Tiny Homes etc...

I have already written a post about Tiny Homes, in the US and in particular here in the Bay Area of San Francisco.  The concept and the idea is very appealing to the minimalist part of me that wants to get rid of unnecessary, costly material things.

Here are a few more examples of Tiny Homes, as shown on the Dwell website.

I believe there would be a large demand for small homes like these, located on small lots. The cost surely would be more accessible than the normal price of a small house on the traditional 5000 sq.ft piece of land, in our crowded local cities and counties.  A lot of the value is in the land in the Bay Area, and with this type of arrangement you can envision a subdivision of many smaller lots, costing a fraction of the current prices.

This other web page shows examples of Tiny Homes floor plans which could definitely be used elsewhere in small living spaces.

Thanks for reading! if you like the post, share it ;-)
Francis

My Home Valuation tool
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates   Pretty good right now!

California Renters Still Want to Own a Home

California renters still want to own a home: four out of five renters state they want to own a home some day, and this is in spite of affordability challenges.

Some of the statistics indicate that nearly half of renters say they would purchase a home if they got a new job, a raise, or a promotion, while another 40 % say they would be motivated to buy a home if they got married or were starting a family.

Source: the 2018 California Association of Realtors Consumer Survey.

Thinking of purchasing, or moving soon?  let me know: I can help you decide what is best for your current siuation.  And if you are currently in the market, consider these thoughts:

Click on the image to read better.

Thanks for reading, and sharing.
Francis

Non-homeowners in SF could spend $2.5 million in rent by age 60

A new report finds that those who put their money into rent rather than home equity blow an

estimated $2.5 million between the ages of 25 and 60.

The study by the personal finance site Go Banking Rates (see the article by Gabriele Olya - June 6, 2018) looked at how much someone who starts paying rent at 25 would spend by ages 30, 40, 50 and 60 in America's 25 most populous cities.

I like to put things in perspective: in real life most people would move at some point or other, relocate, change jobs or change their family situation.

Purchasing a home is not always the best option: it depends on many factors - job stability, savings, goals in life, priorities, family situations etc...  Still, the information is an important part of the equation when considering a home purchase.
.... As is the current home ownership rate in the US: 64.4%.

Any question regarding a real estate purchase or sale? Or trying to understand the parameters? Let me know!   
Thanks for reading,

Francis

My Home Valuation tool
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates   (came down a bit, thank you Wall Street  ;-) 

All Cash Deal - Time to Save on Title Insurance?

NOT!

One may think that Title Insurance is an unnecessary cost in a real estate transaction. After all, what can go wrong if you have excellent sellers' disclosures, and all looks so good and simple?

Title Insurance is mandated by the bank when one has to finance the purchase. But it is not mandated when one buys cash: in that case, it is up to the buyer to request Title Insurance.

There are many reasons why it is not a great idea to purchase without Title Insurance, and they are well summarized in this post from Cornerstone Title insurance.

Getting Title Insurance is the only way you can have some vision on the history of the property, and whether or not it has liens or encumbrances.  I also personally think it is a good idea (i.e. a very good idea) to talk to the Title company and ask questions about the preliminary title report and what it means exactly, when you are in contract to purchase a property.

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Thank you for reading,
Francis


Home Valuation tool
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates  
A worthy local non-profit to remember: Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Clara County.

7 Types of Lighting Fixtures

7 Types of Lighting Fixtures.

Light fixtures fascinate: when you go into a light fixture store, don't you want to buy them all? They radically change the room where they are installed, depending on the style, intensity, location.

Here is a professional recap by the Dwell website of the options and more details when it comes to this eye-pleasing upgrade:

Dwell-Lighting Fixtures
..and how to arrange and design your inside lighting for a more gentle environment for your eyes.

Beware! You will be tempted to spend money! 

Thanks for reading, and do not hesitate to contact me for your real estate questions.

Francis

Home Valuation tool

Detailed, local trends etc...

Current mortgage rates   steady...  (under 5% !!) (stock market volatility...)

Real Estate: Average Down Payment by State

The average size of down payments by state usually follows prices, as a rule of thumb. These figures tell us a bit more:

Down payments are:

Highest in California, with a 21.44% average DP (about $97.8k)

And                 Hawai, with a 21.32% average DP (about 69.9k)

Lowest in Alaska, with a 15.4 % average DP (about 36.4k)

And                 West Virginia at 15.4% average DP (about $21.4k)

And                 Mississippi at 15.8% average DP, averaging $22.9k.

This information is provided by the digital loan sourcing site LendingTree, and is reported by Alcynna Lloyd of HousingWire in her article dated Oct 26, 2018.

LendingTree also shows the following graph, which recaps the subject pretty well:

As always, thank you for reading, and share if you like!
Francis

Home Valuation tool

Detailed, local trends etc...

Current mortgage rates   steady...  (stock market volatility...)

Interest Rates Above 5?

It's hard to believe but interest rates are not that high, when you look at them with a 10 or 20-year perspective..

Click on picture to see a larger version.

Of course, we are now used to paying little when we take on a mortgage, and who did not refinance in the past 8 years?  So it looks expensive now to consider a new mortgage - but 10 years ago we were looking at around 6%.
We all hope we don't go back there...

Still, a majority of renters say they want to buy, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Thanks for reading,
Francis

Home Valuation tool
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates   (slight regular uptick)
A worthy local non-profit to remember: Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Clara County.

Real estate no longer top investment choice for Americans

Real estate no longer top investment choice for Americans?  (Source: Housing Wire)

Americans are beginning to shift their investments to other areas as real estate fell not one but two spots from being the top investment choice back in 2016.

Americans across all ages said that real estate is their third pick for the investment of money they won’t need for more than 10 years, according to a survey by Bankrate.

The survey showed 32 percent of American prefer to invest in stocks, followed by 24 percent percent who say cash investments is best and 22 percent in real estate. This is down from 2016, when real estate was the No. 1 choice. In fact, Bankrate explained that this is the first time in four years that respondents didn’t favor real estate as their top choice. “For investment horizons of longer than 10 years, the stock market is an entirely appropriate investment,” Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said. “Cash is not, and especially if you’re not seeking out the most competitive returns.”
The majority of Americans actually favor investing in the stock market, including 33 percent of Gen Xers, 38 percent of Baby Boomers and 44 percent of the Silent Generation, however Millennials favored cash investments. The survey showed 30 percent of Millennials said cash is their favorite long-term investment.

My concern: have people given up on their homeownership dreams? I am not sure this is the case. But the article was written in July of 2018, and the stock market was very high, and had been going up consistently.  We can safely assume this is not always going to be the case in the future, which may in turn change those stats.

See the whole article by Kelsey Ramirez, Reporter at HousingWire.  

Thanks for reading,

Francis

Home Valuation tool

Detailed, local trends etc...

Current mortgage rates  

A worthy local non-profit to remember: Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Clara County.