December 2007

Oakland Market Still Stronger Than Most

Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 4:07pm. 483 Views, 0 Comments.

Fortunately Oakland and the surrounding East Bay Area is still one of the most desireable places to live, and this means that even in the toughest markets there is still more activity than in other counties. All you have to do is go one hour South, or Northeast and you will see markets that are much touger than our own.

San Joaquin and Contra Costa counties in particular are being hit extremely hard by the mortgage and foreclosure problems. And while these problems affect Oakland as well, we are a little more insulated from them because of the desireablility of Oakland real estate.

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Oakland Finally Getting Some Rain!

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007 at 4:30pm. 623 Views, 0 Comments.

We have been warned several times during the year that the Bay Area hasn't been getting enough rain and snow to fill our reservoirs past the 3/4 level. There has been talk that some parts of northern California would be put under water rationing ordinances to conserve water, unless our reservoir levels rise.

Luckily, the past couple of weeks have brought a series of storms, and the forecast is that we will be getting rain for most of the week. Two to three inches of rain and several feet of snowfall will help a lot, because we rely heavily on the melting snow pack to fill the reservoirs when they melt. It's easy to take water for granted, but every now and then we are reminded of how our water supply is not "guaranteed". Over the coming years, we will…

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Oakland Will Keep Seeing Foreclosures

Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 9:19pm. 437 Views, 0 Comments.

Although the government struck a deal to freeze mortgage interest rates for five years on adjustable rate loans, the reality is that only a small percentage of the people who are in trouble will actually benefit. So the Oakland real estate market will continue to be tough for sellers for at least another year or two I feel.

There is another group of adjustable rate mortgages that is due to reset early next year, which will most likely cause more foreclosures to come onto the market over the next year or two. There will likely be more legislation and programs to help offset these problems. There are new 40 and 50 year loans coming into the marketplace now, and there is still talk that the FHA will raise it's limits for high cost areas such as the Bay Area.

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Interest Rates Are Volatile

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 8:55pm. 588 Views, 0 Comments.

Many people expect that mortgage interest rates will fall every time the Fed cuts the "Prime" rate. In fact, cuts in the Prime rate can actually make mortgage interest rates rise. What's happening is that when the fed lowers the rate, it allows more people to spend money, and the more people spend the higher the rate of inflation is. The lenders don't like inflation, so they see that as added risk to the economy, thus forcing them to raise mortgage interest rates to compensate for the risk.

If you were going over rates with your mortgage person a month ago and you were quoted a 30 yr fixed loan at 6.15% interest, then it's possible that a month later you could get a lower (or higher) rate. We are still in the midst of a pretty serious shift in the…

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Bush To Speak About Foreclosure Relief Tomorrow

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007 at 7:28pm. 510 Views, 0 Comments.

I'm sure many people will be happy to hear that the federal government has come to an agreement with lending institutions to "freeze" mortgage interest rates on adjustable rate loans. Only those who got loans within the past couple of years roughly will be eligible for the relief.

It's no secret that adjustable rate loans are a big part of the foreclosure problem, so this relief will affect a lot of people. However the relief will only be available to those who are current on their payments and live in the home as their primary residence. President Bush is supposed to publicly announce this tomorrow, it's good news for everyone and should help stabilize the market.

On the other hand, it won't help people who are already in, or on the road to…

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