Nicole Machado

With the Holidays behind us, buyers are back on the Real Estate scene scoping out the new inventory. This weekend I held a home in SSF open. I had over 65 groups come through and even ran out of fliers & ended up staying well after 4pm as buyers kept showing up. I can't remember the last time I ran out of fliers or had to stay longer then the open house was scheduled.
The home was a single family fixer, in a desirable neighborhood. I figured there was an abundance of buyers because it was the first weekend of scheduled open houses, come to find out it wasn't just my open house that faired well to the buyer's scene, it was everyone's.
Every Monday morning my office has its sales meetings. In the meetings we take count of how many people came through our open houses. Today the count was 400. Those are huge numbers which gives us all something to ponder... Buyers are out in droves, prices have come down and interest rates are historically at all time lows. Has the market hit its threshold? What are your thoughts? If you ask me, no one ever truly knows when a market has hit its bottom. All I can say is when it's your time to buy or sell, it doesn't really matter what else is going on around you. That's the beauty of Real Estate.

As 2008 wraps up and we all grasp onto our crystal balls to determine the fate of 2009... I wanted to end the year on a positive note with some statistics from the San Mateo County Multiple Listing Service that may help to give us all a positive outlook on the Real Estate market for 2009. South San Francisco was one of the Peninsula's hardest hit cities with short sales and foreclosures, but by the looks of it, SSF seems to be bouncing back just fine.

South San Francisco's First Quarter:

South San Francisco's Second Quarter:

South San Francisco's Third Quarter:

Take a close look at the increase in closed sales, percentage of listing price received and total sales volume, while there is a steady decrease in Days on Market. While the average sales price has dropped since the first quarter it seems to have hit its threshold in the third quarter and on its way back up... although we don't yet have the statistics for the end of the year, all signs point to even more increases in closed sales and decreases in days on market. These are all great signs of a distressed market rebounding and becoming once again a stable market with so many great opportunities for buyers.
These statistics aren't just good news for buyers, its great news for all of you home owners. A stable market leads to appreciation, which leads to equity, which is why Real Estate in my opinion is the greatest investment you can ever make. I'll let you make your own opinions, but i'm sticking to mine!

Have you ever felt obligated to use a family member when it came to a business deal? While most of us have, has it ever left you wondering if that was the best decision? In some cases, it is an ideal circumstance. While in others it may be an uncomfortable situation that you were strong armed into. When it comes to Real Estate, for most people purchasing a home will be the biggest purchase in their lives. Which begs the question… do you want to hire a Realtor out of obligation or acquire one that has the skill set to provide unbiased information to assure you make the right choice when it comes time to purchase? I guess this circumstance definitely falls under the double edge sword category. Some would argue that family is always the best policy because there is already a built in “trust” clause. While others may argue that using family is a bad idea and only causes tension if something goes wrong. Let’s look at both the positive and negative aspects of hiring a family member as your Realtor…. Let’s pretend for a second that you are a first time home buyer and are ready to dive in and buy your first home. You have a family member who is in the business and expects you to use him/her. However, your not comfortable with them and aren’t sure he/she is the best fit. Meanwhile other family members are pressuring you to use them. Being a first time home buyer you have no idea how the process works or what loan products would be most beneficial to you. You look to your Realtor for guidance and to educate you on what loan products are available to a first time home buyer with little down payment, however your family member shrugs you off and leaves you playing the guessing game. When it comes time to get pre-approved your family member refers you to their lender and does not tell you to shop around for the best rate or explain what loan products you should be discussing with the lender. He/she automatically assumes because you’re family they can tell you what to do and you will do it no questions asked. To add icing to the cake, he/she refuses to show you short sale listings because they take too long, even though in your price range short sale listings make up about 1/3 of the inventory, which equates to you missing out on a huge chunk of homes that may fit your criteria. With this attitude, how are you supposed to feel comfortable with the home buying process? If you’re not comfortable enough to express your concerns, why on Earth would you continue the business relationship? At this point, the tension has built and it is only a matter of time until someone explodes and the family relationship is scarred. We sometimes have the tendency to let things slide when it comes to family. However when it comes to the biggest purchase of your life, do you really want to “let things slide”? On a positive note.. You are a first time home buyer, who has a family member in the business. You have a great relationship with him/her already and feel completely comfortable hiring them as your Realtor. Your family member is very hands on and explains the home buying process in detail, while setting you up with a few lenders to ensure you get the best interest rate and loan product available to you. Because you are a first time home buyer and have little down payment your family member knows he/she will have to show you all available active homes, whether they be regular sales, short sales or foreclosures. You feel more confident as the process moves forward and know you made the right decision when hiring your family member. So the question still remains… Is it better to mix business with pleasure or keep them separate? The answer won’t be the same for everyone. I guess at the end of the day, you have to listen to your gut. If you feel comfortable going into the situation, 9 times out of 10 things will pan out. If you are uneasy going in, maybe you should stop and weigh out the pros and cons before making your decision. If you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, talk to them about your concerns. If he/she is a professional, they will gladly refer you to another Realtor who may better fit your needs.

As we approach the holiday season, while everyone else is immersed in cooking the Thanksgiving Turkey and getting up at dawn to get those Holiday discounts on the season's hottest new toy you can take advantage of the season's best toy... a house!

In the last few months competition has been fierce when trying to purchase a short sale or foreclosed property. With the Holidays right around the corner, people's priorities will shift from purchasing a home to purchasing presents for underneath the tree. Nobody ever stops to think that purchasing a home during the holiday season is the best gift of all.

With the latest interest rate decrease and the great loan products out there, while everyone else is sipping on egg nog, you can be signing your closing papers and surprising your family with the biggest present of all. Here are just a few reasons or advantages I should say on why the Holiday season is the best time of the year to purchase a home...

• Less competition from other potential home buyers
• More negotiating power (During the holidays, there are not a lot of buyers, so sellers are more likely to sell for less in order to get their homes sold).
• Pick of the litter (Without a lot of home buyers out there, you will have your pick of the latest inventory).
• Having a home to wrap those presents & sip on your egg nog!!!!

Everyone's question these days seems to be "Is now the right time to buy"? I have come up with a chart that helps you make the decision if now is the right time to buy!

Current Home New Home

The above chart is an example of a "move-up" buyer determining whether it is a good time to purchase an upgrade property.

Now ask yourself this question... "When does it make more sense to move up- when prices have gone up less or when they've gone down more?"

If you have answered when prices go down, you are the lucky winner!!!! You profit the most when the spread is less. So whether you are discouraged that you don't have enough equity or down payment in order to move, ask yourself this question....

"If you don't feel you can move up comfortably now, how will you be able to do so when prices go up further?"

***One last thing to ponder... When interest rates go from 6% to 7.5% the prices of homes would have to go down 14.7% in order to keep the same monthly payment.