Archive for the ‘General’ Category
August 25, 2009
Jim Holt, our all-star agent on the Peninsula, has seen of lot of multiple offer situations over the last few weeks.
Recently, there haven’t been a lot of new listings and a lot of buyers have seen everything that’s for sale. So when a nice home comes on the market with a good price, it’s going to get multiple offers and probably sell over list price. This is especially true for entry- and mid-level homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Mountain View.
If you’re bidding on a home with multiple offers, Jim says it’s critical that you lead with your best offer:
You need to approach the offer with the mindset that this is your only shot. It’s likely the sellers will counter only the strongest offers and ignore the rest. Make sure you’re comfortable with the offer price because if you offer is accepted, you don’t want to question if you overpaid. At the same time, you don’t want to be kicking yourself if you lose by only $5,000 – $10,000.
Ignore List Price
Jim’s advice to anyone looking on the Penninsula right now is to forget about the list price:
List price is a meaningless number. If a home is overpriced, it will sit on the market for a while, then sell below list price. If a home is underpriced, it will get multiple offers and sell over list price. Remember, market value is based on what people paid, not what sellers asked. You need to look at sales prices for comparable homes that sold in the last three months. Anything older is too stale to be useful.
What are you seeing in the housing market on the Peninsula?
August 21, 2009
Let’s take at look at some July numbers for single-family houses and condos that sold in the Bay Area and see how they compare to a year ago.
San Francisco
- 454 homes sold in July
- The median sales price was $642,426, down from $770,000 in July 2008
San Mateo County
- 581 homes sold in July
- The median sales price was $575,000, down from $701,000 in July 2008
Santa Clara County
- 2,028 homes sold in July
- The median sales price was $487,000, down from $615,000 in July 2008
Alameda County
- 1,699 homes sold in July
- The median sales price was $340,000, down from $445,000 in July 2008
Contra Costa County
- 1,816 homes sold in July
- The median sales price was $260,000, down from $350,000 in July 2008
Marin County
- 241 homes sold in July
- The median sales price was $650,000, down from $777,500 in July 2008
We got these numbers from DQNews.
Dig Deeper Into the Trends
These numbers are for county-level trends in the Bay Area. To see what’s happening in your neighborhood, check out our stats & trends pages.
This is our first monthly report on the inventory trends in the Bay Area. What numbers would you like to see in our August wrap-up?
August 14, 2009
Come out and tour this beautiful older home perfect for a family in Menlo Park.
Open House Dates and Times
Saturday August 15th from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday August 16th from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
302 Pope St Menlo Park, CA 94025
Priced at $1,499,000
3 BR/2 BA
Listing Agent: Jim Holt
Coffee shop of choice
Coupa Cafe
Favorite Restaurants in the Area
Favorite Places to Go
Running the Stanford Dish, Biking Old LaHonda Road, Walking to Downtown Palo Alto
Best Features of Your Home
Its craftsman charm with high ceilings, clear redwood framing, quarter-sawn floorboards, grand porch and balcony. So convenient to get anywhere in the Bay Area.
Favorite Room in the House
I’d have to say the dining room; simple, open, bright, and we’ve used it for dinner every night as well as for parties.
Any Remodeling Since You Purchased the Home?
We’ve done a lot of work on the house – rebuilt the garage and balcony, remodeled the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, and redesigned the fireplace mantle, but we’ve always been careful to preserve the character of the 99-year-old house.
What’s in the Neighborhood
Around the corner there’s a small supermarket, coffee shop, dry cleaners, day spa. Plus there’s a nearby deli and city park with playground, dog run and tennis courts. The neighbors are all very friendly and supportive with many young families.
Most romantic spot in the home or neighborhood
The porch swing for two at sunset, with a glass of wine!
What Will You Miss Most?
We’ll miss being here for the house’s 100th birthday, she’s a Grand Old Lady to us. We’ll miss the neighborhood pancake breakfasts, yearly BBQ, and potluck dinners. We’ll miss being so close to downtown Palo Alto. We’ll miss how the big trees keep the house cool on hot days. We’ll miss sitting on the porch and waving to the neighbors as they walk their dogs and push their strollers.
July 29, 2009
Last week we reported that in June, 84% of the homes our clients bid on in the Bay Area had multiple offers.
To shed some light on what’s going on in the Bay Area real estate market right now, let’s take a look at three homes with multiple offers that Redfin clients bid on:
Berkeley: Single-Family House
- 2 beds, 1 bath
- Listed on July 14th at $495,000
- Regular sale: not bank-owned, not a short sale
- Sellers reviewed 15 offers on July 23rd
Our client offered $525,000 with a 10% down payment.
The Result
The property went to another buyer for over $545,000 within 10 days of going on the market.
Union City: Single-Family House
- 3 beds, 2 baths
- 1,250 sq. ft.
- Listed on June 25th for $289,000
- Bank-owned property, listed with no reports or disclosures and “as-is,” meaning the buyer is responsible for any repairs
- The bank received 17 offers by June 29th
Our client offered $350,000 with a 10% down payment.
The Result
Our client won the property, but just barely. There were two other offers around $350,000.
San Jose: Condo
- 2 beds, 2.5 baths
- 1,100 sq. ft.
- Listed on June 19th for $192,000
- Bank-owned property, listed “as-is”
- The bank received 16 offers by June 28th
Our client offered $222,000 in cash with a 10-day closing period and no contingencies.
The Result
The bank accepted a higher cash offer from another buyer.
Things Are “Stressful And Frustrating” For Buyers
In the rejection letter the bank sent our client who bid on the condo in San Jose, the bank wrote:
[Y]ou undoubtedly have been experiencing this type of ‘Bidding Frenzy’ that has been stressful and frustrating for all concerned. As long as demand exceeds supply, this frenzy will continue and your clients will continue to be in a stressful situation […]
Generally, the most competitive offer is not restricted only to the highest price offered. There are various factors that the bank will consider in making their selection. These include price, terms, deposit, down payment, type of loan, and the various contingencies involved.
Have you had similar experiences?
July 21, 2009
We were surprised to see that only 84% of the homes our clients bid on in June had multiple offers. Our agents say it feels like every home for sale has multiple offers on it. In June, our Bay Area agents presented 73 offers to listing agents and 61 of those, or 84%, were on homes with at least one other offer, up from 69% in May.
In the East Bay, many of the homes with multiple offers are bank-owned properties that have been priced way below market value to attract a lot of offers and create a biddingwar to drive the price up. Now individual home sellers are catching on to this strategy. According to one of our East Bay agents Charmaine Frank:
Sellers have begun to realize if they want their homes to sell, they have to compete with the bank-owned homes. Any home that looks like a deal is going to have multiple bidders and will sell for much more than the list price.
In San Francisco, good homes with competitive prices are getting a lot of attention from buyers. Redfin’s agent in San Francisco Gina Pio Roda says:
Listing agents in the city know the summer is key and they’re making sure homes are well priced. Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen a lot of multiple offers in Noe Valley, Glen Park, Outer & Inner Sunset and Parkside.
On the Peninsula, the jump in listings with multiple offers is due to families trying to buy in between school years. According to our Peninsula specialist Jim Holt:
The summer market is competitive. For parents with school-age kids, it’s much easier to move when school’s out. Right now, I’m seeing lot of competitive offers in areas with well-regarded school districts.
When bidding on a home with multiple offers, buyers need to put their best foot forward and make every part of their offer competitive, not just the price. Jim advises his clients to “show the seller you’re serious right from the start because sellers often counter only the best offer.”
If you’re bidding on a bank-owned home with multiple offers, here’s some advice from Miawand Bayan, our agent who covers the East and South Bay:
You may have to get pre-approved with the bank that owns the home. Bank-owned homes, especially in the East Bay are getting a lot of attention from buyers — in some extreme cases, there have been over 70 offers on the same bank-owned home. It’s easier for the bank selling the home to evaluate all the offers if the bidders have been pre-approved through their own mortgage department. You don’t have to use the bank for your mortgage, but they often offer some incentives worth considering.
What are your experiences bidding on homes with multiple offers?
July 7, 2009
Great news for folks in Monterey Bay: Redfin just partnered with three local agents to help our customers buy and sell homes. Check out our coverage area below.
Monterey Service Region
In areas beyond the reach of Redfin agents in the Bay Area, Redfin partners with experienced, local agents whom we have carefully chosen to uphold our standards of customer service, transparency and experience. If you buy or sell a home with a Redfin partner, he or she will provide you with a 15% commission credit at closing, usually worth $1,000 – 2000.
Meet Our Monterey Agents
We put our partner agent applicants through the ringer to ensure that our customers will get great service:
- Interviewed in-person by a Redfin market manager
- Completed at least 15 transactions in your area
- Offered at least three customer references
- Agreed to survey every new client and publish every review
- Paid based on customer satisfaction; removed from the program for bad reviews
Apply to be a Redfin Partner
Are you a real estate agent with a commitment to customer service and transparency? We’d love to meet you. Become a Redfin partner.
June 29, 2009
Let’s take our monthly look at which cities and towns have the most price reductions.
The following charts show the percent of MLS, FSBO or REO listings that were price-reduced at some point before leaving the market (either sold or removed unsold from the market) in the past 90 days. Cities/towns or neighborhoods in which the number of homes taken off the market was too small to provide believable estimates are excluded from ranking.
For those that are interested, I have uploaded the full data set in Excel format here. The downloadable Excel file also includes charts showing the top ten cities/towns/neighborhoods with the least reduced-price listings.
First up are the top ten cities with the most price-reduced listings:
Of the 128 cities/towns we ranked in the Bay Area this month, 23 had price-reduced ratios of fifty percent or more.
Getting a little more granular, let’s look at the top ten Bay Area neighborhoods for price reductions:
Of the 99 neighborhoods we ranked in the Bay Area this month, 13 had a price-reduced ratio of fifty percent or more. Unlike many of the other markets that Redfin serves around the country, there does not appear to be much of a correlation in the Bay Area between the median price of a neighborhood and the number of price reductions.
The general trend in the Bay Area looks to be heading slightly toward less price reductions, however every city and neighborhood is of course different. Some may be getting softer while others get tighter. Download the full spreadsheet to check where your neighborhood came in.
June 8, 2009
Check out this loft in SOMA close to everything tomorrow, Tuesday June 9 from 2 – 4 p.m.
Open House Dates and Times
Tuesday June 9 from 2 – 4 p.m.
Sunday June 21 & 28 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
175 Bluxome St San Francisco, CA 94107
Priced at $629,000
2 BR/1.5 BA
Listing Agent: Gina Pio Roda
Coffee shop of choice
Philz Coffee
Favorite Restaurants in the Area
Favorite Places to Go
Ballpark, downtown shops, Embarcadero
Best Features of Your Home
Great location, high ceilings, hardwood floors
Favorite Room in the House
Family room
Any Remodeling Since You Purchased the Home
- Eco Timber Brazilian cherry hardwood floors
- Step-in master closet w/ shoji doors
- Installed custom blinds, track lighting, stainless steel appliances, glass tub-shower doors
- Custom painting
What’s in the Neighborhood
Great restaurants, Safeway/Whole Foods/Trader Joes all within a couple of blocks, Mission Bay Library, UCSF Mission Bay Campus, Mission Creek park (w/kayaks), AT&T Giants ballpark, Caltrain, Muni Rail.
What Will You Miss Most?
Easy access to EVERYTHING, Giants games and Saturday walks to the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market.
June 8, 2009
Let’s look at our May brokerage stats for the San Francisco Bay Area to see how what our clients are doing right now reflects what’s happening in the market.
Our Clients Love Our Fanatical Service
We survey every client and track every transaction in a central customer database. For the surveys we received in May from our Bay Area clients:
- 20 clients responded to our customer-satisfaction survey and posted a review online, down from 31 April.
- All 20 of those clients, or 100%, would recommend Redfin to a friend, up from 97% in April.
In these surveys, Redfin asks customers to rate the likelihood that they would recommend Redfin to a friend on a 0-to-10 scale. Customers who rated 6 or higher count as people who would recommend Redfin to a friend.
More People Are Making Offers On Homes
In May, our Bay Area clients were busy touring homes and making offers:
- Redfin clients toured 1,326 homes in May, up from 1,194 homes toured in April.
- Our clients submitted 64 signed offers on homes, up from 56 in April.
- Our Bay Area agents were busy working on these signed offers:
o Charmaine Frank: 23 offers
o Jim Holt: 17 offers
o Gina Pio Roda: 15 offers
o Miawand Bayan: 9 offers
- 17 of these offers or 27% were on bank-owned foreclosures, down from 38% in April.
We also had a great home-buying class in May. Fifty-five people came to our Palo Alto class to learn about the home-buying process and meet our agents. Check out the slide deck from the class.
It’s Taking 33 Days To Close On A Home
In May, the time it took our Bay Area clients to close on their homes was 6 days shorter than in April:
- For our clients who bought re-sales, the average time from initial agreement on terms to the close of the deal was 33 days, down from 39 days in April.
- 0 of our clients failed to get financing, down from 2 in April
- 1 deal failed the home inspection, up from 0 in April.
- Of our closed deals, the average discount off list price for homes sold was 3.66%, up from 3.51% in April.
Look For Our June Report
We’ll be back next month with our analysis of the June numbers. Let us know what you’d like to see in that report.
June 5, 2009
Come out and tour this perfect home for a family close to great schools, restaurants and BART. Check out the seller’s comments below.
Open House Dates & Times:
Saturday and Sunday, June 6 & 7 from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
40461 Verne St Fremont, CA 94538
Priced at $535,000
4 BR/2 BA
Listing agent: Miawand Bayan
Seller Comments
Coffee Shop of Choice:
Bay Street Coffee Company
Favorite restaurants in the area:
Favorite places to go:
Coyote Hills for bayside walks/hikes; Mission Peak; Little Yosemite in Sunol, Lake Elizabeth (Fremont Central Park)
Best features of the home:
- Big enough for a family, small enough to maintain easily
- Front and back yards serve multiple purposes and are beautiful
- Indoor temperature is always comfortable
Favorite Room in the House
Kitchen…it’s a cozy place for a cup of tea, but can accommodate a big gathering of friends & family.
Most Romantic Spot in the Home:
Back yard, especially at night when it’s lit by the solar garden lanterns.
What’s in the neighborhood?
- Blacow School, across the street, K-6 grade
- Blacow Park, adjacent to school, great for dog-walking and romps in the playground for the little ones
- YMCA, a few blocks down Blacow Rd.
- Post Office, Fremont Hub, NewPark Mall, Washington Hospital, BART station, City Hall, Central Park within a 5 minute drive
What you will miss most:
- Great neighbors!
- A garden view from every window
- All the modern conveniences of a sturdy, well-built older home
