The changing market in Pleasanton real estate from the perspective of a discount real estate broker
As 2010 comes to an end , I have to admit that it was a pretty good year. The Bay Area real estate market improved dynamically.By mid summer home prices in Alameda and
Contra Costa county rose 25% Homes were receiving multiple offers and many buyers were concerned about being outbid. The market cooled a little bit and prices fell slightly but things were still a lot better than they were a year before. I operate a grass roots real-estate business. Many of my clients are first time home buyers from another country. The home buying experience is a crash course in main stream American culture. Actions that are second nature to me are extremely confusing for them. It has nothing to to with intelligence or capability but rather with familiarity. Directions , date of purchase and closing,the luck and health of the people selling a home all have greater meaning than they would in transactions past. Many Asian clients make the directions a home faces of paramount importance. No matter how nice or reasonably priced a home is some buyers will not consider it if the directions are not correct. Other clients will rule a home out if the parties selling the home have recently had a death on the premises or have experienced a run of bad luck. I never minimize nor do I dismiss their beliefs. If they matter to my clients they matter to me. I believe that this type of buyer is the future of the Bay Area real estate market. I had one client who backed out of purchasing a home because the owner, a young lawyer was killed by a drunk driver while jogging. She believed that the death of the owner reflected negatively on the marketability of the home. In her culture the home would be sold with a substantial discount because the home was unlucky. I investigated this a little further and it was true that the home would be discounted in her country of origin. I am learning more each day. I recently went into contract on the buying end on a home in San Ramon that had been on the market for a long time. One of the owners had passed away of natural causes on then premises. When I explained that this was a deterrent to the sale of the home the listing agent was astonished. We put the deal together and my client is very pleased with the purchase price. Although it was not my clients belief, they were able to benefit from the change in the culture of the real estate culture. The way we do business is changing but I believe the market is headed in the right direction and I look forward to 2011
Contra Costa county rose 25% Homes were receiving multiple offers and many buyers were concerned about being outbid. The market cooled a little bit and prices fell slightly but things were still a lot better than they were a year before. I operate a grass roots real-estate business. Many of my clients are first time home buyers from another country. The home buying experience is a crash course in main stream American culture. Actions that are second nature to me are extremely confusing for them. It has nothing to to with intelligence or capability but rather with familiarity. Directions , date of purchase and closing,the luck and health of the people selling a home all have greater meaning than they would in transactions past. Many Asian clients make the directions a home faces of paramount importance. No matter how nice or reasonably priced a home is some buyers will not consider it if the directions are not correct. Other clients will rule a home out if the parties selling the home have recently had a death on the premises or have experienced a run of bad luck. I never minimize nor do I dismiss their beliefs. If they matter to my clients they matter to me. I believe that this type of buyer is the future of the Bay Area real estate market. I had one client who backed out of purchasing a home because the owner, a young lawyer was killed by a drunk driver while jogging. She believed that the death of the owner reflected negatively on the marketability of the home. In her culture the home would be sold with a substantial discount because the home was unlucky. I investigated this a little further and it was true that the home would be discounted in her country of origin. I am learning more each day. I recently went into contract on the buying end on a home in San Ramon that had been on the market for a long time. One of the owners had passed away of natural causes on then premises. When I explained that this was a deterrent to the sale of the home the listing agent was astonished. We put the deal together and my client is very pleased with the purchase price. Although it was not my clients belief, they were able to benefit from the change in the culture of the real estate culture. The way we do business is changing but I believe the market is headed in the right direction and I look forward to 2011