Blaise Lofland Blog

In Pleasanton, Alameda County and the entire Bay Area home prices and sales activity increased for the third month in a row. This is really good news for our local real estate market. This combined with mortgage rates under 5% means that the bottom has come and gone and your purchasing power has never been better. Now is the time to buy! For more detailed information on this great news check out www.contracostatimes.com/business for the article in todays business section of the Contra Costa Times.

The number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to buy a previously occupied home took the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years in April. Home sales appear likely to head upward this summer, potentially to levels not seen since the stock market collapsed last autumn. Pending home sales are also rising in the Bay Area, including Pleasanton.

The inauguration and new administration not only bring optimism to the nation and the world, but to the Pleasanton real estate market. Lower interest rates combined with lower prices and a more positive outlook towards the future makes this the right time to buy in Pleasanton. Although it may take longer for parts of the Bay Area and the country, buying power in Pleasanton may be at or near its peak. Consider taking advantage of this opportunity now!

“Recent sales activity in the East Bay is showing that market may be starting to stabilize,” said Jeffrey A. Michael. A lot of the inventory is bank owned foreclosures or short sales. They are dragging the rest of the market down in price. “You are seeing inventories drop and homes are selling, although they are still dominated by these foreclosures. In the next quarter, declining home values may begin to stabilize,” he said.

For the full article visit: http://www.contracostatimes.com/realestatenews/ci_10957942?nclick_check=1

Pending home sales rose 7.4 percent from July to August, an unexpected piece of positive news for the battered U.S. housing market. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose to 93.4 from an upwardly revised July reading of 87. The reading was the highest since June 2007. Sales are picking up in places that have seen the most severe declines in housing prices including California.

A major unknown is how the worldwide financial crisis and economic slump will affect the housing market.

To read the complete article, please visit:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/realestatenews/ci_10668470?nclick_check=1

Housing bottom coming into view! Economic reports have many industry watchers pointing to a possible end to the downturn. While no one is ready to call the bottom to the worst housing collapse in decades, there were glimmers this week that the severity could be waning. Reports Tuesday showed that the glut of newly built homes on the market fell to a five month low last month, while the decline in home prices is starting to ease, and in some cities are even starting to rise. What’s more, existing home sales rose slightly from June to July according to data Monday. “The bottom of the housing downturn is coming into view”, said Moody’sEconomy.com Chief Economist Mark Zandy.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_10308441?nclick_check=1

California led the US into the worst housing rescission since the 1930’s. Now the most populous state may be the first to find the bottom. In Stockton, California the US metro area with the highest foreclosure rate, home sales more than doubled in the 2nd quarter. Across the state sales rose in April, May and June after 30 straight months of declines.

For the full article, visit: http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_10108469

Good news on the housing front! The latest study from UCLA Anderson Forecast suggests that the plunge in the housing market has reached its lowest point and could soon stabilize at the current low levels. Although Pleasanton and the East Bay in general have been harder hit by the downturn because previous demand has driven prices up and sub-prime mortgages became more popular in the area. The study suggests that before year’s end, home values should reach a bottom that would restore affordable prices to the residential market.

For the complete article visit: http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_9615165?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

Great news! Home sales inch up in April! It is nice to have good some news in the real estate market! Bay Area activity increased in the month of April. Different counties had varying increases with San Francisco County showing the strongest increase. Alameda County did not perform as well, but this takes into consideration many areas of the county, including Pleasanton. Pleasanton homeowners should be happy as there was a definite increase in activity during the month of April. It appears the availability of money and the mortgage markets may be finally stabilizing, as more favorable loan programs and terms are available to buyers.

Market rises on recovery optimism. Investors laid bets that the economy and companies are in a recovery mode despite rising oil costs. In recent weeks results from companies outside of the battered financial and housing sectors were stronger than expected. Friday’s employment report and Mondays data on the service sector are showing that investors are beginning to take more risk. Broader stock indicators also rebounded.

For the full text of this article go to: http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_9168242?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

Great news for the housing market: Yesterday Fannie announced that they would purchase jumbo conforming loans at the same price as regular conforming!