Category Archives: real estate market update

Just Sold in San Jose for $888,000…

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For this townhome I recently sold for $888,000 in San Jose, I was the agent for the buyers, who were referred to me by another client, who was their sister, and in the process of buying a home at the very same time! How cool is that??

This sale happened when the market was just starting to turn and getting warmer, it was not hot yet, but the feeling was in the air that things were picking up. The market had been cooler for some time, but things were just starting to heat up and the timing for this sale could not have been better for the buyers.

We were the only offer on this townhome and we got the home not ONLY for UNDER the list price, but the buyers also paid UNDER the appraised value! Big time score! The timing was just so lucky, in that if it was just even one month later, I think they would have competed for this home and paid much more for it.

The transaction itself was smooth and seamless. And, now they live just minutes from their sister, who also bought a home with me and closed within about a week of eachother.

Just Sold in San Jose for $888,000!

Just Sold in San Jose for $888,000!

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Just Sold in San Jose for $1,405,000…

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For this home I sold in San Jose for $1,405,000, I was the agent for the buyers, an awesome couple, who were referred to me by another client. The market was in the midst of changing from not so hot, to getting hotter, when this home came up for sale, in which some homes weren’t selling right away, or maybe getting 1 offer, and some homes were going pretty fast. For this home, it was a hot home. It is a great home, in great schools, and a great neighborhood, so there was a lot of interest.

We competed with about 5 offers, my clients wrote an amazing letter to the seller, which DID help us to get the home, coupled with my begging, pleading, and every negotiation skill I could ponder up with the listing agent. 🙂 We were not the highest offer, but the listing agent/seller gave us a second chance to come up to a price and terms that would be competitive with the top offer and we were able to lock in the home! Yay!

To lock in this home, the buyers had to pay well over list price and waive ALL the contingencies (loan, appraisal, and inspections). It was a very competitive bidding process, mainly due to the top rated schools, so buyers really wanted this home.

The transaction itself went very smooth and the buyers were excited to close the transaction and start making the home their own.

Just Sold in San Jose for $1,405,000

Just Sold in San Jose for $1,405,000

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Just Sold in Capitola for $1,100,000…

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For this home I sold in Capitola for $1,100,000, I was the agent for the buyers, who wanted to buy a vacation home. This is my 2nd time working with these clients. Years ago they bought their first home with me in San Jose.

I won’t even sugar coat it, this sale was frustrating from Day 1 and continued to be frustrating to the very end and beyond. The sellers were completely off radar for the reality on the current value of the home. They listed the home for $1.2m, my clients were interested very soon after the home went on the market and we made an offer for $1.1m, being the max the buyers felt the home was worth.

Well, come to find out, the sellers listed at $1.2m, expecting to get at least $1.4m, so they would not even consider the $1.1m offer. Ok, no problem, it was newer to the market, so we just sat back and waited. We figured, if it was meant to be, it would be. I reached out to the listing agent periodically to see if the sellers achieved a reality check over time. Well, not only did they not have a reality check, but were upset and felt they listed to low, even though they only got our 1 offer and nothing else! So, they actually raised the price to $1,350,000. How well do you think that went??? Not good…so they again lowered the price to $1.2m and then did manage to get an offer higher than our $1.1m offer, but lower than the $1.2m list price.

So, we figured it was not meant to be and moved on. Well, come to find out, that deal fell through, and it was back on the market. The sellers at this point felt more motivated to sell, and 93 days later…they accepted our $1.1m offer and we were in contract.

The transaction itself was rocky at best. The sellers were just not easy to deal with and frankly I had hoped another property would come along that was the perfect match, because I personally didn’t want to deal with these people. But, emotions aside, the buyers loved the home and location, so we needed to make this happen, regardless of who we were dealing with as sellers.

Long story shorter, through trials and tribulations, we managed to get through it all, including a sewer lateral upgrade during escrow that almost wasn’t completed in time, the seller wanting to leave things behind so that they didn’t have to go back to pick them up, and then when the buyers didn’t want all their stuff left behind, but would take some of it, the sellers decided to get back at them by taking items that the buyer said they could leave and actually wanted.

The good news is it all worked out and the buyers are really happy with the home and excited. It’s their dream to have a home near the beach. It’s an amazing location. And, I’m sure they will make countless wonderful memories there.

Just Sold in Capitola For $1,100,000

Just Sold in Capitola For $1,100,000

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Just Sold in Fremont for $575,000…

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For this condo I sold in Fremont for $575,000, I was the agent for the seller, who told me that his mom actually found me on the internet. Yay for mom! This is a great condo and meticulously maintained by the seller. There were 2 items that made things a bit more challenging to spark a lot of interest, 1 is that the owner occupancy is SUPER low in the community, there are actually more tenants living in the community than there are owners. So, not only there is a bit of a stigma to some buyers for that scenario, but also banks aren’t thrilled with it either. So, there just are not as many buyers or loan options when there are more tenants than owners.

The other item that some of the buyers had a hard time with and couldn’t get past is that there were absolutely no doors on any closet, so not the bedroom closets, not the hall closets, nada. The place looked great and very clean, and it actually made the place look bigger and gave more space, but the lack of closets was an issue for some, and although they can be added back, of course, some buyers just don’t have vision or want to do it, I guess. Not only all the doors were missing, but so were the tracks both on top and bottom. So, it would be a bit of a project, not huge, but a bit of a project to add in the tracks top and bottom and then also the doors again. It looked great without them, but yet, most buyers want closet doors so that their stuff is not showing.

For the transaction itself, let’s just say it would have been nice to have other options. The main negative anytime there is only 1 offer on a home, is that even if you aren’t thrilled with that buyer or agent, you are kind of stuck with what you get for the most part, if that 1 offer is basically acceptable overall in price and terms. And, between the buyers and their agent, it just did not go well, at any level, and by the end, I just wanted this to go away. The buyers were ridiculously picky, did not remove contingencies on time, and then would not send the necessary paperwork to extend contingencies and escrow and such. I could write pages just about the details of the transaction and all that did not go right, but it would be such a long story and frankly, I don’t want to re-live it.

It was horrible, I was constandly chasing the buyer’s agent to simply stay in contract and not let dates just pass by with nothing in writing! But we got through it. I felt confident the transaction would close. I knew the buyers were just scared and misguided, but things would work out in the end. Although, during the process, trying to explain to a client…don’t worry, it will happen…when you don’t have any hard evidence to prove it, except your gut feeling and experience, is not really ideal.

Just Sold in Fremont for $575,000

Just Sold in Fremont for $575,000

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Just Sold in San Jose for $1,575,000…

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For this home I sold in San Jose for $1,575,000, I was the agent for the seller. This is my 4th transaction with this client, and was her buyer’s agent for this home! This is a gorgeous home and very lovingly cared for, although, there were a few factors for this home, that made it a bit on the challenging side. For one, the floor plan is not that open feel type, personally, I love this floor plan, but it does not have the open type plan in which a lot of buyers are looking for these days, and it would be a bit hard to open it up for this particular plan. Also, this home sits on a T lot, so there were a number of buyers that did not want a home on a T lot. And, there was also a couple of cracks in the foundation, although, not a big deal for this particular case, easily fixable, but sometimes buyers are just leary of foundation cracks and it can be a bit scary to buyers that maybe don’t fully understand the situation at hand for this particular case. Those things, coupled with the fact the market has slowed down, and not the frenzy of early 2018, were factors in the turnout in the number of buyers for this home.

We did get buyers that fell in love with this home, just like my clients had fallen in love, and we did get an offer about list price, and the buyers were willing to give the sellers a FREE rent back. So, the sellers did do quite well, they bought the home barely 2 years ago, and did pretty well in 2 years, especially given the fact that the market has slowed down.

The transaction itself was overall smooth, although we did enter a hiccup, but we got through it. We supplied the buyers with inspection reports and explained the cost for the foundation to be repaired. I had talked to various foundation contractors who quoted me rough prices for the fix, we gave that info to the buyer’s agent. So, we were all on the same page, or so we thought, going into the transaction in regard to the foundation repairs. But, it seems that when some types of buyers have a way to re-negotiate, they just take that opportunity to do so, even if it’s not kosher, and even if they had the info in initial negotiations. I find that it’s taking advantage of the situation, so NOT cool, but some buyers just do what they do. We managed to get through that hiccup and completed the transaction. We really did everything on our end to avoid this type of mishap, but sometimes you run into a buyer that just doesn’t care about what’s right.

Sold in San Jose for $1,575,000!

Sold in San Jose for $1,575,000!

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Just Sold in Union City for $1,125,000…

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For this home I just sold in Union City for $1,125,000, I was the agent for the buyers, who were referred to me by another client who also used me as their agent to buy a home. When the buyers saw this home, it was very apparent that it was ‘the one’ and they really wanted it, so much so, it was a bit stressful on my end, because their enthusiam to get this home and their desire to do what it took to get it, put a lot of pressure on me to ensure they got this home, no matter what!

This home was just one of those ‘special’ homes. The home was immaculate. It’s a nice neighborhood. It has a great floor plan. It has nice upgrades. It has a lovely backyard. And, it was just a home that was going to spark a lot of interest, because it was the type of home that does not come up too often. And, to top it off, the listing agent listed the home at an aggressive price to just really spark a lot of interest.

There were 7 offers on this home, so that is a lot of competition, and it was rough! It seemed that a few of the other buyers wanted the home as badly as my clients, so competition was fierce. The buyers went in well OVER the listed price, waived ALL their contingencies, wrote a beautiful personal letter to the seller, and I just tried to be as up close and personal to the listing agent as possible. The agent gave very little info, so it was really difficult to know where we stood in relation to the competition.

But, thank God, we were the lucky ones! The agent called to tell me that we were the chosen offer. He mentioned that it was a super difficult decision because a few of the offers were so close. He told me that what helped to get our offer picked, was obviously overall price and terms, but also what swayed the seller our way was the buyer’s letter and also my persistence and being on top of things and keeping in constant communication. The listing agent told me that was the combination of things that tipped the scale in our favor. I ended up meeting the seller and she also mentioned to me that she loved the letter from the buyers and it really did make a difference in her decision.

This sale was the result of the actual homeowner’s death and the home was left to an heir, so it was bitter sweet. The buyers were excited to get this home. The seller, on the other hand, was dealing with a loss and it was a very sad and emotional time for her, as you can imagine. The seller just wanted to walk away and not deal with anything she didn’t have to deal with. So, there were a few challenges, nothing major, our side was trying to be compassionate and understanding, although, still with the desire to have things be properly handled per the contract. We got through it and made it happen, but it was a little rough toward the end.

The seller ensured us that everything would be out by closing day, and that a final pick up of some trash would be taken the day after closing. Well, the seller left items in the house and around the house, that she was not supposed to leave. The trash was NOT picked up the next day. And, the seller didn’t leave the house as clean as maybe a seller would for a sale that was more the result of a positive reason to sell. I personally had the trash hauled off as soon as I got word it was still there. The seller made a deal with the buyer to leave a $7,000 sauna for the buyer, if she didn’t have to come back or deal with anything else in regard to the house and items that were left. The buyers took that deal. So, it all worked out, just a few hiccups due to the general situation and reason for the sale. On a brighter note, the home actually appraised for HIGHER than the buyer’s paid, so even competing with 7 offers, the home still appraised for HIGHER than what they paid!

Just Sold in Union City for $1,125,000!

Just Sold in Union City for $1,125,000!

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Recently Sold in Fremont for $950,000…

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For this home I recently sold in Fremont for $950,000, I was the agent for the buyer, who was referred to me by another client who also bought a home with me. For this particular home, it seemed timing was everything. The home was showing on MLS as active, and then just disappeared when we were going to set an appointment to view it. I found that the listing agent had taken the home off of the market, called him, and he stated that the seller was still willing to sell the home, but had taken it off the market and was planning to put it back on in a few months. Being that the home was not even on the market anymore, it gave the buyers an advantage in that likely no other buyers would be coming out of the woodwork since it was not showing that it was for sale, so there was very little chance we would run across any kind of competition.

We were able to get the home for well UNDER the listed price, it was a very good price for a 4 bedrooms and 4 full bathrooms home. It was a unique home, in that very few homes in that size range and price range have 4 full bathrooms. It’s almost like finding a unicorn. There weren’t really even any comparables in the area that had that many bathrooms.

The main challenge for this transaction was that the county records were incorrect for the number of bathrooms. They had made a mistake in their computer and it was not showing properly, even though, there were permits and plans and everything was done legit. We did get the county records updated and corrected during the transaction, but I wasn’t so sure it could be updated in time, since the city/county can be a very slow process.

Also, the seller had put up an extra wall with a permit in the past to make for another room, but when she went to sell the home, she took out that same wall with no permit to open up the space again and make for a beter floor plan for selling. So, the buyer did request that since the seller had done all the other work with permits and such, that it would be good just to have everything in order and match the floor plan given and have a permit for the wall she then removed.

Again, knowing how slow the city/county can be, I was not so sure that could happen during our transacton process, but the seller was very on top of things and determined to make it happen and have everything in order by closing.

Most of this transaction was mainly dealing with corrections and finalizing drawings to match what the buyer was buying and that the permits and plans were all in order. I knew it could all be done, but the main stress of the sale was making sure all of this could be done by closing day, sometimes these types of changes can take months. And, amazingly, it all got done in time and we had a successful closing.

Sold in Fremont for $950,000

Sold in Fremont for $950,000

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Market Update

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I thought I would share my thoughts on the current market conditions in order to help people evaluate their situation when it comes to buying and/or selling a home.

I first noticed the market slowing down to where it wasn’t a true frenzy around May. The market was still very strong and there were still multiple offers, but it wasn’t the absolute insanity that it had been in the months prior to May.

And, as time went on, I could see a continual slow down, still strong, but less and less multiple offers, offers not going as significantly over list price, and those types of changes. Also, during the summer there was more inventory to choose from and interest rates creeping up a bit. I was able to sneak buyers into homes that had been very frustrated with all of the competition of months past, who some felt like giving up on buying, but then had flicker of hope and the drive to keep going and were able to lock in a home.

In the last 2-3 months, I have seen homes actually sitting on the market and not selling at the prices that comparable homes had sold in the months prior. Some homes even selling way below the last comparable homes, like $100k+ less, some even hundreds of thousands less than the comparable homes from the peak of the 2018 market. And, I see many, many price reductions for homes. Some homes even having multiple price reductions.

My thoughts are that since the end of 2017 to early 2018, the market went really crazy, it can’t sustain those types of price jumps forever, so over time, it calmed down, and now we are more in a correction phase for 2018, at least. Prices really peaked, but it got to a point where buyers started to call it quits for paying any more for a home. Buyers just can’t continue the cycle of bidding up homes sale after sale after sale for indefinite periods of time. It has to end, slow down, and/or make a correction at some point.

A lot of people ask about my opinion for the current market conditions. I am not a fortune teller, but historically and statistically, this is a fairly normal yearly cycle. Sometimes it doesn’t go exactly as the prior year, of course. But, overall, typically 1st quarter is when there is a market frenzy, often the market does calm down around summer, as the end of the year approaches and inventory goes down again due to holidays and such, it can be a time where buyers have an opportunity to get into a home while the market is calmer and before it heats up the following year.

So, if history repeats itself and we do have the normal cycle, now may be a good time to buy. The market is calmer, homes are staying on the market longer, there are a lot of price reductions and motivated sellers, interest rates are still good, there is more likelihood that sellers will negotiate on price or maybe even do some repairs, there is more likelihood for FHA/VA buyers and also low down buyers to have a chance to lock in a home before competition starts up again. Right now, I would encourage those buyers that are FHA or have a low down payment, who do have trouble competing with other buyers in a fierce market, now may be the time to lock in a home before it gets unachievable again. It also may be a good time for those that already are homeowners to make the move to another home. It may be more likely that a seller will be willing to take a contingent offer, if the seller has no other offers to consider.

It’s better to buy when no one else is buying and sell when no one else is selling, even if that’s not the popular way to do things. Those times are when buyers get better deals and sellers get top dollar, when they go against the grain of what everyone else is doing. I know people sometimes try to predict the market and try to either figure out the bottom or the peak…and that is typically a very hard thing to do, and often they end up missing what they are trying to achieve. And, if this is a normal yearly cycle, that means early 2019 will be a frenzy again and prices may likely increase from the prices they are today.

 

Market Update

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