San Mateo-Foster City Real Estate News

Today I'd like to introduce you to one of the lender's I have added to our team.  Lilyette Uriarte with Bankers Preferred. 

While the mortgage market continues to generate a lot of chatter in both the media and in Washington, interest rates are currently near or at all-time lows. If you or anyone you know are looking to take advantage of these low rates, let me explain why now is the time to act.

Lately there has been talk about the 4.5% 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Will it become a reality though? Right now, no one really knows. Homeowners who could benefit from a lower interest rate need to know that even if 4.5% becomes a reality from Washington's actions, it would only be available to home buyers, not homeowners seeking to better their rate. If you need to refinance, you will be left out.

You also may have heard about Hope for Homeowners, which is a program approved by legislators to help distressed homeowners. However, regardless of its best intentions, the program has not been embraced by investors, and it is not available to many it could help.

The bottom line is, the Fed announced recently that they are going to buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed securities. This has already driven rates to historical lows. In January, the SEC is meeting and information may be released that could have a significant bearing on rates, potentially for the worse.

Waiting to obtain the best rate is only possible for those with loan applications already in process. Interest rates are incredibly volatile and fluctuations that used to take months are now occurring in just days or even hours. If you don't have an application in process, you could lose out.

We are already seeing lender backlog due to low interest rates. In 2003, with rates at these same low levels, we saw some lenders taking up to 90 days to close a loan.

Home loan rates are currently in the mid- to low-5% range. Home values are currently at 2003-2004 levels, coming down significantly from their high point. If youor friends and family members you knoware contemplating seeking financing, now is the time to act.

With a first time home buyer tax credit of up to $7,500 and low or no money down programs available for many people today, now is a great time to buy a home.   You can talk with Lilyette directly at 650-303-9779 or email her at lilyette@bankerspref.com.

Lilyette seconds what I have been saying to you.  If you know you have a secure job and have been waiting for interest rates to drop further, don't.  We have some great buys on the market today.  Generally we don't have a huge inventory of homes on the market this time of the year, and this really is no exception but we do anticipate see more come on the market in January.  If you are thinking about buying, get your self Pre-Approved now so you will be ready to go once we see new homes for sale next month.

It's been all over the news recently, Interest Rates to drop to 4.5%!  You're thinking about buying a house but now you've decided to wait since rates will be coming down.  Is that a good idea?  Will they really come down?  Will you really save money?  Let me get out the trusty crystal ball and wop my magic wand on it.  "Oh wise one, will that be a good idea?, I ask."  As you can see, my crystal ball is glowing but not really giving me the answer you might want to hear.  

My answer, as a Realtor, is not to wait.  Let's say that rates do come down one point.  How will that impact you?  If you are looking at the bottom of our market and will qualify for a conforming loan of $650,000 then look out for the stampede of buyers just like you, who have been sitting on the fence being certain that prices will go down further so that you can grab a great deal.  All of you will be bidding on the same house and guess what?  Deja vu.  Multiple offers and prices go up. Who wins then?  Any rate break will be off set by a higher priced house.  

We currently have 1096 properties for sale in San Mateo County under $800,000.  That includes houses, condos, and townhouses and all of them fall into the conforming loan rate.  Why wait for something that likely will never happen?  This is a great time to invest in real estate for your own home, or for income property.  While the selection of homes isn't huge, it's broad enough for some good choices.  Why don't you take a look online and see what's there.  We're here to help you once you've seen something online that you'd like to see in person.  Call us at 650-696-2820.

Oh, by the way... there are 173 homes, condos or townhouses for sale in San Mateo.  In Foster City there are 32.  In Burlingame there are 12 condos and 1 house, and in Hillsborough, none, yada, forget it.  Houses start at $1.58 million.  What are you waiting for?

I begin this by saying I'm on the Board of Directors of the Career Closet, an organization of Women Helping Women in need.  We serve San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties by dressing women re-entering, or many times entering for the first time,  the work world with a week of clothing appropriate for a new job.  The mission of the Career Closet is dressing a woman from the inside out.  There is really something magical watching the face of a woman who has had nothing receive a suit for interviewing, help with a resume, and then a wardrobe suitable for the job she has just been hired for and all for free.  Obviously, as a non-profit it takes a village to make this work and donations of clothing and money for operations help a great deal. 

The San Francisco 49ers have adopted the Career Closet and spent two different days helping the volunteers with Career Closet.  Beginning in October, several of the players, their wives, and many members of the 49er organization met at the San Jose Career Closet to shadow the volunteers and learn what it is the Closet does to help disadvantaged women, many of whom came from domestic violence situations.  The Niners also contributed clothing and came in partnership with Intuit to help present a donation of cash and clothing.  Part of what they did was help to sort the donations of clothing and then their wives helped dress several of the Career Closet clients with business suits, and other clothing. The team is actively involved in

One of the 49ers present during the October day was Atiyyah Ellison, pictured here.  He's presenting flowers to the Director of Career Closet, Jean Cecil, and between them is Joanne Pasternack, Director of Community Relations with the 49ers.  The San Francisco 49ers have taken a pledge against domestic violence and are partners with the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium.  Last year they helped to raise $36,000 for this cause through the sale of special 49er caps. 

This week, the 49ers were back to help the Career Closet once again but this time in the Foster City location and in partnership with the San Mateo Credit Union. The credit union held a clothing drive and then along with members of the 49er back office were there to help the Career Closet Volunteers sort the clothing donations and then assisted volunteers in dressing several clients in preparation for their interviews for jobs.  All of the women helped this week came from a shelter for domestic violence and had suffered some major abuse in their lives.  The smiles on these ladies makes everything the Career Closet does worthwhile. 

If you work for a company located in either San Mateo County or Santa Clara County, women's work appropriate clothing you no longer use, and money, can help hundreds of women who might not otherwise receive a helping hand.  It's so easy to help.  You can send a check as a year-end donation to the Career Closet, 43 East Gish Road, Suite 100, San Jose, CA 95112 - or do it online.  You'll feel great knowing you've helped someone who lives in our community and is trying to become a contributing member of our society!  If you work for a company that provides matching funds for any cash donation you provide, let them know about the Career Closet and what it is we do.  it's so simple and so helpful to our mission.  You don't need to contribute a great deal, even small amounts are helpful.  Won't you do this for our community?

Shown below are Career Closet volunteers, San Francisco 49er staff, and representatives from the San Mateo County Credit Union after a lot of hard work and fun in the Foster City Career Closet located at 1163 Chess Drive, Suite A.  The Black Hats, called Respect Rims, are the ones that the 49ers donate 100% of the proceeds to the 49er Foundation in support of the San Francisco Domestic Violence consortium and Partners Ending Domestic Abuse.  if you want one to wear you can get it from here.

Can you guess what my postion on the Career Closet Board of Directors is?

It's been a while since I've given a report on any of our markets, so yes, it is about time to let you know the good, the bad and the ugly.  Yes, there is ugly in San Mateo County, just not here.  The town of Hillsborough, California is definitely not an ugly market, it's a little gem of a town.  No downtown.  No businesses really located there except for those who cheat and work from home.  Large lots.  Large homes.  Fabulous schools.  Big prices.  Beautiful views.  Tree filled lots.  What's not to like?  

Last week there were 55 homes for sale ranging from a low of $1,699,000 to a high of $18,000,000.  Obviously there's a great deal of difference between the lowest priced home in Hillsborough and the highest.  The average number of days a Hillsborough home is on the market today is 123 days, and that's a reduction of late.  There were 6 houses "absorbed" -- either sold or removed from the market for other reasons. 

Median Price

One third of all listings have seen a price reduction during the 123 days on market, yet the median price has risen recently to $3,480,000. The median price for a Hillsborough home has generally been in the $3 million range the last part of 2008.  

Market Action Index

Altos Research, the company who provides our research established a Market Action Index that delineates between a Buyer's Market and a Seller's Market.  They set this line at 30.  We haven't seen a Seller's Market in 18 months.  Clearly we sit in a Buyer's Market, where buyers are offering prices below list and too many sellers are still thinking the market is Q-1 2007.  Those days are long gone.  A seller who wants to sell their home needs to price correctly, be willing to negotiate with the buyer, and be realistic about the market in Hillsborough.  We are not at bottom, that was a little while ago, but we are bouncing along a little about it.  

The Quartiles of the Hillsborough CA Market

Every single market Altos Research covers is divided into Quartiles with the 25% least expensive home to the top 25% most expensive home.  This is how you can see which quartile has sales.  There were 2 in the first Quartile, the most expensive; None in the second Quartile the Upper-Middle 25%; there was one in the third Quartile, the Lower-Middle 25%; and three in the Lower-Quartile.  As you can see the Average Days on Market was only 65 for the lower-Quartile, too.  

If you have wanted to move to Hillsborough, have great credit, money in the bank, and a good job this is the absolute best time to be able to do this.  We have many beautiful homes for sale there and it would be our pleasure to show them to you.  Give us a call at 650-696-2820 for more information.

When you first think about buying your own home you may think that you already know how much you can afford each month for a mortgage, but there is only one way to really know of how much house you can afford and this is driven by how much a lender calculates you can afford. So before you begin to search for your perfect house, it is critical that you begin the home buying process by getting pre-approved. Getting pre-approved for a home mortgage loan will provide you with a preliminary statement on the size of loan for which you can qualify. Knowing this, you can then focus on your home search.

• How much down payment youll need
• Your closing costs
• Your monthly payment (including PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance)
• The type of loan for which you qualify and which best suits your needs; and,
• Special programs for which you may be qualified, including those for veterans, first-time buyers, teachers, etc.

• Your employment and income history (including recent pay stubs)
• Your monthly debts
• The amount and source of cash available for the down payment and closing costs
• Possibly up to 2 years of tax returns