Credit for Energy – Efficient Improvements to a Personal Residence by a Homeowner - sound like tax language? It is. Anyway, the credit is back. It was available for 2006 and 2007 but not 2009. Well, it’s back for 2009.

So if you were thinking about putting in double-pane windows or buying new appliances, maybe this will be the impetus.

One of the 2008 Tax Acts – credit for solar, wind and other alternative energy expenditures by homeowners – does extend through 2016.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Suze Orman wants you to save.  And she’s making an offer you can’t refuse.

Open a new (non-retirement) Save Yourself account at TD AMERITRADE and make 12 consecutive monthly deposits of $100 or more, and TD AMERITRADE will give you $100*!

Popularity: 39% [?]

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Want to have a fun night out without spending a ton of money?  Get on Goldstar’s alert email list to receive discounts on everything from facials to the ballet, musicals to comedy shows.  Discounts run from free to half price.  It’s a great service and it’s free.

Want to keep track of money-saving suggestions?  Subscribe to my blog feed.

Popularity: 47% [?]

 

 

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This week had a better showing for a lot of cities as compared to last week.  Cities like Brisbane, Burlingame, Hillsborough, and San Mateo sold more houses than were listed.  Daly City, El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Redwood City and Redwood Shores all kept up with the new listings by selling just as many. 

Most homes sold for under the asking price; but Menlo Park had a surprising showing of selling 5 of its 6 listings for over the asking price.

For the third week in a row Belmont, Burlingame, Daly City, El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Montara, Moss Beach, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, and San Mateo all saw a decline in the number of homes available for sale. 

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	Available	Listed	Into Contract	At List	Above List	Below List
Atherton	23	0	0	0	0	1
Belmont	42	3	2	2	0	2
Brisbane	8	0	1	0	0	0
Burlingame	42	2	4			3
Daly City	159	9	9	2	0	6
El Granada	15	1	1	0	0	0
Foster City	27	4	2	0	0	3
Half Moon Bay	60	1	1	0	0	0
Hillsborough	50	1	2	0	0	1
Menlo Park	98	5	4	0	5	1
Millbrae	35	2	1	0	0	2
Montara	21	0	0	0	0	0
Moss Beach	13	0	0	0	0	0
Pacifica	75	5	5	0	0	1
Portola Valley	26	0	1	0	0	1
Redwood City	167	9	9	1	1	5
Redwood Shores	12	1	1	0	0	0
San Bruno	60	6	5	1	0	0
San Carlos	62	6	2	0	0	4
San Mateo	133	8	11	1	1	3
South San Francisco	119	10	5	0	2	2
Woodside	40	0	0	0	0	0

 

Got a San Mateo County real estate question?   Call me at 650.888.9268 or send me an email Vicki [at] CallVicki.com.   If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to the San Mateo Real Estate Blog feed.

Start your San Mateo home search here.

Popularity: 60% [?]

 

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I’ve gone on and on about median prices and what they mean.  You can catch my soapbox theory at that post.

Here’s the straight dope:  The median prices are calculated by looking at the MSA or Metropolitan Statistical Area.  As Realtor.org says, MSA’s “are as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and include the specified city or cities and surrounding suburban areas.”  What’s that mean?  It means that San Mateo County is lumped in with San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont.

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California existing home sales

2005	2006	2007	2007.III	2007.IV	2008.I	2008.II r	2008.III p	Qtr.	Yr.
								% Change	% Change
601.1	459.9	355.0	314.4	305.2	310.0	388.8	498.0	28.1%	58.4%

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San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont Metropolitan Statistical Area

2005	2006	2007	2007.III	2007.IV	2008.I	2008.II r	2008.III p	% Change
715.7	752.8	805.4	824.2	778.0	701.7	684.9	615.7	-25.3%

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San Mateo County Median Sales Price Q3 2007 & 2008

	2007 Q3	2008 Q3	% of Change
San Mateo County	1,147,720	777,777	-47
Atherton	4,300,000	3,925,000	-9
Belmont	937,250	900,000	-4
Brisbane	1,025,000	860,000	-7
Burlingame	1,359,000	1,212,000	-11
Daly City	710,000	560,000	-22
East Palo Alto	584,900	315,000	-47
El Granada	970,500	655,000	-33
Foster City	1,175,000	1,088,000	-8
Half Moon Bay	1,150,000	859,837	-26
Hillsborough	2,852,000	2,323,750	-19
La Honda	665,000	250,000	-63
Loma Mar	647,500	1,100,000	69
Menlo Park	1,207,000	1,340,000	11
Millbrae	975,000	980,000	0.5
Montara	1,145,000	847,500	-26
Moss Beach	819,000	700,000	-15
Pacifica	728,825	580,000	-21
Pescadero	645,000	2,150,000	97
Portola Valley	2,430,000	2,050,000	-16
Redwood City	872,500	790,000	-10
Redwood Shores	1,194,000	1,065,000	-11
San Bruno	755,500	599,500	-21
San Carlos	1,151,000	1,020,000	-12
San Mateo	945,400	825,000	-13
South San Francisco	700,000	580,000	-18
Woodside	2,335,000	1,600,000	-32

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Got a San Mateo County real estate question?   Call me at 650.888.9268 or send me an email Vicki [at] CallVicki.com.   If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to the San Mateo Real Estate Blog feed.

Start your San Mateo home search here.

Popularity: 83% [?]

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Daly City and South San Francisco have continued to steadily decline in inventory.  Daly City from over 5 months’ inventory in January to just under 2 in November.  South City from 6 months to 2.3 months’ inventory.

The only dramatic changes have been increases in inventory.  Atherton, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Montara and Portola Valley have all double in numbers comparing January to November.

Looking at other stats in Foster City, it appears that that increase is having an impact:  The median sale price has gone from $1,227,500 in January to $999,888 in November  – a drop in median of over $225,000.  The percentage of list price dropped from 99.31% to 97.23%.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	Jul	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov
Atherton	8.5	4	3.6	3.1	6	2.8	5.0	14	6.8	7.25	23
Belmont	3.4	2.2	1.3	2.3	2	1.86	1.9	3.8	3.2	3.6	2.8
Brisbane	3.7	5.5	2.3	15	8.5	3.25	3.5	5.5	3.0	5.5	8
Burlingame	2.8	2	2.1	1.8	2.4	1.6	2.0	2.1	2.7	2.94	3.5
Colma	1	2	3	5	4	2	1.5	4	2.0	3	1.5
Daly City	5.3	3.8	3.2	3.5	2.2	1.6	2.0	1.96	1.9	1.8	1.7
El Granada	8.3	8.3	8.7	4.7	3.3	4.3	4.4	2.7	2.9	4.8	3.8
Foster City	2.7	2.3	1.3	2.2	1.8	2.14	3.0	1.2	3.3	3.75	7
Half Moon Bay	6.5	3.9	4.3	4.3	6.3	7.9	3.4	3.8	5.7	6.25	15.75
Hillsborough	3.1	3.3	2.9	3	5.8	4.3	4.8	4.1	3.4	7.63	7.4
La Honda	11	12	12	6	3.5	4.3	7.5	6.5	7.5	6.5	10
Loma Mar	1	1	2	3	4	4	3.0	3	2.0	2	2
Menlo Park	3.7	2.8	3.1	3	1.9	2.2	2.8	4.1	3.7	4.73	4
Millbrae	6.3	3.7	2.4	2.7	2.3	2.4	1.9	2	2.0	2.56	3.5
Montara	7.5	8.5	5.7	6.3	7	3.6	9.5	10	12.0	13	24
Moss Beach	4.5	14	3	9	4.5	5.7	2.2	2.4	18.0	4.25	7.5
Pacifica	3.3	4.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	3.7	4.5	2.97	3.2	2.76	3
Pescadero	9	8	8	10	8	7	9.0	10	11.0	9	8
Portola Valley	7.5	6.7	3.1	4	2.9	2.4	4.6	10.5	13.0	3.4	13.5
Redwood City	4.2	3.7	2.7	2.8	2.5	2.3	2.2	2.9	2.6	2.58	3
Redwood Shores	1.8	2	1.7	1.2	5	3	2.3	0	3.5	16	13
San Bruno	3.6	3.9	3	3.4	2.1	1.7	1.5	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.5
San Carlos	2.7	2	1.8	2	1.8	1.9	1.4	1.8	2.2	3.65	3.6
San Gregorio	1	1	1	2	2	2	2.0	2	2.0	2	2
San Mateo	3.9	3.6	2.6	2.6	2.3	1.6	2.0	2.4	1.8	3.08	3
So San Francisco	6.1	7.7	4.6	3.1	2.9	3.1	2.5	1.98	2.3	2.74	2.3
Woodside	5	13.5	4.4	3.8	12.5	18.3	6.7	8.6	9.8	16.67	14

July 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates
August 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates
September 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates
October 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates
November 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates

Got a San Mateo County real estate question?   Call me at 650.888.9268 or send me an email Vicki [at] CallVicki.com.   If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to the San Mateo Real Estate Blog feed.

Popularity: 71% [?]

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It seems that the cities with the most dramatic year-to-year changes are the ones where we’ve seen the biggest price drops, short sales and foreclosures:  Daly City, South San Francisco, East Palo Alto.  Buyers have been flocking there looking for deals – and finding them.

As agents we can often anticipate changes before the numbers actually show it.  We’ve been talking about how ironic it is that these properties have been receiving multiple offers, sometimes over the asking price – as low as they may be.  Some of these areas have seen incredible declines in inventory.  The question is:  Will that continue?

I wish I knew and so does the rest of the nation.  The only way we know when we’ve hit the bottom of the market is when we look back at the statistics; oftentimes, after the decline has started to resolve.

	11/30/2006	11/30/2007	11/30/2008
Atherton	3.2	11	23
Belmont	1.3	2.4	2.8
Brisbane	1.6	4.5	8
Burlingame	1.4	3.3	3.5
Colma	0	2	1.5
Daly City	2	8	1.7
East Palo Alto	3.3	21.7	1.1
El Granada	6.3	25	3.8
Foster City	1.1	3.8	7
Half Moon Bay	2.1	6.9	15.8
Hillsborough	3.2	3.1	7.4
La Honda	5	15	10
Loma Mar	0	0	2
Menlo Park	1.4	2.4	4
Millbrae	2.6	5.4	3.3
Montara	6.3	6.3	24
Moss Beach	13	5.5	7.5
Pacifica	1.9	6.7	3
Pescadero	8	12	8
Portola Valley	3.1	8	13.5
Redwood City	2.5	4.5	3.1
Redwood Shores	1.7	2.5	13
San Bruno	2.6	5.9	1.5
San Carlos	1.8	2.2	3.6
San Gregorio	1	2	2
San Mateo	1.4	2.6	2.96
South San Francisco	3.5	6.2	2.3
Woodside	7	2.5	14

The absorption rate is a quick way to see if the number of homes for sale in San Mateo County is going up or down.  It’s just one of the statistics used to evaluate pricing.

What you’re looking at is how many months’ inventory there is on the market.  The assumption is that it will take X number of months for all of the houses currently on the market to sell.  More inventory = longer to sell.

You can also see if the area is a buyer or a sellers’ market. The National Association of Realtors defines a balanced market as one is which there is 6 months of inventory.  More than 6 months, it’s a buyers’ market; less is a sellers’ market.

July 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates
August 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates
September 2008, 2007, 2006 absorption rates

Got a San Mateo County real estate question?   Call me at 650.888.9268 or send me an email Vicki [at] CallVicki.com.   If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to the San Mateo Real Estate Blog feed.

Popularity: 64% [?]

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Twice as many homes were fresh to the market this week in San Mateo County than last week.  One house sold last week compared to 31 this week.  There are 13 new homeowners this week to last week’s 4.  Looks like it’s been a busy week countywide.

San Mateo wins most new listings at 15; Daly City is a close second with 14 new ones to choose from.

While most cities declined in inventory, Atherton, Portola Valley, Redwood Shores and Woodside stayed at the same number of homes available.  Pacifica is the only city that increased in available homes – just by a few.

	Available	Listed	Into Contract	At List	Above List	Below List
Atherton	23	2	1	0	0	0
Belmont	47	1	2	0	0	0
Brisbane	8	0	0	0	0	0
Burlingame	47	1	4	0	0	0
Daly City	166	14	11	4	3	3
El Granada	19	0	0	0	0	1
Foster City	27	2	5	0	0	0
Half Moon Bay	62	5	2	0	0	0
Hillsborough	52	3	0	0	0	1
Menlo Park	102	3	5	0	0	0
Millbrae	38	2	0	0	0	1
Montara	23	0	0	0	0	0
Moss Beach	13	0	0	0	0	0
Pacifica	75	4	0	0	0	0
Portola Valley	27	1	1	0	0	0
Redwood City	175	12	0	0	0	0
Redwood Shores	13	3	0	0	0	0
San Bruno	60	3	0	0	0	0
San Carlos	65	11	0	0	0	0
San Mateo	142	15	0	0	0	0
South San Francisco	117	7	0	0	0	0
Woodside	42	0	0	0	0	0

Got a San Mateo County real estate question?   Call me at 650.888.9268 or send me an email Vicki [at] CallVicki.com.   If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to the San Mateo Real Estate Blog feed.

Start your San Mateo home search here.

All the best,
Vicki Moore

Popularity: 55% [?]

This guy thought it was pretty funny that I was taking his picture but I was the one having fun.  One of the best restaurants – actually several – around are within walking distance of this field.  I’ll have to fill you in on them when it’s not 2 in the morning.

Popularity: 59% [?]

Disclosure Regarding Agency Relationships – Free Legal Forms

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Don’t Get Burned

In most areas of San Mateo County it’s a buyers’ market.  Yeah.  Yeah.  You knew that.  What I bet you didn’t know is the burnt toast you’re going to end up with.  That icky smell.  The mess when you try to fix it by scraping off the black part.  Now you’ve got a splattered mess of broken bread all over you, all over the counter.  Sheesh, now it’s all over the floor too.

It’s one of the biggest myths in home buying.  One of the scariest myths perpetually spread like jelly on that PB&J.  The one that makes me shake my head every time I hear:  My mother’s brother’s cousin said it was a good idea.  Yeah, well, it sounded like a good idea at the time.  But then the crumbs hit the fan.

Dual Agency Open Faced

Saving money by going to the listing agent.  Sure, it sounds like a good idea.  So what’s the mess about?

You’re about to sign a mass of paperwork but what does all that stuff really mean?

The Disclosure Regarding Agency Relationship.   Seller’s Agent – check – works for the seller.  Buyer’s Agent – check – works for the buyer.

Agent Representing Both Seller And Buyer.  Yes, it’s legal.  Whether it’s ethical or not is another story.  I say not.

You want to save money.  You’re going after the listing agent’s – now your agent – commission to do it.
1.  The agent signed the Agency agreement with the seller first.  Legally they represent the sellers’ interests over yours.  Read that again.
2.  Says right there:  …agent, may not…disclose to the other party that the Seller will accept a price less than the listing price.  Aren’t you looking to get the best price possible?  Guess what.  The listing agent can’t help you with that.  They can’t tell you what the seller will take – can’t even advise you what price to offer.  How do you know how much to offer without the expertise of the agent you’ve hired to represent you?  Oh wait.  They represent the seller first.

Can’t tell you why they’re selling – Huh?  Yep.  That’s right.  Seller getting a divorce?  Seller buying a bigger/smaller house?  Seller retiring?  All those little tidbits that may give you the upper hand – not this time.

Bottom Line

How can the listing agent get you the best deal when they’re trying to get the seller the highest price? I just negotiated $17,500 off the sale price of a home. You think that listing agent would have done that for the buyer? Her job was to get the seller the best price – but at what cost? The cost of your good deal.

Got a San Mateo County real estate question?   Call me at 650.888.9268 or send me an email Vicki [at] CallVicki.com.   If you like what you’ve read, subscribe to the San Mateo Real Estate Blog feed.

Start your San Mateo home search here.

Popularity: 52% [?]