Hat tip to Richard for sending in this article about California workers encouraging their employer to leave the state in order to achieve the American dream - affordable home ownership:...
Affordability Exodus?
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Year: 2015
Shell-Company Home Ownership
Hat tip to daytrip for sending in this fascinating story on how the wealthy foreigners are buying real estate here - a quote from the article: “Ask a cop and they’ll tell you that 50 percent of their day dealing with the privileged is miserable,” Mr. Soboroff said....
Timber
If you are looking for custom wood products, this yard is worth a visit: www.vintagetimber.com
Redfin Estimates
Hat tip to the folks who sent in a link to the new home-value estimator. I'm presenting what I've seen; please come to your own conclusions. Here is the sexy explanation on their website, taking a direct shot at the other real estate portals:...
Inventory Watch
Lately, the number of weekly new pendings has been higher than last year, and a little under those in 2013 - I'll take it. All eyes will be on the Fed's likely bump of the fed-funds rate on Wednesday, but it should already be priced into the current mortgage rates. ...
Perils of Seller Occupancy After Closing
A family member in a hot market is trying to move up. They have lost out a couple of deals, so the right kind of frustration is starting to set in, but they keep coming across the same tactic - sellers who want to occupy after closing. It's not enough for these...
Holiday Slowdown?
It is still hotly competitive on the lower end of each market - this house listed yesterday and I already have two written offers. For buyers looking for a house in excellent condition, there is no off-season: P.S. I'm still in charge.
How Long Have Sellers Owned?
How many of the long-time owners are selling the family homestead, and downsizing now that the kids are gone? We don't know for sure who falls into that category - people with older kids could have bought a house 5-8 years ago and already be empty-nesters. But a...
Closing Gifts
When Christophe Choo helped a couple purchase a $15 million Los Angeles home, he wanted to buy them a closing gift that was equally impressive. So instead of leaving a bottle of Champagne in the fridge, he and his wife ushered them onto a chartered jet bound for...
Rich Says No Bubble
After the recent article by Zillow on whether the San Diego market is in a bubble, the UT conducted their own investigation. Thankfully, they talked to our old friend Rich Toscano: An excerpt: The San Diego man who predicted the housing crash on his blog Professor...
