» Investors-Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog, Bay Area: 1SiliconValley.com

Existing Home Sales Across U.S. Plummet: Silicon Valley Take

Local station CBS5.com reports that existing home sales dropped sharply in 2006 across the country.

Image of Bubble

2005 was the peak of this recent real estate boom and during that year a whopping 40% of all home sales were to investors or people buying vacation homes, even according to David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

The dip in 2006 makes perfect sense. As Lereah says, "A lot of those people have left the market."

Impact on Silicon Valley: Look Around at the Central Valley

The article mentions that analysts have predicted prices will continue to fall in "formerly red-hot markets" like California. Are you waiting for a large price decrease in Silicon Valley?

Jan.26.2007 [ Filed under: Home Buyers, Investors, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

Do-It-Yourself Projects That Will Help You Sell Your House

CNNMoney.com published an article that gives you tips on 5 small home improvement projects that you can do yourself before your house goes on sale. They rate the projects by skill level required, how much it costs, and how much you'd have to pay a professional to do it.

Image of Wooden Room

They note that because it can be difficult to recoup the full cost of the improvements, you should concentrate on what you can do yourself (i.e. without a contractor) and really home in on the rooms that people focus on.

The Wall Street Journal also lists improvements you should avoid when selling your house. This article isn't as detailed or thorough as the CNNMoney.com home improvement article but does provide some insight into common pitfalls.

Many times it will be easier and less expensive to offer your prospects a credit towards improvements rather than doing them yourself. Prospects like having their choice of styles (your buyer's taste is something that's difficult to predict) and you won't have to take on the risk of performing or contracting the work.

Don’t Assume Your Mortgage Broker Is Out To Get You

Sometimes they may not know what they're doing either. There's a story in the Wall Street Journal about a mortgage loan officer (and landscape designer) whose family invested in a single-family house they wanted to flip.

Image of Bear Trap

Based on the assumption they'd flip the house quickly, they put no money down and took out an 80% mortgage priced well-above market at the time (almost 7%) and a double-digit interest piggy-back loan.

The article mentions that the market in their area has shifted towards buyers, but that's not the half of it. My parents retired to that city and it's bleaker than it reads.

Jan.18.2007 [ Filed under: Bay Area Real Estate, Mortgages, Investors, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

12-Month Plan to Becoming a Real Estate Investor

Following up on David Crook's Wall Street Journal article on becoming a real estate investor is his outline of a 12-month plan that outlines the foundation you'll need.

Of particular note is how the "beginning [in real estate investment] actually starts well before you're ready to buy a property." Here's his table on getting started:

David Crook's Table

Jan.12.2007 [ Filed under: Bay Area Real Estate, Investors ] Comment Here »

Getting Started as a Real Estate Investor

David Crook's article on getting started as a real estate investor for The Wall Street Journal provides some good ideas on getting started conservatively in real estate investment.

Tortoise and Hare

An important nuance I'd like to point out about the article, though, has to do with second homes vs. rentals.

Jan.11.2007 [ Filed under: Bay Area Real Estate, Investors ] Comment Here »

Silicon Valley Vacancy Rates Down, Guess What Rents Are Doing?

According to The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy and Development Ressearch (HUD) Q3 2006 U.S. Housing Market Conditions Regional Activity Report, titled as if ink were going out of fashion…

"In the San Francisco Bay Area, the apartment vacancy rate declined nearly 1 percent to 3.7 percent in the third quarter of 2006 from the same quarter a year ago, according to the RealFacts apartment survey." It continues below the fold with specifics on East Bay and Silicon Valley rents.

HUD