May Flowers...and Real Estate Sales

As we head into the heart of this year’s spring season, I thought it would be helpful to share what we are seeing from a national perspective in the housing market and point out a few reasons for optimism in the months ahead.
Bruce Zipf, president and CEO of NRT, our national parent company, said this week that our overall business results have managed to exceed expectations, thanks in large part to a surprisingly resilient high-end market, especially here in the Bay Area.
Normally, we judge the strength of the housing market by looking at current sales volume against the same time last year to gain a sense of how things are improving. But we couldn't properly compare data from this March and April due to the artificial stimulus effects of last year's Home Buyer Tax Credit. In May, these effects should lessen and give us our first true glimpse of the market's strength, if we continue to see improvement in our market as we head into the heart of the spring buying season.
Our Cupertino office is seeing growing momentum from buyers looking to take advantage of mortgage rates while they’re still low, as well as prices that remain affordable. In fact, we continue to have more qualified buyers than listings. This is resulting in multiple offers for many attractive homes. Buyers are coming in with a lot of cash or all cash to win out the competition. Because obtaining loans and appraisals is on ongoing problem, these all-cash offers usually take priority. We are back to having the majority of our sales involve multiple offers. A very original fixer-upper was listed for $988k, got 11 offers, and was bid up about $100K
This is not to say that every market around the Bay is experiencing the same strong buyer demand. Certainly a number of communities have more balanced markets, and some homes continue to sit while others sell briskly. But in general, we’re seeing well-presented, well-priced homes selling much better today than they did a couple of years ago.
Another reason for optimism is that mortgage rates are likely to remain affordable for some time to come. I know a lot of market-watchers were concerned that the Fed could raise interest rates soon in response to inflation fears and the end of the government’s bond-buying program. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke largely put those fears to rest in his press conference this week.
So as we look to May and the upcoming summer season, there are many reasons to be encouraged that our housing recovery will continue to gain traction – especially here in the Bay Area.

Why I'm Still Selling Real Estate

Mostly because I love it....and also because it can be so satisfying.
A while back, I wrote about handling a home sale where the appraisal came in very low and all parties had to work together to facilitate a close of escrow.
This email just arrived in my box:

Bobbie, sorry it took so long to get back to you. Jan and I want to thank you for all of your help in the selling of our home. It was a complicated, emotional and difficult situation to deal with and you handled it very professionally. Without your help we would not have gotten our price. Coldwell Banker should be very proud of you, I know I am. Thanks again for everything. You made the impossible possible.
Jan and I love it up here at Sun City Lincoln Hills and we have a guest bedroom just waiting for you to enjoy it. So.....come on down! I should say up.
Best personal regards,
Richard Martinez
Jan Martinez

The best endings are happy ones.

Finally, A new Season

Officially, Spring began on March 20th, but the headlines in today's Mercury News heralded the true start of the season for Realtors. Home sales in March were the highest in four years in Santa Clara County...not quite at their all-time high, but moving up, especially in the high end of the market. Last year, people in the business mourned the end of the first-time buyer tax credit, but that loss doesn't seem to have effected our local area at all.
Inventory, which has been extremely low, is finally starting to rise, although Sunnyvale sales are brisk, and we're still seeing multiple offers on most properties. But buyers also have good news...the economy is keeping interest rates extremely low which translates to lower payments.
With sunshine nearly every day, flowers in bloom, and warmer temperatures on the way,
I expect that open houses will be busier than ever.
This promises to be a season to remember.

Who Pays What?

Over the years, I have received offers from buyers' agents on Santa Clara County properties that included unusual terms. The closing costs established by custom can be flexible, but in most cases, local Realtors know that in our county, the seller pays title and escrow fees, and "across the border" in San Mateo County, the buyer is expected to cover these costs.
The poor buyers selling in San Jose and buying in San Mateo can be hit by a double whammy, whereas someone selling a house in Belmont and buying in Sunnyvale makes out like a bandit regarding closing costs.
If an agent doesn't know these area guidelines, he or she can cost the buyer a premium in escrow. For instance, a San Francisco broker once handed me an offer that had his buyer paying all the closing costs on a house in Cupertino...perfectly legal, but an unexpected bonus for the seller, just because the agent didn't do his homework.
Cornerstone Title recently sent out an updated information sheet of the customary expenses in all the Northern California Counties that my readers should find interesting.