| | Hi All My Friends, Happy New Year! Already, the outlook for real estate is looking brighter than last year. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), says "The market is recovering and we should trend up to a healthy, sustainable level in 2011." "All the indicator trends are pointing to a gradual housing recovery," Yun said. "Home price prospects will vary depending largely upon local job market conditions. The national median home price, however, is expected to remain stable even with a continuing flow of distressed properties coming onto the market just as long as there is a steady demand of financially healthy home buyers." Existing-home sales are projected to rise about 8% to 5.2 million in 2011 from 4.8 million in 2010. The median existing-home price could rise 0.6% to $173,700 in 2011 from $172,700 in 2010. "As we gradually work off the excess housing inventory, supply levels will eventually come more in-line with historic averages and could allow home prices to rise modestly in the range of 2 to 3 percent in 2012," Yun said. California is one state that is seeing home sales rise. Home sales rose by 9.2% from October to November and continued to increase into December. The November median price of a home in California was $296,820, down 2.4% from October's median price of $304,220, and down 2.5% from the median prices of $305,550 of November 2009. The median number of days on market for homes for sale is 54.7 days. Statewide, the California cities with the greatest median home price increases from November 2009 to November 2010 were as follows: Montclair, San Juan Capistrano, San Bernardino, Thousand Oaks, Lake Forest, San Marcos, Newport Beach, Compton, Encinitas, and Yucca Valley. With the active spring real estate market several months away, January is an ideal time to review your real estate goals for 2011. I would love to assist with my real estate knowledge and experience - just give me a call. | |  PENDING, 2027 Ellington Terrace, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 - $380,000
Beautiful setting. Move in condition. Updated including recessed lighting, dual pane windows, flooring, paint & crown moulding. Dining room, breakfast bar, pantry, & good size kitchen make eating a delight. Vaulted ceiling, recessed lighting & classy fireplace makes relaxing easy. |  PENDING, 1913 Meadow Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 - $565,000
Great house for large family or someone who wants a hobby room and office. Low maintenance yard. Wonderfully updated home. Award Winning Acalanes & Walnut Creek school district. Great comute location. | SOLD, 68 Oakmont Ave, Peidmont, CA 94610-- $1,080,000
| Q: In November 2010 the Federal government discussed the possibility of not allowing homeowners to deduct mortgage interest on their taxes. Can you give me an update? A: The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is strongly opposed to any reduction in mortgage interest deductions (MID). While critics suggest that MID mostly benefit the wealthy, statistics actually show that deductions primarily benefit middle and lower income families. (Almost two-thirds of those who currently claim the MID are middle-income earners.) Ron Phipps, President of the NAR, says "The ability to deduct mortgage interest payments means a significant savings at tax time. A family with a $200,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage could save nearly $3,500 in federal taxes next year." This Federal proposal from an 18-member White House commission is being called "dead on arrival." Still, both our national and statewide real estate associations will be watching this closely. Please let me know if you have further questions regarding this or other government policies towards real estate. Experts in economic and social patterns have identified a growing trend in consumer consumption they're calling collaborative consumption. Described as the rapid explosion of traditional sharing and bartering fostered by social networking on the Internet, collaborative consumption isn't just a trend – it's being called a revolution towards an economy based on mutual trust. The origins of this new mindset can be traced to websites like eBay and Craigslist where consumers buy goods from strangers over the Internet. Like eBay, many of the websites that facilitate these transactions allow users to rate their experiences and the overall integrity of the person or business with whom they've transacted. Whether it's unused space, goods, skills, money, or services, websites for trading goods and services are appearing every day all over the world. A founder of one such website, www.ecomodo.com, Merial Lenfestey, makes the point: "The average drill gets used for 10 to 20 minutes over its lifetime. Drills don't cost a fortune but they cost enough to make those 20 minutes quite expensive." The principle of sharing is nothing new, but the trust economy, combined with environmental concerns and the rise of new technologies has created the conditions for it to prosper. For more information, check out the book What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption (www.collaborativeconsumption.com) by Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers. Below are just a few websites you'll want to check out: The celebration of the New Year is our oldest holiday and with it comes an equally ancient tradition of making resolutions. The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. Janus was depicted as having two faces; one on the back and the one on the front of his head so he could look simultaneously back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. Aspects of this tradition continue to appear today in major faith traditions. For examples, during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebration, observers reflect on their wrongoings of the past year and seek to recieve and offer forgivness. The Christian tradition of Lent is also a time to atone for mistakes, reflect on improving one's self and relationships with others. Regardless of tradition, at this time of year about one-third of Americans resolve to make positive changes in their lives. Considering only about a third continue long into the New Year, it's worth considering ways to keep your New Year's resolutions. Keep Your Goals Realistic: New Year's can bring on a rush of enthusiasm for change. We often believe we can tackle our goals effortlessly. For example, you may not be able to start and maintain an intensive work-out plan when you currently don't exercise at all. Instead, make small, incremental steps towards your goal. Start by joining a gym, resolving to go just twice a week. Remember that action precedes motivation, not the other way around. Just putting on your running shoes and stepping onto the treadmill will create the momentum you're waiting for. Break it Down: Make small, actionable goals. For example, instead of resolving to keep in touch more with friends and family, make a list of people you want to improve connection with. Then, resolve once a month to call or email one of them. Want to lose 50 pounds? Break it down into five or even one-pound increments. Don't let setbacks get you down; Shoot for progress, not perfection. Share your Goals: Don't go it alone. Tell others about your goals, people with whom you can share your progress and challenges and who can gently nudge you when you get off course. Make Your Goals With Meaning: Your resolutions need to have meaning to you in order to create the internal motivation you need to continue in your goals. Make resolutions that are important to you, to your well-being and happiness, to keep you motivated and focussed. If you are resolving to do something just because others feel you ought to, you'll find it dificult to follow through. | |
