Christmas time of giving

As we gear up towards the end of the year do you stop and review?

Perhaps a good practice to take up is to do just that. Stop and review your year.

Your wins, your blessings, your gains.

Take time in this season to sit and review 2008. Season's Greetings.

Downtown investment opportunities

Downtown San Jose has so much going on that some of the older apartment complexes are such a great investment opportunity at the moment. Units close to the college ensure possible renters and many are close to the downtown action, appealing to younger people.

It's no secret that there are a number of short sales at the moment and CAR (California association of realtors) has even created a new form for agents to use specifically for short sales. In looking at what's available downtown San Jose you can find a number of good buys. You may not find that the rent covers your mortgage completely but it's a great opporutnity.

I have to say since coming to the Bay Area downtown has certainly changed considerably and definately a viable alternative to the BURBs of Silicon Valley.

I came to America too late

Lately I've had immigrants to America tell me that the reason they don't have an investment property is because they came here too late and they think they can't get into the market anymore.

Well I think there are always other opportunties out there it is just about educating yourself.

To know more email me: saskiaf@kw.com

What are you reading

Right now I have two books I am reading - the first is the Four Hour Work Week, the second Robert Allen - Nothing Down.

The Four Hour Work week is certainly anyone in this crazy tech valley should read. How to cut down your work and enjoy your life - I think that's the best way to summerize this book.

I also recommend What Should I do with my life by Po Bronson who also wrote the Nudist on the Night Shift a highly popular book during the tech boom.

Happy Reading

Greenspan on Meet the Press

Alan Greenspan was on Meet the Press today. He was asked by Tim Russert if he felt we were heading towards a recession and had the property market burst. Mr Greenspan felt that we were headed towards a slow down.

He expects home prices to 'move down more considerably'.

Remember we have seen this before and remember a good move is to buy on the slide down not necessarily at the bottom when everyone else is competing against you. And often at the bottom you will see the worst of the worse for sale. You will see the homes that have been rented for years that have been neglected etc. And you may not be in a financial position to improve your fixer upper.

My feeling is look at the market now as it is going down and if you see something in the right location at the right price or been sitting for a while there is no reason not to put an offer in.

A very good article was in the SJ Mercury News yesterday September 22nd in the RE section educating you how how to buy in a down market and be respectful of the seller.

Agressive Agents

Wow the market's getting interesting now the shark agents are getting even more agressive. I notice that they are sharpening their tongues. I guess some sellers are really worried and shifting gears in the hope it will pay off. Well if the buyers don't want to buy, the buyers don't want to buy! That's how it is.

Plus personally if I was a seller my biggest concern at the moment would be that the buyer has a good lender in their contract!

Rents on the Rise

When the market dries up and the buyers disappear the rents start to increase. We have seen this before.

Today I got a call from a person looking to rent in the Moreland School district. She has been given her notice from a home she has rented for 6 years because the management have decided to increase her rent. Naturally it's the owners right to do that, but if you ask me even in these times it's better to stick to what you know rather than what you don't know.

If you have something coming up in this rental area soon please let me know.

Agent Agent beware

Ever found yourself just wanting to say "BYE BYE" to a client?

Boy I think the best piece of advice I got this week was from a seminar I did with the Buffini crowd. As a result I will be implementing the Buffini style of referral business into my systems.

I'm looking forward to doing his training next month in Carmel area. What a different approach to finding clients.

Lender Lender beware

For months now I could have told you that the lending industry was going to be investigated. It's about time. Being a migrant to this country allows you to see things differently I feel. You keep your radar on alert all the time for scams or over zealous telemarketers.

When I learnt how a lot of lenders make their money on points I realized that there is something not right with this system. And then when we started to read about companies profiteering from their own people you start to get suspicious about what is going on in the market.

Anyway all I can say if you are looking for a loan have good credit and a good deposit to put into a property now is the time to go shopping for a house! Why? Well you my friend are a lot stronger than a lot of other people. Go to your bank vs your credit union and go direct to the source to get your loan.

Market still hot in Lynbrook School area

I've had a client searching for nearly 3 months for a property and they just can't seem to get into the market.

I have my feelers out there looking for them, they need a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom and have up to 1.4million to spend.

Crazy but true - so don't tell me the market is slowing down - it's up up up but like I've said for a year now it depends on the school district.

They say the market's slow? I don't think so especially since I had a house on the market last weekend that had over 140 visitors in two days! I don't think so. The amount of foot traffic wasn't just nosey neighbors rather many interested parties ask the right questions like:

What's the school district?

What's the square footage of the house, the lot?

How long has this been on the market?

When are you taking offers?

Silicon Valley is still hot.....

Silicon Valley still the hot spot in CA

According to the lastest statistics given out by CAR (California Association of Realtors) it doesn't matter what you think Silicon Valley is still leading the way in property prices.

Most other parts of the State have been hit by a slump and most other parts are seeing either more property on the market or longer days on market BUT good old Silicon Valley has it's own style of doing things.

As I said at the start of the year Silicon Valley has been busy. Prices in most areas with good school districts are still high. Multiple offers are being seen in these areas. The inventory is low compared to the end of last year and compared to the rest of the State. This means competition is high.

You might ask why? Why because at any given time in a normal market there are always being buying and selling. Why? Why not, people still get married, still get divorced, still die, still move out of the State, still get promotions, still ......

life goes on and here in the Valley we know how to bounce back and that we have this year so far. The market is strong - okay it's not 2000 but it's bouncing along very nicely.

Real Estate in Sunnyvale California

Well it's clear to me the real estate market is hotting up. Last weekend I witnessed a lot of buyers coming out and looking at properties on the market. They are clearly realizing that the market is not changing, the prices are not dropping by the 100's of thousand they would like. And interest rates are gradually creeping up. So perhaps its fair to say hey - if you have a place for sale or thinking about it, especially in areas like Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View and you are in a good school district - your property is hot !

Remember rule of thumb for buying and eventually selling:

Location, Location, Location!

who can deny location and when you live in a Valley where location counts and land is locked guess what - Location is all you got and if you are in a good school district - it goes back to:

Location, Location, Location and with that the top dollar will get you home!

Real Estate Buzz

I've been speaking with some other real estate agents this week and they are all reporting the same thing - the activity in the Bay Area is picking up. Inventory is down but interest has spiked. Perhaps buyers are realizing that the prices are not dropping 40 or 50% and that interest rates aren't dropping either. Looks like we are heading into a 'normal market' - what does that mean. It just means we have people buying and selling and in some areas and on some properties we will see multiple bids and on some we will just see the one offer.

So if you are thinking of selling or buying or just sitting on the fence. Hey the waters warm! Jump in.

Another day in Silicon Valley real estate

Silicon Valley has to be far the strangest place at times. Though it doesn't compare to San Francisco or Sydney it is different. When I first came here I noticed that people didn't dress like in Sydney (anything goes!) and they didn't have the European cars, there was one thing that people did here that they did in Sydney.

Everyone talked about home prices. Over 10 years ago, when I first came here the prices were already sky rocketting. My gorgeous townhouse in Malvern, Victoria was worth about $100,000 US and the same type of place here was close to $200,000 US - what?? Naturally you can't compare countries to countries but you can take note that it doesn't matter where you live one conversation that everyone loves to talk about is real estate.

And it's still obvious here in the Valley. Real estate prices are on everyones discussion plate at times. People still quite don't get that in certain areas of Silicon Valley that there are still multiple offers going on. Well guess what in Cupertino, Los Altos, Sunnyvale and parts of Santa Clara that lie in Cupertino school district you are going to see the bidding war still. Because those of out there that are parents know that if there things we can give our children, food and shelter is a high priority, safety being another - Education lies close to the top of the list.

Most people in this valley have achieved what they have achieved through education and the battle is always there to compete with the next well educated person. So schools are the number one factor that determine housing costs - whether you like it or not!

Australian Real Estate Blog

I came across a great blog for Australians at home about real estate.

http://www.australianrealestateblog.com.au/blogger/realestate_blog.asp

Definately worth a visit if you are considering going home to Australia or need to understand the Australian market a bit better.

The one thing for sure about Blogs is that it is not as intimdating than a Real Estate website where you can be overwhelmed with what is going on - plus at a blog ideally you can ask questions of a realtor and hopefully they are kind hearted people and will respond caringly to your question!