I view economists similarly to meteorologists.  Most of us wish we could get compensated for being right less than 50% of the time.  Locally, inventories climbed about 25% in January, while sales remained flat.  About one in four homes are selling — so all is well in the winter world of Lamorinda real estate!

There is always demand in a healthy Lafayette real estate market for great homes at fair prices.  One of our blog readers is the fortunate buyer of a spectacular, newly-constructed home in Lafayette that he was able to purchase prior to it going on-market. In fact, there seems to be so much pent-up demand for great homes in this price segment that we received numerous inquiries about this property via it’s website. Unfortunately for those people, the home was already in escrow.  The whole experience did validate the power of blogging, online marketing,  and proper use of Search Engine Optimization to insure that the client websites we build are actually found  by real buyers.

Other Thursday musings… if you haven’t yet attended any of the speaker series events at the incredible Lafayette Library and Learning Center , you are missing one of the great resources of this community.  As some of you may know, I am a life-long, passionate photographer who spends much of my time away from real estate, immersed in photography.  Last Sunday, the Lafayette Library brought in world-renowned portrait photographer, Michael Collopy, who spoke for over an hour about his impressive career photographing  the last 5 US Presidents, Mother Theresa, and almost every notable celebrity you can think of.  It was a fascinating glimpse into a man who has been able to live his passion, as well as into the personalities of many of the celebrities on the other side of his lens.  You can sign up for notifications of upcoming events via the Library website, or by “Liking” them on Facebook.  By the way, don’t forget to “Like” us on Facebook, too!


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Lamorinda Real Estate 2012 — Where the market is now, and what lies ahead — Chapter 2

29 01 2012

As we continue with “Chapter 2″ of a three-part series on our forecast for the Lafayette real estate market, Orinda, and Moraga — commonly referred to as “Lamorinda”– we find that in 2011 the strength of the market continued to be the sub-$1M homes.  This is underscored by the fact that the average list price of a Lamorinda home on-market in the 4thquarter was approximately $1.4M, while the average price of a SOLD home was just below $1M.

Looking in a more focused manner at the Lafayette real estate market, the $2M+ segment is still extremely slow, while the $1M – $2M market has been very active and suffers from a lack of quality inventory.  As of the end of December 2011, there were only 10 homes on the market in this segment, with 8 closed sales during the month and 1 pending sale.  Below $1M, 6 homes went into escrow during the month of December against an inventory of 22 homes — so a little better than 1 in 4 homes found a buyer.

A number of other external factors appear to give rise to further optimism for the 2012 market.  Since most people require a mortgage in order to purchase a home, the underlying interest rate of the note plays an important role in determining home affordability.  Interest rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages have fallen to an all-time low, averaging about 3.89% for conforming loans – those under $729,000.  For those able to afford a higher payment in exchange for only a 15 year term, they are being rewarded with conforming loan rates averaging just 3.15%.  Jumbo loans – those over $729,000 – are readily available for qualified buyers from most major lenders at rates in the low 4% range!

Nationally, foreclosure filings have dropped to the lowest level since 2007 – another signal that the tide may be turning.  Some believe the decline may be due to delays by the banks in processing foreclosures and that we’ll see an increase in them as we head deeper into 2012.  Even if that is the case, the increase may be more than mitigated by new programs packaging large blocks of foreclosed homes for investors.  Numerous large commercial enterprises are now entering the single-family home market, seeking to bulk purchase large numbers of properties that will be turned into rentals.  One of the recent market entries is the private equity fund, GI Partners, out of Menlo Park.  They envision expanding their investment in single-family homes to about $1B in the next two years.  A very recent 26-page paper by the Federal Reserve outlined programs for converting the glut in foreclosed homes to rental stock.  Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to announce pilot programs in the weeks ahead.  What’s it mean?  It strongly suggests more decreases in inventory which will result in additional shoring up of the market, and will be supportive of strengthening home prices.

When you check back next time, we’ll finish up with where we think the Lamorinda real estate market is headed for 2012.

 


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Lamorinda Home Sales — Common Mistakes When Selling a Home

5 01 2012

As we start the year, we’ll also be heading closer to the prime selling season of the year in Lamorinda real estate, and working with our seller clients in preparing their homes for sale.  Most of our clients are wonderful, reasonable people who make the psychological shift from “living” in their home to “merchandising” it for sale.  There is a distinct difference.  Very few of us “live” in our homes in a manner consistent with optimizing its opportunity to be sold for the highest price available in the market.  That requires presenting it as a product that appeals to the broadest possible segment of buyers.

I attended graduate school in business more years ago than I’d care to admit, but the person synonymous with marketing back then still lives on as the present day authority… Dr. Phillip Kotler of the Kellogg School of Management.  Considered to be the “guru” of modern marketing, Dr. Kotler is famous for his “4 P’s of Marketing” — the only four variables that can be controlled when bringing a product to market:

1) Product – What is presented to the market.

2) Price –  It’s price point.

3) Promotion – How it is promoted in the marketplace.

4) Place –  Where it is brought to market.

Ultimately, the seller of a property has the final control over 2 or 3 of the 4P’s… product, price, and place.  This leaves promotion in the hands of their selected real estate agent.  A quality agent will also be highly involved in helping to “shape” the home (product) prior to it going on-market, but only to the extent that the seller cooperates in the process.

The following are the most common mistakes we see sellers make when putting their home on the market:

1.  “The Stalker”:  This is seller that believes that he/she is the best spokesperson for their home, and therefore follows other agents and their buyers around the home when it is being shown — trying to “sell” them on it throughout their visit.  Yes, believe it or not, this happens here in Lamorinda!  Nothing turns a prospective buyer off more than this behavior, and it inevitably leads to the buyer and their agent becoming very uncomfortable — leaving the home as quickly as possible.  The best advice is to take a walk, go shopping or visit a neighbor… and, give the buyers space to mentally “move into” your home.

2.  “I just want to ‘test’ the market”:  This is akin to being partially pregnant.  Either you are on the market with the intention of selling or you should be waiting until you are truly ready to engage in the process.  ”Testing” the market at an unrealistic price point serves no real purpose.  Today’s buyers are highly informed, and no one in this market will over-pay for a home.

3.  ”I’m waiting for the one ‘right’ buyer” :  Most agents have heard this comment at least once per selling season, and its usually emanates from the seller who thinks that their home is worth more than the market suggests, or doesn’t adequately prepare the home for market because they believe that the “one right buyer” will overlook its flaws, cluttered rooms, etc.  Rarely is there the “one right buyer” who will make an offer on a significantly over-priced home, or want a home that the majority of the market chooses not to purchase.  The best advice is to prepare your home for market in a manner that will have it appeal to the broadest possible base of potential buyers.

4. “If I price my house closer to market, I’m afraid I’ll get ‘low-balled’”:  If the feedback from showings of your home is that its “over-priced”,  then the above concern seems a bit illogical.  As a seller, you WANT an offer.  You can always counter it, say “no” to it, or even ignore it.  Assuming that there aren’t other corrective actions you can take to make your home more appealing, addressing a clear over-pricing issue is the most logical move.  Studies have clearly demonstrated that a home that is properly priced from the beginning will sell faster and for more money than one that is initially over-priced.

5.  “My home doesn’t need to be staged.  It wasn’t staged 30 years ago when I bought it!”  Times have changed, and it’s important to make the psychological break from “living” in your home to “selling” your home.  Once it’s on the market, it becomes a product, so why not make it as appealing to buyers as possible?!  The incremental investment for staging will yield a positive return in the increased appeal of your home to potential buyers and the shorter market time.  Remember, the longer a home is on the market, the more the market discounts it.  At a certain point, buyers and agents begin to wonder “what’s wrong” with the home, and showings dramatically drop off.


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Funny Tales in Lamorinda Real Estate

30 12 2011

With the year winding down, I thought that a bit of Lamorinda real estate levity might be in order.  Some might think that real estate in Lamorinda is serious business.  Most of the time it is, but there are some funny moments that are worth remembering, even if they didn’t seem humorous at the time.  Here’s my top 5 list in no particular order:

  • Landmines in Lafayette real estate — We were meeting with a prospective listing client who wanted to show us her yard via a trip out to a deck and down some stairs to the lawn.  She failed to warn us that the stairs and the lawn were her beloved dog’s favorite poop repository, and I ended up stepping in it with both of my Allen Edmonds dress shoes by the time I reached ground level.  To make matters worse, the people never ended up listing their house.  My sacrifice was in vain.
  • Room for the entire family — Sticking to the same theme… we had waited months for a client to be ready to show us their home.  These were fastidious, sophisticated, professional people who were always meticulously groomed.  Upon viewing their home for the first time, we found that they had dedicated a large room to their two dogs.  Well, the dogs lived in the room as you’d expect they would without frequent access to the outdoors.  Arggghhh!  We recommended that the house be vacated, the floors and joists replaced to remedy the odor problem, followed by an interior “facelift” and staging.  It sold and the entire family found a new home.
  • How to increase listing traffic for the male buyer — I was showing a client a gorgeous Lafayette view home when I noticed that he was spending an undue amount of time staring beyond the patio railings at what I thought was the incredible view of Mt. Diablo.  Upon walking over to him, I realized that the view he was taking in was of the three young women, sunbathing nude at the pool below.  It was pretty hilarious as I tried to subtly alert them to our presence as they scrambled to gather the closest clothing items.  “Excuse us!… Is it alright to come on down?”
  • An entrepreneur or simply afternoon recreation? — I made an appointment to show a client a large Lafayette estate property, and was told that the “owner” would be on premises to “keep an eye” on things.  We showed up and were greeted by a woman wearing an ultra-tight dress that might be suitable for a night at the clubs, but not for an afternoon at home in Lafayette.  Upon reaching the master bedroom, we found a large 4-poster bed with a large mirror mounted inside the canopy.  My clients called me into the closet where they found a huge assortment of provocative outfits, the largest collection of stiletto heels we’ve ever seen, and various other related accessories.  I’ll leave the details to your imagination.  Who says life in Lafayette isn’t exciting!?
  • Stuck — A number of years ago, my wife was previewing a vacant property for a client, and needed to use the home’s restroom.  When she attempted to open the bathroom door to exit, she found that the knob was not working and that the door was stuck shut.  She had left her cell phone in the car, so calling for help was not an option.  After about 20 minutes of desperate banging on the door, it miraculously opened! 

Perhaps the most important lesson from all of this is to never lose your sense of humor.


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How’s Lamorinda Real Estate Doing vs. the “National Market”?

10 11 2011

A flurry of media attention is once again turning to the performance of the “national real estate market” as third quarter performance shows less than encouraging results.  According to a Wall Street Journal article, US home prices dropped 4.7% for the third quarter 2011 over 2010.  A nationwide interactive map shows locally that the San Jose metro area dropped 5.3%, the SF-Oakland-Fremont metro area dropped 10%, and the Sacramento area continued its decline with another 10% loss over the same period.  Looking just at the Lamorinda market, we also saw a 10% dip in the third quarter on a year-over-year basis — clearly sharing in the pain of the uncertain European economies and a turbulent stock market.  Inventories in Lamorinda dropped almost 26% versus the same period last year, while the number of closed sales dropped 11.5%.

Looking at just the month of October 2011, we saw a healthy 30% drop in inventory over October 2010, while seeing only an 8% drop in new pending sales, representing the leading edge of the market.  The sub-million dollar segment has been the strongest of all price segments in the last couple of years, and we saw a 14% rise in inventory in October vs. September of this year.  Perhaps more sellers were trying to jump in and capitalize on the segment’s strength with the month’s unseasonably warm weather. Pending sales as a percentage of total inventory in the segment was very similar to 2010, yet the median price for the segment sunk by a surprising 13% over October 2010.

The $1M – $1.5M segment showed a remarkable resurgence last month in the world of Lamorinda real estate.  Inventories dropped 28% over October of 2010, while pending sales jumped up 62% to a total of 13 sales for the month against an inventory of 41 homes.  Pending sales in the $1.5M – $2M segment showed some improvement over Oct 2010, as well, with a total of 3 units in this category against an inventory of 16 homes. The Lamorinda real estate market above $2M continues to be almost non-existent. There was just 1 new pending sale in October against an inventory of 20 homes — equating to 20 months of inventory in this segment!

Clearly, the last quarter was a very challenging one economically across ALL markets, not just real estate.  Ultimately, consumer confidence and jobs drive the real estate market, and we have a ways to go in both areas.  On a positive note, we’ve received several calls from agents representing buyers who are not finding good matches for their clients in the $1.5M+ segments, and have been seeking an opportunity to have us arrange showings of homes that are not on the market.  As the market continues to adjust, over-pricing is an issue in all segments, but particularly in the upper tiers of the market.


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Categories : Lafayette CA Real Estate Market, Lamorinda Housing Market, Lamorinda Real Estate, Lamorinda Real Estate Market Statistics, Lamorinda Real Estate Pricing

It May Be About the Inventory in the Lamorinda Real Estate Market.

23 10 2011

A recent Wall Street Journal article raised several questions about supply and demand in the housing market, and it struck a resonate chord with what we are seeing in the world of Lamorinda real estate.  The Journal article raised the question about whether “it’s low demand or poor supply that’s hurting the housing market.”   Due to the fact that we tend to market a substantial number of homes in the Lafayette real estate market, we’ve received at least 5 calls from other agents in the last couple of weeks, asking if we have any new inventory that will be coming on the market.  The agents all explain that their clients simply aren’t finding what they want among the current Lafayette real estate offerings.  Almost all of the calls have have been in the $1.5M – $2M segment — an area of the market that has been one of the most negatively impacted over the last couple of years.

The Journal article discusses a number of factors contributing to the perception of poor quality or inadequate inventory, and notes that over-pricing is a significant factor.  We have found this to be true, particularly over the last few years as the market has been declining. In at least 50 percent of all of our interactions with sellers, the challenge for us is to help the client understand the state of the market and where their home should be priced in order to compete effectively.  It’s often as emotional as it is intellectually challenging, because it is sometimes very hard for sellers to grasp that the home they cherish so much has been impacted by the broader market conditions. They often want to believe that they’ve somehow been spared from the degradation in home values, or that “the right buyer” will come along who “will pay our price”, but ultimately they need to face the market realities.  In the end, over-pricing hurts them as the market discounts their price over time, and consumers begin to wonder “what’s wrong with that house”.

As we look at the current Lamorinda real estate inventory, there is a fair amount of over-pricing in certain segments that is undoubtedly keeping buyers away, coupled with overall declines in inventory over the last year.  Some sellers have simply taken their homes off the market and are deferring plans to downsize until they see stabilization in prices.  That stabilization is already happening in certain price segments, and may spread to others if we see broader confidence in the economy as we move into the Spring market. Ultimately, that may solve our inventory problem.


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A Look at the Lamorinda Real Estate Market YTD 2011 and What Lies Ahead

21 10 2011

Let’s look at our local market as we work our way into the last quarter of the year and near the end of October.  Inventories have decreased significantly from this time last year… running about 25%+ below where they were last year.  In fact, we have been experiencing about 3 months of inventory in the Lamorinda market over the last several months – representing a very sound relationship between supply and demand.  This compares favorably to the 4-5 months of inventory that we were running at this time last year.  Absolute sales volumes have decreased from last year, particularly in August and September where we saw a reduction of about 20 percent from 2010.  This clearly reflects the uncertainty emanating from global financial markets, and the extreme volatility we’ve seen in the US stock markets.

As one would imagine, the most active markets have been those most approachable to buyers.  Approximately 70 percent of all Lamorinda sales this year have been at price points below $1M.  Other trends worth noting include the move toward more central, urbanized locations.  This began on a more macro basis as people began moving back to urban centers such as San Francisco several years ago.  It has been a function of rising gas prices; aging baby boomers selling suburban homes; and general movement favoring locations where one can walk to shopping, entertainment, and restaurants.

This trend has played out within our community, too, as we’ve seen distinct premiums paid for perceived central locations such as Lafayette’s “Trail Neighborhood” and Happy Valley.  In some cases, a 5 minute commute differential can command a 15% premium in the market.  As an example, we had a recent listing near the “Trail Neighborhood” get bid up by $100,000 in the sub-million dollar price range within 3 days of going on-market.   There have been larger properties in this area that were bid up several hundred thousand dollars during the peak of our spring 2011 market.  Other segments have been much slower, such as the $1.5M – $2M range where there wasn’t a single home that went pending in the month of September throughout Lamorinda.  Sales above $2M have been scarce this year, averaging about 1 per month in Lafayette.

So, what lies ahead?  As we enter the wet winter months, we will see normal seasonality seize control of the market, and overall transaction volumes decrease.  Typically, the market lies mostly dormant until mid-February when it seems to slowly come out of hibernation.  Interest rates will remain low for the next couple of years, so job creation and consumer confidence will play the most dominant role in dictating the performance of the housing market as we enter 2012.  Another “wild card” in the equation involves the disposition of bank assets… the properties in some phase of financial distress and not yet in the marketplace.   Recent bank industry announcements have suggested this process will accelerate — a necessary element to cleansing the market and creating more stabilization.  In the short term, it could increase inventories and put additional pressure on prices.

Finally, with immense amounts of cash on their books, we could also see significant hiring increases from corporate America in the months ahead if our elected representatives can find some common ground to provide the needed confidence and incentives to grow their businesses.  Should that happen, we could see better than expected improvement in consumer confidence and the housing market as we move through the coming year.


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Categories : Lafayette CA Real Estate Forecast, Lafayette CA Real Estate Market, Lamorinda Home Search, Lamorinda Housing Market, Lamorinda Real Estate, Lamorinda Real Estate Market Statistics

Refinancing in Lamorinda? Some Tips to Think About…

14 10 2011

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal is providing the stimulus for today’s post, as well as some very recent and highly mixed interactions I’ve had with appraisers in the Lamorinda real estate market.   With so many people refinancing their existing loans, the potential pitfalls of the appraisal process becomes very relevant to the achievement of your objectives.

On a fundamental basis, there are wide swings in the competence levels of appraisers, and the lender has does not control who does the appraisal.

My list of appraisal imperatives:

1.  Screen the appraiser when he/she calls for the appointment.  Make sure the appraiser is LOCAL and EXPERIENCED in doing Lamorinda real estate appraisals.  Even though the lender may think that a San Jose, Fremont, or Vacaville-based appraiser is “local”, they are not and they won’t be competent in our market.  If the appraiser does not meet this initial criteria, do not allow them to start the appraisal.  Ask your lender to resubmit the appraisal order and insist on someone who is truly from this area.

2.  First impressions can make a difference.  Put your home in as close to “show” condition as you possibly can.  You want the appraiser to “like” your home and believe that it stands above the “average” home he/she sees in the community.  If it has obvious deferred maintenance, weeds over-grown in the yard, and the rooms are overflowing with 20+ years of accumulated junk piles — your appraisal will reflect this.

3.  Sell your improvements.  If you don’t tell the appraiser what you’ve invested in your home’s improvements, they’ll never know about them.  This is not to suggest that you’ll see a return on all of your investments in improvements, but the knowledge of them can help to make your home standout, and may tip the scale in your favor during the final determination of value.

4.  Help your appraiser with the “comps”.  Appraisers are required to find “like” properties, ideally sold within the last 90 days and within a 1 mile radius of your home.  It always helps to go online and to pull sales data on homes that meet this criteria.  Even though Zillow’s “Zestimate” of value has little grounding in reality for homes in Lamorinda, the site does allow you to search public records for the needed comp info.  Consumers can utilize a wide variety of other real estate sites to find this information, too.  Since appraisers almost never see the interiors of the “comps”, any personal knowledge you may have about these properties should be shared IF it helps support a higher valuation for your home.

5.  Rigorously scrutinize the final appraisal.  Do not assume that the appraiser accurately completed the appraisal.  Last year, I had an appraiser almost cost a client $50,000 in a contract renegotiation when the appraisal came in that far under the price agreed upon between buyer/seller in the purchase agreement.  The appraisal had been subjected to two levels of underwriting review, but no one caught the computational error that I found when I reviewed the appraiser’s work.  As it turned out, the appraisal should have come in OVER the contract purchase price, NOT under it.  The appraisal was corrected and the transaction proceeded to a successful close.

Last month, a “local” appraiser was sent from Concord to appraise a client’s Lafayette property.  The appraiser passed the initial screening, and we provided him with a detailed set of comps, including written explanations of each property.  The appraiser ignored our comps, and decided to go OUTSIDE the Lafayette School District for two of his six comps, and then threw in two bank foreclosure properties for good measure.  No valuation adjustments were made for these factors.

The appraisal was absurdly completed and came in $100K under the purchase contract value.  I ended up spending hours writing a detailed rebuttal to the appraisal which ultimately helped set it aside, allowing the transaction to eventually close at the contracted purchase price.  It was an incredibly frustrating experience that could have potentially caused a client to lose their buyer or up to $100K in their sales price.

In the final analysis, it’s important to be your own advocate in the process.  Never assume that the appraiser will see the value in your home, nor accurately complete a competent appraisal.  A set of watchful eyes on the process is imperative.


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Categories : Lafayette CA Real Estate Appraisals, Lafayette Home Sale Resources, Lafayette, CA Real Estate, Lamorinda Housing Market, Lamorinda Real Estate

Fall in Lamorinda Real Estate… Travels Abroad

25 09 2011

For those wondering if I fell off the globe for a few weeks, the answer is, “sort of”.  There never is an ideal time to take time off in this business, so early this year we planned an adventure to Italy and Croatia for early September.  The trip was epic, but the internet connectivity was marginal, at best.  So, with the best of intentions of keeping up on the blog, reality dictated otherwise.  In many respects, we take so much for granted here — the internet and ready-access to technology fall into that category.

Not a lot has changed in the market, but perhaps a fresh impression of matters upon returning from the trip has some advantages.  My sense is that in many cases, people are still struggling to find that delicate equilibrium that brings a willing buyer and seller together to consummate a sale.  Sellers of upper end homes are having a very difficult time processing whether their home is not selling because of price, or simply due to the the thin nature of the market.  Since there is almost always a willing buyer at the right price, the reality of the market is painful for many.  As always, when moving down-market closer to the $1M price point, simple supply and demand results in much more vigorous activity.  The world economic factors have clearly exacerbated matters, and the volatility of markets in the last week has certainly brought the issues front and center.

The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior economist, Sam Bullard, from Wells Fargo Securities, “With economic growth sputtering, the modest recovery we have seen so far in home sales is likely to become even more sluggish.”  The article goes on to mention that a survey of over 100 economists released by MacroMarkets, LLC,  predicts that national home prices will show a drop of about 2.5% this year, and then rise at just 1.1% annually through 2015.  Their chief economist is Robert Shiller of the noted S&P Case-Shiller Index. Even though we know that there is really no such thing as a “national market”, and that individual markets perform with some independence, “when the tide goes out, all ‘boats’ ride lower in the water.”

Let’s take a quick look at the latest Lamorinda real estate market statistics with data through August.  The number of pending sales dropped in August from July by 30 percent, and also declined by 14 percent from August of 2010 — likely reflecting the global market uncertainties that have clouded the economic news in recent weeks.  The upper end of the market continues to bear the majority of the pain with pending sales in the $1.5M+ segment dropping by 45 percent from the previous month, and an even 50 percent from August of 2010.

The good news is that economists seem to show some consensus that we’ve hit the bottom of the market, and it might diminish the uncertainty harbored by consumers. Furthermore, with equity markets displaying incredible volatility, perhaps people will look to real estate as one of the safer havens for their dollars.  We’ll see.


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Categories : Lafayette CA Real Estate Forecast, Lafayette CA Real Estate Market, Lafayette Real Estate Forecast, Lafayette, CA Real Estate, Lamorinda Home Search, Lamorinda Housing Market, Lamorinda Real Estate, Uncategorized

Crazy Times with a Jittery Stock Market!

7 08 2011

To those of you who regularly read this blog and have come to expect frequent new market insights offered up, I heartily apologize! I’ve been VERY preoccupied over recent weeks by how busy we’ve been in the world of Lamorinda real estate, and have not had the time to be thoughtful or creative in writing new blog posts. Ah… such a burden! If only I could suppress my semi-Type A personality and it’s ongoing battle for perfection! With my days averaging 12-14 hours long, 7 days a week for the last several weeks, I clearly need to find a way to immediately plunge into REM sleep and get by with about 4 hours a night! I know people who can do that, and I envy that capability. Fortunately, a more normal business life is just around the corner as the final month or so of the summer selling season winds down.

So, let’s not belabor the craziness in Washington, the uncertainty in Europe, or the slight downgrade to our debt rating by Standard & Poors. Aside from limiting ALL politicians to two terms; reshaping their pension plan to be appropriate to my newly imposed term limits; giving them the same sorts of health care choices as the rest of the American people; eliminating special interest campaign contributions; barring them from taking private sector jobs with the same companies that donate to their campaigns, etc… I don’t have much to say about these people or the mess that they’ve created. Enough said!

Let’s look at local real estate where things seem to be a lot more logical. Like I said earlier, the last few weeks have been extraordinarily busy within our little corner of the Lamorinda real estate market. In fact, there were few signs that people really cared what was going on in Washington or with the stock market.  We had a Lafayette home that had been on the market for about a month, suddenly end up with multiple offers; and we had another Lafayette home last week end up with 4 offers within 72 hours of going on-market! Another Lafayette property that has been on the market for a much longer period of time is expected to get an offer today, following a price reduction. And, we’ve had other buyer clients make offers on properties within the last couple of weeks. So, in spite of the external economic turmoil, it appears that confidence remains reasonably high in Lafayette real estate.

The July market data will be released in the next few days, and I’ll promptly share it with you. I’m expecting to see a reasonably strong market under $1.5M, and continued stagnation above that price point. Inventories remain in check, and are considered normal and balanced by historical standards. Stay tuned for the details!


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