Additionally, the President wants to create a new unit within his Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to probe misconduct and deceptive practices committed by mortgage lenders.

When reading nationwide studies or reports on real estate matters, you have to seriously consider the scope of the data. Real estate data varies hugely from one locale to another, and when it is all pooled together and averaged the resulting picture can lead to an impression that is quite different from the local reality.

Here in the Bay Area, we are fortunate to be insulated from the worst of the economic downturn as well as the worst of the housing crisis. While home prices may have shaved off a few percentage points over the last 3 to 4 years, there has not been a major bubble burst like in other areas of the country. We are no longer at the height of the market that was experienced several years ago, but neither are we in a bad place when it comes to home equity.

It is true that there are many homebuyers who are in a bad place due to unfortunate loan or refinancing circumstances, but overall this is a small segment of the population. Anyone who is considering selling their home should not feel that they have to wait for home prices to rebound. There is currently a growing lack of inventory, and sellers who are smart enough to be on the market are benefiting from the scarcity.

The properties I have most recently sold have been able to garner a great deal of interest from buyers, and have received multiple offers. It is absolutely a good time to be putting your home on the market, not only because of the dearth of homes for sale, but seasonally as well there will be more competition in the marketplace the closer it gets to the Summer months.

On that topic, it is essential to have a skilled agent on your side– as a buyer, there is low inventory and a lot of competition for properties right now. There are also many investors flooding the market looking for deals on homes they will hold as investment properties. In many cases, investors are making all cash offers which for a seller is an extremely attractive option. For these reasons, you need someone to represent you who can make your offer look as attractive as possible to a seller, and who can negotiate the best terms for your deal.

Similarly, as a seller you need an agent who will use effective marketing and negotiation strategies to garner the best possible price and terms for your sale. In today’s market, the inventory is low enough and there are enough potential buyers flooding the market that a skilled agent should be able to get you multiple offers on your property.

Contact the Tse Group to learn more about our approach to marketing and negotiation in real estate transactions.

It is SO important to have a real, local, human professional advising you on the value of a home, whether it be what your current home can be expected to sell for, or what is a reasonable purchase price for your dream home.

We have a very easy home valuation request form on our site– please use it. We will contact you personally with our own non-computer generated estimation of your home’s value.

The Internet provides some very compelling and useful real estate tools to begin a home search with, but at a certain point it becomes imperative that you are receiving current, personalized advice from a local expert on real estate. Investment in a home is usually the single largest purchase we make as individuals and it is too important of a transaction to leave your fact-finding up to an anonymous user experience on the computer.

It essentially states what I have found to be true in my business during the economic downturn in our country. There is still a great deal of wealth in the Bay Area from the tech sector, as well as an influx of foreign investors looking to capitalize on ‘good deals’. These factors continue to keep home prices steady and keep inventory relatively low, so that in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties we have not seen the kind of dismal market conditions present in so many other areas of the U.S.

Jumbo home loans also are experiencing falling rates, which is of particular interest to buyers in the Bay Area since we have such a high median price point in both Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

Banks are also offering added incentives including lower fees in order to entice more home owners into refinancing their current loans.

We work closely with several highly trusted lenders whom we would be happy to put you in touch with for help with refinancing or qualifying for a loan on a home purchase.