Top 10 Reasons to Buy a Home in Marin- NOW

Posted on November 29, 2008 by Ginger Wilcox
  1. AWESOME Interest Rates
  2. Less Competition– you have a better chance of getting the home you want without feeling the pressure to bid against several other buyers (in most cases).
  3. Reduced Home Prices– values have come down approximate 10-40% (depending on location) over the last 2-3 years. 2008 will see the first year over year price decline in Marin County since 1992. This is a rare opportunity to purchase a great asset at a discount.
  4. Motivated sellers-for the first time in over a decade the buyer has the upper hand over the seller in (most) negotiations.
  5. Top Notch Schools– The public and private schools in Marin are outstanding with test scores off the charts.
  6. Fabulous Lifestyle -Marin is a wonderful place to live. The natural beauty is awe inspiring and we enjoy vast areas of protected open space for hiking, biking and gazing at, which is all free and part of the privilege of living in Marin.
  7. Location, Location, Location– proximity to San Francisco, the wine country, the California coast and the Sierras.
  8. Weather-  On Monday, the high in Chicago is expected to be 33 degrees and snowing.  In Marin, 65 and sunny.
  9. Rent vs Own Gap Decreasing- The gap between what you pay for rent vs. what you pay to own is closer than it has been in years especially when taking tax breaks into consideration. The combination of increasing rents and declining property values has tilted the opportunity towards owning.
  10. Timing is everything– Looking back throughout history the best time to buy any valuable asset is when the headlines are the bleakest. Buy when others aren’t.

If you have CASH and you aren’t buying, you are crazy

Posted on October 27, 2008 by Ginger Wilcox

There, I said it.  If you have cash and you aren’t buying, you are crazy.  I know some people think all realtors are blowing smoke when they say “It’s a great time to buy.”  But really, it is true.  In his recent Goldman Report, Pacific Union President & CEO Avram Goldman says:

Many buyers are saying that they are delaying making decisions until after the election and watching for the impact of the bailout program before going forward with a home purchase. Such behavior is reflected in open home activity, which has fallen off in most Bay Area markets with few exceptions. The bulk of open homes are seeing fewer than 10 visitors.

What better time to buy than when OTHER buyers AREN’T buying? 

Sellers are anxious.   Their homes are sitting on the market.  Price reductions (often multiple) are commonplace.  If you look at my Mill Valley stats from last week, you will see 52% of listings have had a price reduction.  That is a huge number for our market.  Many of these sellers NEED to sell.  They are watching what is happening in the economy, and they know current market conditions.  Aggressive offers are ok.  Even expected.  Of course, not all sellers are realistic, but plenty are, and they want to sell their homes.

Buy, buy, buy.  

I personally have buyers waiting until after the election.  They are sitting  on the fence.  Most other agents I know also have buyers waiting things out.  These buyers are waiting but sellers want to sell their homes (NOW!).  Some of them can’t wait for buyers to show up again. 

Opportunities abound.  Take advantage if you can.

Related Posts:

If you want the hard core numbers by city, don’t miss these posts with heavy real estate stats:

$729,750 Conforming Loans: Going, Going…Soon to be Gone!

Posted on October 22, 2008 by StaceyFleece

Back in February of this year (wow…doesn’t that seem SO long ago), the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 was enacted and part of that Act was to temporarily increase the loan limit on mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to 125% of the average cost of a home, county-by-county, to a maximum of $729,750. Of course, because of our higher housing costs, most of the Bay Area counties qualified for that maximum. However, the Economic Stimulus Act only put that that increase into play temporarily…until December 31, 2008.

We are rapidly approaching that deadline and lenders are going to shut that pipeline down in late November/early December in order to give them time to package the loans and deliver them to Fannie/Freddie before the end of the year. In other words, we probably only have about 6-7 weeks left to offer these higher conforming loan limits to borrowers!!

If you have any real estate financing to complete that would involve a loan for $729,750 or less, it is imperative that you start your process as soon as possible in order to take advantage of this program as time is running short!

We are hearing that there will still be some sort of high limit conforming loan amount in 2009 but it will probably drop to something closer to $625,000. Stay tuned…

Stacey Fleece is a Mortgage Loan Consultant with Countrywide Home Loans in Mill Valley.

Ross Real Estate Market Profile- Monday, October 20

Posted on by Ginger Wilcox

This market profile is a snapshot of what is happening in Ross.  Home prices are up this week in Ross have dipped slightly but they have settled in recent weeks.  With inventory trending up but days-on-market and the Market Action Index essentially flat recently, conditions don’t seem to a have strong up or down pull. Continue reading →