Monday, April 30, 2018

Disclosures Sellers Don't Have to Make...

Do you have to disclose that a house is haunted?

Since disclosures are one of the most important topics to address for sellers who sell their home, this is a subject certainly worth talking about.  A good rule of thumb is typically: if you wonder if you have to disclose something about your property, usually the answer is a resounding "YES".

With this in mind, I found this article from the Law Offices of Peter Brewer most interesting.  It details a few (rare) items that sellers do not have to disclose.
Arguably, the fact that one does not have to disclose does not necessarily mean they should not disclose, and in all cases it is always advisable to ask a qualified California Licensed Real Estate Attorney whether to disclose a specific item if you really are wondering about it - if you sell in California.
Although Realtors cannot advise on legal matters, they will usually tell you that it is best to disclose if you are in doubt (with a few exceptions) - and this is where the above article, written by attorneys, comes in as most interesting.

Most real estate lawsuits stem from sellers' or agents' disclosures or I should say: "lack of disclosures".

Marketing your property is certainly a very important aspect of selling a property, but working on preparing good disclosures when you sell your home is in my opinion by far the most important thing to do, and the wrong guidance on this matter could cost you a lot. I think it is the most important criterion in choosing your Realtor to sell your California property.

Thank you for reading!
Francis

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Monday, April 23, 2018

Price Correlation - SF Bay Area - Nasdaq

Interesting correlation between the average sales price in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Nasdaq over the past 20 years or so.

This graph is compliment of our Coldwell Banker analysts, and shows the average sales price for Coldwell Banker properties only, not ALL of the sales of properties on the market.

Still, it shows how heavily our local market, around San Francisco, is leaning on the high-tech heavy Nasdaq.

Click on the graph to see larger.

Thanks for reading!
Francis

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Friday, April 6, 2018

More Buyers Gamble with Sight-Unseen Offers

I was really surprised to read this article in the Realtor Magazine (National Association of Realtors) about the number of people making offers without seeing the property first.
The source of the article is a survey of more than 1,500 home purchasers by the real estate company Redfin.

The figures are, I think, somewhat staggering:
in June of 2016, 19% of purchasers made an offer sight-unseen,
in May of 2017, it was 33%, and
in November/December of 2017, it was up to 35%.

It has happened to me to have a client make a purchase "long distance", so I understand the circumstances under which it can happen, but this number still surprises me.  I guess with the market going up so much, and properties selling so fast (especially in the Silicon Valley), one can see how some home buyers may have to cut some corners.

You can click on these links for more details on the Realtor.org article, and the original article on the Redfin web site.

Nationwide, US home prices are up 6.7% year-over-year in February.   

Thanks for reading!
Francis

Price Your Home
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