New Homes in Petaluma!

Lennar homes are in the process of building a brand new subdivision in desirable west Petaluma. Having just sold a property in the subdivision, I know a lot about the process. This home offered four good sized bedrooms, an open kitchen with granite counters, stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors. My clients were happy with buying a new home because with my help, they were able to negotiate a good price on the home and also because they were able to pick some of the finishing touches. Lennar is building 7 unique split level floorplans ranging from 2,396 sqft to 3,376 sqft. Homes range form 3-4 bedrooms and up to 3.5 baths.

If you are wanting a new home, close to desirable downtown, and to be in the Mcnear school district, this is your opportunity. Call Shad Cloney at 415-328-2158 for more information. You can also visit me on the web at http://www.cloneyrealestate.com

Douple Dip?

Double Dip means that real estate values, which have been going down since about 2006, may have another hit coming in the next couple of years.

Now as we all know, supply and demand determine value. So these 2 factors will determine future rises and falls in home prices. Supply and demand vary considerably as you travel around the Bay Area, and throughout California. The likelihood of a declining real estate market in the less desirable areas of California is very real! Lets focus here, on just Marin County.

The Supply Side:

Some areas of Marin experienced little to no new construction in the last decade. With a limited supply of homes, these markets have an advantage. Northern San Rafael, and Novato had a significant amount of new homes built in the last 10 years, and have also seen the most significant declines. Don't believe the press when you hear that foreclosures are slowing down. There are dozens of filings in Marin County every month, in all price ranges.

There are likely hundreds of additional homeowners that have stopped making their mortgage payment and have not been filed upon by their lender, even though they are 6+ months delinquent.

The government, and super rich investors now own controlling interests in many of the banks and mortgage servicing companies. They can regulate when to foreclose on homeowners, when to approve short sales, and when to release foreclosed homes out on the market to be sold. They have an interest in controlling the supply of new listings.

In the last 10 years, the vast majority of houses and condos in San Rafael and Novato were purchased with 20% down or less. Most of these properties have gone down in value 20% or more. If you purchased a home for $600,000 with a loan of $540,000, and it's now worth $500,000, what are the chances that this might not work out in the future?

The Demand Side:

The real estate boom of the late '80's took place while interest rates hovered around 8%-- higher than they are today. So rates don't have near the impact on a rally as employment and consumer confidence. When a higher percentage of prospective home buyers feel more confident that their high paying jobs are safe, that is when demand will increase, and inventory can decrease, resulting in higher home prices.

Consumer confidence and higher employment rates are the keys to turning this around for good.

The price of many million dollar homes in San Rafael and Novato have come down 30%. There is some pretty good evidence that parts of Novato have already gone down 10% this year. The cause is limited demand. Even Sausalito, which has nearly a one-year supply of homes for sale over $1,000,000, is likely to have another round of equity loss.

The conclusion:

Marin County has done better than most of California, but for the next couple of years is still at risk for more equity loss in some areas.

Customs Estate in Santa Rosa Ca!

Don't miss this opportunity to own a new custom home in Rincon Valley Santa Rosa! Home features 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths and 5,026 sq ft of living space. Custom estate features 20', 15' and 9' ceilings with game/media room, great room, formal dining room, den and nook. Lower master suit/sudio has a wet bar w/built in microwave. Two laundry rooms, high efficient lighting throughout house. Master bath has body spray shower and Jacuzzi tub, tumbled marble and polished travertine. 4 zones of heating and cooling with 3 furnances and 3 Ac units. 2 tank less water heaters. Approx 2000 sqft of walnut hardwood floors. Kitchen has grainte slab countertops with viking stainelss appliances. 3 car garage, .31 acre lot, private, backs up to open space and creek. Please cal Shad Cloney at 415-328-2158 for more information. http://www.cloneyrealestate.com

Marin County Market Report!

Think Marin and expensive comes to mind. Yes, there are multi-million dollar residences for sale, but surprisingly, there are also much lower priced homes on the market as well.

Least expensive- Least expensive home for sale now: Novato for $159,900
Least expensive homes that sold in March $125,000 in Lagunitas, and $250,000 in San Rafael.

Most Expensive- The upper end: 147 homes available for sale above $2,000,000, with the highest being $3,321,000 in Tiburon.

One of the first, measurable signs of a real estate turnaround, is an increase in the number of sales that happen. With the first quarter of 2010 in the books, the number of closed deals in Marin County is up 60% over the last year. And, it is not just foreclosures, and discount prices that are motivating buyers. There have been 24 deals done s far this year, on homes for over $2,000,000.

The inventory of homes for sale has been increasing slowly, and number of sales has also. The balanced trend will tend to keep prices steady then they have been, and potentially lead to some price increases in the areas where inventory is low, and demand is growing. Keep an eye on interest rates. Upward pressure is sure to come later this year. That will not have a positive affect on home values. They may counter balanced by federal and state home-buyer tax incentives, that will be around for a limited time during the summer months.

http://www.cloneyrealestate.com

Real Estate Market in Marin County!

The real estate market in Marin County is always a favorite topic of discussion at work, the park, or a party. People will often ask. "Are prices going up or down?" "How long will rates hold before they go back up? "Is the rising unemployment rate going to make for another price drop on Real Estate in Marin County?"

All great questions, and everyone has their own answers.

But 2010 has brought forth another question, one that many home buyers and sellers are asking. One that has got even the realtors scratching their heads. "When is the new spring time inventory going to hit the market?" The normal timing is often right after the Super Bowl.

Many potential sellers are not putting their homes on the market, because they are not convinced they will be able to find a replacement property. This of course compounds the problem even further.

Limited supply in the Real Estate Market in Marin County is one of the age old causes of price holding firm, or appreciating. This has started to work in some instances, but has not been totally successful for many areas. The available listing inventory at the end of February was lower than it has been in more than 3 years.

Although the Real Estate Market in Marin County had 31 sales in the past week, many homeowners do not have the same happy news report. 730 homes come off the market in the past 6 months, because they didn't sell. Another 215 have been on the market for more than 100 days.

Another market challenge is the major change in financing. Most loans are sold off by whomever does the origination, within several months of closing. Many of the institution, and even foreign counties that have purchased our mortgage debt by the billions over the past 5 years, have drastically cut, or stopped buying it altogether.

The amount of demand on Real Estate Market in Marin County usually has a more significant impact in the prices than supply. No past graphs or trends can predict the future for 2010. We are in uncharted waters. But if you have dependable employment, or money to invest, now is a good time to buy. Home prices and interest rates, are not often low at the same time. Upward pressure in mortgage rates is coming. If rates move up, before unemployment goes down, that will not help the recovery process for homeowner equity. Bottom line... rising interest rates are usually not conducive to real estate appreciation.

Short Sales!

At a recent birthday party I was asked the following question:

"I keep hearing about short sales. What exactly are they"

A short sale is simply a property that when all the seller's closing cost, outstanding loans and property taxes are totaled, they exceed the amount of the offer from the buyer.

The seller then has two choices.

They can write a check for the difference, or they can petition their lender to take less money.

The seller writing a check would seem to be an unlikely option, however in a recent MSN article, a borrower's FICO score can drop by over 100 points when a debt settlement takes place. This will, of course, have significant impact on the seller's ability to borrow again in the future and possibly alter the terms of other existing credit right now.

Petitioning the lender for a reduction in the payoff of the mortgage, is the most common approach.

These transactions take much more time than a normal sale, because after the seller approves the offer, the lender must agree to the discounted payoff, and credits or repairs that the buyer is asking for, and other terms and conditions. This process often takes 3-6 months, and many buyers are not willing to wait for the lender's answers, which is often times, NO!

This has been a section of the market that has continued to increase, as property values have continued to decrease. About 12% of Marin County's closed transactions completed in 2009, were short sales.

This is all can be good news for the purchaser, who is not in a hurry. Since many buyers will not consider a home that is a short sale, due to their many uncertainties, the prices on thees properties are usually less than their, non-short sale competitors. Getting a better price on their purchase, is frequently higher up on the priority list, than it was a few years ago.

The short sale dilemma is on the conditions that exist in most real estate markets, that is preventing values from recovering from the decreases they experienced over the past 4 years

Is now a good time to buy rental property?

A prospective buyer asked me last week, "is now a good time to buy rental property?" He told me his household budget is pretty tight, but he does have $50,000 from an inheritance. "Is now a good time to buy rental property, and do I have enough money to get into something?" The answer is Yes! Now is a good time. Prices are down and interest rates are low.

The next question you need to answer is, does your real estate investment need to be here in Marin, or can it be else where? If you don't mind managing an out of the area property, or hiring a management company, (an expense of about 8% of your rental income), your options are numerous.

In Sonoma County there are over 50 Duplex's for sale under $500,000. In Marin County, there are only 2 duplexes available under $500,000. This means that you would be looking at a condo, or small house.

Most lenders require that you put 25% or more down if you are not going to occupy your purchase. This restricts the range that you can look into to about $200,000. This is possible in parts of Marin, if you are buying a condominium.

Another option, if you are a renter, is to buy a multi-unit building, and occupy one of the units yourself. If you "owner occupy" your purchase, you might be able to obtain an FHA loan, which would allow for a much smaller down payment 3.5%.

It costs about $750 per month for your loan/taxes and insurance on every $100,000 that you purchase and finance.

If you found a 3 unit building for $700,000, and put your $50,000 down, (7%), your monthly payment might be about $5,000. Renting the other 2 units out, for perhaps $1,500 each, would leave you needing only $2,000 to complete the payment. This might be comparable to the rent you're paying someone else now!

Now you get to build your own empire! When the time comes that you can afford more, you can move out, and buy something else, and keep the tri-plex. It could prove to be the best retirement account you will ever have!

Please call me at 415-328-2158 or vist me at http://www.cloneyrealestate.com

Buying a home in Petaluma!

http://www.cloneyrealestate.com Just sold a beautiful home in desirable Petaluma! This was a short sale which took a good three months to close, but in the end, the buyer's got a great home and a great deal. This East side home is located next to schools, shopping, and transportation. Homes in Petaluma are selling quickly when priced correctly due to the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. Also, interest rates are under 5% at the moment and home prices are at an all time low. 85% of the homes for sale in this area are either short sales or foreclosures, which make for hot prices on homes.

If you are looking to buy a home in Petaluma, or would like to know what is happening in the Real Estate world, please give me a call and we can discuss some options that will fit your needs!

Homes for sale in Novato Ca

http://www.cloneyrealestate.com

I am getting ready to put on the market a beautiful home for sale Novato Ca! This home is located in highly desirable RUSH CREEK Area 5 Bed/4.5 Bath Home, Approx. 4,100 sq. ft. per owner, over an ACRE of land, tucked away at the end of a cul-de-sac, w/ gated driveway, detached guest suite w/ full bath, den w/ wet bar & TV entertainment center, A must see!Enjoy the beautiful surrounding hills & privacy. Upgrades Include: Wolf Range, crown molding, in-wall stereo speakers, custom tile floors, plenty of storage in garage, outdoor fountain and much more! This home for sale in Novato Ca is a short sale, and is one of the few in the neighborhood.

It appears the upper end market in Novato is still seeing a decrease in home value and will probably stable off mid year. Well priced homes, even in the upper end, are seeing multiple offers when priced correctly. Usually homes for sale in Novato Ca that are short sales or foreclosures are selling quickly.

If you are looking to purchase a home, and you would like to speak with an expert in this area, please give me a call and we can discuss your needs! If you are looking to just view homes for sale in Novato Ca visit my website for accurate MLS listings 24/7. http://www.cloneyrealestate.com/

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