The June 2012 Walnut Creek Real Estate Market Report is the story of a dramatic change in the market.  The best way to demonstrate this is to compare June, 2011 and June, 2012. In June, 2011 there were 177 detached homes for sale with an average Absorption Rate based on Pended sales of 28.2% (i.e. the percentage of listed homes that went into contract). In June, 2012, there were 61 detached homes for sale with an Absorption Rate based on Pended sales of 88.5%.   Consider these numbers from a home buyer's perspective.  54 of the 61 Walnut Creek homes for sale went in to contract, leaving only 7 available homes until new listings come on the market. In June, 2011 the average Active price of Walnut Creek homes for sale was $786,000.  In June, 2012 the average Active Price was $870,000. Wha... 07/19/2012

Walnut Creek Real Estate is "buzzing" right along in 2012. For the first six months of the year, as compared to 2011, both the attached and detached home segments have shown strong results. An increase in the number of sales, a reduction in marketing times and and increase in the median home prices is welcome news. Like many other cities in the area we are experiencing multiple offers on homes. It can be a tough and frustrating market out there for buyers right now and sellers who are priced right with "turn key" presentation are in the drivers seat. Keep in mind that real estate markets are local in nature and there will be micro markets in every town. Please contact me for a more comprehensive review of the Walnut Creek market. WALNUT CREEK REAL ESTATE REVIEW FOR 2011 07/06/2012

The following information represents the Real Estate Market Review for Walnut Creek, CA  94596, 94597 & 94598 for the month of May 2012. Walnut Creek remains a very active market and tight housing inventory is leading to multiple offers in many cases. At the end of May there was 36 single family homes for sale. This compares to 115 homes for sale last year. The attached home market is even tighter with 19 properties available at the end of the month versus 72 last year. The time it takes to get a home into escrow has also fallen over the last year. Looking for information about buying or selling in Walnut Creek?...Give me a call... Real Estate Report for Walnut Creek from May 2011 Walnut Creek has 105 homes currently "pending sale" with a high price of $1,398,000 and a low price of $307... 06/18/2012

A perfect give for Dad might be a house! This 4 bedroom home in Walnut Creek will be open today June 17th. Kitchen and baths completely remodeled, hardwood floors throughout, nestled in the hillside between Walnut Creek & Lafayette. 4 Bedroom Remodeled Kitche & Bath Hardwood Floors Throughout Surround Sound Cherry Cabinets Sauna $615,000 Stop by: 1471 Springbrook, Walnut Creek - 2 to 5   Can't make it to the open house - call for a private showing - Linda Urbick 925-415-3046.     06/17/2012

Home Staging Services~Walnut Creek, CA: Staging That Helps Sell Homes Are you getting ready to sell your home in Walnut Creek? Are you hoping to find a buyer quickly and easily? The SECRET to selling is understanding what appeals to prospective buyers. We can help make your home a buyer’s dream! Walnut Creek attracts homeowners with its vibrant shopping and dining scenes, downtown arts center and easy access to San Francisco.  Prospective homeowners are drawn to Walnut Creek’s unparalleled range of offerings, which bring urban convenience to the safe and welcoming suburbs.  With upscale shopping at stores like Tiffany’s and Neiman-Marcus, and gourmet trendy restaurants galore, downtown Walnut Creek is becoming known as the “Rodeo Drive” of Northern California! When staging a property fo... 05/30/2012

SPRING We are seeing an increase in inventory, an increase in serious buyers... not just lookylooz, and new life everywhere. Birds are playfully singing up a storm, building nests and feeding young ones.It looks, sounds, smells and feels like spring.  Last week was sunny and clear with the temperatures in the high 70's - low 80's here in Walnut Creek, CA. Then yesterday it rained for about 2-3 hours in the middle of the day. Yep, it's Spring in Walnut Creek.  In between showing eager buyers homes around Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek, we managed to get the last tomato plant caged hours before the rains came yesterday. Now, while we are busy writing up contracts, searching for Supra locks on hidden water pipes, and staying on top of all things Real Estate, Mother Nature is taki... 05/26/2012

05/26/2012

Mortgage and Market Update for May 18th Economic News:  The situation in Greece is again stressing global markets but here in the U.S. the big news is the Initial Public Offering of Facebook. The Bay Area has been on a bit of a roll lately as have our local real estate markets. Listing agents are reviewing multiple offers with sellers while buyer agents are working harder than ever to serve their clients needs. In spite of generally positive news on the US Economy the stock market was under pressure most of the week. This volatility will more than likely be with us in the near term as Europe sorts out its problems. Mortgage Markets: In light of the situation within the European Union Treasuries and Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) rallied for the week and mortgage rates are nearing all-... 05/18/2012

The following information represents the Real Estate Market Review for Walnut Creek, CA  94596, 94597 & 94598 for the month of April 2012. OK let's cut to the chase. Walnut Creek has 54 single family homes for sale as of the end of April. This compares to 120 homes for sale last year. The attached home market is even tighter with 21 units available versus 84 last year. The time it takes to get a home into escrow has also fallen over the last year. Looking for information about buying or selling in Walnut Creek?...Give me a call... April Real Estate Report for Walnut Creek in April 2011 Walnut Creek has 123 homes currently "pending sale" with a high price of $1,489,000 and a low price of $307,000.  There are 111 condo/townhomes "pending sale" with a high price of $765,000 and a low price... 05/07/2012

Walnut Creek Success Story:  STAGED ~ Listed ~ SOLD in 1 Week!   In early April my home staging company, Sensational Home Staging, was asked to do a Home Staging Consultation at the home of a young family in Walnut Creek.  They were the proud new parents of infant TWIN boys and were packing to move about 30 miles away.  When the appointment was scheduled they explained their plan was to leave behind any furniture that could be used to stage the home and all else would be off to their new home.  Sounded good....and was even better when I arrived for the consult and found beautiful Restoration Hardware furniture, rugs, bedding and lighting! My plan.....use as much of their Restoration Hardware inventory as possible PLUS add key Art & Accessories from our vast inventory of unique decor! Th... 05/03/2012

After reviewing the inventory of available homes in Alamo this spring now is the time to take a look the housing market in Walnut Creek. This series of posts will cover our current housing inventory versus last year in: Danville, San Ramon, Blackhawk, Alamo and Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek Housing Inventory in April 2011 And here is a look at how Walnut Creek inventory at the end of April 2012: Single Family Homes Active Inventory for Sale:     49...a 59% decline from 2011 Townhouses & Condos Active Inventory for Sale:    23...a 73% decline from 2011 The results are holding steady with the other communities reviewed so far. Walnut Creek home sale stats for the first quarter of 2012 versus last year were almost identical. There are more buyers out this year and the lack of inventory is dri... 04/30/2012

The following chart represents the current concentration of Short Sales in Pending Sale Status versus Traditional Sales in Pending Sale Status for Walnut Creek as of April 26th 2012. The percentage of pending short sales dropped dramatically from the January Report. The difference in the ratio of pending and active status is the additional time required to get short sales all the way through close of escrow. Every short sale is different and some take much longer than others. Please keep in mind that this only reflects the market on the specific day quoted.  Walnut Creek Short Sales can take time and may be represented over several months in this data while traditional sales close escrow in the 30-60 day range.  Additional Short Sale Information for Walnut Creek Homeowners 04/26/2012

Walnut Creek real estate sales for the first quarter were promising. The attached home segment which has been under stress is showing signs of recovery with unit sales and pricing up while marketing times decreased. Single Family Home sales are basically the same as the first quarter of last year and we see the median price up and marketing times slightly lower. As with many of the other cities in the area inventory is low and multiple offers are not uncommon. If you are interested in how Walnut Creek did in 2011 versus 2010 click on the link below. Keep in mind that real estate markets are local in nature and there will be micro markets in every town. Please contact me for a more comprehensive review of the Walnut Creek market. WALNUT CREEK REAL ESTATE REVIEW FOR 2011 04/19/2012

Originally posted on Contra Costa Real Estate Resource My buyer said it perfectly, “In the end, buying a Walnut Creek home is a combination of dress-up, online matchmaking, speed-dating and chess.” I had to laugh because that one line summarizes the home buying process perfectly! Think about it. The home is first dressed up (de-cluttered, thoroughly cleaned and staged) and posted online looking for a match (a buyer). Buyers then go through the online matchmaking process of viewing all of the photos, reviewing the home’s age, size, the Bio (the home’s features) and photos. If the home appears to be a match, the buyer schedules a date to view it. Are the photos of the home current and accurate or are they from a time when the home was younger and slimmer? Is the home as interesting as it ... 04/05/2012

Mortgage and Market Update for March 30th Economic News: Back to a week where the data on the economy is a bit mixed with a bias toward the positive. As far as housing data goes the Pending Home Sales Index results were a bit weaker than expected while the Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed home price improvement for January. As was mentioned last week “all real estate is local” and the Bay Area housing market is robust. The consumer was a bright spot for the week with this morning’s sentiment numbers continuing the steady march higher from the lows experienced last July. Weekly Jobless Claims, while slightly higher than expected, are hovering at the best levels since the recovery began. Lastly, the fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product was reported to be an annualized 3%, matching ex... 03/30/2012

Not White Paint At first glance, the home inspector thought the bottom of the subfloor had been painted white.Upon closer inspection, the inspector concluded it was a bio-growth. An inspector (unless they’re a certified industrial hygienist) shouldn’t say ‘mold’, as doing so makes them the expert in a court of law.If there’s a bio-growth growing on crawlspace surfaces, there’s a good chance there are issues with inadequate or poor ventilation; leaking toilets, negative grade; no drainage system; downspouts discharging next to the foundation; over-irrigation; leaking water supply or drain pipes; swimming pool leaks; high water table all of which can contribute to high humidity conditions under a house.Mold spores and wood moisture content above 28% are required for mold to start developi... 03/28/2012

It’s not everyday that home inspectors can say they walked on water.  The photo is a buckled wood floor.  Buckling is when wood flooring swells and lifts off of the sub-floor surface.Severe buckling is usually the result of excessive water flooding a wood floor... for example, an overflowing bathtub or toilet; or a water supply pipe break.It this case, the source of water was a garden hose.In the current real estate market, there are foreclosures, short sales, and abandoned houses. Sometimes, disgruntled homeowners damage their house before the bank takes it over.The rear sliding door was opened, a garden hose was placed in the family room... And the water was turned on.As the inspector walked across the wood flooring the water sloshed out between the flooring sections... Water stains h... 03/27/2012

The first two months of 2012 are "in the books" for the Walnut Creek Real Estate Market...let's see what we can gleen from the numbers. Detached and Attached home sales are almost identical with 2011. Pricing has remained constant and marketing times are dropping. These reports will become more clear as we end the first quarter. If you are interested in how Walnut Creek did in 2011 versus 2010 click on the link below. Keep in mind that real estate markets are local in nature and there will be micro markets in every town. Please contact me for a more comprehensive review of the Walnut Creek market. WALNUT CREEK REAL ESTATE REVIEW FOR 2011 03/18/2012

Investors and the FHA 203k loan program This post will tell you of an investor loan product you can use right now as you wait for the FHA to get their act together. While investors used to be able to purchase fixers and get the money to fix them up with the FHA 203 loan guarantee program. That was quite a program. It had a feature called "the escrow commitment procedure" that allowed the final "after improved" value to determine the 96.5% loan amount. The investor's profit was incorporated into the loan and the loan was "assumable" so once the borrower was identified and pre qualified they would assume the loan with no other appraisal required.   It was a good deal for all concerned. The investors took advantage of the program and were kicked out. Why are we talking about it again?  Sim... 03/08/2012

Ivy can look beautiful on house walls and brick chimneys, if maintained. The thick, green texture gives your home a woodsy feel. It can provide a canopy over a trellis or pergola.There is a dark side to ivy, though. As the ivy tendrils (a slender, whiplike or threadlike plant strand specialized to anchor and support vines) dig deep into brick; it can actually grow through the brick and mortar, damaging your home and chimney.Ivy had fully engulfed this chimney. From the roof, the home inspector could barely make out the spark arrestor/raincap assembly on top; and could not see the brick. It appears the ivy was removed only as high as the gardener could reach with a small ladder before the house was put on the market.Once the dead ivy is removed, the chimney in this picture may have to b... 03/07/2012