First Time Buyer's Tax Credit Extended!

If you read the last post, you might be wondering whether the credit will still exist beyond this month. This is what the National Association of Realtors has to report:

"As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that:

• Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010.
• Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010".
  

To learn more about whether you and the property qualify for the credit, visit NAR's site.

First Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit

The federal government is providing a first time home buyer credit of up to $8,000 for the purchase of a principal residence by qualified purchasers who acquire their home in 2009. However, that program is scheduled to end as of December 1, 2009. Although other incentive programs were extended beyond the originally scheduled termination date, there is no indication at this time that the first time home buyer credit will be extended beyond its originally scheduled termination date.

To qualify for the credit, the first time home buyer must close escrow on or before November 30th 2009 and meet other eligibility requirements. Because your agent cannot promise or guarantee that you will be able to take advantage of any particular tax credit or other incentive program, it's important that you do some homework to learn whether it will apply to you. I have a handy fact sheet about these eligibility reqs- feel free to email me if you want a copy. There is also a website where you can learn more.

This Week in Coldwell Banker Real Estate

From our Coldwell Banker president:

Berkeley/East Bay offices report that we were inundated with multiple offers this week and large turnouts at open houses. 75% of our deals this week saw multiple offers, any number from 2-8 on seller owned and 12-18 on bank owned. Cash is still king on many deals because of increasing anxiety about appraisals.

Castro Valley: we are seeing cash offers everywhere and one agent reports that she has been outbid from the last five offers she has written by all cash deals. The number of multiples in the low range markets has been in the range of 10-60 offers, to give you an idea as to the inventory shortage we are facing here in our micromarket. Agents are waiting for banks to release more REOs. One thing is certain, we are definitely a recovering market.

The Danville office reported the activity level is good but we need more inventory. Lots of buyers are jumping off the fence.

In Fremont the listing inventory is reducing.

The Livermore office reports: Our pending sales are up in the office and the overall market in the Tri-Valley area remains strong. Multiple offers are still the rage below $500,000.

The Pleasanton office reports homes under $450K are moving very fast with multiple offers.

Move to a New House (or Move the House to You)

This man moved a house around the corner from me, and is currently lifting one in north Berkeley so the homeowner can build a wine cellar in the basement.

Albany Condo Update

Even the most optimistic predictions couldn't have seen this coming: my listing at 795 Taft received eight offers, seven days after it hit the market. It will close escrow next week- contact me if you want the scoop on where the price landed (or check back here).

Who Wants to Live in Albany?

Everyone!

Come see my newest listing on the east side of pretty Albany Hill. This condo has a big view of the East Bay hills, balconies, skylights, a big open floor plan and high vaulted ceilings. Refinished floors, dual-paned windows, fresh paint... visit my website here to see all the photos, more information, and a handy floor plan.

Open Thursday 4/2 9:30-noon, and Sunday 4/5 2-4pm.

Oakland Neighborhoods Demystified

Who knew there were so many neighborhood names in Oakland? Have fun with this site!

Berkeley Still Hot

From Forbes:

In these spots, those looking to unload their home are finding buyers.

Berkeley, Calif., known sometimes as a hippie haven, is becoming a hotbed for home sales.

Prices in the Bay Area suburb are up 9% this year, with homes selling for a median price of $790,986. Properties are sitting on the market for 73 days on average, the lowest of any area with positive price trends within the confines of the country's 75 largest Census-defined metro areas. Only 37% of sellers have been forced to reduce their prices, one of the lowest rates in the country.

It may not be a boom, but given regional problems it's a good market to be in. Berkeley joins Venice, Calif.; Bedford, Texas; Kennesaw, Ga.; and Montclair, N.J., on our list of suburbs with the best conditions for sellers.

In Depth: 10 Best Suburbs To Sell A Home

In fact, the only housing-market problem Berkeley seems to have involved four protesters who illegally occupied a tree from the beginning of the year through September. Authorities finally cut off the hippies' food and water supply, forcing them from their oak home.

"If you have to sell a house, sell in these places," says Michael Simonsen, chief executive of Altos Research. "But it's a measure of how rough is it out there for sellers. These are the best markets, and we're looking at three to four months of time to sell in the country's best markets."

Behind the Numbers
Our data come from Altos Research, a Mountain View, Calif., research firm. We looked at the suburbs in the country's 75 largest Census-defined metro areas based on the last 90 days of sales activity. Since a metro area can contain hundreds of suburbs, we narrowed it to those cities with an inventory of at least 75 homes on the market.

Since stagnation is the death of prices and sales, we further eliminated suburbs where it currently takes more than 125 days to sell the average home. Price also matters. Nationwide, cities like Sacramento, Calif., and Los Angeles are among the easiest to sell a home, based on sales data from Radar Logic, a New York real estate research firm, but homes are mainly selling at massive discounts. To eliminate these places from our list, we excised any suburb where year-over-year price declines were steeper than 10% and where more than 50% of sellers had to reduce their asking price to sell their home.

What was left wasn't a set of awe-inspiring hidden gems where sellers are awash in bidding wars. Nationwide, low-interest rates and low prices caused existing home sales to rise 5.5% in September, but in many areas of the country, sellers are finding relatively few buyers.

Read more of this article here

KOHL'S Withdraws from Point Isabel!

UPDATE: Kohl's Withdraws Application for Store at Point Isabel

Kohl's has withdrawn its application for City Council approval, citing the general state of the economy. According to the developer, Oliver & Company, the company's revised sale projections do not justify the construction of a store at that site. Hopefully, the strong opposition from the community had something to do with it as well. Thanks to those who wrote e-mails and letters and showed up at the previous city meetings. This action means we do not need to show up at the Richmond City Council meeting on Feb. 17 after all. However, it's possible that the developer will try to have the area rezoned at a later date with a different tenant, so we need to remain vigilant. Word has it that a draft of Richmond's new General Plan will be available in a month. If it calls for any rezoning at Point Isabel, we'll need to send comments to City Hall. Watch for updates from PIDO (click on the Join Our Mailing List button at lower right if you're not already on our list; we won't share your information) and check our Web site (pido.org).

Pt. Isabel Hearing (Re)Rescheduled!

NEW DATE for the appeal hearing: Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m.

Can the people who love Point Isabel fight City Hall and win? Yes, we can! But we need everyone's help to do it. Don't let the city's repeated delays discourage you--keep up the fight for yourselves and your canine companions! For more info, see related articles below.