Friday, August 29, 2014

Coldwell Banker Bay Area Market Report - August 29, 2014


Bay Area's Soaring Home Prices Finally Leveling Off

After two straight years of soaring home prices, Bay Area homebuyers may finally be getting a little relief. While prices åAare still rising in most areas, the rate of increase has begun to level off into single digits on an annual basis, according to a new report released this month.

DataQuick, the La Jolla-based real estate information services firm, said the median sale price for new and existing homes in the region last month stayed at a three-month plateau at $617,000. That was down 0.2 percent from June's median price but up 9.8 percent from the $562,000 median in July 2013.

Make no mistake about it: home prices are still rising. And in some markets, including San Francisco, Silicon Valley and parts of the East Bay, they're still climbing by double digits. But sale prices are no longer routinely going up by 15-20 percent or more as we saw through much of 2013 and early 2014.

The leveling off of prices comes as Bay Area home sales also slowed last month from year-ago levels, the result of very tight supply, a tight mortgage market, and a decline in affordability, according to DataQuick analysts.

"The Bay Area housing market is still in transition, still dealing with the remnants of the Great Recession," said John Karevoll, an analyst with the firm, in a statement. "That said, it's also a market that is in the process of re-balancing itself with the region's on-the-ground economic realities, mainly decent economic growth and job creation."

While the steep price increases of the past two years certainly delighted homeowners, those year-over-year double-digit price gains simply couldn't be sustained forever. The slowdown in appreciation may actually be a much healthier trend for the market, creating a better balance between buyers and sellers, and moving the market toward more normalcy. This trend should bode well as we continue through the fall selling season and into 2015.

Below is a market-by-market report from our local offices:
North Bay – Our Greenbrae manager says activity is far better than it normally is at this time of the year when we usually see a seasonal slowdown. Our local office has seen 12 new open sales this week alone and 31 closings in the last two weeks! New inventory has slowed but a number of new listings are coming on after the Labor Day weekend, both in our CB offices, and in the county at large. There is still pent up demand, multiple offers and motivated buyers, which would predict a strong September after we see new inventory open up. Even with the upcoming holiday activity is buzzing. The Previews luxury market is strong with well-priced properties but a definite lack of inventory. Many agents have clients in the $4 million plus range, with nothing to show them. Sales activity in the Novato area has been steady through the end of August. Agents are seeing multiple offers on well-priced homes. Inventory is still very tight and there has been a decrease in listings during August, which is typically a slower month. The San Rafael area market is picking up again as anticipated with the opening of schools and the end of the vacation period. Things are looking up. First time open houses in the Sebastopol area were exceedingly busy this past weekend with one agent reporting well over 140 attendees at a newly listed property. Even after that many buyers came to the open house only two wrote offers. Older listings did not see much activity however with one having no attendance at all. Southern Marin is experiencing the usual slow down approaching Labor Day. Listings are down and sales are slightly off. However, agents anticipate a surge of activity immediately after the holiday. Activity should remain strong until we approach Thanksgiving, and then hit the usual holiday slowdown, our local manager says. There is continued strong demand for “new” luxury homes as evidenced by a “new” Mill Valley home listed for $5.7 million (by CB-Southern Marin), which received an all cash within one week of being on the market.
San Francisco – Inventory continues to restrain buyers' ability to find homes, our Lakeside office manager notes, and there does not seem to be a wealth of new listings anticipated after Labor Day. At the same time, buyers seem to be resisting the price increases that have been seen and there are typically fewer offers although there are notable exceptions that have offers in double digits. Our Lombard manager reports an end of summer dip in inventory and activity with lots of agents away. Mixed reports on whether we will see a post-Labor Day surge in listings. One winning contract was one of 33 offers, going 135% of a seriously underpriced entry-level listing – so lots of buyers still out there. Our Market Street office manager says that as per the usual SF summer market, things slow down as we head toward Labor Day. At this point, sellers are holding off marketing their homes until after the holiday weekend, and hoping for a big response knowing that everyone is back from their vacations. Of those deals that ratified during this period, nearly half of them did so with a single offer (some of these were buyers offering on new construction condos), and a few properties failed to generate any offers on their offer dates. Finally, our Sunset office manager notes that sales activity is on the rise as more buyers and agents are returning from their summer vacations. Open houses are very well attended. Pricing is such a critical factor in today market; well priced listings are drawing multiple offers but some overly priced listing are not getting any offers.
SF Peninsula Our Burlingame North manager says the market seems to be picking up as school is starting and people are returning from vacations. Still receiving multiple offers but only in rare cases are there a large number of competing offers. Pricing, as always, is critical. Even in this market there are properties that are sitting on the market because they are not price-positioned correctly for this type of market. Then those listings are stigmatized by Days on the Market. They buyers will ask “What’s wrong with the property?” In the Half Moon Bay area, inventory is still low – in fact it’s continuously falling. Prices are steadily increasing. There are more multiple offers and homes are selling for more than asking (if priced right). It's a very active Previews market in the coastal areas. Our Menlo Park manager says agents are still having a good number of offers on ‘trophy’ properties. One Atherton listing for $3.9 million had seven offers and sold for $5 million. Well-located properties are still in big demand.  Our Redwood City-San Carlos manager says there has been a slight change in the market. Her office actually had a listing that received 3 offers all below the list price of $1,298,000. Sent out a multiple counter offer. Although most properties are getting multiple offers there are fewer offers. One Belmont home, however, did receive 7 offers and sold for well over asking price. Our Woodside-Portola Valley manager reports that sales are staying healthy, and seller’s agents are still in the driver’s seat while buyer’s agents are still looking for a road map.

East Bay – Listing inventory is down, reports our Berkeley manager. August is typically a slower month because most buyers and sellers go on vacation. Buyers are still attending open houses with attendance at 20-100+ groups. Previews inventory is down, which means multiple offers are up. 20-25% over asking is still normal. Our Fremont manager said agents are seeing slightly lower inventory. Sales are steady with multiple offers decreasing from 7-10 to 2-3. Our Oakland-Piedmont manager says that while the number of listings has dropped in the month of August the amount of offers have not. Agents were competing with 19 offers on a Berkeley property and 16 and 17 offers for properties in Oakland. The buyers looking at properties this month are writing offers and if they don’t get the property they are back in our office the next day to write again. Talk is that there should be an uptick in inventory after Labor Day. We'll just have to wait and see. The buyers priced out of San Francisco are still pouring over, driving prices up, up, up. Open house activity has been steady but not a lot to see. The Lamorinda market has been steady, our local manager reports. The Walnut Creek area market activity is slowing down from the summer rush. Agents are still seeing activity but not at the same pace. Multiple offers are very rare and over asking bids have pretty much stopped. Buyers are actually offering at price or below.

Silicon Valley – The market is a bit spotty, according to our Cupertino manager. The demand for great houses with Cupertino schools is as high as ever, but certain segments seem to have cooled off. It’s August, after all! Our Los Altos manager reports that there is lower inventory currently in most of the local cities, which is basically seasonal. But the stagers are booked out the whole month of September, so that means some new inventory hopefully. Downtown Mountain View houses often sell within one week. The condos are still getting strong activity with multiples either the next week or following. Palo Alto still has low inventory, but if the house is priced too high, it doesn’t sell. The best sections of town still lack inventory and there are buyers lined up for each one. Last week a house in old Palo Alto sold for more than 1M over list ($6,700,000) with multiple offers. Los Altos Hills with Palo Alto schools attract many buyers and multiple offers. North Los Altos is still in huge demand as is most of the city and Mountain View west of El Camino. Sunnyvale is still occasionally seeing a new all-time high. In Los Gatos, inventory is tightening up even more as school heads back into session. San Jose-Almaden agents are not seeing as many multiple offers in Blossom Valley and Santa Teresa but they are in Almaden and Cambrian. One listing in Cambrian had 20 offers. Our San Jose Main office manager said the local market is seeing another drop in inventory, while buyer demand has pulled back as well. Open houses are well attending with some open houses having 40 groups each day on the opening weekends. Multiple offers are still prevalent, but the sheer number of offers has seemed to decrease. All signs indicate that we will have a strong fall. The local Willow Glen listing inventory remains consistent where it has been the last month. Agents are waiting to see if the post Labor Day weekend will bring a surge of new listings for the fall selling season. With tight inventory and strong buyer demand agents there has been heavy open house traffic. With this increased demand agents starting to see the pre-emptive offers, multiple offers and aggressive offers way over asking price. The market is getting hot again in Willow Glen.

South County – Statistics concerning the current South Bay Real Estate market are interesting and reflect the fact that the market is rapidly changing in favor of buyers. In March and April of 2014, homes in Gilroy and Morgan Hill took an average of 25 days to garner an offer. In July and August the average time to sell a home increased to 45 days. Another interesting fact concerns “months of inventory”—the supply of active listings. That figure was only two months of inventory at the beginning of the year, but it is now up to four months. All of this is predicated on the fact that many sellers have recently listed their homes, believing that they could “cash in” on extraordinary buyer demand. At this point, supply has now, in some case, met or exceeded demand resulting in lower prices and slower sales.

Santa Cruz County – Sales volume is easily the highest it has been in the past five years, according to our local manager. Agents are very busy and the number of new listings coming onto the market is increasing. Meanwhile sales are increasing as well so the inventory continues to stay relatively low. The Previews market is more active than we have experienced in many months and maybe even years. The number of showings is way up and the number of luxury homes going to pending status has largely increased.

Monterey Peninsula – Our local manager said agents survived the busiest week of the year, August 11-17th, "Car Week" with several thousand car enthusiast descending upon the Monterey Peninsula. With the launch of our "Mini Book" featuring 40 of our premiere properties for sale, this book was handed out at all of our offices and a special event at our booth at the Carmel Mission. The week is about making contact with potential buyers that are taking in the beauty and lifestyle that the Monterey Peninsula has to offer. Last week we were excited to receive news that we were awarded the listing of an incredible Pebble Beach property in the $20 plus million-dollar price point. The 4 top local companies were interviewed and we were awarded the listing for our market share and global exposure that Coldwell Banker offers to market such an incredible property. More to come on this with a Previews' launch announcement.


My trip to Japan - Summer 2014 - 日本への旅

こんにちは! 丁度日本から帰ってきて1週間。まだ、少し時差ぼけかしら?変な時間に眠くなったり、夜は眠れなかったり。。。。でも、子供たちの学校も始まったし、しっかりしないといけませんね。

で、少し私の日本の旅を写真でご紹介です。私の実家は大阪で今は、両親は河内長野市というところにすんでいます。南海高野線で千代田駅というところが最寄りの駅です。
今回の旅はハワイアン航空を利用してのホノルル経由の大阪便、サービスはとても良く、快適でした。いつかベイエリアから直行便が出れば、と、願います。

まずは、いつも実家に帰ると子供たちが行きたいところ。それは、泉北にある、ビッグバンというとても大きなジャングルジムがあるミュージアム。いつも汗だくであがったりおりたり。でも、今回は1度往復しただけで、終わり。このミュージアム、卒業だそうです。笑。

今回は実家だけでなく、JRのレールパスを使用して、名所巡りにいってきました。まずは、大阪より飛騨線に乗り、飛騨高山へ! 台風の影響で、雨が降ったり止んだり。でも、帰りの日は豪雨になり、列車はとてもゆっくりと用心深く走行されました。丁度ヨーロッパで列車脱線の事故があった後でもあり、検査が何度も行われていました。



飛騨の後は、名古屋周りで、東京に行ってきました。スカイツリーがとても有名な今日この頃ですが、私たちは東京タワーへ!



ペンキを最近塗り替えたのかな?というくらいきれいに塗ってありました。


来れたしか東京タワーの洗面所にあった洗い場だと思うのですが、石けんも水も、手乾かしまですべてセンサーで自動に行ってしまうという、素晴らしいシンクです。


東京では、原宿を歩き、(人に酔いそうでした。また、暑い事!ベイエリアの気候のよさに改めて感謝!)そのあと、浅草へ!

浅草はとってもすてきな町です。以前にも何度か行った事があるのですが、大好きです。

今回の旅のメインは広島。私自身、初めて自分の目で見る広島。原爆資料館は思った異常にショッキングでした。あの昭和20年、8月6日、8時15分を様々の方の目から描かれていました。





広島名物、お好み焼き、広島焼きはやはり食べて帰らないと!野菜たっぷりで大満足!

最後にフェリーで宮島へ!

従兄弟とおじいちゃんと最後に写真を撮って、バイバイ! また会いにいきますね!

いつもお世話様です。イーストベイの不動産の事なら、津守弘子までよろしくお願い致します。(510.409.3472, hiroko@sfbaymodern.com)

Monday, August 25, 2014

Coldwell Banker Bay Area Market Report - July 31, 2014

Bay Area Luxury Home Sales Hit Record High - July 31, 2014 

A new report this week confirmed what we all suspected in the local real estate industry: The Bay Area's luxury housing market is red hot.

Million-dollar home sales last quarter set a new record with 5,734 luxury homes selling during the April through June period, up from its previous high water mark of 5,699 in the second quarter of 2005, according to DataQuick, the La Jolla-based research firm. Statewide, there were more million-dollar sales last quarter than any period since the peak of the market in 2007.

Led by Hillsborough, the Bay Area boasted eight of the top 12 cities in California when it came to million-dollar home sales. Hillsborough recorded 144 luxury sales during the quarter, second only to Manhattan Beach with the highest price sale going for $12.9 million.

Other local cities at the top of the luxury list included San Jose, Cupertino, Fremont, Mill Valley, Danville, Menlo Park and Saratoga – all with more than 100 sales over $1 million during the second quarter of 2014.

Increased demand and steep appreciation in prices over the past year or two have driven up the number of luxury home sales, according to DataQuick analysts. Strong gains in the stock market and the booming tech sector probably haven't hurt, either.

As our own Wendy McPherson, manager of the Menlo Park office, told the San Jose Mercury, home prices have been boosted "by the amount of money being pumped out by Silicon Valley and the international market, especially the offshore Asian buyer."

The real estate market is still ruled by the law of supply and demand. And as long as there are so many well-heeled buyers in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and from overseas chasing a very limited inventory of homes on the market, the Bay Area's luxury segment should continue to perform well.

Below is a market-by-market report from our local offices:

North Bay – There has been a steady flow of sales the past few weeks in Novato and some increase in listing activity, although still limited. Listings over $600k are sitting on the market longer as we move into August's slower period. The best listings at all price points are moving if priced well. In the San Rafael area, market activity is slower than previous weeks. Many people are on vacation and school starts in a few weeks. Listing inventory has slowed a bit. Our Sebastopol manager says that it is Sonoma County Fair time, which always diminishes the number of attendees at open houses. Most of the opens homes this year have attracted double digit attendance. Nobody reported more than 5 attendees at this week’s open houses. We are seeing not only an increase in listings but also a willingness of sellers to entertain contingency offers. Previews properties continue to sell, especially after a price reduction or two. Our local office closed 4 sides this week and put 2 more into contract. Our Southern Marin office closed two properties for over $3 million this week. The luxury “Previews” market remains very strong for the most desirable properties. The overall market has hit the summer lull with vacations and families getting settled in for the new school year.

San Francisco – This is an unusually "typical" summer market, says our Lakeside office manager. The combination of agents on vacation, buyers on vacation, and kids on vacation sapping up energy of buyers who are not on vacation has slowed traffic at open houses and, though properties are continuing to sell at a good pace, the tempo is less frenetic that the spring. There are some great opportunities right now to purchase without multiple offers. Our Lombard office manager reports that lately just perfect properties priced right or total fixers (either end of the spectrum) are the only ones bringing large number of offers and way over. More of the market has cooled: whether summer slow-down, agent vacation, buyer frenzy-fatigue or any combination, hard to say. After a slight increase in overall inventory, this week brought a reduction in both homes and condos. Our Market Street office manager concurred that the SF market still seems to be in its usual summer doldrums. And while the sellers putting their properties on the market continue to be rewarded with strong prices, the number of multiple offer situations has definitely cooled a bit. More than half the offers ratified during this period were the result of a single offer, giving buyers an opportunity to prevail without having to compete against one another. But as we approach the end of July, activities appeared to be picking up a little, our Sunset manager says. Open houses are still very well attended. The number of multiple offers is decreasing and amount being offer is not as high as several months ago.

SF Peninsula Our Burlingame manager says we seem to have picked up in activity this past week. More buyers are at our open houses and the number of sales has increased. There have also been some very attractive listings in Burlingame, as many as 13 new properties in one week. That’s something we haven’t seen in a long time. Is this a trend for the fall? Time will tell.  Hillsborough currently has 44 active and 16 pending listings. This is a pretty low inventory level and is probably reflective of summer vacations wrapping up and families getting the kids ready to start school in mid- August. What happens after Labor Day with new listings will determine the fall market. Our Burlingame North manager adds that according to MLS in two popular locations, the average sales price has increased in Burlingame from $1,654,333 in 2013 to $1,818,286 in 2014Q2. The average sales price has increased in San Carlos from $1,260,076 in 2013 to $1,515,010 in 2014Q2. Average days on market have decreased in Burlingame from 25 days in 2013 to 17 days in 2014Q2 and in San Carlos from 17 days in 2013 to 12 days in 2014Q2. The Half Moon Bay market is steady. Inventory is still low. If prices are right, homes are selling quickly with multiple offers. Open houses are very active and many potential buyers are from out of town throughout Northern California, Southern California, and out of state. Our Menlo Park manager reports open houses and sales are all in slow motion compared to a few months back. Yet 75% of the deals this last week were multiples – even one over $3.5 mil. Number of overbids is also less than a few months ago too but speaks to vacation time for buyers. She expects a fairly robust fall. One agent just sold 5 homes to an Asian buyer in one week – between $1 million and $2 million. Inventory remains low in Palo Alto. Demand is high and multiple offers continue. Still almost all multiple offers in the Redwood City-San Carlos area, but the number of offers is down. Single-family homes, particularly in San Carlos, are selling well over the list price. The open houses, as few as there are, are still heavily attended. Some buyers are thinking they will “just wait it out," but when buyers of get the home they are elated. Our Woodside-Portola Valley manager reports that there have been a couple of over $5 million sales this week that have been on the market for a while. Two big sales went to Asian buyers, which she says we're seeing more of these days.

East Bay – The market under $1 million is very active, our Berkeley manager reports. There are 30-100 buyers through open houses every week. One property received 22 offers and went 21% over asking. Another property received 3 offers and went 22% over asking – both houses in the $750k-800k list price range. Buyers are very unpredictable and are feeling exhausted. All cash is not good enough, she says; no contingency offers are getting the house. Most Previews luxury properties are still receiving multiple offers and are selling for 10-25% over asking. In Danville area, more homes are selling with contracts contingent on the sale of another house. That’s a good trend for buyers, according to our local manager. In the Oakland-Piedmont area, the number of listings available on the broker’s tour this week is smaller than it has been the last few months, so it looks like it is slowing up in August just like it did last year. Having said that the number of buyers at open homes has not gone down. In fact the ratio of disclosure packets handed out to the number of offers received has ticked up (most likely due to the lessening number of available properties). We were seeing that about 30% of the # of listing packets out would result in offers but over the last couple of weeks it has risen to 40 – 45% ratio. Properties, with few exceptions are going a considerable amount over asking. The Lamorinda market has been steady. In the Walnut Creek area, an attractive listing that is staged and priced right may get a couple of offers. Otherwise most listings are overpriced and agents see more and more price reductions. Buyers are out there looking and not feeling that sense of urgency. Definitely feeling the summertime slump, our local manager notes.

Silicon Valley – In Cupertino, our local manager reports that things seemed a bit quieter recently, but activity has picked up again this week. The number of offers in a multiple offer situation has definitely diminished, but prices are getting bid up almost as much as ever. Townhouses in the $800K+ range are particularly hot right now. Lack of inventory continues to drive the Los Gatos area market as buyers continue to gobble up new listings. Inventory is down in the San Jose Almaden area from 2 weeks ago but up in Blossom Valley and Santa Teresa. Agents are still seeing multiple offers but mainly in Almaden and Cambrian. The local Willow Glen market is currently best described as steady. Inventory is not growing, just staying at a steady level. Sales are just steady. Most homes are staying on the market for longer periods of time. Most are not getting multiple offers and most are not getting asking price; agents are seeing slightly under asking price offers. Often agents are setting an offer review date with no offers being submitted on that date. The under-$3 million market in Saratoga is a sellers market. Over $3 million it needs to be special or perceived as a good value or it is a buyers market. Multiple offers still the norm for properties with the desirable schools. Most sellers subscribe to the marketing idea of under pricing the home and allow it to be bid up. Those who do not subscribe to this "eBay" method find their homes sitting on the market and needing to do a price reduction to garner an offer.

South County – The South County Real Estate market continues to offer potential buyers more choices than in many other areas, our local manager believes. The diversity of the types of properties available coupled with a wide spectrum of price ranges makes the South County a good place for buyers to find their perfect home. Listing inventory has grown over the last several months and between Gilroy and Morgan Hill there are over 250 homes currently listed for sale. Offerings include homes on acreage with beautiful horse facilities to moderately priced townhomes and condos. Homes in South County can certainly meet buyer demand, no matter what type of home a buyer is looking for. New developments are also adding to the mix with prices ranging from over $1,000,000 to single family homes listed for about $500,000. There is a myriad of choices, which makes this area so attractive to potential buyers.
Santa Cruz County – The luxury market in the San Cruz area is showing signs of being quite healthy with sales remaining steady. In the overall market, the demand is keeping pace with the supply as we have seen just a very small increase in inventory for single-family homes. Prices continue to go up at what seems to be a healthy rate, with a significant amount of 'move up buyers' taking advantage of a healthy market and great interest rates.

Monterey Peninsula – Agents are preparing for “Car Week” with ads and open houses for the area's biggest week of the year, August 12-17th. The week will bring some of the wealthiest individuals in the world to this area to partake in the car events and shop for real estate while they are here. The Previews market has been a little slow as of late but it seems to be the calm before the storm. There have been reports of the international buyers looking at properties in Pebble Beach. Compared to Bay area prices, this market is still a relative bargain when it comes to an estate home in Pebble Beach or a beach cottage in Carmel. Now is the time to buy before the market really heats up with oversees money, our local manager says. The mid-level market around the $900,000-$1,500,000 million price point is getting a lot of attention with move up buyers and people new to the area. Floor calls and walk in traffic seems to be steady, in fact last Friday an agent who was on floor duty covering for somebody else received a call for an agent to come out to list their house. She happily prepared the listing docs and was at the home at 4:30 and walked out with a $3 million new listing. That’s the excitement of real estate, you never know when an opportunity will arise!


Berkeley Real Estate Sales Report in July 2014


Here is the list of properties sold in Berkeley in July 2014. There was neither REO nor short sale properties.


Address Unit List Price Sold Price SqFt BR Bth DOMLS
2550 DANA ST 5D $225,000 $215,000 680 1 1 133
2551 SACRAMENTO ST $499,000 $460,000 1008 3 1 37
2628 Benvenue B $349,000 $475,000 622 1 1 3
2110 6th St $495,000 $485,000 1568 0 0 16
1111 CHAUCER ST $479,000 $500,000 1040 2 1 13
1311 67TH ST $525,000 $525,000 901 2 1 0
1817 CARLETON ST $499,000 $550,000 1350 4 2 0
2821 Acton $459,000 $550,000 2 1 5
2371 VIRGINIA ST 1 $459,000 $565,000 807 1 1 15
1304 HARMON ST $575,000 $575,000 920 2 1 0
1511 ADDISON ST $525,000 $585,000 1299 3 2 9
3227 BOISE ST $549,000 $585,000 1129 4 1 16
2053 OREGON ST $589,000 $595,000 2 1 13
1912 7TH ST B $549,000 $611,000 1057 2 1 15
2961 Linden Ave. 1 $699,000 $625,000 1590 2 2 23
1133 DERBY ST $525,000 $634,000 994 2 1 12
1814 Carleton St. $519,000 $650,000 1273 3 1 9
1010 CRAGMONT AVE 1 $675,000 $650,000 1103 2 1 8
1228 RUSSELL ST $599,000 $650,000 1086 2 1 11
1300 ADDISON ST $510,000 $652,000 1156 2 1 14
2628 TELEGRAPH AVE 304 $549,000 $660,000 849 2 2 8
2010 Hearst Avenue F $675,000 $670,000 1188 2 1 14
2760 DOHR ST $685,000 $685,000 3 2 27
1532 ASHBY AVE $610,000 $690,000 2011 2 2 13
1537 BANCROFT WAY $549,000 $700,000 2 2 11
1830 Derby Street $650,000 $700,000 1283 3 1 12
737 NEILSON ST $625,000 $706,000 888 2 1 7
1207 CARLETON ST $650,500 $710,000 1310 3 2 7
912 Bataan $675,000 $720,000 1112 2 2 28
2365 VIRGINIA ST 3 $589,000 $725,000 1140 2 1 14
2963 Linden Ave. 2 $749,000 $725,000 1609 3 2 22
1111 CARLETON ST $599,000 $729,000 1014 2 1 13
2813 PARKER ST $775,000 $735,000 1520 2 1 40
1339 PARKER ST $679,000 $750,000 1016 3 1 14
548 VINCENTE AVE $599,000 $750,000 1389 2 2 15
1519 ALLSTON WAY $659,000 $760,000 1008 2 1 6
1305 CORNELL AVE $629,000 $765,000 1177 2 1 16
1631 MCGEE AVE $765,000 $777,000 1128 2 1 14
3130 ELLIS ST $619,000 $785,000 1359 2 1 12
1124 CHAUCER ST $649,000 $785,000 1345 3 2 12
1230 ADDISON ST $799,900 $789,950 1208 4 2 21
1231 CAMPUS DR $685,000 $801,000 1135 2 1 13
1335 DELAWARE ST $599,000 $801,000 1674 4 2 15
911 SAN BENITO RD $799,000 $810,000 1758 3 2 49
2242 CARLETON ST $793,000 $815,000 1599 4 2 14
1926 WOOLSEY ST $699,000 $831,000 1193 3 1 11
2420 HILLSIDE AVENUE $849,000 $849,000 1854 2 2 41
1609 ACTON ST $725,000 $870,000 1236 2 2 12
2606 FULTON ST $725,000 $900,000 2941 5 2 16
1015 KEITH AVE $895,000 $920,000 1664 3 2 16
2320 CARLETON ST $725,000 $925,000 1292 3 2 13
3051 Dohr St. $779,000 $933,000 1146 5 3 14
1419 66TH ST $849,000 $949,000 1783 3 3 14
1992 Los Angeles Ave $865,000 $991,000 1930 3 2 13
1201 CHANNING WAY $828,000 $1,010,000 1614 3 2 17
1435 GRANT ST $689,000 $1,060,000 1254 3 2 16
1120 HILLVIEW RD $879,000 $1,075,000 2258 3 3 11
1791 CAPISTRANO AVE $899,000 $1,085,000 2701 3 2 16
1733 BEVERLY PL $895,000 $1,111,111 1886 2 2 7
1735 MADERA STREET $749,000 $1,150,000 1316 2 1 14
1171 SUTTER ST $875,000 $1,200,000 1796 3 2 13
632 THE ALAMEDA $950,000 $1,250,000 2042 4 2 13
957 THE ALAMEDA $945,000 $1,250,000 1845 3 2 13
118 EL CAMINO REAL $1,195,000 $1,278,000 2140 4 2 15
30 CRYSTAL WAY $975,000 $1,300,000 1538 3 2 11
2842 ASHBY AVE $1,395,000 $1,300,000 2476 5 2 21
449 Boynton Ave $975,000 $1,325,000 2298 4 2 9
59 ARDEN RD $1,095,000 $1,377,000 2662 3 2 13
2793 BENVENUE AVE $1,495,000 $1,385,000 2594 5 4 27
619 Vincente Avenue $1,100,000 $1,428,000 2610 3 2 12
1321 MILVIA ST $1,495,000 $1,500,000 2738 5 2 21
650 EUCLID AVE $1,695,000 $1,590,000 3121 4 3 22
773 CONTRA COSTA AVE $1,900,000 $1,850,000 3995 5 4 36
67 CANYON RD $1,695,000 $2,043,000 5569 8 6 13
2731 CLAREMONT BLVD $1,750,000 $2,600,000 2616 3 2 11
9 BRIDGE RD $2,450,000 $3,070,000 4793 4 3 15



The number of listings sold in July 2014 is about 25% more than that of last year.


The median price sold has jumped from $600K in 2013 to $714K in 2014. That is about 20% value increase in a year. 


The average days on market didn't change much.  The Berkeley real estate market in July 2014 is as strong as July, 2013. The market is always tight in Berkeley, and many San Franciscan are escaping to Berkley.

バークレー相変わらずに人気で、価格は上昇し放題です。サンフランシスコから、イーストベイに移住される方のなかでも人気のある町の一つです。まだまだ、あがりそうですね。

いつもお世話様です。イーストベイの不動産の事なら、津守弘子までよろしくお願い致します。(510.409.3472, hiroko@sfbaymodern.com)

Albany Real Estate Sales Report in July 2014



Here is the list of properties sold in July, 2014.  24 properties exchanged their ownerships.


Address Unit List Price Sold Price SqFt BR Bth DOMLS Spec Info
417 EVELYN AVE 205 $329,000 $345,000 688 1 1 14 None
555 PIERCE ST 534 $365,000 $365,000 1113 2 2 16 None
535 PIERCE ST 1310 $340,000 $365,000 1170 2 2 13 REO
1221 BRIGHTON AVE 11 $399,000 $399,000 1031 2 2 36 None
417 EVELYN AVE 304 $425,000 $435,000 986 2 2 14 None
519 Evelyn $450,000 $450,000 814 1 1 12 PSS
555 PIERCE ST 1102 $418,888 $453,000 1040 2 2 14 None
535 PIERCE ST 2215 $445,000 $475,000 1170 2 2 4 None
850 STANNAGE AVE 6 $365,000 $480,000 814 1 1 14 None
795 TAFT AVE C $445,000 $500,000 1019 2 1 13 None
503 STANNAGE AVE $479,000 $530,000 798 2 1 16 None
420 EVELYN AVE $475,000 $607,000 1244 2 1 8 None
761 GATEVIEW AVE $499,000 $658,000 1080 3 2 14 None
1529 Posen $629,000 $715,000 1072 2 1 20 None
1036 CURTIS ST $669,000 $730,000 916 2 1 13 None
1225 WASHINGTON AVE $678,000 $760,000 1358 3 2 14 None
1433 MARIN AVE $699,000 $850,000 1313 3 2 13 None
923 Ramona $685,000 $850,000 1248 3 1 12 None
826 POMONA AVE $749,000 $879,000 1342 3 1 14 None
1064 CORNELL AVE $799,000 $950,000 1521 3 2 14 None
873 WASHINGTON AVE $699,000 $975,000 1814 2 1 10 None
1090 PERALTA AVE $850,000 $981,000 0 3 2 13 None
1066 CURTIS ST $879,000 $1,000,000 1752 3 1 14 None
648 KEY ROUTE BLVD $799,000 $1,093,000 1619 4 1 18 None




Compared to last year, there were more new listings (22 vs 14), more pendings (20 vs 19), and significantly more sold (24 vs 10)!


Despite a strong market, the median price sold were less than that of last year. I assume that it is due to many condominium sales this year. 


Average days on market for sold were slightly longer than that of last year. 

Over all the market is less seller's market compared to last year. And it is good for you, buyers!

アルバニーの不動産市場まだまだ活気があり、セラーの市場ではあるのですが、昨年に較べるとかなり、緩やかな成長かな?というところです。ローンの金利もここしばらく落ち着き、2014年では最低下しております。

いつもお世話様です。イーストベイの不動産の事なら、津守弘子までよろしくお願い致します。(510.409.3472, hiroko@sfbaymodern.com)

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Home Buying Process

不動産購入過程

日本の方でアメリカで、不動産の売買を始めてされる方は、なにかと、情報不足で大変ではないか、と思います。そこで、簡単に説明させて頂くと下記のようになります。

1.ローンのpreapproval
不動産購入にあたって、まず最初にしなければならないことは、ローンのpreapproval letter をローンエージェントから頂くことです。過程は簡単で、主にお客様の収入、負債額などから、どれ程までの金額をローンとして借りれるかを、教えてくれます。

2.物件探しと選択
ローンの金額と頭金がわかれば、次は物件探しの開始です。興味のある地域、家屋のサイズ、好みなどから、選択していきます。

3.オファ
さてさて、好みの物件が見つかりました。オファーを提出することに決まりました。多くの書類に、サインして頂くことになります。たいていの場合、オファーを提出していただく際に、ローンのpreapproval letter と、security deposit を添付し、Sellerのエージェントに提出します。

4.カウンターオファー
大体の場合、最初のオファーに対してはcounterofferという形で、Sellerのエージェントから、価格はこうだとか、契約の内容をこうしてくれとか、交渉がかえってきます。何度かカウンターオファーを繰り返した後に、1)オファーが成立します。か、2)却下という形になり、また、物件探しの開始です。

5.契約設立
オファーが晴れて成立した場合、エスクロー口座を開くことになります。エスクロー(escrow)はご存知でしょうか? エスクローは、ある設定された期間であると同時に、場所という意味を持ちます。

6.エスクローアカウントを開く
ある設定された期間は、オファーが承認された時に始まり、不動産のタイトルが正式に新しいオーナーに移った時に終了します。この期間には,様々なアクションを取らなければなりません。

7.エスクローの期間
主なものとしては、正式にローンの申し込み、家屋保険申込、title search, 家屋のinspection, sellerからの書類のチェック、などの過程を済ませます。この期間に不都合な問題が発生した場合は、セラーと再度交渉することになります。場合によっては、契約破棄ということにもなります。

エスクローはまた、特定の場所という意味合いを持ちます。それは、契約に関する、全てのお金、書類を保管してくれる場所です。北カリフォルニアでは、エスクローとタイトルは、同じ会社で、営業されています。

8.最終的にはローンの書類に必要なサインをし、契約の頭金とその他の費用(不動産のcity transfer tax, county transfer taxproperty tax, escrow fee, title fee, など)を全て支払い、最後に、不動産のタイトルを、新しいオーナーの名前に移します。

9.エスクローアカウントを閉鎖
これで、晴れて、エスクローの口座を閉鎖することになります。

10.引っ越し!


ごく簡単に説明しました。ご質問ございましたら、hiroko@sfbaymodern.comまでいつでもどうぞ.