Gene Ward's Real Estate Blog

Here are the latest Data Quick housing statistics for the San Francisco Bay Area 9 counties.All Homes Number SoldFeb-07Number SoldFeb-08PercentChangeMedianFebruary 2007MedianFebruary 2008PercentChangeAlameda1,356753-44.5%$585,000$486,500-16.8%Contra Costa1,160753-35.1%$537,000$450,000-16.2%Marin2...

I have two offers on REO homes, both owned by the same bank. We are in contract on one after the buyers signed the banks counter offer. The other counter will be signed by the buyers today.I did a CMA on the Brentwood home and the buyers offered a little less than the CMA recommended with up to 5...

I spent Saturday showing buyers homes in an area that has seen some of the worst short sale, REO and foreclosure activity in northern California. What is wrong with the banks that own these properties? If they would at least keep up the yard, remove the trash, clean inside, filter the pool water ...

This consumer news is provided by the California Association of Realtors.Beginning this week and continuing through September, HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is mailing 850,000  letters to at-risk borrowers who have already faced or are experiencing the first reset of their adjustable...

My history of home price chart has been updated to reflect the latest values for 2007. This chart displays average home price values for Blackhawk, Alamo, Danville, Walnut Creek and San Ramon from 1983 through 2007. Included in the chart are the average mortgage contract interest rate for the cor...

The chief economist for the National Association of Realtors said mortgage conditions have improved since hitting its low point in August, and predicts a steady improvement through 2008.Existing-home sales are projected to trend up in 2008, with pending home sales showing a slight near-term rise,...

Today I spent some time looking at home listings in Alamo, CA. There are many properties of all types for sale from town-homes, single family homes and vacant lots. If you've been searching for an affordable home in Alamo in the past, perform an Alamo home search today. You'll find a town-home un...

I took a half day off this last weekend to ride my motorcycle one last time before the rainy season arrives. As I usually work most days I thought I could perform an Alamo home search for a client while enjoying my ride. Boy was it hard to stop and view those open Alamo homes! The weather was jus...

Just saw a few tech blogs about the new Google Real Estate search engine. It's not officially launched yet but I've seen the beta. As it was not a real estate blog I heard a lot of comments supporting anything that would lower the cost of buying and selling homes, mainly the commissions paid to r...

The chart below displays the months of inventory for the listed cities in Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. The first column is the county and city. The second column is the average selling price for homes for 2006. The third column represents the number of active listings. The fourth column dis...