Negotiations … give and take … making concessions - these are things we do, in one aspect or another, nearly every single day of our lives. Yet, as the stakes become larger, most people lose confidence in their own skills. Buying or selling a home definitely falls into that “large stake” category, and that is where a Realtor is able to separate himself/herself from their competition. A good negotiator has the potential to save or make you thousands of dollars on your real estate transaction. They can create a very positive, win-win atmosphere that helps facilitate a smooth and (relatively) stressfree transaction. So, just like with all the other aspects of real estate, even though you may not be an expert, you owe it to yourself to at least understand the basics … read through How to Win the Negotiation … Without Being a Jerk. When you are done, let me know what you think…

It seems like every other person I talk to lately asks questions about how close we are to the bottom of the real estate market … everybody wants to know whether they can expect another 6 months of price reductions or not. Well, depending on the person, I often prefer to show them how to better understand the factors that go into the answer so they can start to make their own conclusions. As a first step, you might want to read the Some Real Talk on Housing article on the Seeking Alpha website. They do a very nice job of highlighting the importance of housing vacancies on our market.
For those of you who are patient, stay tuned for future posts about how I try to evaluate the market.  For everybody else, please feel free to give me a call (925.817.8428) or send me an email (brian@sparrproperties.com).

An article today in the Yahoo! Finance section stated that SF Bay area home prices plunge 27 percent in June. Well, that’s pretty bad! However, as you read the brief article you’ll notice that they are talking about aggregate numbers from nine Bay area counties and for the combination of single family homes and condo/townhouses. So, as a person looking to buy or sell a property in one of Contra Costa County’s cities, what does this mean to you? Should you automatically assume that this 27% plunge is the exact impact your market has felt?

I hope you immediately answered the above question with a “no.” The numbers below for six different Contra Costa cities will help show the variance in both year-over-year and month-over-month trends from one city to the next. Real Estate is ALWAYS local. This applies to foreclosures as well as prices … you always need to take national and regional news with a grain of salt because it may or may not be reflective of your local market.

If you have questions about any of these numbers, or would like to see them for a different Contra Costa city, please let me know.

The current inventory of available houses in Contra Costa County is extremely high, and the longer a property lingers on the market the less attractive it becomes. Questions start to be asked as to why no one has already bought it: Is it overpriced? Does it have unseen issues with the roof or foundation? What is causing everyone to pass on this home? Well, as the Washington Post article Freshening an Old Listing, and Other Tips for Worried Sellers explains, some sellers are trying to sidestep this problem by having their property re-listed in the MLS so its Days On Market (DOM) value will reset. The thing to keep in mind, however, is that a good buyer’s agent will do the necessary research to see past this re-listing technique and will evaluate the property for what it is worth based on today’s demand.