Gene Ward's Real Estate Blog

Last year was a slow one for real estate sales but it did start picking up towards the end of the year when buyers started realizing that homes were now affordable. Lot's of bank owned properties being sold 50% less than they sold for just a couple of years ago. If fact, everyone of the homes I s...

I believe the root cause of all our current problems is the government and the policies they enact. Even well meaning programs that sound good will have unintended consequences. Social Security is a good example of failed socialist programs. I know I'll never get back anywhere near the amount I'v...

Gene Ward | Area Pro Realty NorCal | 925 798-2720 1300 Canyonwood Court, Unit 7, Walnut Creek, CA Rossmoor 55+ retirement community, available 2 bedroom 1 bath unit. 2BR/1BA Co-Op offered at $129,888 Year Built 1967 Sq Footage 1,054 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking Unspeci...

I ran into one of my past clients at the Alamo hardware store this weekend. He wanted to know how the housing market was doing in Alamo as he was thinking of selling his San Ramon home and buying a home in Alamo. I represented him when he purchased the San Ramon home back in 2003. He would like t...

Spent some time driving around Alamo, CA looking at homes that just came on the market. Whenever I do an Alamo home search I always find something interesting. A little research provided some information about the current market conditions in the town of Alamo California. In a community of around...

We're supposed to be in a down market right? My last three offers were 2 REO's and 1 Seller owned property, all three were multiple offer situations. I have a qualified buyer with a 20% down payment and excellent credit scores. We lost all three to all cash offers from investors. Our offers were ...

 This is a followup on an earlier blog post about a listing I had that expired because the sellers wouldn't listen to advice about the market direction. http://activerain.com/blogsview/474653/Unrealistic-Sellers-Don-t If they would have listened, they would be ahead approximately 30k and 40k. Whi...

After reading Mike Mueller's blog about "Who's to Blame", I thought about the frustration this melt down has caused. So.... I thought about my bike trip a few weeks back and how it helped keep me centered. I needed a vacation from real estate more than I realized. Sometimes, all it takes is for u...

Have not blogged in a while so thought I'd at least add something about what I've been up to. Who said the real estate market was slow? Seems like it was for a while there but not any more. I've been working with first time buyers lately and they just keep coming. My daughter introduced me to som...

Listing a home in this market takes a lot of research to determine the best listing price at which it can not only attract offers but also appraise at the purchase offer amount.I just had a listing expire after 6 months on the market. The sellers asked that the listing price be higher than my rec...