It’s finally getting normal around here. According to a recent analysis by Realtor.com's Andrea Riquier, there's fresh evidence that the housing market is gaining some stability after some crazy years of multiple offers that resulted in inflated pricing in many markets. You can’t argue with the Census Bureau, which says the national home ownership rate was 64.4% in the third quarter, a Continue Reading
New homes dominate real estate market in many areas.
If you are a homebuyer looking for a brand-spanking new house, you’re in luck in many parts of the country. The market is now flooded with the most brand-new, single-family houses to hit the market since the Great Recession, according to Realtor.com. The number of these newly-built homes, 795,000, jumped 7.7% from 2016 to 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau report on the Continue Reading
Real Estate: More Buyers Gamble With Sight-Unseen Offers.
Thirty-five percent of home buyers who purchased a home in November and December said they made an offer on the home without seeing it first in person, according to a newly released survey of more than 1,500 home purchasers conducted by the real estate brokerage Redfin. Sight-Unseen Offers: The following lists the percentage of buyers by metro area who said they made an offer on a Continue Reading
Negotiation: Tips for buyers and sellers.
The key points for a seller, according to Zillow.com: A full price or higher offer A pre-approved buyer Smooth timing for a move Sellers may also want buyers to either waive an inspection or be responsible for any repairs. Before negotiations, the best idea for sellers is to carefully calculate what they need from a buyer: The minimum amount of money you'll need, considering Continue Reading
What can a real estate agent do for me when I want to sell my home?
The data tell the story: A real estate agent can sell your house faster and for a higher price than you would get by selling it on your own. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, properties sold by an agent sold for $41,000 more. Owner-sold properties sold for $174,900 in 2012 while agent-sold properties averaged $215,000. People Continue Reading
September — the end of the California Home-buying season?
Here is what we hear from our fellow California Realtors: A slowdown in sign calls and listing appointments Multiple offers have declined. Some price reductions Market competition has eased. However, here in Pasadena, the news is different: We do not yet see a slowdown in calls to our office or listing appointments; Most prices are remaining firm, but because of our high Continue Reading
What are Zillow Home Estimates?
The first thing to understand is what Zillow is not. Zillow is not in real estate. It is not a public service like a library. Zillow is a business website, established to lure eyeballs who want to gaze at homes and, in turn, to sell advertising to real estate professionals. Understanding Zillow's Zestimate Zillow acquires data by amalgamating all the information on housing it can find. Continue Reading
Are Real Estate Agents going to be obsolete?
A recent report predicts that real estate agents will have less and less involvement year after year. The prediction is that in a decade or two, the job of the real estate agent will only be to open the door to showings. A new report is titled “Fast Forward 2030: The Future of Work and the Workplace” and was prepared by realty consulting firm CBRE and China-based Genesis, a property developer, Continue Reading
Pasadena Homes for Sale and Sold — April 2014.
Last month our opening sentence regarding the Pasadena real estate market was: “Wow! The real estate market looks great in our community based on the numbers from March and our experience in our day-to-day activities.” Since then we’ve heard from the National Association of Realtors and Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve Board, both expressing concern that the national market is flat. They Continue Reading