Homescopes

Piedmont CA Home Inventory and Average Days on Market -

Monthly Inventory of homes for sale in Oakland neighborhoods -

Diverting myself from my normal business reading first thing in the morning, I allowed myself to get into the Halloween spirit. 

 Check out theses gourds! 

A human face-shaped pumpkin grown in 1938.  With a candle inside one of those on Halloween night… yikes!  or add a little voice box behind it saying “help me…help me…” (that was hubby’s contribution).

Or what about what EPCOT is doing - growing pumpkins in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears…Sounds like an activity for artists who like to use food as their pallette.  It also sounds like a perfect Coastside class - Parks & Rec or a collababoration between one of the farms and a local artist .  With an abundance of farmers and artists, imagine what someone here could create.  There could also be a separate contest for Pumpkin Festival for the best pumpkin “design”.

Blue Sky Farms got our local coastside children involved in growing pumpkins this year with their own contest, including winnners for “Most Lopsided”, “Clearest Complexion” and “Cutest” among other categories.

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STATS FOR LAST 7 DAYS

new listing 0, price reduced 2, sale pending 2, sold 0

new listing       

price reduced   1978 Adams St, $1,095,000, 4 br 3 ba, 2,715 sf

                                6680 Washington St, $1,095,000, 2 br 2 ba, 1,679 sf

new pending      1922 Oah Cir, $595,000, 3 br 2 ba, 1,765 sf

                                1 Forrester Ln, 3 br 2 ba, 1,204 sf

new sold               

average prices, days on market                  

current listings for sale    20   avg price $1,137,498;  avg days on market 206

current sale pendings         4   avg price $593,250; avg days on market 97

sold in last 6 months            8   avg price $903,188; avg days on market 193

STATS FOR LAST 7 DAYS

new listing 0, price reduced 4, sale pending 0, sold 1

new listing

price reduced   2021 Olive Ln, $795,000, 3 br 2 ba, 1,750 sf

                                2157 Sage Canyon Rd, $849,000, 2 br 3 ba, 1,700 sf

                                2955 St Helena Hwy, $4,950,000, 4 br 6 ba, 8,000 sf

                                1457 S Whitehall Ln, $5,600,000, 5 br 5 ba, 3,517 sf

new pending

new sold              1582 Arrowhead Dr, $995,000 3 br 2 ba, 2,263 sf

average prices, days on market                  

current listings for sale  100   avg price $2,706,626;  avg days on market 175

current sale pendings          7   avg price  $775,271; avg days on market 151

sold in last 6 months         37    avg price  $1,079,726; avg days on market 137

You do.  We buy and sell homes in earthquake country.  We’re used to it and we advise sellers and buyers of their rights and obligations to protect themselves here.  Thank goodness we’re not dealing with tornadoes…I’ve lived in Michigan!  I’m going to break it down a little here for you.  Pay attention to compliance disclosures at a point of sale - here’s an example…

California Health and Safety Code 19211.

(b) The seller of any real property containing a water heater shall certify to the prospective purchaser that this section has been complied with. This certification shall be made in writing, and may be included in existing transactional documents, including, but not limited to, the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety published pursuant to Section 10149 of the Business and Professions Code, a real estate sales contract or receipt for deposit, or a transfer disclosure statement pursuant to Section 1102.6 or 1102.6a of the Civil Code.

Two disclosures related to earthquake safety are the Residential Earthquake Hazards Report questionnaire and the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement.  Local purchase contracts (Item 4C on C.A.R. and Item 9 on PRDS) specify that the seller provide property disclosures that include environmental, natural hazard, earthquake and other compliance statements for the protection of both parties.

The Earthquake Hazards Report Form is included in the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety booklet given to the buyer with their disclosure package.  The seller has checked off the boxes and signed it.  The seller will want to check to make sure he is in compliance and the Realtor will want to make sure they’re handing out the most current version of the booklet.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement and Report is compiled by a third party company.  This report tells the buyer some important things about the house they are considering - such as whether the property is located in an Earthquake Fault Zone, a Seismic Hazard Zone for landslides, or a Seismic Hazard Zone for liquefaction.  It will also tell you what it means to be in these locations. 

In addition to these seller disclosures, the buyer is advised to get a home inspection.  The home inspector will discuss areas of the property that may be seismically unsafe and warrant further inspection by a specialist - two common discussion points are the foundation and water heater.  Most seller homes that I see have their water heaters strapped, however there are more than you would think that have them strapped improperly, as pointed out by home inspectors.

As an example, I stopped in Oceanshore Hardware on Tuesday to check on their water heater strapping kits for this post.  As I discussed the confusion that we sometimes experience between sellers and buyers, the owner, Larry Hassett, agreed that there is a “disconnect”.  A seller will honestly believe the water heater is strapped properly and a buyer will ask that it be strapped to be in compliance before they take possession.  A good listing agent will get it done pronto because it protects their client!

Back at the hardware store, Larry also pointed out that the marketing on the packages may be misleading when it comes to resale homes (water heater already installed).  So he graciously took the time to open the package… sure enough, there was a plastic “block” allowing the company to advertise “California compliant”, but as he points out and as I’ve seen firsthand, what’s in the package may not be the right piece for your house.  Bring in a plumber or contractor to have it assessed and sleep at night knowing at least your water heater isn’t going anywhere when the rumbling starts.

Water Heater bracing general instructions

Related Article:

Coastside Continues to Prepare for the Big One.

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Waking up to the news that the Bay Bridge was closed this morning, I started thinking of the many ways one could get to San Francisco from Burlingame without crossing any bridges. Bart connects in Millbrae and if you live close to Adeline Drive, you can take the shuttle to the station and don’t need a car at all. Caltrains stops in Burlingame downtown and in Millbrae. If you need to drive and want city streets the option is to take El Camino Real north which will connect with Mission St in San Francisco. Like the more scenic route, take Skyline Blvd all the way to San Francisco. Of course it is easy to drive via Highway 101 or 280 however you might sit in traffic with all those commuters who just came over the San Mateo Bridge from the East Bay and have been on the road for hours.

The Peninsula Regent in San Mateo www.PeninsulaRegent.com offers a retirement community in an urban setting. Located just two blocks from the San Mateo downtown area, residents can easily walk to shops, restaurants, the park andmovie theatres. I looked at several condominiums that are currently for sale. A lovely 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo with a remodeled kitchen is listed for $ 359,000.(listing agent Arlene Sullivan/Coldwell Banker, San Mateo) asullivan@cbnorcal.com)  An other floor plan offered a second bathroom and a den for $ 399,000 but didn’t have the kitchen up-dates. (listing agent Annie Kraemer/Coldwell Banker San Mateo annie@anniekraemer.com) Unit # 410 was a spacious 1300 sqft condo with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The Regent is based on the  independant living concept, however if in need, residents can temporarily move to the assisted living wing. In addition to purchasing a condo, residents pay a monthly membership fee and need to pass a physical exam and qualify financially. The Peninsula Regent is offering a retirement planning seminar on Sunday November 7th. RSVP 650.579.5500.

As a Certified Foreclosure Specialist, I’ve been talking about the “next foreclosure wave” for quite some time now.

As the subprime crisis winds down, the next crisis emerges – Option ARMs and Alt-A loans (3/1 ARM, 5/1 ARM, and 7/1 ARMs) are all resetting over the next 18 months.  See this chart for a visual of what I am talking about.

These are the loans that middle-class Americans all got during the 2004-2007 timeframe.  As a Realtor selling homes during this time, all the mortgage brokers and banks I worked with was selling these loans to almost every buyer.  It’s scary how many ordinary middle-class folks have these loans.  These are not your sub-prime category of people, these are people who probably can afford a jump in their payment if it increases when the loan resets.  But the wildcard here is unemployment…  With 12.5% of Bay Area residents out of work, this spells trouble for people who are currently struggling to make ends meet.  A payment increase is insult to injury when someone is living off savings while trying to find a new job.  I talk to people all the time who have drained their savings, 401(k)s, and are hanging on by a thread.

We are not out of the woods yet – there are a lot more foreclosures coming, especially in the mid-priced range of the market.  RealtyTrac just released their Q3 2009 Foreclosure Report and it indicates that we are starting to see huge increases in foreclosure rates in cities that were not previously foreclosure hotspots.

What does this all mean?  There may be opportunities for buyers to scoop up great deals on properties in the mid-range of the market.  For example, we are starting to see properties that sold for as much as $850,000 here in San Jose now selling as bank-owned properties (REO) and short sales for as little as $420,000.  50% price decreases off the market highs is now becoming common among these expensive properties.  I expect this trend in the mid-range and luxury markets to continue as we head into 2010…